DARIO ACEVEDO-HADID

"Like if you don't get my phone number this time, I'm gonna think you hate me. Sorry, not sorry." Rio teased as he finally took his sketch book out, then grabbing an envelope inside it with her drawing in it, keeping it safe from harm. It just like the one she had seen a few weeks ago but he had managed to color it and felt very proud of it now. "I hope you love it, I actually had a lot of fun but it may not be perfect because I had to remember how you looked to color it and that can be hard for all the details." Rio handed it to her, grinning.

"Someone's gotta do it." He replied, "It's a burden to carry so much talent and gift, but aye, who better, you know?" LT tossed back at Rio, nothing more than good fun between them. That was a blessing. God knew LT needed some lightness in his life at the moment. He never did well with true heavy shit. "Who's the fuck to say you didn't?" He asked, "The night is young, so much to behold, my friend." LT went silent for a moment as he debated on his answer, it wouldn't take him long to say, "Smoke. You got one rolled?"

"You're right. Why wouldn't I? Have you seen any ghosts yet? Like, what am I looking for?" Dario didn't believe in many things, except from being a good person to those around him. He wasn't religious, nor was he a believer of anything so ghost hunting was just another experience that he was welcoming with open arms and an open mind. Taking the blunt out of his backpack, Rio began looking for a lighter. "Always come prepared. You wanna go first?"

The other was probably right and as much as he didn’t want to accept the help because he hated inconveniencing others, he knew that it would more than likely be better if he did. He let out a puff of air as the other climbed out of the truck, “the light should be enough. I have to say, you know, thank you. You really didn’t have to do all of this. I could have handled it.”

"Nah, it's okay bro, I've been there before. Besides, I love rain, I don't mind getting a little wet." He joked, shrugging. Truthfully, Rio always prided himself in doing right by other people even if they were complete strangers. "Anything else I can do?"

Rio raised his eyebrows, trying to think of what the issue could be. "Interesting. I'll look at it and hopefully it isn't the motor because if it is, that would suck." He admitted with a small sigh. He loved his beat up truck, but sometimes keeping it felt like it was more expensive than paying for a new car, honestly. "Let's not sell any organs yet, we will figure something out." Dario admitted with a small chuckle. "What else made your day a mess?"

"I don't blame you--besides, our accents ensure we stay true to where we're from, losing it would be like losing a part of your identity I feel," she murmured with a frown. She would not want to ever lose her accent, but she knew others didn't always hold the same sentiment as her. It was nice that Rio certainly did though. As he spoke about his interactions with Miles, she found herself nodding along and letting out a chuckle at his words about being a fangirl. "I don't blame you entirely, the races are truly something else," she grinned and nodded, "I solemnly swear that it'll stay between us." She nodded though at his repetition of what she'd told him before speaking, "yes I'm aware--that's when he mentioned one of his best mates being here, which I believe would be you? So yes--we've run into one another, it was definitely a bit of a shock to the system."

Rio definitely agreed with her. He didn't really think much about it until now but his accent was almost a trademark of his and he kind of loved that people could tell where he was from as soon as he spoke up. "Oh shit, you sounded just like that Harry Potter quote. That's kind of silly but really fun as well." He teased before he nodded. What a small world, how people ended up reunited in a small town in America despite having known each other in different continents. "That'd be me, yes. I shouldn't be nosy, but this is news to me. Was it a bad break up between you two?"

One thing about his friendship with Rio is that it was fun. Starting his career so young, Miles had dedicated his entire life to succeeding and had put fun reckless moments with his friends on the back burner. All the stress that piled up in the recent months faded away in moments like these–though slightly replaced with distress caused by the way Rio drove. "That's precisely why you should answer my questions–because you're driving my precious car." Despite his current state of panic, laughter erupted from him. "Mate, the corner is here. Oh my god, we are going to crash. And you think this is anything like driving a tractor?! Are you delusional?"

"Oh my god, dude! You're such a worrywart! Do you want to just drive is that what this is?" Rio laughed as he teased his friend, honestly not even minding that he was bashing his driving skills. Clearly he would never be as good as Miles was, considering his job. Rio was just happy that he could experience this. "Tractors are cooler to drive, at least I don't have you nagging at me!" Dario retorted as he finally began to slow down the car, hopeful he wouldn't give Miles a heart condition if he stopped now rather than later. "You wanna drive us to get breakfast or what? I can't focus with you yelling at me. If you ever try to teach someone to drive you need to be aware that you'd be a shit teacher, bro."

A grin was one her face as he spoke about it being too much work to drop his Texan twang, honestly she thought it was as well. It was why she was going to happily keep her British accent for as long as she could. “I agree, it’s not worth the trouble,” she said with a smile before taking a sip from her drink before nodding at his words. “That’s…surprising but I can see that with his frequent travels and you mentioned being quite worldly as well, correct?” She nodded at his words before explaining how she and Miles knew each other. “We met during one of his races. I was representing an energy drink company and well…we may have butted heads there for quite a bit,” she admitted before giving the other a shrug, “but asides from that we also dated for a bit.” Was she trying to downplay it—yes because it was a part of her life that had allowed her to feel fully free and while a part of Kashvi missed that feeling, she didn’t want to get too caught up in wanting it to happen again. 

"All that just to sound like someone else? Could never be me." Rio said with a small laugh. He nodded as she asked about his life, remembering he'd mentioned that during his interview process. "You'd be right. I met him years ago in London, then I decided to be a fangirl and go to some of his other races. I'm joking, we were kind of friends already when I started doing that. But yeah, he's cool just don't tell him I ever said that." Rio arched an eyebrow at her last words, clearly surprised by the new information. "Oh, you dated? I had no idea. What a small world. "You know he's in town, right?"

"Oh, I was a ballerina, dancing at the Paris Opera Ballet." It was everything. The discipline, the artistry, the stage. You get to see the world, but it’s through a very different lens. "But I will say, it wasn't exactly ‘vacation’ travel. There’s always the next performance, the next rehearsal. It’s a kind of rhythm that doesn’t stop." She paused for a moment, considering his question. "Umm, no. Well kinda? I grew up here and am working for my father until I figure out what's next..." It was the best way to describe this weird limbo she found herself in. "What about you? Miami sounds like a good change of pace. What's pulling you there?"

Dario gasped. '"No way! That's amazing, so you're like really, really talented then. Wow. That's a big move for you. How long have you been home for? You know I've been looking for someone that shows me around some cool places here, do you think you remember some of them?" He didn't really have an answer for how he chose his next spot to visit, really, that was the beauty of living on the road. "It's just close enough and I like how some of the people that I know there spend the holidays. Big families and whatnot. But I also really have liked it here, so I may stay for a little longer than I planned."

OPEN TO ALL

Rio looked back at her as he sipped his own wine, arching an eyebrow. "Car trouble? I can look at it if you want. I've had my old truck for like ten years, dude. I'm very handy with cars. Free of charge, of course. If I can't fix, you can go get your expensive repair bill." He offered with a small shrug. "This is nicer wine than what I'm used to, so thank you."

OPEN STARTER. CAPPING @ 4. [0/4]

"Sure! But I bet having some light that's not your phone's flashlight will help, dude." Rio offered as he stepped out of his pickup truck, pulling the hood of his rain jacket over his head. There was really no use though, it was pouring and he was going to get wet no matter what. "I got some tools in my trunk, you need anything else or are you good?"

“It's like you've got Bane trapped inside you, man, it's not normal. Have you done something to get it that way on purpose?” Miles began with as much seriousness as he could muster as he held back his laughter. But it hadn't lasted, for now there was much more amusement on his features. "Ah, yeah? Because you need an excuse to talk to Jemma?" The solemnity never really could last long, especially with Rio, and he was already bursting into laughter as he leaned back into his seat. "Even nicer car is mad. You need to learn to appreciate what you have. And by what you have, I mean appreciate me. You may not deserve to drive this car." But before the thought could be finished, his head had jerked back as the car tore forward with the acceleration. And with the speed, came Miles' yelling. "Brake! Brake! Watch the-watch the curb!"

"You're such a nerd. Talking about Bane." Rio retorted with a roll of his eyes but a wide smile still on his face. Without moving his eyes off the road, he lifted his right hand and flipped his friend off as he teased him about Jemma. All in good fun as usual. "Mind your business or should I remind you that I'm driving your precious car?" As if to prove his point, Rio accelerated the car and then laughed loudly as his friend began freaking out. Rio stepped on the clutch and changed the shift to second and third gear when needed to keep his speed. "The curb isn't moving, we'll be okay!" He teased, making a quick turn as he laughed. "I see what you mean, this is kind of fun. It's making me appreciate you so much more!"

"I feel you. I'm gonna draw you right now, shouldn't take me long. But if you want me to do color, you'll have to wait for a few days because I am so slow with coloring." Dario admitted, grabbing his pencil with his left hand and passing the page to begin tracing the first lines of his new sketch, barely looking at her as he did so. "Horse language? Because of sugar cubes? I missed a part of this conversation. Why did you think this?"