you'll be my focus

A Frosty from Wendy’s was far too tempting to pass up! Winny sat up in her seat excitedly, stomach growling for a large order of fries to dip in her shake.

She giggled at Christian’s question.

“Shaking my ass for money went great. Lots of tips. Aside from that, it was a good day! I made some cookies. Don’t let me forget to send you home with a bag as a thank you for dropping me off,” she told Christian, glancing over at him while he drove. There was a lot of history between the two of them, and no matter what happened, Winny knew there’d always be a special place for him in her heart. So, nights like these, when they got to catch up – they were perfect.

“How’d your day go? Busy doing your thing?”

If there was one person he could count on to handle his munchies, it’d be Winny. First the idea of a frostie, and now he was getting sent home with cookies. “Sounds like it was pretty solid then, especially the cookies part,” he mentioned with a small nod, purposely ignoring her earlier comment of shaking her ass. Christian usually did his best to not be so awkward considering their history, but deep down he knew he’d always care and look out for her. Which explained why her being involved with Trevor Cohen secretly killed him.

“I fucking knew you guys would turn up eventually.”

Henry smiled at Christian’s comment; his faith in his brothers was strong. A friend they could always count on. “Doing great now that we’re back. Can’t fucking wait to put the Cohens in their place.”

“Things’ve really gone to shit since we left, eh?” he asked, remembering his run-in with Winny and the ring on Tanzie’s finger. Henry knew he wouldn’t be able to snap his fingers for a magic fix, but he’d do anything to get his girls out of the clutches of Trevor and Parker Cohen. 

“Do you even know how hard it’s going to be to not have a smile on my face when I have the King related conversation with them?” Christian asked, but deep down? He knew he was a little worried if either Parker or Trevor were to confront him about the Kings being back.

Winny slid into the passenger’s seat of Christian’s car, buckling herself in. She rested her bags at her feet. Leave it to Christian to pass the time by smoking. The brunette checked her phone for the time. It was pretty late.

“I could really go for a midnight snack of sorts, if you’re down?” There was a pause, before Winny came up with a few suggestions. “McDonald’s… Taco Bell… Wendys!”

“That is such a wonderful idea,” Christian replied, his body leaning back into his seat with a smile creeping on his face at the thought of food. Who was he even kidding though? He was sure if Winny wanted to go straight home he’d just get food after. “Wendy’s is much closer, so that. Plus there’s too much history there for us to just never go again.”

Christian pulled away from the club and made their way down the road to their destination. “So.. how’d your day go?” He asked as they pull onto a red light, his head turning to face her for a moment. “Aside from the obvious dancing and doing your thing.”

Dia had been completely sucked into her own little world, imagining everything she could turn this place into, which, in hindsight, wasn’t the best move, seeing as how there was probably a small handful of people who would’ve loved to have taken advantage of her distraction. But she didn’t exactly have said hindsight yet. So when someone made contact, she let out a super dignified squeak of surprise as she stumbled to avoid toppling both herself and the other person over. “Shit, I’m so sorry!” She stepped back from the stranger, only to see that he wasn’t a stranger at all.

“Chris!” What followed was a mix of emotions. Joy at seeing her old friend, shock that he’d literally just run into her on the street, guilt and sadness for the having to leave the city without even a goodbye, all washed out from fear that he wouldn’t forgive her – or any of them. But Christian was one of the precious few people in the cartel that hadn’t looked down at her as the Kings’ kid cousin, or just put up with her for their sake. He’d truly been her friend, and she didn’t have many of those outside of her cousins, and she had no idea how he would react to them coming back after being gone for so long. “Christian, hi.”

“Wait, no this was totally on me. I wasn’t watching where I was going,” he tried to explain as he scanned the area to look for his skateboard. It took a few more seconds for Christian to finally put it all together, knowing that voice and who it came from. Of course he should have known considering he had ran into Henry earlier. It would only be a matter of time until he would run into another member of the King family. 

Eyes widened as he finally looked at the woman he had ran into, and instantly a smile appeared on his face. “Holy shit,” was all he could get out at first as he kept his arms wrapped around her, though now it turned more into a hug rather than preventing her from falling over. “I can’t believe it’s actually you,” he said with the tone of his voice a little more low before finally pulling away to get a good look at her. “Hey there..”

When he turned his head and saw the man who replied to his statement, Henry beamed. The brothers left behind some people who were undoubtedly loyal and Christian Ford was one of them. “I know, LA is severely lacking without our influence.” Henry smiled wide and embraced his friend in a bear hug. “Dude, how the hell are ya?” he asked, not expecting to run into anyone he knew at this run down record store. Though, this was a coincidence he could appreciate.

Honestly it felt good knowing right away the pair could joke around after not seeing each other for a long time. Maybe there should have been a part of him that’s angry, but more than anything he was understanding. Certain days he regretted not going with them but perhaps it was for the best for him to stick around. A satisfied sigh left his lips after embracing the hug and gave a smile of his own as he looked at the other. “I’m still alive, aren’t I?” He answered with a low chuckle, a hand coming up to run through his own locks. “I fucking knew you guys would turn up eventually. How’re you doing, man?”

Winny’s last set of the evening had run over significantly. The tips just kept coming in, and she’d be a fool to walk away when that kind of cash was being tossed at her. Christian was there to pick her up, make sure that she got home safe. Once she’d cleared off the stage, she sent him a text, promised him that she just had to change, and then she’d be right out. 

Despite having dated, things between Winny and Christian weren’t awkward. He was a good guy. She trusted him. And he’d stuck around, after the Kings left. 

In the dressing room, Winny let her hair down, letting her curls roam free. She changed into something comfortable and slightly less revealing before finally making her way out to Christian. It was very late, and she was eager to get home, shower, and fall into bed.

“Hi. Sorry time ran over. Hope you didn’t have anywhere to be?”

@christianford·

Christian arrived a little earlier than the scheduled time, not that it was much of a bother or something he didn’t want to happen. He never minded the wait until Winny was done with her shift, but this time opted to wait in the car this time. As much as he did his best to still look after the girls it still was a bit of an unsettling feeling in his stomach to see them up on stage and treated the way they were by the Cohens. It hurt to see it at times knowing he couldn’t really do much about it. That case was very clear with Winny.

Luckily he had a joint and the music playing on the radio to distract him as he waited. It wasn’t until his phone went off and he read the text that he turned down the radio and chuckled the roach of his joint out the window before he saw Winny outside and get in his car.

“I’m exactly where I need to be. Those were the orders,” he informed as he leaned back, a small smile creeping on his lips due to just smoking as his glossy eyes looked at her. “What about you? Am I taking you anywhere instead of home?”

Dia stepped out onto the sidewalk, taking a moment to relish in the warm, polluted Los Angeles air as she let the front door of the building close behind her. She’d missed this fucking city.

She slid her phone out of her back pocket and swiped to send a short text to her realtor, saying only “Put in the offer.” Then, she turned and took a few steps backwards to admire the old, industrial-era factory. Well, okay, it hadn’t been a factory in a while. Not since the fire. But it was still a great building. And it was the perfect place for a nightclub, which had been one of her dreams for a long time.

“L.A., I’m home,” she murmured under her breath, as if she was – just for a moment – the only person in the city.

He wasn’t really paying attention, at least not as much as he should have. Not that there was really anything too much happening. He was able to have a moment to himself for the time being after getting some work done for the Cohen family. It still hadn’t felt right, but deep down Christian knew what his intentions were for doing such things. This was all for the people that he loved and cared for.

With it being a beautiful day in sunny Los Angeles and it finally starting to feel like summer now Christian found himself skateboarding down the sidewalk with a nice cool breeze hitting his body. That mixed in with just finishing up a joint Christian felt amazing. Of course that would only be short lived as all it took was a quick distraction to look away for just a second before realizing the collision that was about to happen. 

“Oh fuck,” he mumbled to himself before jumping off the board and wrapping his arms around the woman before any real damage could be not. “Fucking hell, that was close. You alright there?” He asked the girl, not realizing just who he was.

Henry hadn’t been back in LA for long, but he was falling back into his usual habits. Not coke and killing, but wandering around the city looking for distractions. hThe King brothers had work to do, but Henry wasn’t the leader. Waiting for orders and next steps, he found himself in some hole-in-the-wall record store, looking through the stacks of vinyl for anything that caught his eye. 

“Damn, this shit sucks,” he said to no one in particular, holding some dusty album that never should have seen the light of day.

Despite how long it’s been, and how long he’s had the time to process, life without the Kings in Los Angeles still felt... strange. Of course he had heard of the rumors of their return and as exciting as it sounded he still wouldn’t believe it until he’d see it. Not that he doubted the three brothers. He never could. Christian just wanted to avoid getting his hopes up for nothing.

An arch of an eyebrow was was the only response Christian could give at first after hearing the familiar voice. Who would have thought of all places, a record store would be the first time where he’d see one of the King brothers.

“I know, right? The music selection has been ass ever since you guys left..”