Queen of the Blacktop [I]
Genre: Fluff, eventual smut
a/n- In honor of reaching 500 followers and it being PCY’s birthday month I decide to jump the gun and post my first EXO fic. Please go easy on me. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do! Be sure to let me know your thoughts, sprinkles! xX
Dusk had already begun to break over Seoul, the street lights humming as they brought the city to life. Instead of the streets emptying, people began to fill the sidewalks even more. Crowds of night crawlers flitted about the train laughing and carrying on conversations fueled by hopes and bright expectations for what their evenings had in store for them. The dark haired girl in the back went unnoticed by most, her black hood pulled up and over her head to shield her from the hustle and bustle of the city waking up from its nocturnal slumber. Music filled her ears with a loud, angry tempo, baby metal getting her into the mindset needed for tonight’s festivities.
The train car slid to a halt as she stood from the corner she had been tucked into. She didn’t even glance at the couple of schoolgirls giggling next to her as she slipped through the sliding doors, converse meeting pavement as she made her way to her garage. The cool fall air made her smile softly as she tried not to bounce from the adrenaline rushing through her veins.
The car garage was nestled below a parking deck. Her best friend, Kyungsoo’s, father owned the business building to the east of the garage, and so long as he got a cut of the winnings, he turned the other cheek to their little extracurricular activities.
She smiled when the elevator dinged, signalling she had reached the basement level, bouncing on her heels as she was met with the familiar whirring sounds of the air wrench. It smelled like oil and gasoline as she made her way over to where Kyungsoo was chatting to a group of boys- some familiar, some not, the clinking of metal on metal before someone released a jack filling her heart with a sense of belonging. This place was everybit her home, you could see it in the ease of her shoulders, the crinkle in the bridge of her nose as she smiled.
“There’s my leading lady,” Sehun grinned, wiping oil from his hands onto a red rag after sliding out from under her Nissan GT-R.
“Ah,” she grimaced, “don’t go spoiling my good mood, Sehun.” She peered under the hood of her car, her hand rubbing the plastic covering of the headlight lovingly as she checked over her crew’s work. “Did you fix the-”
“Yes beautiful,” Kyungsoo interrupted, “we fixed the wheel alignment. I double checked the engine compression and I even had Sehun replace the shocks. No sweat.”
She smiled with her whole face, cheeks rising as her mouth spread wide to show off her braces-straight white teeth, nose crinkling adorably as she wrapped her arms around Sehun’s neck. He chuckled, wrapping his barely clean hands around her waist as she breathed in the sweaty petrol smell of his skin. “You really did all that for little ole me?”
“Only the best for our girl,” he winked, “you know that.”
“Quit hogging my future wife,” Kai scoffed, pulling on her arm as Sehun whined playfully, but he released her just in order for her to be enveloped in another hug. She took turns hugging all the familiar boys, laughing and joking with them lightly, before slipping upstairs to her ‘office’ as they called it. It was really nothing more than a small four by four room that she kept her racing clothes in and a small cot in case she needed to crash after a long night.
The five boys stood around, a few of them sharing a curious glance as they watched her disappear behind the closed door. “So, who’s that?”
The guy with the messy brown hair punched his friend wearing the backwards snapback, rolling his eyes in exasperation, “How thick can you be? That’s obviously Nova Deveraux.”
Snapback kid’s eyes widened as he sat up straighter, towering over practically everyone in the room. “No way. That’s her?”
Kyungsoo nodded, laughing at his friend’s obvious shock. “She’s….softer than I expected.”
“Soft?” Sehun scoffed, “Xiumin, you might want to get your boy. Nova catches a whiff of him talking like that and she’ll serve him his teeth on a silver platter.”
“Chanyeol, do you know what they say about her?” Xiumin sighed, seeing that lovestruck look in his friend’s eyes beginning to develop. The taller boy shook his head, a lost puppy dog expression on his face as his eyes darted back and forth between his friend’s face and the door the girl had disappeared behind.
“He’ll learn,” Kyungsoo chuckled. “You’re coming tonight, after all.”
Watching as her boots clicked softly against the cement, leather clad hips swaying as the dangling star of her belly button ring glittered in the garage lighting, Chanyeol found himself wondering just how dangerous one girl could be. Especially when she smiled at him the way she was, walking his way with a curious glint in her eye, Kai muttering an uh-oh under his breath as she stopped in front of him. “I don’t think Kai here introduced you two.”
“This is Xiumin and his buddy Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo interjected, clapping Chanyeol on the back gently. “Xiumin heard about your competition tonight and brought giraffe boy here along.”
“First time?” She grinned, Xiumin’s cheeks tinging pink the minute her eyebrow rose his way. Sehun bit his lip to hold back a teasing remark. He had been that way towards Nova once before too, but she had a way of beating it out of you. Or well, teasing it out of you. Seeing his Hyung so easily swooned by a young girl was hilarious nonetheless. He was usually the flirty one of the group.
Xiumin cleared his throat and shook his head, smirking up at Chanyeol. “No, I saw you race in Tokyo a few years back. Yeol here bet against you though.”
She laughed, a musical sort of laugh that pitched high near the end and made his heart dance. “Then it’s definitely your first time then, huh puppy?”
“Puppy?” he asked, causing her to laugh even more as she nodded and waved her finger in his face. “Yes, you look just like a lost puppy. And now I know that’s true. Betting against me is probably the stupidest thing you could’ve done tonight.”
He looked down at her sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck before glaring over at Xiumin. “I always root for the underdog, it’s nothing personal.”
All eyes in the room were on her. Something about her just demanded attention and judging by the fondness in everyone’s eyes who knew her, she deserved it too. Chanyeol felt like there was so much to learn about her. She was like one of those glittering book spines at the library, flashing in the light to catch your attention, willing to tell you all of her secrets if you just took the time to open her up. She clicked her tongue, blue eyes dancing over to Kai as she stuck her thumb out in Chanyeol’s direction. “This guy has a lot to learn.”
“Funny,” Kyungsoo smirked, “I was just saying the same thing.”
He checked his watch and stuck his hands down in his pockets, shuffling them around before pulling out a set of keys with a magic eight ball on the end. Nova caught them out of the air graciously, eyes zoning back in on the cute guy to her left. “Come on, Puppy, you’re riding with me.”
She drove a 2017 Nissan GT-R, custom painted, with just one sponsor sticker gleaming on the side. Just one was all it took to make Nova’s dreams come true. Or so they say. She cranked it with wink, smiling nice and big when the engine purred to life. Chanyeol’s hands tapped nervously on his knees, his eyes focused on the front, instead of on the teasing look in her eyes as she waved goodbye to the boys and pulled out of the parking garage.
“Why the galaxy paint job?” He asked, trying to ease his nerves. She was suddenly making him nervous, whether it was from being alone together or her being behind the wheel, he didn’t know.
“Do you know much about outer space, puppy?” she grinned, flicking her blinker on before sliding into the left lane of the highway. She looked so comfortable behind the wheel, left arm propped lazily on her leg as she steered, right hand smoothly switching through the gears as she accelerated. Her eyes darted over to Chanyeol just in time to see him shake his head from side to side before they fixed back on the road. “Hmm. Well my Dad is an astrophysicist, as if my name didn’t give up that little tid bit of information all on its own. He named me Nova, because of supernovas, and you can imagine how obsessed I was when I was younger.”
“Once I found out how fast a supernova explodes I became infatuated with being the fastest,” she grinned, pulling off an exit and creeping down some backroads, before flicking her headlights on and off three times.
“And just how fast does a supernova explode?” he asked, curiously watching as a huge set of double doors creaked open to reveal a raceway booming with life. She pulled past the bouncer with a nod of her head, all eyes on her car as it purred its way through the crowds of people, heading to the very back- her designated spot. “Just watch and see, Puppy.”
She opened her door, setting one foot out before the other, then used the window to pull herself up. She was met with hulls of people, an easy smile flitting across her face as she laughed and nodded to whatever they were saying. Here he noticed her smile was fake, reserved, as if she was putting on some sort of show. And as he watched her being fawned over and photographed, he knew that was exactly what she was doing. Money being passed around as they made bets for their favorite person to win, the dazzling leather clad badass reigning over her terrain.
“I see you made it in one piece,” Sehun chuckled, clapping Chanyeol on the back as he pulled his long limbs from the passenger side of the car. The rest of the crew were leaned casually against a deep red Toyota Supra. Kai’s hands were wrapped around some small brunette’s waist as he pretended to be listening to what she was mumbling into his ear. While Kyungsoo’s lips were drawn into a grimace as he gazed over the hood of Nova’s Nissan.
Chanyeol joined them, eyes darting over to see what had Kyungsoo looking so pissed off. Three guys had made their way through the spells of people doting on Nova, and judging from the tightening in her shoulders, their conversation was none too friendly. When one of the boys gripped Nova’s wrist as she turned to walk away from them Chanyeol stood, Kyungsoo’s hand pushing him back with a shake of his head. “Watch and learn, Yeol.”
In the blink of an eye the grey haired guy was lying on the asphalt, the black heel of Nova’s boot digging into his chest as she pulled his hand back. The conflux of onlookers had backed up, some of the girls holding their hands over their mouths in shock, some people rushing to catch the whole thing on film. A red-haired guy eased his way through, chuckling and shaking his head as he watched Nova pull on the guys hand a little harder, causing the guy on the ground to hiss in pain. “Let him go, kitten.”
Her eyes slowly slid over to the guy who was talking, tilting her head to the side as if she was silently asking him why she would do such a thing. He pulled a purple sucker past his lips and threw his arm around her shoulder. “Suho here meant no harm, he was just trying to stall you long enough for the two of us to have a little chat. I apologize on his behalf.”
She threw his arm down with a huff and leaned back into the red haired guy’s chest, glaring dangerously down at the gray haired boy as the other two guys helped him to his feet. “I’d learn to keep your hands to yourself if I were you. I don’t take kindly to assholes.”
“I’m sorry,” he wheezed shooting her a glare as he wiped dirt from his leather jacket.
“Baek,” she sighed, turning her attention away from the others as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “If you’re here to beg me to go easy on you, it’s not going to happen.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from my kitten,” he teased, tapping her nose with his finger, before slipping the lollipop back into his mouth. “Rumors fly fast around the track. Even faster than this little six speed you cherish so much.”
She rolled her eyes and moved away from him, shooting Suho a glare so he would take a step further away from her. Nova knew what he wanted, knew exactly what Baekhyun was going to say before he even brought it up, her eyes rolling towards the back of her head as she made her way over to her crew. She slid back onto the hood of Sehun’s car, ignoring his protests as Chanyeol snickered next to her. Her blue eyes found his brown ones, his smile faltering from the ice he could feel radiating from her gaze. “Puppy, meet Baekhyun,” she gestured lazily to the red-haired guy. “Baekhyun, meet Chanyeol.”
“Nice to meet you… puppy was it?” He smirked, Chanyeol’s distaste for him immidiate as he watched his friends walk up behind him. Baekhyun radiated bad vibes. The kind of vibes Chanyeol tended to avoid, and as he glared down at the guy he was wondering for the first time that night if he made the wrong decision in coming out with Xiumin tonight, his palms itching for a fight.
Nova reached up to snag Chanyeol’s hat off of his head, propping it daintily over her black hair as she rested her knee on top of the front bumper of the car. “Baek here is a jealous little honey bun, Puppy. He doesn’t like it when my squad gets a little bigger. He has a bit of a… Napoleon complex if you will.” Her eyes purposefully dragging down to his dick for emphasis. “Isn’t that right, Daedae?”
The guys beside her snickered, Kyungsoo openly chuckling as Baekhyun seethed. The brunette standing behind him snickered as he blushed from Nova’s nickname, his eyes avoiding Baekhyun’s as Suho elbowed him in the ribs. It was obvious that the group had some sort of history. Chanyeol just couldn’t pinpoint exactly how far it went. Baekhyun and Nova had obviously…dated? Fooled around? But why would those other guys have up and turned on Nova if they were close enough to have nicknames for one another? Then again, she had given him a nickname within moments of meeting him, so maybe he had it all wrong.
“Don’t get your boxers all up in twist Hyunnie,” Nova smirked and patted Chanyeol on the knee. “Chanyeol is actually rooting for you. He bet against me…said something about rooting for the underdog, right puppy?”
He could feel his eyes widen, darting briefly between the smug look on Nova’s face and the grimace decorating Baekhyun’s. He nodded in agreement, fists tightening even more as he looked over at Xiumin for some sort of sign that he was going to jump to his rescue anytime soon, but Xiumin was too focused on the boys standing behind Baekhyun, his own fists clenched as he grit his teeth. Someone called for a lineup, Nova giggling as she playfully kicked Chen’s leg. “Run along you four. I’ll be seeing you on the roadway.”
“They’ll open the gates on my ten count, Nova,” Kyungsoo muttered, leaning into her open window, a nervous glint in his eyes. “Watch that turn in the middle, stick to the right, you’ve got this. Baekhyun’s Skyline doesn’t have shit on this piece of art.”
“No sweat,” Nova grinned, buckling her harness in and easing her hands into position. One on the stick shift, the other on the wheel.
Sehun bumped Kyungsoo out of the way, Kai walking around her car for one last visual check before the flag girl gave her the go ahead. Chanyeol stood off to the side with Xiumin who was buzzing with energy, a zipper pouch full of money secured to his wrist as he waited for Kyungsoo to come collect the betting pool. “Trust your instincts baby and come back to us in one piece.”
He leaned all the way through the window to kiss Nova’s forehead before rubbing his thumb across her cheek fondly. Each one of the boys in her crew took their turns wishing her luck, Kai tugging on her harness to make sure it was secured correctly, before Kyungsoo tapped on the hood of her car and moved to secure his earpiece. “You good to go, Nova Leigh?”
“Good to smoke this bastard,” she giggled into the receiving end of her mic. “I’ll see your sexy ass at the finish line, Soo. Tell puppy I expect one hell of an apology.”
“Fast as a supernova out there, all right?” Kyungsoo chuckled, shooting his eyes over to Chanyeol who was blushing softly from the words that blasted from his friend’s earpiece.
Baekhyun’s solid black Skyline revved loudly, the crowd parting as he pulled into his spot to the left of Nova’s brightly colored Nissan. She smiled cutely, waving her fingers at him as he vulgarly held a V up to his lips, tongue flicking between his fingers. She sent him a kiss, revving her own engine, flames shooting from the exhaust as people cheered. They were putting on a show, feeding the audience’s thirst for theatrics as more money found its way into Xiumin’s hands. Kai pulled a pencil from behind his ear, writing more names and numbers onto the list in his bet book.
The track was filled with a hunger for the main race. This is what everyone had come here for; to watch the pretty little vixen behind the wheel of a six speed grind her opponent into a pulp. Would this be the night the princess was dethroned? Would Baekhyun be able to claim his title back after losing it to Nova Deveraux three years ago? Even the racers who had already had their turn tonight were on the edge of their seats, dying to see what fate had in store for their glittering racecar royals.
“Junbi,” the cute little brunette Kai was talking with earlier hollered, holding up a black scarf in her left hand. She smirked as the crowd’s voices hushed with anticipation. Everyone’s attention was completely on her as she wiggled her hips side to side, before motioning to her right. “Wanlyo!”
Chanyeol watched as the flag girl dropped the scarf, holding both her arms high in the air as her hair flew from the gust of wind the cars racing past her had created. Tires smoked and screeched as the two street racers let off of the brakes, feet slamming into the gas as they began their dance down the runway.
Nova’s eyes were glued forward, her foot easing onto the clutch as she pushed through the gears. The world around her slowly began to disappear, her chest pulsing with adrenaline as Kyungsoo’s appraising voice eased the panic fueled need for her to dart her eyes over to her competitor’s car to see how fast he was going. “Looking good beautiful, keep that tight ass to the right on this next turn, force his punk ass over if you’ve got to,” he breathed, voice calm as he guided her through the course.
Kai and Sehun had both tried to be her voice of reason during street races, but no one clicked with her the way Kyungsoo did. He knew exactly what she needed to hear and when she needed to hear it- and she would trust him with her life. Something he had earned after being in her life for the past ten years.
She eased off of the gas, foot pressing into the clutch as she downshifted and eased around the curb, tires screaming behind her as Baekhyun tapped his brakes to avoid hitting her or scrubbing into the guardrail. “I can hear him hollering at Yixing from here Leigh, keep it up,” Kyungsoo snickered.
The last leg of the race was all down hill. She had been playing the ride up safe, refusing to let Baekhyun slip from her sight as they slid back and forth between the paved yellow lines, taunting one another with feelings of security. If she allowed him to get too far ahead he would cut corners, sliding into first place at the very last second. The mountain was notorious for being full of shortcuts, making it truly anyone’s race. She wasn’t about to let him win that easily.
Her Nissan purred, following her every command as she went to that quiet place in her mind. She zoomed past the last flock of people cheering and shooting video to the live feed back at the track, her eyes never losing sight of the goal laid out before her. When she glanced in her rearview mirror she realized her competition’s headlights were absent, her fingers quickly finding the button on her steering wheel, “tell me you’ve got eyes on that bastard.”
“There’s no camera’s on the last stretch, beautiful. Did you lose him?” Kyungsoo reminded her, voice remaining calm, but the little lilt at the end giving away his sudden nervousness. He motioned for Sehun’s attention, Kai tilting his head curiously to catch their conversation. Chanyeol stepped forward, his heart thudding harshly at the wide-eyed look in Sehun’s eyes as they darted up to the blank screen.
“What’s going on?” Chanyeol muttered, interjecting their conversation, Kyungsoo’s death stare making him take a small step backwards. Kai’s focus was on Yixing and Suho, eyes attempting to decipher their smirks and murmurs as they stared victoriously over in their direction. Sehun quietly filled Chanyeol in on the fact that Nova had lost sight of Baekhyun, meaning he probably took a shortcut and would be in the lead soon, if not already. Kyungsoo was clenching his fists, trying to sound calm as he talked Nova through the rest of the race, but her line had gone quiet. He jerked the earpiece out of his ear, throwing it across the speedway as he let out a slew of curses, the crowd starting to mutter with rumors of how the wheels had turned.
Cheers waved through the swarm, starting off on the end closest to the gates and spreading like wildfire as people began to notice the headlights illuminating the path in front of them. Chanyeol’s heart was racing in his chest, his hand clutching at his shirt nervously as he spotted Baekhyun’s Skyline coming into view, engine loud as he shifted gears and floored it. Kyungsoo let out a war cry, Kai jumping up and down with his hands balled into Sehun’s shirt, Nova’s unmistakable galaxy paint job zooming in behind him. She took the inside lane of the curve, something that was risky considering how small it was, her back fender sparking as it made brief contact with the metal of the train cars that helped hide the raceway. She slide in front of Baekhyun slightly, Sehun hollering for her to shift at the top of his lungs, veins popping out in his neck from his excitement. You could hear when Baekhyun clicked his NOS, car jolting in front of Nova’s as Yixing cackled maniacally.
When the cars came skidding to a halt, people crowding around the car as the winner tried to force their door open to join in on the celebrations, Chanyeol understood just how badly he had fucked up. Out here, she was no princess, no she reigned supreme. The throngs of her subjects trying to just get a glimpse of her as she pushed her way gracefully over to where her friends stood cheering.
Xiumin gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze as they watched her and her crew hug, celebrating their win. “They don’t call her the Queen of the Blacktop for nothing, bro.”
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