I apologize for the late chapter. I am SO sorry. I will try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can.

I will also warn you that I do not have a license, and thus I have no idea about driving or racing... (Yes, I am 24 and don't have a license... stop looking at me like that...) I'm sorry if it sucks, and please, if anyone has any info about racing they want to share, please leave a review or send me a PM.

Thanks. :)

What A Drag

Chapter 3 – Welcome to the Jungle

The roar of the engines and the way the smiling flagger began to untie her red and black checkered scarf made him all but roll his eyes at the scene. It was damned cliché, but it was a lot more appealing to use a hot chick in tiny shorts than a muscled, tattooed guy in baggy jeans waving a dirty bandana of questionable origin.

The girl raised her arms, a cheeky smile in place on her full painted lips as she watched both the drivers before the crowd started to count down.

"Five!"

Kevin grinned and grabbed the wheel, gripping it tightly. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath and placed his hand onto the gearstick. Breathing out slowly he listened to the sound of his heart speeding up, blood pounding unrelentingly inside his veins.

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

Opening his eyes he stared right ahead and put the car into gear, every muscle in his body tensing at the awaiting leap.

"Go!"

As the makeshift flag moved downward he let go of the break an almost instantly the car shot forward. He sped down the deserted road, not bothering to check in the rear view mirror as he went from seventy to ninety-five, knowing that Morningstar was probably hot on his heels.

The scenery flashed by outside the window until it all melted together into a visage of brown and blue shades as the different lines in between sand, mountains and sky were blurred.

Even though racing was nothing new to Kevin, it felt weird to race in the middle of the day. Everything seemed so surreal without the comforting blanket of the night to make it into a different world. A world where the rules were different and the stakes much higher.

In the harsh desert sunlight, that world seemed so far away it was laughable, but Kevin knew it was all too real.

One mistake could cost your life, and although he liked to think of himself as one of the best, he was no exception to the rule.

As Kevin noted they were coming close to the end of the road, he prepared for his next move.

Flooring it he flew forward, and just as the road was about to end, asphalt meeting sand, he grabbed the parking break and pulled it up harshly as he turned the steering wheel, making the tires screech in protest.

As the car turned, Kevin watched as Morningstar's red car came straight towards him. The body of the green Camaro turned just in time as the Toyota flew past him, missing the polished metal with scarcely three inches.

Throwing Morningstar a smug grin and a mock salute, he released the parking break and shifted gears and sped off.

Zooming down the straight road, Kevin could see the red car struggling to turn around, and he laughed out loud at Morningstar's lack of real skill. It wasn't the first time he'd beat the stuck up bastard, and he doubted it would be the last.

After all, he wasn't smart enough to realize that Kevin was on a whole other level than him, but as long as it meant easy money for Kevin, he'd tolerate him occasionally.

The rest of the race was unsurprisingly anti-climatic. He got back well before Morningstar, and he had enough time to get out of his car, leaning against the door as the other car pulled up next to him.

The man was red-faced as he threw open the door and slammed it shut with a loud bang as he got out of the car. "Fuck!" He shouted, glaring daggers at Kevin.

"Told you that you and your fancy-ass car got nothing against me." Kevin said smugly, watching as his opponent's face grew redder.

"Shut up, Levin!" He spat. "I'm demanding a new race! My car obviously needs fixing."

Kevin just rolled his eyes at the blonds words. "You should take a couple of driving lessons first, too. But sure. I'll beat you any time, any where." He said confidently.

"Hey, can we split now?" Alan asked, knocking onto the hood on the car, making Kevin turn around to glare at him. Giving the older boy a silly smile he continued. "Here's your money." He said, tossing a rolled up was of money at Kevin who caught it easily.

"Thanks. Pleasure doing business with you, Morningstar. But how about you just hand me the cash directly next time, saving yourself some embarrassment?"

"Laugh all you want, Levin, but I will beat you next time!" Morningstar growled before he got into his car. He fired up the engine and sped away, the wheels spitting gravel.

Kevin scoffed at the blonds threat and turned to Alan once more. "Let's go. You were in a hurry for something?"

Alan nodded and opened the passenger door. "Yeah, I have to buy a new shirt for my date this weekend, you know?" He smiled as he sat down into the comfortable passenger seat.

"You're going shopping? Again? Aw, man!" Kevin groaned, his whole body slumping forward so he was leaning fully onto the car, his head thumping heavily onto the roof. "I'm not following you inside, I'm waiting in the car!"

"Fine, fine! Just get into the car and stop acting like a child!" Alan said, sighing.

Grumbling Kevin got into the car and threw Alan a nasty sideways glance.

Alan could only yelp in response and scramble for the seatbelt as Kevin sped off.

xXxOoOxXx

After being forcibly seated in the back seat of his uncles car, Ben glared daggers at the back of his cousins head, wishing she would come up with the worst neck cramp known to man.

How the hell had he ended up here? Clad in a skirt and high heeled boots, he felt like it was some surreal dream.

Being forced to wear girl clothes was one thing, but having your uncle walk in on you while you are dressed up as a girl was another. He had never felt so humiliated in his life as when uncle Frank had walked into Gwen's room earlier that day.

Hopefully his dad would never hear about it, but with the way things had been going lately, karma would undoubtedly be a bitch.

From the rear view-mirror, Frank saw the way his nephew was glaring at Gwen, but not wanting to get into the middle of something again, he tried to ignore the burning glare and kept his eyes on the road.

This whole mess was their business, and he was not getting involved unless it was strictly necessary.

When the large mall finally came into sight, he all but sighed in relief. Driving down the lot towards the entrance he could feel the tension in the car rising steadily, and he could all but see the panic on Ben's face through the rear view mirror.

Stopping the car, he turned to Gwen and gave her a knowing look. "Okay, then. Call me when you guys want me to pick you up. And be nice."

Rolling her eyes Gwen leaned across the divider in between the seats and gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks. I'll see you later." She said before getting out of the car, taking a deep breath of fresh air, enjoying the feeling of sunshine on her face.

Swallowing heavily Ben silently opened the door and stepped out onto the pavement in front of the entrance, the glass and steel structure looming over him menacingly. The tall, eight story monstrosity chilled Ben to the bone, and every fiber of his body screamed in protest as Gwen grabbed a hold of his arm and began to drag him towards his doom.

"Come on, Jen, or we'll miss all the people!" Gwen said gleefully as Ben's stomach dropped towards his knees, dread and despair slowly filling him as the automatic door opened to welcome them into the devil's den.

"I'm not good with big stores like this." Ben said anxiously as he grabbed Gwen's arm, holding it like a security blanket closely to his body.

Gwen chuckled and patted his hand patiently. "Relax, it's not like you're on your way to your execution. It's just shopping."

Ben scrunched his nose at Gwen's words. To him, those two were about the same amount of fun, although the whole execution business seemed may be less painful.

The inside of the mall was bright, the ceiling was open all the way up to the eighth floor, and Ben could see people milling about on the different levels, crowding outside the stores, sitting at the different small café's and coffee shops. They were everywhere, and Ben could feel the stare of each and every one of them.

As they walked he noticed that his cousin was receiving a fair deal of looks from the boys around. Taking a deep breath, he thanked his lucky star they weren't looking at him as he followed Gwen deeper into the complex.

Passing a couple of stores, Ben's expectations for the kind of clothes Gwen had in mind sank lower and lower. Feeling eyes staring at him, he looked over hos shoulder and saw two girls whispering to one another. Blood flushed to his cheeks as he quickly looked back to Gwen.

"Gwen! I think they know!" He whispered to her, panic seeping into his voice.

"What are you talking about" She asked, looking up from the rack of tops she was looking at.

"People are staring and whispering about me!"

Looking over Ben's shoulder, Gwen sighed. "Ben, of course they're whispering. They're girls! It's probably about your clothes, or your hair, or something equally juvenile like that. And if you find any boys staring at you, it's just because they think you're cute." She stated before turning back to the clothes in front of her, resolutely ignoring her cousin's spluttering outrage.

"Cu... cute? I'm not cute! I look ridiculous!" Ben hissed, his face glowing a deep red.

Three hours and a lot of dollars later, Ben was about to go bananas. His feet ached like he had been walking on nails, running a marathon, and walking on his toes all day rolled into one. He was extremely bored and wanted nothing more than to go home and get something to eat and burn the boots he was wearing.

He had no idea how much stuff Gwen had made him put on, model and chose what he liked, even though Gwen, eight times out of ten, chose the girlier stuff despite what he said, much do Ben's despair.

"I think we're about done now... I'll just go to the bathroom and then call dad to pick us up." Gwen said as she handed Ben the few bags she was carrying, making Ben struggle to carry the whole load himself. "You can go outside and wait, and I'll be right there."

Glaring at her retreating form, Ben tightened his hold of the bags as he stalked out of the mall, trying not to let the stares get to him. Exiting the building, Ben quickly scanned the area and soon found himself a seat at a slightly worse for wear bench. He sighed in relief as he sank down onto the wooden bench as he could finally take the weight off of his feet.

He was debating whether or not he should take off the shoes and rub his feet when two boys walked up to him.

"Hi." The one on the left said, his short black hair shining in the sunlight, making Ben squint. "I'm Cash."

"I'm J.D.." The other, chubby boy said eagerly.

"I'm not interested. Go away." Ben said, leaning back on the bench, crossing his legs like he had seen Gwen do it.

"Now, don't be like that." The dark haired boy, Cash, said and sat down next to Ben, placing his arm casually on the backrest of the bench.

J.D. followed his friends lead and sat down on the other side. "Yeah, we're all friends here."

Ben felt a crawling sensation moving up his spine as 'Prince Charming' and 'Goon 1' sat down. ''Is this how girls feel when some creep tries to pick them up?' He thought to himself. "I seriously doubt that since this is our first meeting and all. Can you please leave? I'm waiting for someone." He said, hoping they would leave him alone.

"I'm sure you'll feel better once you've had something to drink. How about having a soda with us?" Cash asked, placing a hand on Ben's knee.

Ben felt ready to scream in disgust, then throw up as he felt the clammy hand on his skin. "No. I want you to leave me alone!" Ben tried again. "I'm waiting on someone!"

"Yeah? Who?" Cash asked, grinning crookedly.

"Me." A voice said as a shadow was cast over them. Ben looked up and saw a tall, muscled man glaring at them. Cash's sick smile all but instantly melted from his face.

"K-Kevin!" The boys cried out in surprise.

"I believe she said she wanted you two creeps to leave." He said and cracked his knuckles, eyes narrowing menacingly.

Cash cleared his throat and hastily moved his hand off of Ben's knee. "Well, I guess it's time I got back to my own business. I'll see you around." He said before scampering off, his friend hurrying after him.

"I'd rather not!" Ben muttered to himself as he tried to use the hem of the skirt to rub away the feel of the creep's hand on his leg.

"Are you okay?" The newcomer asked, watching Ben's movements with a raised eyebrow.

"Wha? Oh, yeah. Thanks." Ben said, smiling up at Kevin.

Taking a step back, Kevin let Ben stand up. Frowning, Ben noticed how tall the other man was, even with Gwen's boots he only reached up to Kevin's chin. Without them he would probably only reach up to his shoulder. Ben sighed as the illogical feeling of inferiority spread through him.

Damn bastard for being taller than him...

"No problem. I'm Kevin Levin. And you are?" Kevin asked, cocking his head slightly to the left.

"Oh, I'm..."

"Jen!" Gwen called as she ran towards Ben and Kevin. When she reached them, she glared at Kevin. "What do you want with my cousin?" She demanded, standing in front of Ben as if to protect him against the evil wickedness that was Kevin.

"Yeah, thanks. Real classy. Like I'd do anything to a girl. You know what? You're a stuck up, prissy little bitch. Go make accusations somewhere else!" He growled before taking a step back. "I don't need shit like this. I haven't done anything!" He sneered before turning away and walking away.

"Kevin!" Ben called out, making the boy stop for a second. "I'm sorry, and thanks!"

Kevin simply continued walking, but he raised his right hand and gave a small wave of acknowledgment.

After Kevin left Ben turned around to Gwen, fuming. "What the hell is your problem? He saved me from those creeps."

"What creeps? And Kevin is bad news." Gwen said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Some assholes were creeping me out and he chased them off." Ben said, glaring.

Gwen had the presence to at least look sheepish, but she quickly regained her composure and raised her chin defiantly. "Well... that's good and all, but that guy is trouble! He has a record, Ben. A record!"

Ben deflated somewhat, but decided to stand his ground. "Well, lots of people do, Gwen! And doesn't grandpa Max always say that you shouldn't judge a character on what they have done, but on what they will do? If you do, then he's a much better guy than you give him credit for!" Ben said, sitting down on the bench with a low growl.

Gwen sighed and took a seat beside Ben. "You're right. I'll tell Kevin I'm sorry the next time I see him."

Ben gave her a sideways glance before nodding. They sat in silence as they waited for their ride to come, the afternoon sun hot on their faces, but Ben couldn't help to think about how lonely Kevin had seemed as he had walked away.

'Next time...' He thought to himself as he looked down the parking lot in the direction Kevin had disappeared. 'Will there even be a next time?'

xXxOoOxXx

Kevin tapped his fingers against the steering wheel impatiently. Alan was taking forever and he was irritated as hell.

What the heck had made him getting involved?

Suppressing the urge to repeatedly slam his head against the ring of rubber, he gritted his teeth.

Well, at least he got to scare the shit out of Cash and J.D., but being chewed out by the prissy bitch was a downright dealbreaker... Thinking back on the whole ordeal made him grimace. At least the girl he'd helped seemed a whole lot better than her cousin, at least so far.

And she was kinda cute, in an oblivious way. Her short brown hair slightly messed up, hand he grinned at the memory of her trying to wipe away the sweaty handprint Cash no doubt left behind.

Hadn't she realized how much of her legs she had been showing? As she had pulled at her skirt, the sides of it had gotten pulled up, clearly showing her upper thighs.

Groaning he shook his head and tried to force away the pictures that began to flood his mind. "Alan's right... I need a girl." He said as his forehead collided with the steering wheel with a muted thud.

Closing his eyes Kevin breathed deeply, trying to empty his mind, but a stubborn picture of wide green eyes made it impossible.

Suddenly the door was yanked open and the car rocked minutely as Alan flung himself into the passenger seat. "Okay! I'm good to go. I got this awesome shirt, it's like red with these thin white stripes and the collar and cuffs are..." Alan's exited tirade faltered as he saw Kevin's lethargic form. "Hey, man... you okay?"

"No. I met the Queen of Bitch again. And I hadn't even done anything! And she just jumps at my throat." Kevin growled, throwing an acid glare towards the mall.

Alan grimaced. "Ouch... well, little miss Perfect might have a thing for you. Wouldn't be the first girl trying to play hard to get." He said, laughing.

Leaning back into the seat, Kevin made a gagging sound. "Please, don't even joke about that!"

"Fine, fine. Oh, hey, my shirt. Yeah, the collar and the cuffs are white, just like the stripes, and it's gonna look awesome at the party. Just you wait." Alan said, exited once more as he thought about his date.

Mustering a small smile Kevin turned the ignition. "Hey, you know if that Tanya girl has a friend?"

"Her name is Tasha, Kevin!" Alan said pouting, before a wide smile spread onto his face. "And sure. My girl know a lot of hot ladies. You need a hook-up?"

"No!" Kevin scoffed. "I can get them myself, I was just wondering if she'd like to invite some friends for the party."

"Fine. I'll ask her." Alan said. "I knew you'd change your mind."

This time Alan was prepared when Kevin sped off, seatbelt already buckled safely.