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I. I bet you'd wish that you ain't played me now (played me now, played me now)
Chicken fight with extra pepper in a pool is how Hunter calls to the occasional extra bet of Friday night on the outskirts that everyone seemed to expect as an interlude before the last race.
Not only high-speed racing attracted the usual viewers to this area, tonight many college kids had come to bet for the classic "Fitz vs. Simmons"'s race that infected the social media because of Daisy.
And they can break his nose again, but Hunter always was the first to defend Jemma Simmons's value when prats with more alcohol in their veins than ever found that one of the "Fitz vs Simmons"'s pilots was a girl and demand their money back because all that shit of weak gender still present in the fucking digital era.
For Hunter, Jemma had earned the right to run: she had balls just as big as his ex-girlfriend Bobbi Morse, drove the gearshift with better reflections than many bastards he knows, and she was able to alert any damage by just hearing the purr of an engine...
Of course not from her own engine, she had a red Hellcat, of all things.
The woman was pure English gold.
Faced with the very Scottish devil.
"Okay, last seconds. Make your bets people!" Hunter shouted when both cars started the last lap.
It was turning out to be a great night: five dollars per person and the banisters were full, another twenty for each runner plus the bets that Hunter was getting at this point.... Tonight the Hub was on fire! at this rate, he could invite his gang to lunch tomorrow. Everyone deserved it. This was almost legal now anyway.
Along with his partner, Hunter had implemented this new structure around the track that provided more security for the people and no more overturned cars. Also, now they had birds around the place that alerted them about the police's presence to escape, they had started offering loans to regular drivers for damages' repairs caused in races -which again, now almost never happened- and finally, thanks to Dasiy they had this new camera working on to clarify the results and avoid fists ... so yes, Hunter definitely deserved a fancy lunch tomorrow. Maybe even he would invite a blonde to tease Bobbi and ...
Oh shit! The Leo-fucking-Fitz's blue GT was ahead at the end of the road. Hunter cursed the bad light and forced his eyes to look despite being completely sure that Simmons's Hellcat was not even close.
“Crap!” Hunter looked around “Trip! Give me those damn things to watch closer!”
"You mean binoculars?"
“Trip!”
His friend threw him the binoculars at the moment that Hunter finished the money's mental calculations.
Tonight the stakes were full in favor of Leo Fitz.
And Simmons never lost on Fridays that she competed.
And damn, if she loses tonight, it would cost to Hunter a high amount of money.
Less than two-mile to the finish line, Hunter sawed - thanks at the thing on his eyes- Simmons's car appear right behind Fitz's car but immediately the Ford increased speed, turn to the right, and cover the Hellcat's vision again.
"That rascal is blocking Jemma!" Tripp hit Hunter's back.
The crowd went crazy.
"Daisy, have the camera ready!" Hunter said frantically.
Last seconds and Fitz wasn't letting Simmons open her way by the left.
Three.
Neither by the right.
Two.
One.
Honk!
Fitz's Ford won the race.
Hunter could begin to forget his six-course lunch. Immediately he and Trip were surrounded by college boys reclaiming their bets while the cars were being surrounded by the crowd.
Oh hell, this would end bad.
:-:-:-:-:
Leo Fitz was already out of the car, his short hair tousled. He rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows and raised his fist in the air with all the arrogance of a winner. A genuine big smile crossed his face.
He fists bump with friends and received a hug from a lass on miniskirt that Fitz had never seen before. A couple of people took selfies with him until Daisy shows up, her cell phone already on the air, overflowing with joy and facts about online's comments that he was receiving...
None of them was letting Fitz make his way to where he really wanted to go.
He had ended the winning streak of the Hellcat's driver and could not wait to see her face.
:-:-:-:-:
Jemma Simmons did not want to leave her car's interior.
Seldom did she really want to leave it, but this time the reason was different. Her heart was not beating fast with adrenaline or her hands were sweating cold with fear, no. It wasn't because of the emotion, it was because of the anger.
Fitz had acted dirty from the moment she had approached the Hub track, looking at her mockingly from where he was with his own group of friends, waving a beer towards her and chatting happier than usual, only to enrage her.
This afternoon during classes at Shield University, she had not been very kind to him when the professor put them together for the Chemistry lab, but it's that Fitz hardly spoke to her during the process and when he did, he only opened his mouth to growl instructions that she already knew! And Jemma considered herself a good lab partner but working with Fitz was impossible! So they had spent the rest of the hour on their own table's side and then, she was gone before he could growl goodbye.
How, on earth, Jemma could be nice to someone so ..cocky? Besides, it was not her fault to have beaten him by three points in their physics exam, winning the summer internship with Professor Hall. He had been annoyed since then, she knew that because he hadn't stopped looking at her -more than usual-, every time they met their common group of friends, with intense fury in his eyes. Jemma had been beating Fitz on exams for years, he should know at this point, that he really should study more.
So yeah, despite all the accumulated history between them, this afternoon, in particular, Fitz had been the worst, and so determined to play dirty.
From the moment they had both been in their respective cars lined up at the starting point, he had played at revving his engine. Then, when Bobbi had waved the starting flags, he accelerated enough to get to her side, without the slightest distance between their cars and for at least three laps she had tried to pull away and focus on the road but she was more focused in not throwing him out of the way, straight to the rocks! And finally, after the last curve, he had gotten up enough speed to get in front of her and then, abruptly slowed down, over and over again, blocking her line of sight.
And this was not about the money!
This was about basic rules that any street racer respects inside the Hub. One driver never deliberately covers the opponent's path and then burns down speed! Because besides being sick, it was extremely dangerous!
She could have cracked her car against Fitz's Ford with him inside!
"That's the idea," said a voice like Bobbi inside her head, and Jemma sighed in frustration. Her friend Bobbi Morse, had never understood why Jemma didn't want to deliberately destroy Fitz's car if she had no problem doing it with Bashki's car. And tell the truth, Jemma didn't understand it either, but damn it! She would possibly have no problem to do it in the future if Fitz blocked her path again!
This could have ended in a big accident!
And of course, nobody in the Hub would understand.
Hunter would undoubtedly support Fitz and Trip would shrug his shoulders trying to not get any side. Someone would tell her that this is just a street race between two cars, with no real rules but still, that was what made her sick about Leo Fitz: He always managed to make his way out of any trouble.
Dancing like the devil himself.
Dancing to give three-strokes on her window with his keys, right now.
For a thought, Jemma was tempted to not get out of her car but this would definitely have to come out of her system now or she would have even more reason to hate him later.
Majestically, she slipped out of her car, with her ripped jeans indecently tight on her legs and shirt with sagging shoulders.
Seeing her, Fitz wondered -no for the first time, if this was a thing of rich girl to do: dressing like if her clothes were not worth the obscene amounts of money that it costed.
"Finally!" Fitz said out loud once Jemma got out of her car. "Before you people, the princess who has been defeated!"
"Well there is always a first time for everything, Leo Fitz and by that, I mean you finally learned where an accelerator is."
The crowd howled at the low blow.
"You only say that because I beat you but guess what? I've learned from my mistake."
"And which one is it?" Jemma crossed her arms, pretending to look at her nails.
"That I won't let you beat me, ever again."
"Please Fitz if this is for the exam-"
"No princess, is not for that-"
"So are you acting like an idiot because you just are one?"
"No, because I just think you need a little humility. Tell me, how it felt to see the back of my car, throughout the race?"
"Fitz you were cheating and you know it!"
Bobbi got closer to them, like a depredator observing the exchange.
"In the real world," Fitz said mockery "the only cheats are those with a gold crown-."
"I was not the one who cheated!"
"So I'm the cheater? Are you saying that In front of all the witnesses who surely live streaming my victory? How daring have you become."
Out of the corner of her eye, Jemma saw the small crowd surrounded them and the beautiful skinned Fitz friend Daisy -who always wears a hat over her short hair- pointing at them with her phone.
Jemma took a deep breath, leaning back against her car and said, "I don't care what you say Fitz, just never play stupidly with me again."
"And why? I'm sure you're dying to play."
She chose to ignore all the implications of that.
“Not if you are coming forward in curves and then immediately reducing to 90km. It's stupid, Fitz!”
"Oh well, because it's not stupid at all when you do that!"
"I've never done such a thing! Unlike you, I value my life” Jemma threw with all the venom she could gather in her voice.
The change in Fitz was instantaneous, his blue eyes narrowed, his ears flushed and he had to change his weight. It was that or making a fool of himself starting to stutter, in front of everyone. And he had promised himself that she would never knows what the hell she was talking about.
"Of-of course," he said after a while, long enough to stabilize but not long enough to make her believe she won "bec-because a pampered princess like you away from her gold spoons competing at 200KM with Daddy's car clearly values her life.”
"Stop calling me that," she growled.
"Not until you realize this is not your world."
"And again, that's none of your business."
Fitz opened his mouth to answer but Simmons cut him off.
"Just don't get in my way again ok? or do you want to destroy another crap car?"
He heard the crowd howl and laugh at the same time that Bobbi sent a warning to Jemma, but no one was stopping him. He moved to the challenge, blinded by whatever it was causing him to lose his control in front of the little princess for the third time this day. He moved quickly, close to her as he could, cornering her against her car.
He saw her open her eyes and gasp- oh god, the sound that Jemma made was....
"Fitz!" He heard Daisy's yell and felt someone grabbing him by the back of his shirt and then, he was pushed away from Simmons.
"What the fuck are you doing, mate?" Hunter, always the faithful Hunter, stood in front of his line of vision and he shouts. "What is wrong with you? The race is over and both of you will have your pay as always, calm the fuck down and get your shit away from her."
Fitz reacted, feeling Hunter's words as a cold bucket "I wasn't trying to hurt her, Hunter"
"I take your word mate, but the whole thing? It looked very intense and I don't want any reason for the High Trash children to start a fight to defend her, ok? it would end very badly for them."
Fitz twisted a smile accepting the change conversation, breathing away his inner shit before responding "I don't know why you're still accepting rich kids, they are barely interested enough to bring cash or run for it"
"What can I say? The Hub is hot sand and when one of them runs, it's like taking candy from a child" Hunter hit the back of his neck, looking at him in the eyes "Now just take a moment apart from Simmons before the end, okay? The public is used to see you two hate each other in the race, but not to see that rivalry gets out of cars like some of us. Don't ruin the business for me."
Then his friend turned to the crowd and shouted:
"In five minutes the last race begins! Garcia, Rogers, Widow, and Barnes. Make your bets, people!”
Fitz turned the keys over his index finger and looked at Jemma, who was still leaning against her car, right where he left her but now, she was holding a conversation with Trip and Bobbi.
Something that Trip said made both girls laugh, causing on Fitz the same absurd feeling of facing Jemma with strength.
Breathing through the nose, he watched the crowd began to dissipate and then, he tried to do something well before calling the night.
"I'll allow you a five-second advantage next time, Princess!" he yelled to her.
As always, the undefeated devil.
“Fuck me!” She shouts back and then froze, mentally cursing herself for mixing Fuck you and Fight me.
And then, the silence follows the impact. The stillness.
The open mouths of Bobbie, Trip and Daisy, and some laughter from the crowd.
The devil of course is always the first in react and get something out of a situation so, immediately after convinces his brain that, those words were said from Simmons's mouth, Fitz thought "why not?" And gave big steps toward his rival, catching her, lifted up from her legs, propped her weight on his hips, and kissed her against the car. Hard. With eyes closed. Like a fucking gentleman.