A Nobody & a Rebel

[of Dirt]

'I'll pass, Reiner. I'd like some alone time with my friend. And stay safe. We're not in high school anymore.' Reiner read the text he received from his sister, Sakamae, as his head bobbed slightly to and fro to the less than smooth train ride through Brooklyn. It didn't feel like it, but high school was a long time, though he didn't feel that he changed all that much since then. He was unsure if that was a good or a bad thing. Watching his sister mature sometimes made him feel that he was too juvenile for his age, but he never felt that old either. In any other state in the country, most people at 23 would be living on their own and possibly even married with kids. Being in New York, he considered himself lucky to be splitting the apartment rent with two others.

'Suit yourself. And thank god; high school was lame,' Reiner texted back. He grinned to his friend, Orion, who was sitting next to him on the train.

"They all fuckin' think the cops are gonna catch us or somethin'," he said to him with a chuckle. "They have no clue. None of them have seen you drive. It's tragic."

The train ride was short and they exited to surface on the familiar Brooklyn streets that Orion lived on. It was dark, quiet, and empty, with only the street lights illuminating the streets and the sidewalks. Some houses still had lights on in them, but not many. They approached a familiar building. "This is it, right?" Reiner asked. He had only ever been to his place a handful of times. It seemed that Reiner had a perpetual case of cabin fever—he always needed to be out and doing something. The city satiated those desires consistently. There was always something new to do and always some place new to discover. He'd rather be dirt poor in the city than rich anywhere else.

He turned to look at his friend, half his face illuminated by the street light. The bad half. The make-up helped a lot, but he could still see where the damage was done from when he got punched earlier. Reiner tried not to make it look like he was looking at it.

"Think I have what it takes to be a speed demon? You should teach me how to do some of that shit," he suggested, his mind immediately travelling to the thought of all the girls that'd flock to him if he had the driving skills Orion had.

 

[LuckycoolHawk9]

I'll pass, Reiner. I'd like some alone time with my friend. And stay safe. We're not in high school anymore.' Reiner read the text he received from his sister, Sakamae, as his head bobbed slightly to and fro to the less than smooth train ride through Brooklyn. It didn't feel like it, but high school was a long time, though he didn't feel that he changed all that much since then. He was unsure if that was a good or a bad thing. Watching his sister mature sometimes made him feel that he was too juvenile for his age, but he never felt that old either. In any other state in the country, most people at 23 would be living on their own and possibly even married with kids. Being in New York, he considered himself lucky to be splitting the apartment rent with two others.

'Suit yourself. And thank god; high school was lame,' Reiner texted back. He grinned to his friend, Orion, who was sitting next to him on the train.

"They all fuckin' think the cops are gonna catch us or somethin'," he said to him with a chuckle. "They have no clue. None of them have seen you drive. It's tragic."

The train ride was short and they exited to surface on the familiar Brooklyn streets that Orion lived on. It was dark, quiet, and empty, with only the street lights illuminating the streets and the sidewalks. Some houses still had lights on in them, but not many. They approached a familiar building. "This is it, right?" Reiner asked. He had only ever been to his place a handful of times. It seemed that Reiner had a perpetual case of cabin fever—he always needed to be out and doing something. The city satiated those desires consistently. There was always something new to do and always some place new to discover. He'd rather be dirt poor in the city than rich anywhere else.

He turned to look at his friend, half his face illuminated by the street light. The bad half. The make-up helped a lot, but he could still see where the damage was done from when he got punched earlier. Reiner tried not to make it look like he was looking at it.

"Think I have what it takes to be a speed demon? You should teach me how to do some of that shit," he suggested, his mind immediately travelling to the thought of all the girls that'd flock to him if he had the driving skills Orion had.

Orion fiddled with his own phone while they were on the train. He was greatful that this was the train that ran above ground and he could access his phone's sub-par 4G service. He used to look over at his facebook. There was the usual political talks from his uncle, the occasional old message from some high school friend that he had forgotten about, some old photos and other things that would relate to the facebook. He pulled up his brother's page and he looked to see if there was anything on it. It hadn't been updated since he had gone missing and it had remained the same. It was a fool's dream, but he was hoping for once. He was happy that he was here with Reiner. They often brought out the best in each other and that made things so much better at the end of the day. He wondered if he looked bad.

Orion grinned back, switching his phone to some Subway Surfers. He may have been slightly addicted to the game since he had installed it on his phone. He looked up.

"They all fuckin' think the cops are gonna catch us or somethin'," he said to him with a chuckle. "They have no clue. None of them have seen you drive. It's tragic."

Orion remembered that nobody had seen him drive beside Reiner. Nobody had any faith in him and that was something he had never understand. " Yeah, it's tragic for them."

Orion had always lived close to one of the many high schools, but in particular the one near Shore Road. It was one of the best places to do his insane tricks without getting caught. He had done it so many times that it was practically second nature to the man and he looked up when he saw the place. " Yup, it's home. Right by the first high school I went to. The place was a bit of a crazy hierarchy and the geniuses had mostly their own special places. It was totally biased, but no school is perfect in the slightest. Good old Fort," he replied to him as he looked up. He hadn't even noticed that he had been standing in the street lights until he felt a bit of pain on his face. God, it still burned.

He wondered if Reiner was looking at it and he hoped that it would get better. He should have gone to a hospital, but he was stubborn as fuck and hated hospitals beyond imagination. " The make up didn't do much?" He asked Reiner quite seriously.

Orion chuckle a bit as his friend didn't answer his question. " Sorry, it's my trade tricks and well, I wouldn't be so unique if I taught you. Besides last time I tried to teach a guy, it ended with some broken bones. Not going through that again."

@of Dirt

 

[of Dirt]

"The makeup didn't do much?" Orion asked, likely having noticed that Reiner had been looking at the wound, if only briefly.

"Oh, no. It's fine dude, don't worry about it," Reiner answered quickly, instantly regretting showing any sign of noticing the wound. He was being honest, nonetheless. He simply had the disadvantage of already knowing that it was there and where to look. A stranger wouldn't have noticed, especially in the dark.

He smirked and chuckled with regards to his friend's unwillingness to teach him his ways, both to retain his style and for Reiner's own safety. Though he didn't entirely expect his friend to agree to teach him, he was still just a little disappointed, even if it was for the best. Such skills certainly were better off out of Reiner's hands. He is already too flamboyant about the things he is good at as it is.

"Broken bones, huh?" Reiner echoed, his hand involuntarily going to scratch one of his lower ribs for a moment. He had broken one of those before, when a judo match had gotten more heated than usual. Though it wasn't a pleasant experience, he'd be lying if he said it had concerned him. Pain was often the price paid for any significant advancement in some kind of skill, but he understood his friend's desire to not lose the special qualities that brought him to where he is. "Okay, man. I'll let you get away with it this time. I'll remember that when I'm mass producing my beer and you wanna learn how to make your own," he replied in jest and with a big grin.

"So where's your ride? I'm itching to make some noise."

 

[LuckycoolHawk9]

" Well, as long as it doesn't mess up my face too much, I am sure that I can live with it. Black eyes heal over time, I can't say about the scar or two I got messing up a trick," he said. He had gotten one scar on his chest and another one of his legs. He was lucky that he hadn't broken anything on easy of those times too.

Orion was dead serious about him not getting involved in this. It was one thing to be a passenger in this race and another to be a driver in a race and his tricks were not exactly legal by any means. Actually, he was certain that it broke about seven plus laws in that states. He was also not going to let Reiner do something even stupider than he had already done. It was not a good idea in the slightest.

Orion was one of the lucky ones when it came to broken bones in his body. He hadn't broken any in his lifetime, not in a race, not in a fight. He had a pretty good track record for getting out of these scraps unharmed. It couldn't be the same about his opponents. There was the guy who had broken his whole left arm, the one who had been paralyzed from the legs down, the one who had crushed his skull, the one who had broken every bone and lived in a bubble and then last but not least, the one who had broken his lungs. It was one thing to race for fun, but what Orion did was something a little more dangerous. What he showed Reiner were only simple parlor tricks.

" Three down, the bright red convertible, it' s hard to miss."

@of Dirt

 

[of Dirt]

"Oh, on the street," Reiner replied as he spotted the car down the block, surprised. Given how much value Orion put on his vehicle, he half-expected it to be parked in a garage or in a driveway, at least. Either way, hard to miss it was. Red cars always steal the show, even when they're not being driven by somebody with the skill to drive it at its full potential. Cops like to chase red cars, he thought as he recalled a random conversation he had with an old friend years ago. Drivers of red cars are more likely to get pulled over. Reiner listened for the click of the car being unlocked before he pulled the door handle and sat in the passenger seat. Red is perceived as being dangerous.

He pulled his iPhone out of his pocket and connected to the car's stereo via Bluetooth. "What do we want to shred the streets to?" he mumbled as he sifted through his music library. Much of it was reminiscent of the angst and defiance of his teenage years. Those thoughts and feelings still lurked in him, perpetuated by the struggle that was always present in living in the city. Though he had always been confident that he'd make it, there was never a concrete plan or reason behind it. He rolled the dice and looked away. His confidence was enveloped in chaos and he sort of wanted it that way. It was more exciting.

'Bloodstains' by Agent Orange blared through the speakers as he bit his lip and narrowed his eyes, anticipating the rush of adrenaline.

 

[LuckycoolHawk9]

Orion nodded. He had used to keep his car in the garage, but after a while, he realized that people were stupid. Bright red cars were often seen as easy bait and he knew that nobody would target it, especially when it was the only one on the block. He had picked red to match the blood and sweat he would often put into his rides, the amount of tears he would cry to make it perfect. The other thing that made his red car so perfect was that the cops would be chasing it. Everybody who drove a red car was pulled over by the cops, so none of them could remember the real driver of danger from an amateur. He bit down on his bottom lips and looked over at him. He was silent for that moment.

Orion was fine with the fact that his friend was connecting the stereo to his Bluetooth. It was up there with his favorite things about the man. He paused and shrugged. He had never been good at picking songs and would rather let Reiner do it to make his life much easier. He took a deep breath and he turned the key in the ignition. It was time to break about seven laws in one night. He didn't care though. He just need to rush through the streets and released his anger. It was a lot more productive than punching the ground or screaming, it actually felt great. The wind in your face, the beauty of going over 80 miles per hour.

Orion slammed on the pedal as he rushed it. Before he could take a breath, they were driving along the long Narrows strip, the one that passed everything.

@of Dirt