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Description
An electric blue 1958 Plymouth Fury shot down the road, weaving through vehicle after vehicle with an unrivalled prowess. Looking out of the window, Aaron watched the world rush past in a blur, the midnight sky mingling with the neon lights of the Downtown District. His gaze turned to his left.

As he suspected, Gabriella wasn't looking at him. She was far too concentrated on the road – one false move and they would both be careening into the most manic traffic ever seen, their broken bodies separated and splayed out on the tarmac like some gruesome display. Aaron winced at the thought.

His eyes remained transfixed on Gabriella. His career was starting to seep into his everyday perceptions of people. He analysed every inch of her, all the while asking 'why'. Why that leather jacket, that unruly hair, that permanent scowl? However, there were some aspects of her that needed no questioning: the long slit that ran along her right cheek was something he had witnessed happen, something he knew all about.

I bet she kisses it at night, Aaron thought. His nose wrinkled.

An insistent beeping noise coming from the car's dashboard caught Aaron's attention. Glancing over at the pale sea-green screen, he saw the words 'Commissioner Orozco' in bold black lettering. Aaron went to touch the 'accept call' button, but was stopped by Gabriella.

“Don't touch it.” She barked, her usual husky tone dropping even lower, almost to a growl.

Aaron did as he was told. The noise continued, its rhythm becoming engraved in Aaron's mind. Whilst it grated on his nerves, it also distracted him from many things. But the relief only lasted for a few seconds.

There was no mistaking the loud, sudden sound he had heard earlier: something was broken.

“That better not have been the God damn suspension spring.” Gabriella groaned as she kneeled down to check under the car.

Aaron stood by, watching her as she crawled beneath the Plymouth Fury. Its immaculate paintwork had been scarred by the chase it had been involved in just over an hour ago. One of the rear view mirrors had been torn off and there were deep dents bruising the surface of the vehicle. Luckily, its internal dashboard display was still intact.

“Is it repairable?” Asked Aaron as Gabriella emerged from below the car.
“Fuck knows.” She replied, wiping her greasy hands on her vest. “Those dents are gonna be a bitch and I have no idea if we have any suspension springs available.”

For a moment, Aaron's gaze flickered onto the mesh of bandages covering Gabriella's cheek. Newer ones covered old, blood-stained ones and a smile tugged at Aaron's lips, though he didn't give in to its persistence.

She doesn't look after her as well as I thought.

“I'm gonna go check with Ivan. Don't blow yourself up whilst I'm gone.”

As soon as Gabriella left, Aaron snooped around. He had been in her car before. Hell, he'd just been the passenger in a car chase inside the thing. But he had never been brave or sneaky enough to check out the real secrets the Fury held. He sifted through the glove compartment, finding nothing but legal documents and empty cigarette cartons. The side compartments held no secrets either and Aaron was about to give up his search.

That was until he found the book under the passenger's seat.

Flicking through the black book, he found it was a sketchbook filled with all sorts of pencil drawings. Many pieces were unfinished, lacking in any kind of shading and still riddled with faint guidelines. But the ones that were completed were rather good. It must have been Lucy's. He flipped through until one drawing caught his eye.

It portrayed a sleeping, peaceful Gabriella. Her unkempt hair was spread out on the pillow and the bedsheets barely covered her naked upper body. Covering her torso were scars, some drawn out fainter than others. He could just imagine Lucy drawing it as she sat beside Gabriella, a smug smile on her lips as she revelled in the sight of the bare, scarred goddess.

If Aaron looked closely, he could see the lightest of marks resting on Gabriella's cheek. It took him a while to realise that the marks were the remnants of the bandages that covered real-life Gabriella's cheek. They had been rubbed out. Erased. His brow furrowed.

This wasn't the real Gabriella.

It was too perfect.

Upon hearing the garage door opening, Aaron stuffed the sketchbook into his messenger bag. When he looked over at Gabriella, he sighed in relief at her unsuspecting nature.

“Ivan says the spring'll be delivered in a week max.” She told him, rolling her eyes.
“That's not good.” Aaron said.

Gabriella slammed her fist against the wall, turning her knuckles a violent red. Aaron jolted slightly, the loud impact ringing in his ears. Through the slit in Gabriella's cheek, he could see a hint of her white teeth peeking through. The other teeth were bared in a vicious snarl.

“You fucking idiot.” She seethed, glaring daggers at him.
“I... I'm sorry.”
“Doesn't make a difference.”

Gabriella looked him up and down before storming out. Her expression would be forever etched into his memory. If he could, Aaron would have gone after her. But his body was failing him. One mistake was all it took to screw himself over. Why did he kiss her? She doesn't like him – clearly. And somehow he seemed to forget that she doesn't even like men. And for Christ's sake, she was in a relationship with someone already... a very attractive, friendly, trusting, damn perfect someone.

God... I'm such an idiot.

His body gave way. The sofa was there to catch him. Running a hand through his dark hair, Aaron inhaled deeply before letting out a long breath. This continued for a good few minutes until he believed he had a grip on himself. He was wrong. All the emotion fled from him in choked sobs and searing tears. Short, ragged breaths escaped from him and filled the air, suffocating him. The small tremors rocked his body.

The car came to a stop. The sudden braking unsettled Aaron, but he soon steadied himself. He was about to ask why they stopped, but stopped himself when he saw his apartment outside the car window. A heavy silence hung in the air, surrounding Aaron and Gabriella. When he didn't move, she spoke.

“You gonna get out?” It was a question, but her tone made it sound more like a threat.
“Ca... can we talk?” Aaron chanced.
“There's nothing to talk about.” She wasn't even looking at him.

He gazed at her scar, unashamed to show her that he cared about it. If she let him, he would kiss it every day. He would tell her how it didn't change anything. He desperately wanted to reach out and touch it, graze it with his thumb and tell her, you're still beautiful.

Lucy didn't deserve her. No one did.

“Does she love you?” He asked, unable to stop himself.
“Yes.” She grunted in reply, hesitation absent from her voice.

Aaron exited the Fury. The car was gone before he could turn back around to say goodbye. He swallowed hard and opened his messenger bag, checking that the sketchbook was still there. He had kept it in his bag for about a week now and planned to return it. The problem was that he had no idea how to. After the incident, the slightest of issues could set Gabriella off and he wasn't courageous enough to withstand her wrath.

He told himself he was over Gabriella Orozco. She didn't want him and no amount of talking was going to change that. In fact, he was certain nothing could fix their ruined relationship.

Tucking the sketchbook back into his bag, Aaron walked away from the road.

Description
An electric blue 1958 Plymouth Fury shot down the road, weaving through vehicle after vehicle with an unrivalled prowess. Looking out of the window, Aaron watched the world rush past in a blur, the midnight sky mingling with the neon lights of the Downtown District. His gaze turned to his left.

As he suspected, Gabriella wasn't looking at him. She was far too concentrated on the road – one false move and they would both be careening into the most manic traffic ever seen, their broken bodies separated and splayed out on the tarmac like some gruesome display. Aaron winced at the thought.

His eyes remained transfixed on Gabriella. His career was starting to seep into his everyday perceptions of people. He analysed every inch of her, all the while asking 'why'. Why that leather jacket, that unruly hair, that permanent scowl? However, there were some aspects of her that needed no questioning: the long slit that ran along her right cheek was something he had witnessed happen, something he knew all about.

I bet she kisses it at night, Aaron thought. His nose wrinkled.

An insistent beeping noise coming from the car's dashboard caught Aaron's attention. Glancing over at the pale sea-green screen, he saw the words 'Commissioner Orozco' in bold black lettering. Aaron went to touch the 'accept call' button, but was stopped by Gabriella.

“Don't touch it.” She barked, her usual husky tone dropping even lower, almost to a growl.

Aaron did as he was told. The noise continued, its rhythm becoming engraved in Aaron's mind. Whilst it grated on his nerves, it also distracted him from many things. But the relief only lasted for a few seconds.

There was no mistaking the loud, sudden sound he had heard earlier: something was broken.

“That better not have been the God damn suspension spring.” Gabriella groaned as she kneeled down to check under the car.

Aaron stood by, watching her as she crawled beneath the Plymouth Fury. Its immaculate paintwork had been scarred by the chase it had been involved in just over an hour ago. One of the rear view mirrors had been torn off and there were deep dents bruising the surface of the vehicle. Luckily, its internal dashboard display was still intact.

“Is it repairable?” Asked Aaron as Gabriella emerged from below the car.
“Fuck knows.” She replied, wiping her greasy hands on her vest. “Those dents are gonna be a bitch and I have no idea if we have any suspension springs available.”

For a moment, Aaron's gaze flickered onto the mesh of bandages covering Gabriella's cheek. Newer ones covered old, blood-stained ones and a smile tugged at Aaron's lips, though he didn't give in to its persistence.

She doesn't look after her as well as I thought.

“I'm gonna go check with Ivan. Don't blow yourself up whilst I'm gone.”

As soon as Gabriella left, Aaron snooped around. He had been in her car before. Hell, he'd just been the passenger in a car chase inside the thing. But he had never been brave or sneaky enough to check out the real secrets the Fury held. He sifted through the glove compartment, finding nothing but legal documents and empty cigarette cartons. The side compartments held no secrets either and Aaron was about to give up his search.

That was until he found the book under the passenger's seat.

Flicking through the black book, he found it was a sketchbook filled with all sorts of pencil drawings. Many pieces were unfinished, lacking in any kind of shading and still riddled with faint guidelines. But the ones that were completed were rather good. It must have been Lucy's. He flipped through until one drawing caught his eye.

It portrayed a sleeping, peaceful Gabriella. Her unkempt hair was spread out on the pillow and the bedsheets barely covered her naked upper body. Covering her torso were scars, some drawn out fainter than others. He could just imagine Lucy drawing it as she sat beside Gabriella, a smug smile on her lips as she revelled in the sight of the bare, scarred goddess.

If Aaron looked closely, he could see the lightest of marks resting on Gabriella's cheek. It took him a while to realise that the marks were the remnants of the bandages that covered real-life Gabriella's cheek. They had been rubbed out. Erased. His brow furrowed.

This wasn't the real Gabriella.

It was too perfect.

Upon hearing the garage door opening, Aaron stuffed the sketchbook into his messenger bag. When he looked over at Gabriella, he sighed in relief at her unsuspecting nature.

“Ivan says the spring'll be delivered in a week max.” She told him, rolling her eyes.
“That's not good.” Aaron said.

Gabriella slammed her fist against the wall, turning her knuckles a violent red. Aaron jolted slightly, the loud impact ringing in his ears. Through the slit in Gabriella's cheek, he could see a hint of her white teeth peeking through. The other teeth were bared in a vicious snarl.

“You fucking idiot.” She seethed, glaring daggers at him.
“I... I'm sorry.”
“Doesn't make a difference.”

Gabriella looked him up and down before storming out. Her expression would be forever etched into his memory. If he could, Aaron would have gone after her. But his body was failing him. One mistake was all it took to screw himself over. Why did he kiss her? She doesn't like him – clearly. And somehow he seemed to forget that she doesn't even like men. And for Christ's sake, she was in a relationship with someone already... a very attractive, friendly, trusting, damn perfect someone.

God... I'm such an idiot.

His body gave way. The sofa was there to catch him. Running a hand through his dark hair, Aaron inhaled deeply before letting out a long breath. This continued for a good few minutes until he believed he had a grip on himself. He was wrong. All the emotion fled from him in choked sobs and searing tears. Short, ragged breaths escaped from him and filled the air, suffocating him. The small tremors rocked his body.

The car came to a stop. The sudden braking unsettled Aaron, but he soon steadied himself. He was about to ask why they stopped, but stopped himself when he saw his apartment outside the car window. A heavy silence hung in the air, surrounding Aaron and Gabriella. When he didn't move, she spoke.

“You gonna get out?” It was a question, but her tone made it sound more like a threat.
“Ca... can we talk?” Aaron chanced.
“There's nothing to talk about.” She wasn't even looking at him.

He gazed at her scar, unashamed to show her that he cared about it. If she let him, he would kiss it every day. He would tell her how it didn't change anything. He desperately wanted to reach out and touch it, graze it with his thumb and tell her, you're still beautiful.

Lucy didn't deserve her. No one did.

“Does she love you?” He asked, unable to stop himself.
“Yes.” She grunted in reply, hesitation absent from her voice.

Aaron exited the Fury. The car was gone before he could turn back around to say goodbye. He swallowed hard and opened his messenger bag, checking that the sketchbook was still there. He had kept it in his bag for about a week now and planned to return it. The problem was that he had no idea how to. After the incident, the slightest of issues could set Gabriella off and he wasn't courageous enough to withstand her wrath.

He told himself he was over Gabriella Orozco. She didn't want him and no amount of talking was going to change that. In fact, he was certain nothing could fix their ruined relationship.

Tucking the sketchbook back into his bag, Aaron walked away from the road.