✮⋆˙⭒DRIFT ✮⋆˙⭒
i thought I was a fool for no one // but mmh, baby I'm a fool for you
CHAPTER III : HOW LONG BEFORE YOU LET ME GO?
racer!ellie x racer!reader au : Ellie Williams is the undisputed queen of the tracks. That is, until you enter the picture.
series masterpost // chapter I . chapter II . chapter IV//masterlist wc: 3.1k cw: very brief mentions of alcohol and substances, dangerous driving, angst! but also fluff <3 an: I recommend listening to ‘American Money’ by BØRNS during the parking lot scene. You’ll know what I’m talking about ;)
Ellie almost flings her phone across her room.
[You received a direct deposit of $ 20,000] Sender: DRIFT_KING
She immediately texts Jesse. That bastard
Ellie: yo change your ID to DIP_SHIT rn Jesse: yoooo Jesse: unprovoked? I just sent you cash Ellie: send me her number Jesse: who? Ellie: you know exactly who
Jesse: bruh Jesse: if you wanted to link with her so bad you should have just asked her #rizzless Ellie: SEND IT Jesse: SENDING jfc
Ellie rakes a hand through her messy hair, the waves forming knots. The realization that you had definitely overheard her conversation with Tess hits her square in the chest. You know she’s trying to provide for herself and so you sent her your prize money. Ellie paces around her room while she waits for your number. She hates the feeling that carves itself into her chest. Ellie’s stubbornness convinces her that it’s plain irritation. Disdain for how you make her feel pitiful, like she needs saving.
In reality, the growing crater in her chest is equal parts guilt and shame. Guilt, that she’d been so childish on the tracks, a punch away from a fully fledged flight. Shame, knowing that you’d still saved her license at the expense of yours.
Not that she’d ever admit it.
20 minutes after your conversation with Jesse, your phone pings again. You read the message, dread pooling in your stomach.
Unknown number: why did you ask Jesse to send me the prize money
You roll your eyes, saving the contact
You: I don’t want it Ew: what do you mean? It’s your prize money You: didn’t you want the race annulled? Ew: clearly not anymore
You’re taken aback. Was she actually being reasonable? Accepting defeat? You peek outside, almost expecting to see pigs flying.
Ew: look Ew: I don’t want to owe you anything okay? Ew: just take it back
And there it was. Of course she’s refusing, not out of courtesy, but because she didn’t want to be indebted to you. You scoff. As if she already wasn’t. You were the reason she still had her license. A deep breath is taken to quell the wave of pettiness that rises up in you. She needs the money, she needs the money. You leave her on read and shoot Jesse a quick message.
You: she’s being difficult You: don’t let her send it back
And with that, you put your phone on do not disturb.
A week goes by, and you settle into your routine. College is a flurry of assignments, lectures and frequent bar nights with friends. The days pass in rapid succession as the foreign environment of the city fades into familiarity. It almost makes you forget about the events of the prior week. Almost. The sight of any black car sends you reeling, a flash of auburn hair makes you do a double take, only to realize it’s some other girl. Your eyes seem to look for her wherever you go. And you hate it.
To say that Ellie wasn’t faring well either would be an understatement. Your refusal to take back the money (aided and abetted by Jesse) still confused her. She found her mind wandering in the middle of class, the rock samples in the geology lecture blurring. Your last interaction with her over text had left that crater in her chest to hollow out further. The lack of competition to distract her was not helping. Due to the recent bust, Jesse had temporarily paused the street races. Racers and organizers alike were keeping a low profile, waiting for things to cool down. Ellie was on edge, energy thrumming through her without an outlet. One evening, she decides to give it somewhere to go.
You walk down to the road after your last lecture. Getting to and from college without a license was less challenging than you had expected; your friends gave you lifts in rotation, with Jesse and Dina doing almost half of the trips. You wait for Jesse’s car to come into sight.
Except it doesn’t.
“Are you going to keep staring or are you getting in?”
The sleek black of the GT500 glints in the setting sun. You remain rooted to the ground, stunned.
Ellie huffs, turning the wheel to park the car on the side of the road. She gets out, keys dangling from her fingers. Good god, her fingers. The rays of ochre make the ends of her hair look brighter, glinting like the embers of a fire. You realise this is the first time you’re seeing her out of her racing gear. The white tank top exposes her arms, the jeans hanging low on her hips. Such a basic outfit and she still looks good. How is that even fair?
“Jesse said he can’t make it today.”
“And he sent you instead?”
“I may have volunteered.”
You splutter in disbelief. Ellie, even more surprisingly, has a sheepish look on her face. She raises her hand to scratch the back of her neck. “What? You can do me favours but I can’t repay you?”
Mistrust creeps up your spine. “You don’t seem the reciprocal type.”
Desperation begins to lace itself into her expression. “Just…just consider this an apology. And also a thank you…and a peace offering, and-”
“Ellie, shut up.” You walk up to her, looking her in the eye. The green that had looked poisonous that night now looks softer. “No, no let me say this.” She returns your gaze. “Dina helped me practice.” She mumbles that last bit, and you stifle a laugh.
She smiles nervously as well. “Not funny. Just listen, okay? I’m sorry for how I acted that night. I shouldn’t have tried to fight you and I should have been a lot nicer at the precinct, especially since you basically saved my ass. And the money...” Her voice grows softer. “I don’t know how much you heard outside Tess’s office, but I guess you heard enough. Thank you, for doing that for me even though I gave you no reason to.”
Your chest feels lighter than it has in weeks. “Dina’s a good coach.”
She elbows you, a grin of relief transforming her features. “Whatever, those were all my words.”
“Consider your apology-thank you-peace offering accepted then. Or is there more?”
She grins wider, opening the door for you. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
You laugh, still in disbelief as you get into the passenger seat. One hand goes behind your seat, her face close to yours as she tilts her head to reverse. The angle gives her neck a graceful arch, her green eyes sharpened in focus. You feel your face heat up as the edges of her hair brush your cheek. You almost feel disappointed when she faces the road. You tell her your address and she nods, driving off. Her phone connects to the speakers, the thrum of music playing over the lapse in conversation.
Without the cover of the racing gear, you can see her tattoo clearly. The dark ink winds around her entire right forearm, the moth perched atop a fern-like plant. Ellie feels your gaze on her. Her eyes struggle to stay on the road, the temptation to glance over at you growing by the minute. Don’t be weird.
“I like your tattoo”
Ellie almost hits the curb. “Oh-oh thank you. I actually got it back home, before I moved here.”
“Jackson?” You ask lightly, not wanting to cross any boundaries. “Yeah, Jackson.” You notice how her fingers tense on the steering wheel. Silver rings glint under the light that filters through the windshield. You decide not to press, waiting for her to speak.
“My…dad came with me to get it. I was eighteen and I thought I was soo tough. At least until the tattoo gun hit my skin.” She chuckles, shaking her head.
“Overestimating yourself seems to be a consistent pattern.” The jab is risky. The peace between you two is refreshing but still young. Fragile. As soon as the words are out of your mouth, you hope she takes it well. Luckily, she doesn’t disappoint.
Ellie grins playfully, and the sight is so endearing you feel like you’ll combust. “I estimate myself just right. The whole tattoo is there isn’t it? I didn’t stop halfway.” You roll your eyes, fighting off a grin of your own. “You are so cocky.”
“Only because I have good reason to be. For example-” She takes a detour. “I bet I can show you the best view in the city. Let’s see if you still think I overestimate myself.”
“You sure you’re not just taking me to somewhere secluded to kill me?”
She laughs. “No promises, pretty girl.”
The nickname is sarcastic, and you know it. She said it that night on the tracks as well, so she clearly hadn’t meant it then either. You try not to think about it.
Ellie internally cringes. To her ears, the nickname had sounded far too sincere for comfort. Great, now she knows that I think she’s pretty. She must think I’m so weird! I should just jump out of this car while I can-
‘The best view in the city’ is a high bar. What’s this mysterious place you’re taking me to?” Your voice pulls her out of her internal spiral. The car glides into the city mall’s parking complex, ascending up the winding path to the top level.
“You’ll see”
Ellie drives up to the highest floor. It’s roofless, open to the sky and almost empty. Ellie climbs out of her side, the engine still on. The music from the car drifts through the air as she helps you out. She guides you to the hood of the car. You feel your breath still in your lungs, a gasp slipping past your lips.
From this vantage point, the whole city stretches underneath you; self-contained and shining. The sun dips into the horizon, the darkness in hot pursuit. The city skyline glows as small squares of fluorescent light blink on in preparation for the night. Time seems to slow down, the only indication of the seconds being the low thrum of drums still gently drifting from the open car.
With great effort, you find your voice, eyes still on the horizon. “You weren’t kidding. This view is…it’s breathtaking, Ellie.”
“It really is.”
When you turn your head to face her, she’s not looking at the skyline. She’s looking at you.
The blood flushes hot in your veins. Unconsciously, you lean towards her. You can see every freckle on her cheeks, the slightly dazed look in her eyes.
Her voice is a soft rasp. “So? Did I overestimate?” The wide hood of the GT500 suddenly feels too small, pushing you together. Your words come out in a whisper.
“No, Ellie. I think you estimated just right.”
You can see the beginnings of a smug smile tug on her lips. She leans even closer, lips dangerously close to yours. She opens her mouth to quip back.
“Excuse me! No parking on this level!”
You two jump apart as a security guard comes up, waving you off. “Please move to the lower levels, there’s plenty of space down there.”
Ellie is the first to recover, clambering off the hood and tugging you down as well. “Sure! We’re going now.” She gets into the car, revving the engine and swiftly descending to the ground level. She looks over at you apologetically. “Sorry about that.”
Your mind is still reeling from your previous proximity, but you manage to speak up. “That’s fine, don’t apologize.” You look at her. “Thank you for showing me that. You made my whole day. And week, actually.”
Ellie smiles. “Good. I hope it makes up at least a little for…how I’ve acted recently.”
“If that kind of behaviour gets me shown sights that alter my whole brain chemistry, feel free to keep going.” You joke around, trying to lighten the mood. Ellie laughs, exiting the mall and getting back on the road to your apartment. “Noted.”
The houses and lanes drift past. Ellie pulls up near your place. As the engine dies down, you wonder if you should bring up what happened at the parking lot. But you decide against it, terrified that one wrong word will upset this new dynamic. Before you can get out, Ellie speaks up again.
“I know you might not be interested right now but the street races are starting again soon. I’m…I have a race in two weeks, actually. Will you-” She trails off. You have to blink to make sure your eyes are working properly. Is she blushing?
“Will I?”
“Will you come and watch?” She blurts out.
“Yeah, of course I will. Where’s it going to happen?”
Ellie fumbles with her phone to share the location. Your screen lights up with the notification and she notices her contact name. She lets out a dramatic gasp. “Ew? You’ve saved me as Ew??”
You shrug playfully. “Those are your initials. Pretty fitting, don’t you think?”
Ellie’s face scrunches up in a mock pout. “Nope. Change it now.”
“Fine, you big baby.” You decide to humour her, opening her contact and changing it to ‘Els’. You throw in a poop emoji for good measure. “There. Happy?”
She grins, highly amused. She opens her phone, adding a toilet paper emoji after your name. You roll your eyes, getting out of the car. “You think you are so funny don’t you?”
“I am.” She gives you a shit eating grin. “Good night. I’ll see you at the race.”
You wave. “Good night, Ellie.”
And with that, she drives off, blushing all the way to her apartment.
The two weeks pass and you find yourself back on a new set of tracks. The glow of strobe lights floods the streets with neon. The crowd is even larger than last time, clearly excited for action after the hiatus. Dina circles the front, hyping up the two racers. Your eyes linger on one.
Ellie has her hair in a half up-half down style. Her expression is one of dangerous charm, poised for victory and nothing else. Her helmet swings from her hand menacingly as she gets ready to get into the car.
“You’re staring.” Jesse pipes up, nudging you in the side. You nudge back, swallowing your words. Can you blame me?
“Ouch!” He rubs his side, giving you the side eye. “Staying for the after party? It’s going to be lit”
You hum, still distracted by the sight of Ellie. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”
The crowd pitches up in volume as Dina raises the flag. Ellie’s hands tighten on the wheel. She tries to keep her mind off the spectators. One of them is more difficult to block out than the others.
The flag comes down. You and Jesse shout, cheering for Ellie.
Ellie flies at the speed of light, gaining an immediate lead. From where you are standing, you have a view of the whole track, allowing you to follow her every move. She spins and circles around the bends, dodging every attempt the other racer makes to overtake her. By midpoint, it’s clear that she’s won.
You and Jesse run onto the tracks as Ellie cuts across the finish line. Jesse thumps on the hood before pulling Ellie out, grinning from ear to ear. You feel pride blossom in your chest, the sight of Ellie glowing with adrenaline and happiness doing odd things to your heart. She turns to you and opens her arms.
You almost leap into them, hugging her tight.
“Congratulations, Williams.”
It’s hard not to feel bad for Dina and Jesse’s housekeeper. Red solo cups litter every surface, smoke and perfume hanging thick in the air. The speaker blares, groups of people from the races moving to the beat. Jesse has his head buried in Dina’s neck, greened out smile the only sign that he’s awake. Dina’s chatting your ear off about her plans to renovate their house.
“So, I’m going to replace those cabinets with some cute hampers. Can’t have this place looking like a man cave forever, right?”
You nod along. “No, noo”
Someone retches and throws up in the fireplace, interrupting Dina’s next spiel. Yeah, that housekeeper better get a raise after this afterparty.
Dina scrunches her face in disgust, getting up to tell the guest off. Jesse flops onto the couch. You adjust his head so it doesn’t sprain his neck. You stand up on wobbly legs. You’ve had a few shots, taken when Ellie got all of her friends to do rounds in celebration of her win. Friends. The thought leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. You glance over at the makeshift dancefloor.
Ellie sways to the beat of some 2000s club classic in the middle of the crowd, drunk smile wide on her lips. She’s changed out of her gear, now sporting a black leather jacket over a top and ridiculously low waisted jeans. She’s surrounded by girls, as she usually is after a race. Or in general, really. Your chest burns at the sight, and you blame the alcohol. Yeah, no way I’m going up to her right now.
You take out your phone, thinking of who you can call to come pick you up. Ellie said she’s staying here for the night, and it’s far too late for a cab. You sigh, opening a contact you never thought you’d text. Definitely not for this.
You: haii I’m so sorry to bosher you but I rembered u’d be on night shift You: this ish girl with the likence suspension, btwww
You wait for a response. It comes after a minute or so.
Abby: hi, yes I’m at the precinct Abby: are you drunk? Is everything okay? You: canm you pick me up? No rideee Abby: otw. Stay put.
You giggle to yourself, walking over to Dina. “Dinaa I’m going home.” Dina turns away from the mess in the fireplace, hugging you goodbye. “Do you have a ride?”
You smile stupidly. “Yeah, on the way.” Dina gives you an odd look, but doesn’t pry. You say goodnight to her and a few other friends, heading for the door.
As you do, Ellie catches sight of your retreating figure. The realization that you are leaving the party alone and tipsy cuts through her drunken haze. She starts to crawl through the gaps of the crowd, trying to get to you. By the time she gets through the thicket of people and makes it to the porch, you have already gotten into a car she does not recognize. Ellie squints, unable to believe what’s in front of her eyes.
It isn’t a police car, but the precinct sticker gleams on the windshield. She sees a flash of blonde hair in the driver’s seat, helping you into the passenger side. Anger flares up under her skin, egged on by the vodka. Before she can call out your name, the car turns and drives out of her field of vision.
Ellie stands there for a moment, disbelief, anger and betrayal creating a hellish combination in her chest. Tears prick her eyes as she storms back into the house, slamming the door. A single word echoes through her mind.
Traitor
a/n: sorry about that you guys the narrative demanded it (I’m evil) Next chapter will be the finale :,) also #justice for Jesse
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