Ineffable ? Joost Klein ?

Elke didn't get to see Joost break out into a wide grin. Instead of continuing to tug at Roan's hand, Elke yanked at his arm's socket. It forced him to turn with a swivel of his heels and Elke glared up at Roan fiercely.

'Roan, don't be so ridiculous,' she hissed. The collective noise from Joost's friends did well in blanketing her words. While Roan's statement went down in 'ooo's and snickers, Elke pleaded to her boyfriend.

'I'll be fine, El. I've done it before,' he said hurriedly.

It was true. Roan had raced before and every time, it sent Elke into cardiac arrest. She had never been in the car while he shot through the streets at high speeds but watching from the sidelines was no less terrifying. It was unsafe, stupid and a dead man's game. The close-calls and exhilarating finishes were too much for Elke but Roan never cared.

After begging and pleading, Elke had stopped trying to steer Roan's obsession away from racing. She resorted to sitting with her hands over her eyes. But this time, not Roan nor any of his friends had any idea what Joost was like behind the wheel.

He was only challenging him out of his dislike for Elke's neighbour. For all they knew, Joost could be a dirty player, although Elke doubted it.

When Roan turned back, the reaction had quietened and Joost was working at retracting his grin.

'Thanks, but I don't want to race tonight,' Joost said, his tongue teeming with more to say.

'Why?' Roan pushed and Joost shrugged with his hands in his jacket's pockets.

'I've not got my car with me.'

Roan's insides boiled with the way Joost looked down at him. They were the same height but it wasn't the elevation that threatened Roan. It was the effortless aura of the blonde, his close living situation to his girlfriend and the silver Impreza that sat in their apartment's underground carpark.

'What about the Porsche?'

'What about it?' Enzo intervened, this time, with a daring scowl. Roan was going to say how amazing Porsches were at racing but he didn't want to flatter anyone.

With all the stares, Roan was getting more and more agitated. Humiliated, Roan finally dropped Elke's hand and turned away. Elke didn't have the luxury of receiving his acknowledgement as he headed for his car. His friends rushed to talk to him but he threw the driver's door and got in wordlessly.

Elke was sure she looked pathetic as Roan pulled out of his parking space. The engine roared, making some who weren't paying attention jump in their places. Elke would have done the same if she wasn't already deaf to the noise.

In a series of erractic turns, the WRX left the meet in a huff of annoyance. People watched until the tires screeched on the main road, including his friends who were left behind without a ride home.

They tried to play off the situation by lowering their heads in a huddle. They knew enough people and had enough connections to hitch a ride from someone else at the meet. They mumbled in agreement, finished their drinks and seperated.

Not one of them looked Elke's way, the girl having not moved from her place in the street. She should have learnt by now that being unalert in a carpark was dangerous but the heat of her embarrassment clouded her judgement.

Elke's own jumper sleeve made her jump as it ghosted her arm. Whipping around, the girl reered her arm back and was met with piercing blue eyes. His hand was outstretched, having touched Elke to get her attention with a soft 'hey'. But his fingers didn't make anymore contact other than with the fabric of her blue jumper. None the less, it made her recoil with a soft gasp.