Trying her best to get out of the building as quickly as possible, Zara zigzagged through the crowds of kids at dismissal trying not to make eye contact with anyone. She was so close, a few feet from the main entrance when she heard her name.

"Miss Osborne!"

She froze. "Yes?" She asked, turning in the direction of the voice.

"I forgot my recycle donation," the freshman said.

"It's fine, we're doing two this year. Save it for the end of year drive."

The student nodded and hurried off down the hall leaving Zara to run out of the double doors and right to her car. The maintenance man at El Centro Regional High School had already loaded her SUV with the cans from the recycle drive.

"Here's the address of the scrap yard," the man told her. "You'll get the most at this one."

"Yeah, okay," she huffed. "Thank you."

"Relax, it's Friday!" He said cheerfully.

Zara forced a smile as she jumped into the driver's seat. It was Friday but she was throwing a party on Sunday and she was going to be running all weekend to prepare.

On her way to drop off the cans, she stopped at the butcher to pick up her order. The bells rang over her head as she swung open the door, frazzled and slightly out of breath.

"Hola," Felipe said politely.

"Hello," she smiled. "I'm picking up for Osborne."

"I'm wrapping it all now," he smiled. "Sorry, we had a rush, I fell behind."

"Don't apologize," she said. "I'm going to sit outside. Can you just tap when it's done?" Zara gestured to the storefront window and Felipe nodded before turning back to her meat order.

Taking the extra few minutes to relax, Zara lit a cigarette and enjoyed the breeze while sitting at one of the small tables outside the shop. She barely noticed when a young man pulled up on a Harley, leather on his back, and strolled into the shop. It wasn't until he reappeared a few minutes later that she paid him any attention.

"Zara Osbourne?" EZ said with a wide smile, holding out her order in two large white bags.

"That's me," she said. "Thank you."

"Pop said you already paid. It's heavy, I can take it to your car."

Zara smiled and nodded, pointing a few feet away. "I'm parked right there. Thank you," she said again.

"No problem," EZ replied. He saw the bags of soda cans and other metal recyclables in the back of her truck. "Is this the El Centro drop off?"

"Uh yeah," she looked at him with confusion. "How'd you know?"

"I work at Romero Brothers," he told her. "The principal called last week and I uh, I noticed the parking pass on your windshield."

"Oh, ha," she felt her cheeks flush. "Small world, huh?"

"Even smaller, I graduated from El Centro."

"My best friend went there actually," Zara laughed. "I teach Bio and English Lit there now."

EZ laughed, a genuine laugh, and gestured toward his bike. "I'll follow you to the yard and help you unload it."

"That would be great," she paused, "You know my name but I don't know yours."

"EZ, Ezekiel," he said.

"Nice to meet you EZ."

"You too, Zara."

They shook hands and he opened her door for her. "You know where you're going?"

"I think, I've never been there but I kind of know the area."

"Follow me," he offered.

EZ popped his head back into the shop. "I'll be back in about twenty minutes, Pop."

Felipe looked at his youngest son with a raised eyebrow. "Where are you running off to?"

"Just going to help Zara with a drop-off," he shrugged. "No big deal."

Watching as EZ left, Zara pulling out behind him, Felipe shook his head a little, a small smile on his face. "It's about time something good happened to that boy."

They arrived seconds apart but, before Zara could get out of her car, EZ was ready to help. She popped the trunk and watched as he grabbed the first giant bag.

"What's this for?" EZ asked, returning for another load.

"The money? It'll go toward the library, which is why I'm involved since I'm English Lit."

"Smart, recycling for upkeep. Your two specialties coming together," EZ remarked.

Seeing him unloading, Angel sauntered over with Chucky hurrying behind. "You need a hand?" Angel asked, an interested eye on Zara.

"Yeah," EZ huffed.

"You can come into the office," Chucky told her.

"I got it Chucky," EZ said quickly. "I can take care of her."

"I'm not sure you can, little brother," Angel teased.

EZ looked embarrassed despite Zara being out of earshot and gave his brother a shove. "That's not what I meant."

"Sure it ain't," Angel laughed. "Put your tongue away, you're drooling."

As much as he joked, Angel was happy and almost relieved to see EZ showing interest in another woman. Lately, he'd been so hung up on Emily and it was proving to be problematic.

While they worked and traded insults, Zara wandered off toward the office looking around at the massive heaps of metal. It was beautiful, in a way.

"Ms. Cruz?" Zara said, noticing one of her students lingering by the office. "I missed you today. I see you're feeling better."

"Uh," Letty said as she turned to face her teacher, "Yeah, Ms. Osbourne, I'm a lot better now."

"Mm-hmm," Zara clicked her tongue. "It's not as bad as you're making it out to be."

"What isn't?"

"School," Zara said quietly. "You want out of this town? School can help you do that. Clean up your grades and you can go away to college," Zara suggested.

"What's going on?" Coco asked suspiciously as he saw his daughter and some mysterious woman talking quietly.

"Nothing," Letty said quickly.

"I'm Letty's English teacher," Zara explained.

"Oh," Coco seemed surprised. "Letty's my kid." Offering Zara his hand, Coco was acting as his oldest child's father in an official capacity for the very first time.

"Nice to meet you," Zara said with a smile. "We were just chatting. I didn't expect to run into a student here."

Letty was surprised Zara didn't say anything about skipping school but she wasn't about to mention it, especially in front of her father.

"Lemme get you outta here," Coco suggested. "You got homework or something to do?"

Looking at Zara, Letty huffed and nodded. "Yeah, I have some."

"You gotta get that shit done," he chided.

As they walked away, Letty gave Zara a little wave and a grateful smile, one which Zara returned. Noticing her trunk was closed now, she turned and headed into the front office.

"Sorry," she said quickly.

"Nah, you're good," Angel smiled. "EZ is still throwing it on the scales."

"Oh," Zara laughed, "Alright."

"You were at the shop," Angel remarked. "That's a lotta meat."

"Yeah," she laughed. "I'm having friends over this weekend and we have a work potluck so I needed a lot."

"El Centro High," Angel said. "My brother told me."

"Ezekiel is your brother?" Zara laughed. "I don't see it," she gestured to his face.

"Lucky for me," he cracked.

EZ popped his head in and called for a hand from his brother without looking at Zara. He sounded annoyed, she noticed, and quickly Angel was out the door with him.

"Where are those idiots?" Bishop grumbled to himself as he stepped into the office and glanced behind the counter.

Smirking, Zara gestured out the window. "They're weighing some stuff for me."

Bishop hadn't noticed her but when she spoke he smiled politely. "Thanks," he chuckled. "Need anything, querida?"

"No, thank you," she smiled.

"Bish," Angel hollered. "Got a second?"

"Yeah," he yelled back. Heading out quickly, Bishop left Zara alone for a few minutes before Angel and EZ returned to the office.

"Oh this doesn't look good," she groaned.

"Scale is off," EZ complained. "Way off."

"Unless the Boy Scout's hiding four hundred extra pounds somewhere," Angel joked. "We reset it but it's still screwing up."

Zara waited for the inevitable joke, working with teenagers gave her an uncanny sense for it but the Reyes brothers simply looked at each other and chuckled. "Alright then, do I have to haul it back then?"

"No," EZ said quickly. "We can keep it here and when the repair guy comes I can drop the cash off then?"

They all seemed good natured and EZ had given her more than enough reason to trust him but it was for the school and Zara wasn't sure she could take the chance. "I don't know." She stood up with an apologetic look. "If anything happened the principal would kill me."

"Here," EZ said suddenly, "Take a downpayment and come for the rest when it's weighed." Pulling some money from his jeans, he offered it to her.

Seeing her uncertainty, Angel backed up his little brother. "You were at the shop, you know our old man. He'd kick our asses if we scammed a pretty girl like you."

Zara raised an eyebrow and tried to hide her embarrassed smile. "El Centro grads? Both of you?"

The brothers nodded.

"Fine," she huffed, "Ezekiel Reyes. And who are you?" Zara asked, looking at Angel.

"Angel Reyes."

"The Reyes Brothers," she chuckled. "Alright, I'll be back, boys."

Zara left, purposely leaving without EZ's money, and the two of them looked at each other with goofy grins. Suddenly, EZ's face fell. "Did you get her number?"

"Ah shit," Angel groaned. They both made way for the door but Angel got over the threshold first and jogged toward her. "Hey, I didn't get your number."

"Yeah, that would be helpful," she chuckled. "Do you have paper? A pen?"

Patting his pockets he huffed and shook his head. "Hold up, I musta left mine in the office."

"No," she said quickly. "I really gotta go. Just give me your phone."

Angel smirked as he handed over his phone for Zara to add her number to his contacts. "You'll be the first call I make as soon as it's all weighed."

"Thank you," she smiled at him. Zara pulled off her cardigan and tossed it into the car through the open window. "Have a good weekend, Angel."

"Yeah you too," he said goofily.

"You get it?" EZ asked, joining his brother as Zara buckled her seatbelt and prepared to leave.

"Mm-hmm," he winked at EZ. "Where'd you find her?"

"Pop's," EZ told him again. "She was picking up an order. I saw the haul in her trunk and offered to help. Remember?"

"She's cute," he pursed his lips.

EZ laughed and shook his head. "You think every woman is cute."

"I'm a lover of the female form," he said dramatically. Angel pressed his hands to his chest and grinned. "The curves, their soft skin," he moaned.

"Hey," Bishop hollered over to them. "Stop playing around and call those assholes. This was supposed to be fixed last week."

Angel and EZ nodded and, on their way back to the office, shared a silly look. "She is cute," EZ finally agreed.

"And I got her number," Angel said smugly. "Too bad for you, little brother."

The weekend passed too quickly for Zara but the party went off without a hitch and by Sunday evening she was relaxing with a glass of wine. Picking up a book, she settled in to read when her phone went off. For a moment she hesitated, wondering if she should answer it at all, but after three rings decided she'd better.

"Hello?"

"Zara?" Angel's voice was smooth even though the phone. "It's Angel."

"Angel Reyes," she laughed. "How are you?"

"Good," he said quickly. "You?"

"Not bad," Zara told him. "Did you get everything sorted out?"

"Oh yeah, we did," Angel almost forgot. "Sorry, it took so long."

"As long as I have it by tomorrow it's fine," she assured him.

"Oh yeah, you will," he said firmly. "You, uh, you have a good weekend?"

His attempt at a smooth transition wasn't perfect but Zara appreciated it. They chatted about the weekend, Angel's was heavily edited, and casually the conversation flowed on. After they went from TV and music and all the way back to high school she caught herself yawning. Zara checked the time and realized they'd been talking for over an hour.

"Jesus, where did that hour go?" She asked, genuinely shocked by the time.

"Shit," Angel laughed. "What did we even talk about?"

"Literally nothing," she chuckled. "I should probably go. Do you guys open before 8?"

"I can come in early for you," he offered. "How early do you have to be in work?"

"7:30," she groaned.

"Ouch," he chuckled. "I can meet you on your lunch," Angel suggested.

Zara had an idea. "I'll come by the scrap yard around 11:45, will you guys be there?"

"I'll definitely be there," he told her.

"See ya then. 'Night, Angel."

The next morning Zara pulled into her usual spot and gathered her things to start yet another work week. Her tiny heels clicked on the cement as she juggled her work bag, coffee, and purse on her way through the courtyard.

"Ms. Osbourne?" EZ called out jokingly.

"It is way too early for that crap," she laughed. "What the hell are you doing here, EZ?"

He shrugged, a boyish grin on his face. "I was up and I wanted to get you this money as soon as possible." EZ handed her an envelope with a large amount of cash in it.

"This?" She was clearly shocked by the amount. "Come with me." Zara motioned for him to follow her to her classroom.

"Here," he said, "Let me help you." He took her bag before she could refuse and carried it for her.

"Thanks," she said. Zara gave him a questioning look as he placed the bag on her desk. "You're really the consummate gentleman, aren't you?"

"I try," he smirked.

Sitting at her desk she counted the money quickly and looked at him in shock. "There's fifteen hundred here."

"Yeah, my brother and I added some stuff from the yard as a little donation of our own to our alma mater."

Visibly touched by the gesture, Zara stood and hugged EZ. "That really means a lot, truly Ezekiel. Thank you."

"My pleasure," he beamed.

"We had a fire," Zara explained, "And so many of our books were destroyed," she said sadly. "The school's first priority was the building itself, you know? After that, there was not enough money to replace most of the books."

"Arson, right?" He asked with interest. "I think I heard about that."

"Some little punk thinking he was cool and badass," she was angry as she spoke. "These kids, they break my heart."

EZ nodded and closed down as he wondered if she'd see in him as the embodiment of the future of so many of her more troubled students.

"I hope it helps," he said sadly.

"Oh my god, are you kidding?" She suddenly beamed again. "Of course it will!"

"I know a great little bookshop," EZ said enthusiastically. "It might have some cheap classics, depending on what you have to replace."

Zara smiled sweetly. "That sounds great."

"What about this weekend?" EZ asked, glancing at the titles on her own little bookshelf. He smiled, recognizing the names as a few of his favorite authors. "We could grab breakfast first if you want?"

The suggestion was appealing, as was EZ, but Zara wasn't sure. "Ah, this weekend?"

"Please?" He smiled at her, his eyes almost twinkling in the sunlight from her classroom windows, and sold the idea in that quick moment.

"Okay, this weekend." Checking the clock, she frowned and gestured toward the door. "You really should go, though. I'll catch up with you soon. I know where to find you," she said with a wink.

As originally planned, Zara did show up at the yard around noon but not to collect her money. In her arms, she carried the homemade leftovers from the weekend get together.

When Chucky reached out to help her she was taken aback by his hands but recovered quickly and handed over one stack of containers.

"Thanks," she said. "It's not much but it would go to waste at home so I figured I'd share."

"They'll love it," he assured her. "They eat garbage," Chucky explained. "You should see it. They need someone to cook."

"Oh really?" Zara laughed. "Well, this is not garbage, all my mom's recipes."

Chunky led her into her clubhouse, a sight to behold for a first-timer, and they placed the containers along the bar. Her eyes roamed the walls, reading plaques and signs and learning what she could from it all.

"This is a really neat place," she said in awe.

"Their pride and joy," Chucky beamed. "Hey, guys!"

Zara jumped when he suddenly hollered for the club members. Bishop, Tranq, and Taza were in Templo and slowly sauntered out to see what the commotion was about.

"You guys have a microwave?" She said with a shy smile.

"What's this?" Bishop asked suspiciously.

"Ezekiel came by, he and Angel were very generous, you guys helped me with that recycle drive stuff so I wanted to feed you. It's just leftovers, you know teacher's salary and all, but I figured you guys could use a nice lunch."

"Hey, I'll eat," Taza said.

"Please do," Zara said. "Angel said he'd be here but make sure he knows I'm really grateful."

Tranq heard bikes in the yard and pointed toward the door. "You can tell him yourself. That's probably him now."

Zara smiled and strolled out of the clubhouse, no intention of overstaying her welcome, to wait for Angel. She waved as he pulled off his helmet.

"Sorry," he said in lieu of a greeting. "Got held up, didn't mean to make you wait."

"No problem," she laughed. "I brought lunch as a thank you to you and your brother for the extra donations."

"Who told you?" He looked much more confused than he should have been.

"He did," Zara laughed. "He was there this morning when I got to work."

EZ gave Angel a look from behind Zara, a smug grin and a quick wink, before greeting her. "I was just up early," he said casually. "It was my pleasure."

"Well, either way, thank you." Zara pointed toward the clubhouse. "Go eat before the other guys finish it all off."

"Why don't I buy you lunch?" Angel offered boldly.

"Oh," Zara blushed, "That sounds great but I can't today. I'm sorry."

The sting was easy to see for EZ and Coco because they knew him so well but Zara didn't notice it.

"It's fine," he chuckled. "Offers always open."

"I might just take you up on that, Mr. Reyes."

"That a teacher thing?" He asked, moving closer to her and wriggling his eyebrows. "Ms. Osbourne."

"Actually yeah," she chuckled. "I should really get back."

"Stay," EZ offered. "Eat with us."

"Oh no," she shook her head, "You guys enjoy."

"No time for lunch," Angel said as he followed her to her car, "Do you have time if I call you tonight?"

"Sure," she giggled a little. "Just as long as it's after dinner."

"Way after dinner," Angel joked.

Zara nodded and flashed him a sunny smile. "I'll talk to you tonight."

Watching again as she drove off Angel wondered what he just did. His face twisted up with confusion as Coco approached him.

"What?"

Angel shook his head. "I just asked her if I could call her."

"Call her?" Coco sputtered a laugh. "What are you stupid?"

"I think I fucking am," he huffed. "What do I talk to her about?"

Coco shrugged. "Don't mention the cartel, carnal, that might ruin your chances for some phone sex," he mocked.

When they walked into the clubhouse they found Chucky had reheated the leftovers and the younger Mayans gathered around for plates of their own.

That evening, after dinner for one, as usual, Zara sat with a stack of assignments that were waiting to be graded. She remembered Angel saying he'd call but part of her didn't expect him too. He was charming, in an unusually playful way, but he also had an aura of danger around him, like most of the men she met at the yard. That was reason enough to assume he'd forget or had only asked on a whim with no real intention of calling.

"Oh shit," she gasped. His name came up on the screen and Zara could hardly believe it. "Hey," she said cheerfully.

"Hey," he chuckled. "You know, I don't know why I said I'd call. It's kind of stupid. You wanna meet up?"

"Meet up?" Zara checked her reflection in the China cabinet doors and grimaced. "Uh, meeting up probably isn't a good idea right now. I'm kind of a mess."

"I just rode through the damn desert," he laughed. "I'm a mess too."

"If you promise not to shake off the sand and dirt before we meet then sure."

"Great. Where do you wanna meet?"

"Um, we could sit on my porch? I have beer and wine and it's free."

"Text me your address," he said quickly.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you soon."

She was right. Angel arrived at her house within twenty minutes, just enough time to put her bra on again, fix her smudged makeup and change into some nicer but still comfortable clothing. When he pulled up she was already on the porch waiting for him on the glider.

"Welcome," she laughed. "Beer?"

"Yeah," he said somewhat nervously. The screen door slammed loudly behind him as he followed her into the house. "Ah shit, sorry."

"It's fine, the spring is weird," she complained.

Looking around as she grabbed him a drink, Angel saw a few watercolor paintings on the wall. Without him realizing he smiled as he examined them one by one.

"You like?" She asked, pressing the cold bottle into his hand.

"Uh yeah," he said, distracted. "I do."

"I dabble," she said, slightly embarrassed. "Come on, let's go."

"You did them?" He asked as they made their way back out to the porch.

"Yeah. Helps me unwind a bit."

Zara placed a few beers in the tiny cooler beside the glider in case he wanted another. A bottle of wine sat in the center, the same one she'd been nursing since the weekend.

"They're good." Angel twisted the cap off and brought the bottle to his lips. "I draw sometimes, like sketches and shit."

"Really?" It was an unexpected tidbit.

"Yeah," he laughed. "What I don't look like it?"

"No, I'm sorry, you don't," she giggled. "I don't either though."

"You look like a librarian," he teased.

"Original," she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you heard that one before?" Angel laughed. "That's cause it's true. What do I look like? Go ahead, you get a free one."

"You look like," she eyed him, "A mush who wants to look like a badass."

Angel drew his head back. "What? I do not."

"Okay, no, you look like a badass biker who is probably good for a lot of fun but not much else."

Angel was saddened by that a little, he knew most people thought that but the chance that she did bothered him. "Where'd you get that mushy shit from then?"

"That's wasn't based off looks," she shrugged. Zara glanced over at him but he was looking down, at his phone she assumed. "That was more based off your sketches and that whole dorky can I call you, bullshit."

"Oh," he feigned sadness. "That hurts."

"The truth usually does," she said smugly. "I'm just kidding," she added quickly. "You're not a dork."

"That's one thing I know I'm not," Angel assured her. "How was school?"

"Long," she sighed. "Seniors are, well, seniors and as the year goes on they get more senior-ish. I don't even teach them are they're annoying."

"Yeah, I could never do that shit," he huffed.

"Sometimes I question my decision," she admitted with a laugh.

"Now that's something I do," he commiserated.

"I think everyone does," she sighed. "So you just work at the yard?" Zara asked. "Is the leather a thing?" Zara gestured to her own chest as she mentioned his kutte.

"Not really," he lied. "Just a club, we all work together, ride together,' he shrugged.

"That's cool," she smiled broadly. "And your brother is involved too, that's sweet."

Angel leaned forward a little and wet his bottom lip while keeping eye contact with her. "I uh, I gotta go."

"What?" That was so far from what she expected him to say. "Did I say something?"

"No," he chuckled regretfully. "It's not you."

"What is it?" She asked him a bit more seriously this time. "I thought we were having fun?"

"We are," he assured her. "I just don't think it's a good time. You uh, you have fun with E this weekend."

Zara huffed, realizing the obvious issue, and felt like a monumental idiot. "He told you?"

"Yeah," Angel got up from his spot, "It's all good, querida."

"No, that is totally a friend thing," Zara fibbed a bit. At the time, when she agreed, there were the beginnings of a crush but after spending some time with Angel she saw much more in him that drew her to him than she did in EZ. "I think, at least."

"I dunno," Angel said with exasperation. "I think he's into you."

"Yet here you are," she said with a questioning look.

"Gotta let the lady decide for herself," Angel said. "I should go, really."

"Will you call me?" She said, only partially teasing him.

"You want me to?" He asked as he headed for the porch steps.

"Yeah I do," she smiled. "I like talking to you."

Angel walked over to her again and hugged her, sweet and innocent, and handed her a folded up piece of paper with the scrap yard's logo on it. When she opened it she saw he had sketched her, that was what he was doing when she glanced and assumed he was on his phone, and it was impressive.

"It's beautiful," she said. Zara was in awe of the gesture. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said and added, as smooth as ever, "Buenas Noches, Senorita."

Soooo? Please comment! Xoxo Oh and check out my Instagram PBB_Writer for the OC face claim and all*