11/22/2023 12:43 PM  Ongoing Connections Click here for desired connections Mia Toretto (Zach's childhood friend): Growing up, they used to work at Mia's father's garage, fixing and tuning cars, before Zach left to play basketball for UCLA. This left Mia feeling betrayed because Zach didn't tell her about his plans to go and play basketball for UCLA until the day before he left. One day, they ran into each and now there's uneasy tension between them.   0 Comments

11/20/2023 01:51 PM  A Bittersweet Encounter Part 3: The scene flashes then to 2016 at the Toretto's neighborhood in Burbank, California. Mia's brother, Dom, was hosting a night party with a lot of the kids in school. Mia watched from her bedroom window, while trying to study at the same time, as kids from her school partied in the driveway. She then noticed Zach arriving and walking inside her house, only to be stopped by Vince. "Would you cut the sh*t already? C'mon!" Mia yelled. She rushed down the stairs and pushed Vince back from getting any closer to Zach. It was obvious that Vince was jealous of Zach. Whether it was because of his looks, his out-of-the-world talent with the basketball or his flirtatious relationship with Mia, Zach didn't really know what Vince's problem was with him. Despite this, however, he tried his best to "play it cool." He knew that he needed to get on Vince's good side if he wanted to survive in school. "C'mon, let's go get me a drink," Mia said teasingly at Zach before proceeding to stare down Vince.  She then led Zach into the kitchen where the drinks are laid out in a bucket of ice. "What do you want?" "Anything light," she responded before biting her lips and gazing back at him as he took a Snapple from the bucket and handed it to her. "You know my brother likes you. Papi likes you, too." "Well, I'd like to think it's because I'm good at tuning their cars." "Are you also good with girls?" she said, taking a sip of the Snapple in an attempt to make it look like she's just keeping things casual with him.  "No, I'm better at basketball than I am with girls." "You're a terrible liar, Zach," she scoffed cutely at him. "In that case, do you wanna go out?" "I'm sorry," she shook her head, pretending to be slightly taken aback by his proposal. "I don't go out with my brother's friends. But maybe if you score 40 in tomorrow's game, I might just change my mind," she teased before adding, "just maybe." To be continued. 0 Comments

11/18/2023 01:09 PM  An Unlikely Alliance The scene flashes back to 2022 in Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates. "So what do I call you?"  "How about..." the brunette paused before suggesting with her posh British accent, "Grace?" "Listen, Grace, your life is in danger. Terrorists are coming for you. They're after that book you stole at Paris three days ago," Zach explained sternly while keeping her close to him as he attempted to escort her across the airport terminal in a rush, trying to escape the imminent danger that was awaiting the both of them. "Aren't you a basketball player?" she remarked half-teasingly, still not buying into a single thing that the 6'5 man was saying.  "Yes?" he replied, surprised that she knew who he was. What she didn't know was that the NBA player was also recruited by a covert branch of the CIA during his time at UCLA called SD-6. "Look, it's complicated. But I'm with the United States government. I'm CIA." "CIA?" Grace chuckled in disbelief. "Listen, love, if you ever want to take me out for dinner, all you had to do was just..." The sound of metal clanking interrupted them, followed by screams of innocent civilians. Zach quickly scanned his surroundings only to be greeted by a flashbang grenade rolling down a few feet right in front of them. "Grace! Get down!" He immediately pulled Grace to the side with him and took cover behind the boarding gate chairs. He shielded her body with his own. Several gunshots could then be heard. Grace cupped her own ears and looked at Zach with sheer horror and confusion as he tapped into his comms and requested for back up. "Charlie Team, where is my support? We're surrounded by Rittenhouse operatives." He then pulled out an MP-443 Grach sidearm and returned fired, shooting several rounds at masked men with black body armor right across the terminal.  0 Comments

11/14/2023 12:35 PM  A Bittersweet Encounter Part 2: The scene flashes back to 2015 in Burbank, California. A younger, skinnier Zach sat down quietly at the counter top of a small diner and looked at the menu. "Medium-rare steak? Green peppercorn sauce?" a soft-spoken voice with hints of a Brazilian accent came along with a gorgeous, feminine figure out of the kitchen towards the counter top where Zach was sitting. It was Mia. "Read me like a book there, Mia. How do you know?" "You've been ordering the same thing for the past three weeks, Zach. Now, it was crappy yesterday. It was crappy the day before. And guess what? It hasn't changed." "I'll have the steak." "Medium rare?" "Medium rare." Mia quickly walked away to the counter to relay his orders to the chef before coming back. A slight blush can be seen on her face. "Papi says you're gonna be helping us again at the garage later this afternoon?" Zach nodded. "Yeah, I need to make some quick cash." "For what?" Mia chuckled, feeling somewhat amused. "Air Jordans. I got a tournament coming up." Deep inside, however, Zach knew that Jordans weren't the only reason why he wanted to be in the garage. Why he wanted to be with Mia.  To be continued. 0 Comments

11/12/2023 05:36 PM  A Bittersweet Encounter Part 1: "That's all you have to say to me after five years?" Mia sighed in a voice of despair, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Zach was lost for words, a mix of sorrow and determination etched on his features after realizing he made a grave mistake not telling her all this time. "I'm sorry, Mia. It was hard for me. I had to go and pursue my dreams." "I'm sorry too, Zach," she replied in a slow and bitter voice, trying to hold back the tears caused by all the pain and anguish Zach had inflicted on her all these years when he left her. "I'm sorry that you had to come to my home and pretend that you care about me...as if you wanted to help me fix my dad's cars. I'm so sorry that you had to pretend to want to protect me and then have my father arrested in front of me right and then leave to play ball for UCLA just like that. I'm sorry that all that was hard for you." To be continued. 0 Comments

11/12/2023 03:31 PM  Desired Connections Click here for ongoing connections 1. Peach Salinger or any Shay Mitchell faceclaim (Zach's PR manager/handler): Peach is a privileged young woman, born into a notable literary family with wealth and vast resources. After meeting Zach at UCLA, Peach assumes the role as the controlling queen bee of Zach’s inner circle of NBA and celebrity friends. She can be very overprotective of him.  2. Dana "Scottie" Scott or any Abigail Spencer faceclaim (Zach's lawyer/agent): Dana "Scottie" Scott first met Zach when she was assigned as his lawyer by Zach's sports agency, Klutch Sports, after his rookie contract negotiation talks with the Bulls organization fell apart. However, with the help of Scottie's Harvard-tier negotiation skills, Zach was eventually able to get a maximum contract extension with the Bulls. A few contract extensions later, she eventually became Zach's agent and one of his most entrusted entourages. They both share a mutual respect for one another and their contrasting yet complimentary skillset makes them a force to be reckoned with in the NBA world as well as the wider sports industry.  0 Comments

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