Racing Romeo

Chapter 1 - Odd First Impressions

In Axle City, Blaze the monster Machine was well-known for being a great racer and quite the hero, but Blaze was always so humble, so he honestly doesn't like it much when others prolong his title of 'hero'; it never bothers him when he actually DOES save someone, but to keep being referred to as 'hero' WAY AFTER his good deeds just never sits right with his good moral.

But Blaze would never put himself before others, especially when they're in need, and today was a perfect example.

Blaze and AJ was on his way to the dare devil stunt tracks in the park that Darington always liked to practice stunts on, and Darington told him to meet up there because he said he had a special announcement. And soon enough, Blaze and AJ drove up to meet Darington, along with his other friends Starla, Zeg and Gabby.

"Dude, what took you so long? I can barely hold the surprises in any longer!" Darington pointed out in a whine.

"Surprises? You mean there's more than one?" AJ asked while hopping out of Blaze's driver seat.

"You bet'cha! First set of good news is—this Friday is my birthday!" Darington cheered.

"Oh, well, Happy Early Birthday, Ya'll!" Starla added with a smile.

"What other surprise! Oh, please tell Zeg! Please!" Zeg begged while pounding his front wheels on the ground and even made everyone jump.

"Alright, alright! Calm down, big fella! Now, the second coolest news is—MY BIG SISTER IS COMING TO VISIT!"

Everyone gasped at that.

"Y-you have a sister?" Gabby asked the question on everyone's mind, and they all shared the same amount of shock.

"Sure do!"

"How come we've never seen her before?" AJ questioned.

"She lives far out from Axle City, but she promised to come for a visit to see her favorite little brother!" Darington replied with a grin.

"Yeah, right! You're my ONLY little brother!" called a feminine voice.

Everyone turned and smiled when they saw who was most likely Darington's older sister driving up to them. She was a truck shaped much like Darington, she had dark blue paint with a lighter blue water drop painted on each side, she had water wave-shaped patterns on her wheels, and she had sparkling amber eyes.

"Everyone, this is my big sister, Rain! Rain, these are my friends, AJ, Gabby, Zeg, Starla and Blaze!" Darington said happily while introducing his friends, but the second his tire landed on Blaze, he and his sister were confused when they saw how…spaced out Blaze's gaze looked, as he laid eyes on Rain.

There's something about her that just…puts butterflies in my stomach, Blaze thought to himself since he was too embarrassed to say it out loud in front of his friends.

"Blaze?" Darington urged, but got no response from the monster truck, so he raised his voice.

"BLAZE!"

"Huh, what?!" Blaze asked as he was startled by Darington's shouting, and he finally snapped out of his trance.

"Are you ok? You seemed a little off, um…Blaze, was it?" Rain asked with concern while driving up to Blaze and gently pressing a front wheel up to him for a reassurance, but the second she touched him, it's like he suddenly just lost every bit of confidence.

"U-um, y-y-yeah, I just…I-I…" Blaze stammered out of control while smiling a goofy smile, making Rain giggle, but that just created an even bigger lump in Blaze's throat that was pretty difficult to swallow.

"Are you sure you're ok, Blaze? You're acting really strange," AJ added with worry, and even placed a hand on Blaze's hood, but he gasped when he felt the metal.

"Blaze, you're burning up!"

"R-really?! I-I haven't noticed!" Blaze said while trying to avoid eye contact with Aquarius, and he quickly came up with a plan to get out of there.

"Oh, no! I think I hear my laundry calling! Sorry! Gotta blaze!"

With that, Blaze was off, and it was the fastest his friends have EVER seen him drive off, and this concerned AJ the most since he and Blaze were close pals.

"He's hiding something," AJ muttered under his breath while staring in the direction Blaze drove off.

"What's flattened his tires?" Starla asked with shock.

"I don't know. But what I DO know is that my birthday is just around the corner, so let's get ta party plannin'! C'mon, guys!" Darington pointed out with a smile, and his friends reluctantly drove off after him since they were still worried about Blaze.

But Rain stopped when she noticed that AJ never moved.

"Does he usually act like that?" Rain asked softly.

"Not that I've ever seen, and it worries me," AJ sighed, "we're best friends, and we always tell each other if something's wrong."

"Well, I'm sure he'll come around; it's like you said, you're best friends," Rain reassured, and AJ smiled at her.

"So, would you like a ride to catch up with the others?" Rain soon asked and opened her driver's side door to AJ.

"I sure would! Thanks, Rain!" AJ said with a smile while hopping into Rain's driver seat, and she soon shut the door and drove off.

"No problem! It's AJ, right?"

"That's me!"

But little did the others know that Blaze never actually left; he merely tricked them and actually hid behind one of the ramps in the park, and he could hear the entire conversation. But with the others gone, Blaze felt relieved enough to come out of hiding and process everything.

What just came over me? I've never felt like that before…and why does Rain make me feel this way? Blaze thought to himself, oh, but I DID act pretty silly in front of her…I should apologize.

With that thought on his mind, Blaze drove off after his friends, in hopes that he would find Rain to apologize for his behavior.

Meanwhile, Darrington wanted his birthday party to be held at the big racing stadium, so he and the others were still speeding for the stadium, and when they drove inside the large building, where they saw Pickle cheering on Crusher as he raced against Stripes. But of course, Crusher, being the dirty cheater he is, bumped Stripes off the tracks just a few yards from the finish line, and Crusher's cheating got him in first place; luckily though, Stripes wasn't injured.

"Ya'll 'right there, Stripes?" Starla asked with concern when she and the others surrounded the tiger-like truck, who was now upside down.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little…topsy-turvy," Stripes replied with a chuckle, and Zeg soon helped him back on his wheels.

"Whoo! I won again!" Crusher cheered, but everyone only rolled their eyes…except for Pickle.

"You sure did, Crusher," Pickle added happily.

"Did you see me winning, Pickle? It was awesome!"

"Yes, I did see you win, and yes, it was definitely awesome."

"No, you didn't win!"

"Excuse me?!" Crusher asked angrily, not recognizing the voice of whoever protested. But when he turned to look for the owner of the voice, he gasped at the sight before him.

It was none other than Rain, but Crusher had never seen a more beautiful truck than her; he had even more butterflies fluttering in his stomach than Blaze did! All he could do was sit there and stare at her with a dopey smile.

"You cheated; therefore, you didn't win fair and square," Rain repeated firmly, and then pointed a wheel towards Stripes, "HE'S the real winner, if you ask me."

"Oh, yes, well, um…" Crusher suddenly shouted when he finally got his thoughts back together and then cleared his throat, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted like that."

Now, anyone who knows Crusher knows he's always a sore loser, he only wants to win, and he would NEVER apologies for cheating; even Pickle was surprised for his sudden change in behavior.

"Thank you for being reasonable," Rain added calmly and smiled, "I'm Rain. What's your name?"

"O-oh, I-I'm…C-C-Crush-sh-sher," Crusher stammered nervously.

"Are you cold, Crusher? You seem to be shivering," Pickle suddenly pointed out with concern.

"What?! No, I'm not cold! I'm just…I…c'mon, Pickle!" Crusher quickly replied while rambling, but then he suddenly sped off and latched the hook his cable to one of Pickle's back wheels and pulled him along without warning.

…

"Why is everyone acting so weird today?" Darington soon spoke the question on everyone's mind.

"Rain!"

The sudden voice of Blaze surprised everyone, especially when they saw the said red truck drive into the stadium at high speeds. And because he drove in so quickly, he couldn't stop in time, so the others had to move out of the way. But as Blaze immediately put on his brakes, he was still skidding uncontrollably…and he was skidding right for Rain.

But Rain was too shocked to move in time, so just when Blaze came to a slow halt, their faces ended up just mere inches away and their front tires lightly touched.

Blaze and Rain could only stand there and stare at each other in embarrassment, and matters only got worse when everyone else looked at them in silent confusion.

"U-um…h-hi, Rain," Blaze stammered and smiled sheepishly; his blush would have been visible if it weren't for his red paint.

"H-hey, Blaze…um…what brings you here?" Rain asked softly while Blaze slowly backed up.

"Oh, right, that…well, I…I-I wanted to say sorry."

"Sorry? What for?"

"Well, for…for acting pretty silly in front of you…I-I didn't make a very good first impression, so…let's start over. Hi, my name is Blaze."

With that, Blaze smiled sincerely and held out his tire for Rain to take.

"Aw, I didn't think you looked silly…but thank you anyway," Rain chuckled and tried not blush, and she took Blaze's into hers and shook it.

"Great! So, now that that's settled, party planning, anyone?" Darington suddenly cut in happily, and everyone started helping on decorating the stadium.

But AJ stayed behind for a moment when he noticed how Blaze just stood there, staring lovingly out into space.

"Are you feeling ok now, Blaze?"

"Wha…oh, yeah…yeah, I'm ok now. Thank you, AJ," Blaze replied once he was snapped out of his wandering thoughts.

"No problem, Blaze. Want some help with decorating?"

"I sure would!"

What can I say? I like some kids' shows, and I'm a sap for sappy love stories. Don't judge me:P

Anyway, this story is inspired off of Roadside Romeo, but I own nothing. I hope to be updating this soon, and I also hope you guys will enjoy reading it!

Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!