A/N: Hey guys, I know I've been switching fandoms like a madwoman here, but when inspiration hits, I gotta go with it. Thanks to everyone who puts up with these random fandom shifts, my readers, reviewers, old and new. This is a random drabble that came to me while playing the video game this morning. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Cars. (Sadly I don't own A car either.)
All he wanted to do was make that turn one more time.
It came so naturally to him so many times before, why had he suddenly lost it?
It had to be that pair of eyes watching him. Something about being watched had been throwing him off for the last few days. Not that being watched bothered him… Having upwards of thousands of eyes on him during his big races didn't faze him at all.
One single pair though, that changed everything.
It really creeped Lightning out the way Doc would sit up on that ledge while he raced around the sharp turns of Willy's Butte. Maybe it would have creeped him out less if Doc's expression was at least readable.
Nope.
He just sat on the ledge and stared.
It was like some sort of messed up horror movie to the rookie racecar. He would sneak away from all the typical noise and chaos around the Radiator Springs strip in favor of practicing in a much more quiet and private location. He always double-checked to make sure no one was following him. Once he reached the butte, he'd take another glance at the ledge. No one was ever there.
Confident, he'd start his engine and take off. He'd approach that sharp left and get ready to turn a hard right. Then he'd look up, and there was Doc. Completely out of nowhere.
And then it was into the cacti for Lightning.
This morning wasn't much different. He'd learned to no longer be surprised to see him sitting up there, but it was incredible how hard a pair of eyes could bore into him from such a distance. What the heck was he doing up there? Was he mad at him for putting so much time and energy into racing instead of Mater and the others? Was he there to laugh to himself when he couldn't make that damned turn?
Lightning was a rookie, yes, but everyone started out as a rookie once, didn't they? Lightning glared as he approached the turn once more. Even Doc was a rookie once, he thought. Who was he to sit up on that ledge and judge him?
'That's it…' Lightning thought. 'Get mad enough to wanna make that turn…' He narrowed his eyes and pitched a hard right. Unfortunately, this caused him to go, well… right.
He spit out a mouthful of dirt and shook the brush off his hood. Once the dust cleared, he jumped to see Doc in front of him.
"Get back up there and try it again," were the only words he offered.
Lightning's eyes widened in disbelief. Did he not notice how hard Lightning had been working all morning? Did he not notice that he was sweating in places he didn't know he could sweat from? Did he not notice that he'd rounded that corner countless times in the last hour alone?
More importantly, did he not notice the annoyed glances he kept shooting him simply for being there while he tried to get just a few minutes of privacy? Granted, Lightning knew it wasn't with ill intent that Doc always kept a close eye. But going from being a total loner to suddenly being surrounded by so many people that really cared for each other was something to get used to, and he absolutely craved just a few – short – minutes – of privacy.
While Lightning debated whether to express this thought out loud or not, he felt a hard nudge on his bumper that sent him a few feet back up the hill. He let out an exaggerated "OOF" and turned to shoot Doc another look of disbelief. Doc only rolled his eyes.
"Get back up there and try it again," he repeated with another nudge. For some reason, this brought Lightning's temper to the boiling point. He revved his engine loudly and sped the rest of the way up the hill, turning to face him as he reached the top.
"I can do that myself, thank you." He growled. "And what the heck are you doing here anyway?! What makes you think you can invite yourself to sit up there everyday and then come down here and talk to me as though I asked for your help?!" To Lightning's surprise, Doc's expression remained as it always did: unreadable.
"Listen kid, I'm glad to see you're actually taking advice now. But since you're going off my advice, I have every right to make sure you're doing it right. If you can't handle having just me watching you, you won't stand a chance in front of a crowd."
Lightning's jaw dropped. Just when he thought he couldn't be in more disbelief… He had a bit of a struggle getting his response out.
"I can handle the crowds because they don't sit there and stare at me as though just waiting for me to do something to disappoint them! There's a huge difference between you watching and a crowd watching!"
For once, Doc showed somewhat of a sign of emotion at that; he glowered at the racecar and spoke a bit more quietly than before.
"It's not uncommon for cars your age to think they know everything…" he narrowed his eyes dangerously before continuing. "But you're different. You're a racer, and a racer who has a lot of people that care about you at that. That attitude will only make you lose both those statuses." Lightning frowned.
"That's great. You know what people who care do? They give the people they care about privacy when they want it!" Doc revved his engine loudly at this and stopped dangerously close to Lightning's front bumper.
"We've all done a lot for you, hotshot," he backed away from Lightning a bit. "Think about that the next time you go running your mouth." Lightning's expression softened a bit, though he still wasn't sure what to say to that. "You're right, kid. There is a difference between us and a crowd. 'Fans' and 'friends' are two very different concepts."
Lightning drove back a little bit. He kept his gaze on Doc for as long as he could stand before finally letting his expression fall and looking down at the ground: Lightning's way, Doc had found out over the last few weeks, of saying he was sorry. Doc sighed and shook his head. Lightning really pushed his buttons, so much so that he was often certain his carburetor would overheat if he talked to him any longer. But he had to admit, the change Lightning was showing since he'd first arrived was at least something to be happy about, right?
Doc rolled his eyes again, albeit with a smile this time. "Put the lip away," he muttered to Lightning as he started driving back to the ledge. Lightning frowned a bit, but lifted his head. "Try the turn again."
Lightning gave a bit of a grimace, but drove back to the dirt trail around the butte, revving his engine back up.
"Oh, and kid…" Lightning tore his attention from the trail and back up to the ledge. "Say we don't care about ya' again and I'll have ya' towed back to the impound lot."
Lightning smirked.
"I suppose Mater would have to catch me first, wouldn't he?" he answered before speeding off around the butte again.