High Speed Heartache
Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies -Aristotle
Love Bites, Love Bleeds, It's bringing me to my knees -Def Leppard
Vanellope never drove as hard as she had in tonights Roster Race. She had just surpassed Taffyta to grab ahold of the lead with only a handful of turns to go. Rancis had taken Taffyta's moment of surprise to take second from her. "Come on luck, don't fail me now!" Vanellope called out and patted the dashboard of her kart. She was so determined to win that she pushed her kart to the very edge, yet it was a move like that which would cause her downfall. Coming out of the final turn, Vanellope wanted to stay as full throttle as she could, so she tried to drift around the final turn to secure her win, but she pushed herself and her kart over the edge. "No, no, no, NO!" She screamed as her rear tires lost traction on the dirt and her kart fully spun out, just 100 feet before the start/finish line. Her kart was surrounded with cinnamon dust, making her cough. She valiantly attempted to get her kart re-fired to get across the line first, but to no avail.
"WINNER: RANCIS FLUGGERBUTTER IN THE RV1!" The announcer proclaimed. All of Rancis' peanut butter fans began celebrating their driver's fifth consecutive Roster Race win. Vanellope crossed the line in second, just as the confetti began to fall around Rancis' kart. Vanellope shut off the engine to the Wreck-It Mobile and slowly took off her goggles and racing gloves. She just could not believe how much she screwed up. Not only that, but this was the TWENTIETH consecutive Roster Race that Vanellope had lost. Even the rest of the competition couldn't believe their president, and undeniably their best racer, had not won a non-gamer race, in twenty races. Vanellope had no idea what feeling her emotions was trying to pick out for her. She didn't know whether to cry, scream in fury, or just sit in her bedroom for the rest of game's days.
"Hey Vanellope!" A voice rang out. Vanellope almost jumped from her seat, not realizing someone was standing right next to her. "Are you okay?" Jubileena asked with a concerned smile on her face. Jubileena was Vanellope's best friend; the two loved to hang out and race each other.
"I just screwed myself out of a win in twenty races, how do you think I feel?" Vanellope asked in a rather creepy tone. Jubileena frowned a bit and darted her eyes around, searching for a response.
"Well, I just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out or something, to you know, take your mind off racing?" Jubileena suggested. Vanellope gave the weakest smile she could muster. How could she take her mind off racing when A) They lived in a racing game, B) Every fan kept dogging her for not winning in so long, and C) They lived in a racing game!
"No thanks Jublieena, I think I just want to stay home tonight and take a long milk bubble bath," Vanellope replied sadly and drove slowly away. Jubileena felt so bad for her best friend. Swizzle approached Jubileena from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"How is she doing Jubee?" Swizzle asked as he quickly kissed his girlfriend's ear. Jubileena leaned her head over into Swizzle's neck and snuggled it.
"She's depressed Swizzy," Jubileena replied sadly, "she hasn't won in so long; I think it's finally getting to her. Even the strongest can become weak at some point mentally," she finished. Unbeknownst to them, a certain Roster Race winner was watching the whole scene unfold. Rancis sat on the door of his kart, watching the girl he was too scared to admit his feelings for, drive away depressed. Rancis knew exactly what Vanellope was going through since he still had the longest losing streak of anyone in the game: Fifteen YEARS.
"Nelly doesn't deserve this," Rancis finally said as he got himself up and stretched. He hated seeing Vanellope so sad and depressed that he decided to help cheer her up. Rancis slowly approached her as to not surprise and/or anger her. "Hello Vanellope," he said cheerfully. Vanellope looked over at him with kind of an unhappy face. But she decided to act happy just so he'd leave her alone. She was happy to help him with the RV1, but now she was annoyed by him asking her out almost every other day. Sure she did want to experience dating Rancis, yet at the same time, she was afraid that it would sever their good friendship if it went sour.
"Yes Rancis?" She asked.
"I-I was wondering if you'd like to grab a bite to eat or hang out to take your mind off of not well uh, taking the checkered flag?" He asked nervously. Vanellope sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Sorry again Rancis, but I'm pretty busy tonight," Vanellope replied, exasperated, "but thanks for the offer though," she continued as she left for her castle. Rancis knew she was acting happy, and that hurt him to see the girl he loved so much do that. It was then, he got his brilliant idea. He quickly raced home, almost forgetting his newest trophy which was made out of his theme candy for winning five consecutive Roster Races. "Alright, time to put Operation Cheer Up The Prettiest Girl in the Game," Rancis said as he dug out his cell phone to text everyone but Vanellope in the game. "Man that is a mouthful to say," as he typed in the plan.
(The Text)
From: Rancis To: Multiple
Message: I am hosting a party at my house tonight to cheer up Vanellope. I would like everyone to come. There will be music, food, drinks and ice cream of course. But please, do not tell Vanellope! In a matter of three minutes, everyone he texted RSVP'd that they would show up. Since Swizzle and Jubileena were his best friends aside from Vanellope, they showed up first.
"Glad you two could come," Rancis said as he poured Root Beer into champagne glasses. "Um Jubileena, since you and Vanellope are the best of friends, could you please text her to come to the party? I don't think she would respond to anyone else," Rancis asked. Jubileena smiled and nodded cheerfully and dug out her phone to call Vanellope just as everyone else showed up.
(With Vanellope)
Vanellope's bath had just been fully drawn. She lit a few vanilla scented candles and dimmed the lights. "Ahhhh. I needed this," Vanellope said smoothly as she entered her milk bubble bath. She put on a sleep mask to keep light from invading her eyes and she grabbed the iHome remote from the floor and turned on some music. Only known to her and Sour Bill, Vanellope had a soft spot for Kenny G. "This is a perfect night," she commented and grabbed a bon-bon from a candy dish on the side of the tub. Kenny G's Songbird began playing in the stereo system in the bathroom. Vanellope had just laid her head on a pillow when her phone began blaring. "OH COME ON! CAN'T A GIRL GET SOME PEACE AND FUDGING QUIET FOR ONE NIGHT!?" She screamed and turned off the iHome and saw Jubileena's picture on her phone. She answered and yelled, "What do you want Jubileena?" She demanded quite impatiently.
"Well, Vanellope, Rancis is throwing a kick-ass party and wanted to personally invite you!" Jubileena said enthusiastically. Vanellope pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned.
"I told you Jubileena, I just wanted a quiet night at home in my bubble bath!" Vanellope scolded her friend. Jubileena took the phone away from her ear and looked at it.
"Well, it is a party for you Vanellope," Jubileena explained, "just please come! It'll be so much fun!" Jubileena pleaded. Vanellope groaned loudly again and pulled the plug in her tub.
"Fine, I'm on my way," Vanellope said angrily and started to towel off. Jubileena shut her phone with a smile and turned to Rancis.
"She said she is coming soon!" Jubileena said. Rancis fist pumped and poured himself another glass of root beer. Only admitting it to Jubileena, Rancis had a secret crush on Vanellope, although everyone else knew just by the way he acted around her. With Vanellope on her way, everyone began to chat to pass the time.
"Do you think Vanellope will win soon?" Sticky asked Nougetsia. All Adorabeezle's re-color did was shrug in confusion. The re-colors didn't win that much either, the most they did was get on the Roster List, yet the re-color that appeared on the list the most was Citrusella.
"I think the real question is: Will Rancis take this opportunity to tell Vanellope?" Taffyta asked Gloyd. The pumpkin prankster chuckled and sipped his beverage whilst holding his girlfriend in his other arm. Rancis cranked up the music to help pass the time even more.
"I LOVE THIS SONG!" Torvald shouted as Rancis' playlist began blaring 'Pour Some Sugar On Me.' Vanellope could hear the music blaring from her castle. It also didn't help that the stress from the situation gave her a huge migrain. She grumbled under her breath as she started up her kart and drove over toward the party. "Can't believe I'm wasting my night at a party where everyone'll brag about winning," she said angrily and shifted her kart up higher. Once she reached Rancis' house, she was more agitated than ever. Vanellope slowly reached out and rung the doorbell.
(Back inside the house)
Rancis was tapping his foot nervously, thinking of what to say to Vanellope when she entered. He didn't want to come on too strong, so he decided to ease her into his admittance. "Nice party Rancis!" Adorabeezle complemented while chugging root beer with a few others yelling, "CHUG, CHUG, CHUG!" loudly. It was then that the doorbell rang and everyone quieted down and Rancis got a little giddy. He fixed up his hair and answered the door to a not so happy President Vanellope. "Um, welcome to my humble abode Vanellope," Rancis said nervously. Vanellope grumbled and shoved passed Rancis and said, "yeah whatever." Vanellope fast-walked over to the refreshment table and poured herself a cup of root beer. It didn't help Vanellope's mood that Crumbelina had put up a banner that read 'Congrats Rancis "Five-Time" Fluggerbutter." Vanellope crushed her cup in her hands, gushing soda out onto Rancis' floor.
"Is she alright?" Swizzle asked Jubileena since a girl would know what was wrong with a girl more than a guy would. All Jubileena did was shrug and look slightly scared. Jubileena walked slowly up to Vanellope who was using a napkin to soak the root beer out of her green hoodie.
"Hey Van, what's up?" Jubileena asked. Vanellope turned her head slowly and demonically to Jubileena with a frightening glare plastered on her face. Jubileena's eyes widened and she backed away slowly.
"Leave me alone," Vanellope said angirly as Jubileena hid behind Swizzle.
"Uh, Jubee, what am I gonna protect you from? I can't hit a girl," Swizzle stated.
Citrusella approached Vanellope and asked her, "Hey Vanellope, when do you think you'll snap your losing streak?" Vanellope gritted her teeth and growled slightly, scaring off Citrusella. Rancis, having seen all of this, decided to find out what was wrong with Vanellope and see if he could cheer her up.
"Hello Miss President," Rancis said with kind and calm demenaor, "are you feeling alright this evening?" Rancis continued. Yet, Vanellope didn't care how nice Rancis was. The stress of the pressure, the loud music, the fact that her quiet evening was ruined and the annoyance of everyone asking her when she'll win another race and the bragging of Rancis' friends about him winning five straight races, caused Vanellope to snap.
"SHUT UP! JUST EVERYONE SHUT THE FUDGE UP!" She yelled at everyone. The music slowed to a stop as everyone stared wide-eyed at the outburst from their leader. "I AM SO DAMN SICK OF YOU PEOPLE ASKING ME 'WHEN ARE YOU GONNA WIN AGAIN? YOU HAVEN'T WON IN SO LONG!' I AM DOING THE BEST THAT I CAN OKAY?" She screamed with a red face of anger and shortness of breath. Rancis was the most shocked and again attempted to calm her down.
"Nelly, why are-" he began but was cut off with Vanellope slapping him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground with the force of the slap. The sound echoed throughout the room. Rancis' eyes started watering and his lower lip quivered as he felt the red mark on his cheek.
"AND AS FOR YOU!" Vanellope continued with clenched teeth, "I'M SICK OF YOU BRAGGING ABOUT WINNING FIVE RACES IN A ROW AND HOW YOU KEEP ASKING ME OUT! GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL YOU EGOTISTICAL PRETTY BOY: I DON'T LIKE YOU AND I NEVER WILL! SO EVERYONE JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Vanellope yelled and left the house, slamming the door in the process which knocked several pictures off the wall. Swizzle and Gloyd felt bad for Rancis, and the girls gasped. Rancis slowly picked himself up and sniffled.
"I-I'm sorry everyone, the party is over, and thank you for coming," he choked out and led everyone out. Several of his friends tried to stay behind to cheer him up, but Rancis refused.
"I can't believe how much of a bitch Vanellope was to Rancis," Taffyta said to Jubileena. Jubileena nodded angrily.
"I thought it was sweet of Rancis to do that for her," Jubileena said, "I'm going to stick around and check up on him just in case," she said. Taffyta hopped in Gloyd's kart and the two drove off. Meanwhile, Rancis was sitting on the floor with his back against the door, crying. He moved his hand down to his pocket and took out the gift he was going to give Vanellope to cheer her up. He breathed deeply and his sadness was replaced with determination, determination to forget Vanellope.
"I know what I need to do," He said sadly and got up. He walked briskly through his house and out the back door to the RV1. He started it up and drove away. Jubileena hopped in her 'Cherriot' and secretly followed her close friend. Rancis fought back new tears and he wiped his eyes. Jubileena was surprised to see that Rancis drove to the Lemonade Lake. She saw him park right next to the dock, so she parked behind a tree and watched him. "I should've known she wouldn't like me," Rancis said sadly as he pulled the gift from his jacket pocket. Rancis started tearing up the longer he looked at it. He clenched it in his fist and threw it into the lake. The second it left his hand, Rancis ran back to his kart and drove back home.
"He didn't," Jubileena said sadly as she ran to the dock with some of her glow cherries and jumped into the lake. Luckily the gift was still alright and not on the bottom of the lake yet, but it was still slippery and hard to grip. But she managed and surfaced with the gift and a big breath of air. She climbed onto the dock and opened the gift. "Wow," Jubileena whispered, "I can't believe she got to him this bad to get rid of this," she continued. It was a chocolate heart-shaped locket. Inside was a picture of Rancis and Vanellope in front of the newly assembled RV1. On the other side was an inscription that read: To the most amazingly beautiful girl in the arcade. You cheer me up on my sourest of days, and you are like an angel from heaven. I hope you feel better about your recent misfortunes and put it all behind you. I love you. -Rancis Fluggerbutter. The little inscription made Jubileena tear up at how beautiful it was. She clenched her teeth and glared at the castle on the horizon.
(Back at Rancis' house)
Rancis got back home and walked slowly into his house and slumped onto his couch. He took off his hat and jacket and pants and got into a white tank top and striped boxers. He pulled out a big bottle of extra strength root beer and started drinking it with tears in his eyes. "Come on TV, give me something to cheer me up," Rancis said depressed. He flipped on the TV to TNT to watch NASCAR.
"AND JIMMIE JOHNSON WINS THE COKE ZERO 400 AT DAYTONA!" The TV announcer declared. Rancis slowly turned the TV off and set the remote down. "Not you t-too!" He cried out and started bawling his eyes out again. He laid down on his couch and started thinking. He couldn't believe the girl he loved so much yelled and screamed at him with so much hate. His bosom ached with pain and his hands and feet tingled with heartache. He then decided he would never leave his house again. Why bother when the girl he loved didn't even want anything to do with him? Rancis then closed his wet eyes and laid down to fall into a depresesd sleep.
(Two Days later)
Two days had passed since Vanellope's outburst at Rancis, and nobody had seen Rancis since then. All of his friends were concerned for him and glared evilly at Vanellope when she approached them for the start of the nightly Roster Race. Jubileena had been worried sick for Rancis, and she raced over to his house. She knocked on the door and she heard a weak, "Come in," from the other side. She opened the door and gasped. Rancis was laying on his couch with an empty bottle of root beer, dry tears on his face, red eyes, and chip stains on his tank top.
"RANCIS!" Jubileena cried out and went to his side. The bottle was empty from the two nights before, so he was sober. "What's up Jubileena," Rancis said quietly. "What happened to you? We haven't seen you in TWO days?!" Jubileena pointed out and got Rancis to sit up.
"Vanellope yelled at me, I got depressed and I decided to never leave my house again. I mean, why bother Jubileena? The girl I used to love hates my guts and doesn't want to see me and I drive a kart that she helped me make," Rancis explained with a sniffle.
"Aww Rancis, you have to leave your house, I mean the gamers will miss you," Jubileena pointed out, trying to cheer him up.
"They won't miss me, I'm just a loser who went 15 YEARS without winning a Roster Race," Rancis replied, "the game's better off without me anyway," he continued and showed her the door, "now I need to be alone," he said and shut the door. Jubileena growled and sped off toward the race track to give Vanellope a piece of her mind. Vanellope meanwhile, was trying to fend herself off from the evil glares from her fellow racers.
"You have some nerve treating Rancis like that Vanellope," Crumbelina barked at Vanellope and towered over her.
"Look guys, I thought some about it, and maybe I was a little mean to him," Vanellope remarked as she cowered below the angry drivers.
"MAYBE!?" Jubileena shouted as she pulled in. "VANELLOPE! You hurt him badly! He refuses to come out of his house! I'd say that's really mean!" Jubileena yelled.
"He- he won't leave his house?" Vanellope asked sadly. Jubileena marched toward her and put the locket in her hand.
"I just got back from his house. You tell me if he's depressed about this," Jubileena said angrily and walked off to be with Swizzle. Vanellope walked away from the group and looked at the front of the locket.
"This is beautifully made," she commented and opened it. She gasped at the picture and inscription. "He made this for me?" She said sadly and let tears fall from her eyes, "What have I done?" She asked herself and ran off as fast as she could to Rancis' house.
"RANCIS OPEN UP PLEASE!" She shouted and banged on his door. Rancis grumbled and opened up.
"What do you want?" He asked angrily.
"I came to apologize for what I said," Vanellope replied.
"Bullshit," Rancis replied and tried to shut the door, but Vanellope glitched inside his house. "GET OUT!" Rancis yelled at her.
"No, not until you hear me out Rancis," Vanellope pleaded.
"I don't want to hear it Vanellope, now please leave," he said again and opened the door. Vanellope crossed her arms and huffed.
"I really do want to apologize and complement you on this," she said and held up the locket. Rancis' eyes widened and he snatched it from her.
"Where did you get this?" He demanded, "I threw this in the lake," he finished.
"Jubileena gave it to me," Vanellope replied. Rancis grumbled and threw it on the ground. Vanellope gasped and picked it up. "Look Rancis, I am not leaving until I say what I have to say," she said firmly.
"FINE!" Rancis shouted, "just say what you want and then get the hell out," he finished.
"Okay, I am really sorry for what I said okay? I had a huge migraine, and I was sick of everybody asking me when I was going to win again. And the fact that I hadn't won in twenty days really ate at me," Vanellope said. Rancis stood up immediately and glared angrily.
"LIKE YOU HAVE ROOM TO TALK!" He shouted at her and made her cower. "I WENT FIFTEEN YEARS WITHOUT WINNING AND YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT TWENTY DAYS!?" He shouted again.
"I-I'm sorry R-Rancis," Vanellope said and started crying herself. Rancis' anger dissipated and he felt horrible.
"No, I'm sorry Nelly, please stop crying!" He begged and knelt down to her side.
"N-no Rancis, I deserve this for yell-yelling at you," she said before crying again. Rancis hugged her and cooed to calm her down, which began working.
"Vanellope, I am really sorry for yelling, I had no right to make you feel worse than you already did," he said as he tried to fight back tears. She hugged him back and looked at the locket in her hand.
"This locket is beautiful Rancis," she complimented. Rancis smiled at the compliment and pulled away from the hug.
"But, not more beautiful than you," he said. Vanellope's heart melted and her body took over her mind. She leaned in and kissed Rancis. His eyes widened, but he kissed her back and started to massage her back while Vanellope did the same for him. They pulled back for air and smiled.
"I love you," Vanellope said and laid her head into his chest. He smiled again and rested his head on hers.
"I know," he replied. They eventually left Rancis' house and got to the Roster Race where everyone forgave Vanellope. The newest couple finished 1-2 in the race with Vanellope in first and Rancis in second.