Guess who's NOT DEAD?!
I would give you a good explanation of my absence, but I don't really have one except GCSEs. But the other day I was rereading some of my old stories and I thought, God I miss doing this.
So I'm BAAAAACK!
This one is a story that's been in the works for a while, ever since writing Sugar Rush Date Nights introduced me to Peanut Butter Cupcake (which has definitely become one of my favourite couples after writing this!)
I should be able to update recently, because the story is already finished!
But anyway, I'll let you read...
Rancis straightened his hat and looked in the mirror, teasing a tangle out of his hair. He sighed. No matter how smoothly combed his hair was, it still couldn't help him win her heart… though he hated to admit it. He gazed outside to the end of racer's street, where her home was, illuminated in a soft glow from the fading light of the dusk.
In the house next door, Candlehead pulled on her jacket, wiping a bit of cinnamon off the sleeve. She was going to do it tonight – tonight she was going to go confront Taffyta.
She exited her little cupcake house and grabbed her helmet. Then, she hopped in her kart, firing up the candles, and zoomed off down the street.
Recently, Taffyta had been becoming ever more distant from her faithful green-haired friend, preferring to talk to Vanellope, or sleep over at Vanellope's, or do everything else with Vanellope… And Candlehead didn't like it. At first, she'd been accepting of the fact that Taffy would want to welcome Vanellope, but then she stated treating Candlehead differently. She started getting annoyed with her old friends more easily – Rancis had been pushed out first, and now it seemed like it was Candlehead's turn. But she wasn't giving up without a fight.
She marched up the path to Taffyta's and knocked of the little pink door. After a very long thirty seconds, Taffyta opened it. "Oh hey Candlehead," she said, drying her hair with the towel around her shoulders. "What can I do for you?"
Candlehead grimaced. In times gone by, Taffyta would have greeted her with a hug and an excited squeal. I mean sure, they were nineteen now, but couldn't she at least get a hug?
"Um, actually, I wanted to talk to you." Taffyta rolled her eyes. "Oh really? Coming to my house and everything?"
Candlehead bit back a retort, and said "I wanted to talk to you about you and Vanellope."
Taffyta's face lit up, and she exclaimed "Why, did she tell you? Great! This means I can tell people now! Oh Candles, you can't possibly understand how happy I'm feeling! I've never been happier!"
That felt like a punch in the stomach to Candlehead, who had always considered herself one of – if not the only – person who could possibly make Taffy so happy. "Happy about what?" She managed.
Taffyta laughed. "Well, the fact that she agreed to go out with me of course! What did you think I was talking about?"
Candlehead was surprised. Not at the fact Taffy was going out with a girl – she'd known her best friend was bisexual for quite a while now. She was stunned, however, by the fact that Taffyta had neglected to tell her, her best friend, about this. Or was she even her best friend anymore? Suddenly, she remembered seeing a whispered conversation between Taffy and Crumbelina the other day. How had she not noticed that?
"Oh…" she said. She was going to ask questions, but then she saw Taffyta. Her face was glowing, her eyes shining. She was happier than Candles had ever been able to make her. And, neglectful as she was, she was still Candles' best friend. So the green-haired girl bottled up her emotions, and choked out a "That's… that's great Taffyta. Um, I have to leave now…"
She ran away from her confused friend, and jumped in her kart. Before the strawberry girl could call her back, she had zoomed away down the street.
Rancis was just leaving his house when he saw a rather upset looking Candlehead drive past in her kart. He frowned. What was that all about?
Candles did used to be one of his best friends, but when Taffyta pushed him out of the group, to be replaced by Vanellope, she had decided to stick with them. So Rancis started hanging out with Gloyd and Swizzle, and slowly, as they grew up and reached the same maturity level as him, got new best friends. But Candles still held a place close to his heart – should he go talk to her?
He shook his head. She probably wouldn't want him there – and besides, he had something very important to do.
He climbed in his own kart, running one hand lovingly over the iced RV1 letters. Then, he turned the keys, shifted the gearstick, and drove up to the castle, revelling in the feeling of the wind in his face.
He got to the main entry gates, and hopped out of his kart. He checked his reflection once more in the mirror, messing with his curl of a fringe. Just as he was wiping an eyelash off his cheek, he heard a voice behind him. "Rancis? What are you doing here? And why are you crying?"
He turned. Standing behind him was his former best friend, Taffyta. She had done herself up – eyeliner, mascara, carefully brushed bob for once without hat, and her outfit – very different. She had a pair of dark blue shorts, a loose short pink chiffon top over a black spaghetti strap top, with no jacket or tights, but pink flats.
"Taffyta? I'm, uh … what are you doing here?"
Her eyes light up. "Well, it's supposed to be a secret, but… I'm actually going out with Vanellope! We're going to Tappers, her idea, but I'm sure it'll be great!"
Rancis tried to wrap his brain around this fact. "Like… a girl's night out?"
She raised her eyebrows at him. "No stupid! A date!"
She couldn't have hurt him more if she'd sliced off his head and ripped out his heart.
"A-a date?" he spluttered. "Yes! I can't believe how lucky I am!"
"You really don't know." Muttered Rancis. "Well, going back to my question, what are you doing here?" Rancis blinked. He had to get back before he actually started crying. "Um… I need to ask Vanellope about the engine on the RV1. That's it. I'll come back tomorrow though." He jumped back into his kart and drove off, leaving Taffyta confused for the second time that day.
He drove to the ice cream parlour, in the mood for a bowl of comforting peanut butter ice cream. Instead, he found, once again, a depressed looking Candlehead, staring at her empty spoon and bowl as if the answers of the world were hidden in them. This time, Rancis went to talk to her.
"Hey Candles. What's up?" Candlehead toyed with her spoon for a while, answering "I just lost my best friend." Rancis grunted. "I know what you mean. I just lost my crush."
This made Candlehead look up. "Really? Who? Taff?"
"Mod no." Said the peanut butter boy, taking a seat next to his friend. "So Vani then?" She replied. "Yeah."
"I don't know where we went wrong Rancis. I mean, were we not her best friends for fifteen years before Vanellope showed up? We practically waited on her hand and foot, we followed her ever order!"
Rancis frowned. "Maybe that's why. Maybe we were too … obedient for Taff's tastes."
Candlehead sighed. "I think you're right. C'mon," she said, standing up holding out her hand. "Let's go to my house and drown our sorrows in biscuits."
Rancis grinned. "Sure."
"I thought you said biscuits?" Said Rancis, as Candlehead pulled two bottles out of her kitchen cupboard. "Yeah, Biscuits Beer, the beer company! Duh!" She said, popping the lids off. Rancis shrugged. "Well, I guess we are nineteen."
That's how they found themselves, a half hour later, on the floor of Candlehead's bedroom, ranting about their former best friend. Eventually, Rancis got to his feet, and said: "You know what? She made us feel miserable – let's go make her feel miserable. Let's go ruin their date."
Candlehead pondered this for a moment, weighing up her options. She would say, in future, that she was glad she made the right choice, and that she never regretted her decision.
Never.
"Let's do it!" She shouted, pushing herself to her feet. She grinned. "And let's make them think we're a couple!"
"Yeah!" Shouted Rancis back, caught up in her enthusiasm. "We'll completely out-couple them! If they get the same order, we'll get one to share! If they hold hands, we'll feed each other food! It'll really get to Taffy, she's so competitive!"
Candlehead frowned. "What if they kiss?"
"We'll kiss better!"
"But we're not actually together."
"Well, yeah, but it's … it's kind of like how we used to play mums and dads when we were little."
Candlehead raised her eyebrows. "You mean when Taffy was always the kid, I was the dad and you were the mum?"
"Yeah, except for that one time Swizzle joined in… that was messed up." He muttered. "Anyway, the point is, we may be kissing, but it'll be more like pretend kissing."
Candlehead frowned. "I guess so…"
"Great! Get yourself all nice looking and meet me at mine. After all, we need to outdo them in looks as well."
Oh drunk Rancis and Candles...
Hope you liked it!
This is Sticky (a.k.a Miss Wipplesnit) signing off for the night! Goodnight!