It was the next morning in Radiator Springs, and Chris woke up bright and early. Climbing out of the bed, she drove her way around the store and found Sarge's room. She peaked inside..he wasn't there.

"Must be down at Flo's." Chris said to herself as she stretched her axles and exited the store.

"Ay! Good morning, sexy." Ramone joked, receiving a playful smack in the face from Flo.

"Good morning, Ramone." Chris rolled her eyes and laughed.

Sarge, who was sitting not too far away, rolled his eyes and growled under his breath. Ramone was a typical ladies' man, and Sarge hated it! Sarge liked Ramone, but not how he acted, but then again, Ramone was Ramone. Sarge sighed and continued to drink his drink.

"G'mornin' Sarge." Chris rolled up to him.

"Mornn'." He mumbled back, not even looking up.

"Something wrong?" She asked in a low voice so she wouldn't be heard.

"No." He said harshly. Sarge couldn't even figure out why he was sounding snappy with her this morning. Was it Ramone? No..Was is what he did last night? Most likely..

"Sarge." Chris said, louder. Almost every car looked at them. "Follow me. We need to talk."

Before he had time to say anything, she began to drive off, forcing him to follow her.

"What are you doing?" He asked, almost glaring at her.

"What's wrong? You aren't really yourself around me." She asked.

His eyes softened and he looked away. "Nothing. I'm fine."

"No, you aren't. Ever since I came here you've been acting weird! And that was only yesterday!" She said, nearly yelling her response,

"I--I know, and I want to apologize for it." He said, finally looking back at her.

"Don't be sorry. You've got no reason to be." She replied.

"Actually, I do. I was a bit forward last night, and I shouldn't have done what I did." He admitted, looking up at her with the saddest of eyes.

"Sarge, I didn't mind." She said with a chuckle. "I was actually glad that you did."

"Why?" He asked, moving a bit closer to her.

Chris noticed this movement and moved closer to him, touching him lightly on the side. Shivers ran through his body as he continued to stare at the beauty next to him.

"I don't know, I just was. I didn't want to think that our close friendship was over, and that helped me realize that it wasn't." She shrugged.

Friendship..The single word haunted him in his mind. He wanted to be more than that with her. he had to tell her his true feelings, but something inside him told him it was the wrong thing to do. He had to..he just couldn't regret not ever telling her how he felt! If something were to happen, at least she'd know.

"I have something to say." He quietly admitted.

"What is it?" She asked, smiling and getting a bit closer.

He swallowed hard. "It's hard for me to say, actually, but I kinda have to."

"Just tell me what you have to." She replied.

"I don't want this to ruin our friendship, and there is no other way to say it, so, Chris, I...I have certain feelings for you. I like you a lot..more than just friends.." He said it! It was done! The next hardest thing was listening to what she had to say...hopefully it would be good.

He flinched as she suddenly came to a halt. "Really?"

He nodded and looked away, almost ashamed.

Chris didn't know what to say. She liked Sarge, but not like that. At least not yet.

"S-Sarge..I..I didn't know that." Is all she could say.

I knew it! I knew I should have kept my big mouth shut! Sarge shut his eyes tight and sighed.

"Look, I...I'm not ready to jump into a relationship right now, and you didn't ruin our friendship. Sarge, I love you a lot. You're my best friend, but I'm not ready." She added, feeling bad for him. She now knew how horrible he felt, but there was no way anything would work out for them, she knew.

"I understand." He said.

"I'm sorry." She said as they both continued to drive, except the other way..back to Radiator Springs.

"Don't be." He said with a smile.

She smiled back as they drove back to Flo's. Just as she turned around to enter Flo's, Mack ran into her.

"Oof! Sorry, there." Mack apologized.

Chris looked up at him and smiled, blushing. "Oh, it's no problem. My fault."

For a big rig, he was actually cute, she thought. Most other big rigs were 'sex-addicted freaks'.

..........

Meanwhile, Sarge was talking to Ramone and the rest of the group.

"I told her..I finally told her, and now I regret it." He said, looking down at the ground.

"Awwww, duude! I have a small, but special quote for ya." Ramone began.

"Oh, please don't embarrass me.." Sarge said and looked away while rolling his eyes, but Ramone continued.

"You gotta take some chances, you gotta risk losing it all, you gotta close your eyes and leap because it might be worth the fall." Ramone winked as a finish.

Sarge could hardly believe his ears..did..did Ramone just say something that actually made SENSE? He looked up at his friend.

"Thanks." Is all he could manage to say.

........

"So, your the one who's with Sarge, huh?" Mack asked, looking down upon Chris.

"I'm not 'with' him, I'm just friends with him." She replied with a smile.

"Ohhh, riiight." He winked and laughed, causing Chris to do the same. "Anyway, as you may already know, I'm Mack."

"Ya, that's right. Lightning was telling me about you." Chris replied. "So, how are you?" She asked, trying to start up a conversation.

"Pretty good. Good thing I don't have ta work right now." He chuckled. "And you?"

"I'm ok, I guess. I was just gonna get a drink at Flo's." She replied.

"Mind if I join ya?" Mack asked.

"Sure, that's be great!" Chris replied with a smile as she moved out of the way to allow Mack to turn around.

As Sarge sipped his drink, he noticed the two of them next to each other talking and drinking. Sarge glared as Chris began to laugh at something funny Mack must've said. She began to blush and Sarge's engine began to heat as he continued his death glare at Mack. Mack glanced at Sarge, and Sarge quickly looked away.

"What's the matter with Sarge over there?" Mack asked Chris.

"Oh, I don't know.", the m715 sighed. "He's not in a very good mood."

"When is he?" Mack laughed causing Chris to chuckle.

"So I guess he's always like this?" She asked, looking at Sarge from the corner of her eyes.

"As far as I know." He replied, taking a sip from his drink. "So, if ya don't mind me askin', where have ya lived before ya came here?"

"Oh, I've been to many places all over the world. It's not like I want to move a lot, I'm just never comfortable with my surroundings for some reason, but now that I know that Sarge is here, I kinda feel more comfortable ya know? I really need it after being alone for the past couple of years."

"Ah, so you were in the army?" He asked.

"Yup." She replied, taking the final sip of her drink before it went empty. "For about..ehh..sixteen years or so. I joined when I was eighteen"

"Wow." Mack whistled.

"Didn't seem long enough though. It wasn't long enough. Sarge left with me. We were best friends. Almost like brother and sister. We were there for each other." Chris sighed and looked over at her friend.

"I see." Mack nodded. "Maybe that's why he's been so grumpy all these years."

She chuckled, "Maybe."

"Ever been to Wheel Well before?"He asked.

"Huh-uh, never." She replied, shaking her head.

"Aw man. You don't know what your missin' out!" He laughed.

"It must be nice. Is it far from here?" She asked.

"It's beautiful, and actually, it's a couple miles." He replied. "We should go check it out while it's closed. No crowd, and the scenery is nice."

"Sure, I'd love to go." Chris replied, blushing slightly.

"Follow me." He said as he turned out of Flo's. Chris followed and they both drove down the road to Wheel Well.

Sarge stared after them..he was..taking her on a drive!

"Wha-what?!" Sarge whispered harshly. He couldn't believe it.

...........

Minutes seemed like hours before Mack and Chris reached their destination.

"We're here." He said.

"Oh my--It's...beautiful, Mack! I've never seen so many stars in the sky before." Chris gasped.

Mack chuckled, "Ya must've lived in the city all your life."

"Basically. You never see skies like this in the cities." She laughed.

Mack agreed and shook his head. "Nope."

"This is really amazing." Chris couldn't help but laugh. The full moon stood silently in the sky as it's soft blue-hinted light beamed on the rocky terrain below them. "I've always loved the stars and moon."

"I know what ya mean. I see it a lot when I drive on the highway. I actually like it a lot better than in the day." He sighed.

"Oh, I can imagine." She chuckled.

For the first time since they got there, Mack looked down at Chris. The moonlight seemed to hit her almost perfectly and he caught himself staring at her with his mouth partly hanging open.

"Something wrong?" She asked with a smile.

"Wha-? Oh, no." He replied and blushed, but thankfully for him, his red paint job covered most of it, and the night.

"Well, it is getting late." He sighed. "I guess we should be headin' back before the others worry."

Chris nodded and agreed, "Yea, you're right."

...........

Finally, the two had made it back to the town, and mostly everybody was already back in their little homes fast asleep.

"Thank you so much for the drive." She said to Mack as they pulled up in front of Sarge's hut.

"It's no problem. Any time." He winked.

"Goodnight." She smiled at him.

"G'night." He replied and smiled back before turning to leave.

Chris watched him go with a grin on her face. She sighed heavily, her smile still glued in place as she turned to enter Sarge's.

"Hello." Chris greeted Sarge as she saw he was still awake.

"Hey." He replied with a nod.

"Um, I'm gonna go to bed. See you tomorrow." She said.

"Yea, ok." He replied and drove slowly to his room.

Chris frowned as she watched him leave and turn the corner into the room. She sighed and drove into her own, got in the bed, closed her eyes and drifted into the deepest sleep.

..........

Yay! Chappy 2! I hope you like it. XD

Please note that It may be difficult for me to update quickly..school work and whatnot are filling my hands and 'to-do' list..XP but don't worry, ill try to update as much as possible, as fast as I can. Thanks for understanding! =)