Chapter 3 - Pie to the Face

"So, uh…what's Axel City like? I-it's nice, I presume?" Rain began sheepishly to try and strike up a conversation, as Blaze had just started giving her a tour of the city.

"Oh, yeah! When I first moved here, I knew it would be a place to have fun and make great friends," Blaze happily replied, but Rain looked at him with confusion.

"Wait, you weren't born here?"

"Nope. But I'm happy to call this place my home."

"Aww, that's sweet." Just that statement made Blaze start to blush a bit.

"W-well, yeah, I-I guess it is, but…hopefully…you can make this place your home too?" the red monster truck asked with hope while trying not to look at Rain.

"Well…I-I don't know. I honestly just thought I'd be visiting for Darington's birthday…but to move here?" Rain pondered aloud, only making things more awkward.

"Yeah…guess it was worth a shot," Blaze sighed sadly under his breath.

"Wait…do you…WANT me to stay here?"

"What?! No!"

"Blaze." The said red monster truck immediately froze when he felt when he felt a gentle tire touch his front tire, and his red paint luckily hid his deep blush as he looked at the blue monster truck.

"I think it's sweet that you want me to stay here. You're a really good friend," Rain softly reassured with a smile.

"W-we're friends?" Blaze stuttered.

"Of course. Any friend of Darington's is a friend of mine."

"C-cool, cool…so, uh…let's finally get on with that tour, huh?"

"Sure! Where to first?"

"Well, you've already seen the stunt stadium and the bakery, so let's start somewhere different. And trust me when I say I know the PERFECT place to end the tour."

"Oh? And where is that?"

"It's a surprise."

But unbeknownst to the two trucks as they left, Crusher and Pickle were still secretly following them, and Crusher was getting angrier the more he saw Rain spend her time with Blaze.

"This just isn't fair, Pickle. Just when I think I could finally win, Blaze once again comes along and ruins everything," Crusher babbled angrily.

"Well, Crusher, it may not be fair to you, but I wouldn't advise playing unfair this time," Pickle suggested sheepishly, but Crusher only glared down at him.

"What?!"

"I-I'm saying that i-if you really do want Rain to like you too, ya might not wanna cheat this time, ya know?"

"I don't have ta worry about that because I'm so skilled at cheating, Rain'll NEVER even know I cheated in the first place. I can't possibly fail."

"Ok…but don't say I didn't warn you."

A few hours later, the sun was finally setting to not only end the day, but to also end Blaze's tour for Rain. And since she knew the tour was concluding, Rain was excited to see this surprise location that Blaze had planned for the end.

"Aw, c'mon, can't you just tell me what it is?" Rain begged as Blaze lead her up the side of a mountain just outside the city, and she was getting more and more antsy by the second.

"If I told you what it is, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore. But don't worry, it'll be worth the wait," Blaze chuckled.

"It better be."

"It is because we're here." With that, Blaze pointed at the cliff not too far ahead, and Rain followed to where his tire was pointing and immediately sped up to the top. And what she saw made her gasp with surprise. The mountain over looked all of Axel City, as it sparkled beautifully in the radiant setting sun's light.

"Oh, Blaze…it's beautiful," Rain sighed happily.

"Isn't it? I like to come up here a lot at the beginning and end of every day," Blaze added calmly as he joined Rain's side and stared on with her.

"I can see why. I'm glad you saved this place for last."

"Me too."

…

"Hey, um, Blaze? This may sound…a little weird, but…have you ever, um…liked someone?" Rain soon asked while trying not to blush, and she refused to look Blaze in the eyes. Speaking of which, the said red monster truck's eyes went wide with surprise and embarrassment. Blaze started to wonder if he should tell Rain about her crush on her…but he couldn't possibly embarrass himself like that, not right now.

"U-uh, ahem! Y-Yeah, I-I've…liked someone before," Blaze stuttered in response.

"R-r-really? Well…who?"

"Um…what do you mean? I mean, I like all of my friends."

"So…does that mean you like me too?" Rain asked with hope.

"Um, w-well…o-of course I like you," Blaze replied with a sheepish chuckle.

"Really? Well, Blaze…I-." But just when Rain was about to finally admit that she liked him too, she was interrupted when…a random pie was suddenly landed on Blaze's face.

"What the-? Where did this pie come from?" Blaze questioned while wiping the pie off.

"I don't know, but you might want to move," Rain quickly added, and she and Blaze moved out of the way just in time before another pie could hit them.

Blaze squinted down over the cliff to look for the source of the pie throwing, and he soon found what looked like a giant robotic arm that was throwing the pies, as it wasn't very well hidden amongst the trees in the forest below.

"A robotic pie throwing-arm?" Blaze pondered out loud.

"How did that get in the forest? And more importantly, WHO put it there?" Rain added in confusion, but then she noticed some of the pie still smudged on Blaze, "oh, uh, you've still got a little bit of pie on your face, Blaze."

"Where?"

"Here, let me get it." With that, Rain awkwardly began wiping the messy pie from Blaze's face, and Blaze froze when she got so close; though, it wasn't long before Rain was finally done getting the rest of the pie off, and she blushed and chuckled sheepishly when she realized how close she was to his face too.

"Heh-heh…there, all clean," Rain stuttered while backing away a bit.

"Th-thanks," Blaze stammered as the two trucks awkwardly smiled at each other.

"So, um…should we go back now?"

"Y-yeah, good point. Let's go."

The two trucks turned around and drove down the mountain trail, and it was quiet at first. But then Rain smiled sweetly.

"Hey, Blaze."

"Yeah?"

"I like you too."

Meanwhile, the real culprit behind the robotic arm that threw the pies at Blaze and Rain was laughing at how much of a success his plan turned out to be.

"Ha! In your face, Blaze—literally!" Crusher cheered when he saw Blaze and Rain drive away.

"That wasn't very nice, Crusher," Pickle pointed out with disappointment.

"Oh, who cares? I put a stop to their little tour, and it's a good thing too. Rain was starting to have too much fun with Blaze."

"So? Fun is a good thing."

"Not when it takes your girl away, Pickle."

"But Rain isn't technically YOUR girl."

"But she WILL be, Pickle. She WILL be."

"Why did you just repeat yourself?"

"Just to be sure, Pickle. Just to be sure."

Sorry for the shorter chapter, I just didn't know how else to end it. Besides, I think the joke ends it kinda perfectly, don't you agree?

Anyway, until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!