Chapter 6 - Race for Your Love

After the events of Darington's birthday party, Blaze and Rain remained rather close, as they would visit each other frequently for the next couple days, And though it was quiet obvious at the party, the two were still too shy to admit that they liked each other out loud.

And when they went out, they didn't like to call it a 'date'; they didn't even go out alone together, as they would always at least bring AJ along or go hang out with their other friends.

But one morning, when Blaze heard a knock at the door, he didn't answer it to find Rain again as he had expected; instead a rather different and surprising guest was at the door.

"Hello, Blaze."

"Crusher? What are you doing here?" Blaze asked with surprise, and it was true that he was now looking at the said dark blue truck.

"Oh, I just wanted to talk to you about some VERY important matters," Crusher replied calmly, eventually making Blaze exit from his garage and close the door behind him.

"Ok…what is it?" Blaze asked slowly with concern.

"Listen, you ingrate, I don't like the way you keep attracting Rain," Crusher suddenly went from calm to terrifying, lowering his voice to a deep, threatening growl. And Blaze was taken by complete surprise.

"W-what?"

"You heard what I said. You always beat me at everything—but not this time. I'm NOT letting you take Rain from me."

"But i-it's not really your choice, Crusher. Who Rain falls in love with is not yours or MY decision."

"Oh, yeah? Well, if you care about Rain that much, then you'll defend your rights over your relationship with her."

"What are you getting at?"

"What I'm getting at is a bet. Whoever wins, gets to keep Rain all to himself? Of course, you don't HAVE to accept my challenge if you really don't love Rain-."

"Now, hold on just a minute, Crusher!" Blaze snapped and stopped Crusher in his tracks when he tried to turn and leave, "I DO love Rain!"

This was EXACTLY what Crusher wanted, to bait Blaze.

"Well, that's good. You wouldn't mind accepting my challenge then, right?" Crusher asked with an evil grin, awaiting Blaze's response.

But Blaze didn't know what to say. He didn't want to make Rain feel like some trophy to win, and he also didn't want Crusher to just take Rain either. If Crusher beat him, it could mean the worst for both him and Rain.

"What's your challenge?" Blaze asked reluctantly.

"Today, at high noon, we meet at Gabby's shop. We race all around the outskirts of Axle City, and then whoever arrives back at Gabby's shop first is the winner," Crusher firmly explained.

"Ok, I'll race you—but if I beat you, you have to promise to leave Rain and alone. Deal?" Blaze sighed in defeat.

"Deal," Crusher chuckled darkly, and he finally turned and left, still wearing an evil smile on his face.

And as much as Blaze hated to admit it, but Crusher was right; he had to defend his love for Rain.

"You're going to what?!" AJ and Gabby weren't amused with what they heard Blaze say, after he took AJ to Gabby's shop.

"You have to promise not to tell Rain. Please!" Blaze begged with worry.

"I think she has the right to know," Gabby pointed out.

"And this could be dangerous. You should just ignore Crusher," AJ added firmly.

"But if I do, I won't be able to protect my feelings for Rain—and apparently, this is how Crusher wants us to prove who Rain deserves more," Blaze protested.

"But Blaze-!" AJ tried to argue, only for Gabby to grab his shoulder and cut him off.

"I think you're stupid for doing this, Blaze—but I also think you're very heroic. If you really want to fight for Rain, then we won't stop you. Right, AJ?" Gabby explained softly yet firmly.

"Yeah…ok," AJ sighed in defeat.

"And you're secret's safe with us too—just promise you'll be careful," Gabby instructed.

"Thanks, guys. And I will; I've raced other cars and trucks HUNDREDS of times, and not a single bad thing ever happened. I'll be ok," Blaze reassured while getting slightly cocky.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Blaze," Crusher chuckled as he suddenly entered the shop, Pickle close behind him.

"Yeah, it's Crusher's thing ta get too cocky," Pickle added with a smirk, making the said dark blue monster truck glare at him.

"No—I mean, we'll see how everything turns out when the race is over," Crusher growled, but then he smiled evilly at Blaze, "better be carefully out there, Blaze, 'cause I ain't gonna play nice this time."

"But you never play nice," Pickle pointed out.

"Pickle, shut it before I nail it shut." Pickle immediately closed his mouth after Crusher's threat, and he turned and exited the shop in a huff to wait outside.

"Don't worry, Blaze. We'll beat him together, like we always do," AJ reassured.

"AJ…you can't come with me," Blaze sighed sadly.

"What?" AJ asked with shock.

"This is MY race to win, not yours. If I'm going to prove myself for Rain, I'll have to do it alone. Besides, I think Crusher means it when he says he's not going to race fairly—and I mean more than usual—and I don't want you getting hurt because of me."

AJ could only stare at his best friend with wide eyes for a moment before sighing in defeat and sulking his head; though, Gabby tried to make him feel better by placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Blaze, it's almost noon! Get out here, or you'll forfeit!" Crusher called impatiently, and Blaze hastily made his way and parked right next to Crusher, Pickle, AJ, and Gabby all standing out of the way and watching.

"You remember the rules: race around Axle City, and the first one back here is the winner," Crusher instructed firmly.

"Whatever you say, Crusher," Blaze stated dryly, making Crusher scoff. But soon, the two rivals started their engines, revving them loudly.

"Hey, Blaze, we came ta-WHOA!" Darington asked when he noticed Blaze, but when he tried to approach him, the said red monster truck and Crusher finally sped off to begin their race, barely missing Darington if he hadn't made himself thinner and stayed just between them.

"What's the rush?" Darington questioned once he calmed down after nearly getting hit.

"Crusher challenged Blaze to a race—to see who would win Rain's heart," Gabby reluctantly informed.

"What?!"

Once again, everyone turned their heads in shock when they heard none other than Rain's voice, as she had just arrived to her what Gabby said…and she didn't like what she heard.

"Oops…" Gabby whimpered.

Sorry that this chapter is a bit short.

Anyway, things are getting interesting, right? Blaze and Crusher are going head to head to see who gets Rain. Who will win? We shall find out in the next and final chapter.

Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!