Chapter 10: Meeting The Sugar Rush Families
"Location: Sugar Rush, May 26th 1997"
The next morning, King Candy and Maltina were seated at the dining room table. They were waiting for Vanellope and Licortwist to join them, but they weren't showing up for some reason. After a while, King Candy stood up and looked at the time.
"I think I should get the kids." King Candy said.
Maltina nodded. King Candy left the dining room, went upstairs, and walked to Vanellope's room. He knocked on the door a few times.
"Kids? Breakfast is almost done." King Candy said.
However, he got no answer.
"Kids?" King Candy asked.
Like before, there was silence. He opened the door slowly and peeked his head inside. He blinked and then closed the door with a smile.
"Honey, get the camera!" King Candy called from the stairs.
"Why?" Maltina asked, confused.
King Candy chuckled.
"Just do it and come here. It's worth it." King Candy replied.
Maltina got the camera and walked upstairs, getting on her husband's side.
"What is it?" Maltina asked.
King Candy opened Vanellope's door and pointed at their daughter's bed. Maltina looked at the sight in front of her with a warm smile. Licortwist was sleeping in Vanellope's bed, his head on the girl's chest while looking happy and relaxed. Vanellope, on the other hand, was hugging Licortwist with her chin over the boy's head, snoring lowly. The two adults squeaked quietly at the cute image and Maltina took a few photos.
The flash was enough to wake Licortwist and Vanellope. The both of them slowly opened their eyes, their barely awake forms looking at the adults in front of them.
"Hi, guys." Licortwist and Vanellope both greeted in unison.
The two of them woke up fully, looked at each other, and noticed that they were cuddling. Both of their eyes grew wide, and they screamed and separated.
"Licortwist, what are you doing? Why were you cuddling me?" Vanellope asked angrily.
"Why were you cuddling me?" Licortwist asked angrily.
Both of them looked at King Candy and Maltina in front of them, trying to tell them 'this isn't what it looks like!' and 'It's not what you think.'. The two adults didn't believe them, but they decided to play along just to make them comfortable again.
"It's okay. We didn't see anything." Maltina said.
Licortwist and Vanellope both knew that the king and queen were pretending, but the sooner they got out of the situation, the better.
King Candy smirked.
"Well, we'll leave you two alone. When your ready, come and join us. We're going to have breakfast, and then we're going to the racetrack." King Candy said.
"Really?" Licortwist asked.
King Candy nodded.
"Yes. And while we're there, you can meet the other racers." King Candy replied.
King Candy and Maltina walked out of the room, leaving Licortwist and Vanellope alone. Once they were gone, the two kids got up from the bed and went into the bathroom to brush their teeth. After they were done cleaning themselves, both kids raced downstairs to the kitchen. Vanellope was the one who entered the kitchen first.
"Good morning!" Vanellope greeted.
Licortwist waved at them, smiling. King Candy and Maltina were seated, and the castle servants were serving everyone their portions. The two adults smiled at the two children.
"Hey, sleepy heads. I thought that we were going to start eating without you." Maltina said sarcastically.
"Sorry." Licortwist said as he took his seat next to the queen.
King Candy looked at Licortwist.
"Did you have trouble sleeping? I heard that you slept with Vanellope last night. Was there something wrong with the couch?" King Candy asked.
Licortwist shook his head.
"No, the bed was great! I just... had a little nightmare." Licortwist replied.
King Candy nodded and smiled. Vanellope sat next to her father and they all began to eat. Eventually, they finished their breakfast, and Vanellope and Licortwist went upstairs and began to prepare themselves for the day. Vanellope took a shower while Licortwist made the bed and couch. Once he was done, he took out his new clothes that he had gotten from Reese's store from an empty closet. He eventually heard the shower going off, and after a while, Vanellope left the bathroom, fully dressed. The boy went inside the bathroom and took a shower, and when he was done, he got dressed into his new clothing and left the bathroom.
Once they were ready, Licortwist and Vanellope made their way to the garage, where King Candy and Maltina were already waiting in the kart. The two kids got into the kart, and King Candy drove the kart out of the garage. They drove through the candy cane forest before reaching a straight trail. They drove down the trail for six minutes before reaching the racetrack. King Candy parked the kart behind the popcorn stand, which he, Maltina, and Vanellope had told Licortwist earlier was for them. They got out of the kart and walked out onto the racetrack. Licortwist saw the candy citizens there, and the royal family's fans began to cheer and shout as they saw their rulers appear. While Vanellope, Maltina, and King Candy waved at their fans, Licortwist took the time to look around. He saw a huge screen that he guessed was to watch the race from the stands, which were colorful candy boxes with different kinds of candy fans. Eventually, Vanellope, Maltina, and King Candy stopped waving to their fans, and King Candy and Maltina turned to Vanellope and Licortwist.
"Vanellope, why don't you go introduce Licortwist to the other racers?" Maltina asked.
Vanellope smiled.
"Sure, mom." Vanellope replied. She turned to Licortwist and said "Come on, Licortwist.".
Licortwist nodded and left with Vanellope. Both of them approached the stands, where the Sugar Rush racers were standing in front of the popcorn stand. Licortwist noticed that all of the Sugar Rush racers were kids, and there were adults too. Most of the racers were girls, but there were some boys. One of the parents, a red haired woman with a theme that seemed to be cherries, turned around and spotted Vanellope. She waved at the younger girl.
"Well, look who showed up! I haven't see you around for a while." the woman said.
"Hello, Mrs. Bing-Bing." Vanellope greeted.
The Sguar Rush racers and the other adults turned, and they also waved at Vanellope. But as they did, they noticed Licortwist standing behind Vanellope.
"Oh! Hello, Licortwist! I'm happy to see you. Are things going good?" Reese asked as he recognized the black haired boy.
Licortwist smiled and nodded.
"Things are going great, Mr. Fluggerbutter." Licortwist replied.
"Is this the boy that you were talking about, dad?" a voice asked.
A kid with blond short hair and blue eyes walked over and stood next to Reese. He eyed Licortwist curiously as a girl with pale skin, brown hair, and blue eyes, and wearing brown clothing walked over, accompanied by a woman with pale skin, long brown hair, and blue eyes, and also wearing brown clothing.
"I'm pretty sure me and my brother never saw you around. What's your name?" the girl asked.
The other Sugar Rush racers got closer and Licortwist took a few steps back, wondering if he would need to use the licorice pieces for defense.
"My name's Licortwist Hothead." Licortwist replied.
The red haired woman smiled.
"It's nice to meet you, Licortwist. Now that we know who you are, I think that we should address our children and ourselves to you." the woman said.
A blonde haired woman wearing a big pink dress stepped in front of the woman quite rudely. A second later, a blonde haired man stepped out of the crowd.
"If that's the case, I get to talk first." the blonde haired woman said.
She eyed Licortwist while the red haired woman glared at her.
"Well, little boy, my name is Lady Malva Strawberry." the woman introduced. She smiled smugly, gestured to the man and a girl next to her, and introduced "And this is my husband, Lord Domini Muttonfudge, and my daughter, Taffyta Muttonfudge, one of the top racers.".
Domini had pale skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes, and he wore a white shirt, pink pants, and black boots. He smiled and waved at Licortwist.
"Hello, little guy." Domini greeted politely.
Taffyta was wearing a sparkly pink dress, and she had fair skin, platinum blonde hair, blue eyes, and a serious look. She took a lollipop out of her mouth and waved at him with it.
"Hey, newbie." Taffyta greeted with a smirk.
The red haired woman cleared her throat, and a man with pale skin, blue hair, and blue eyes, and wearing blue clothing walked over and stood next to her.
"My name's Cheri Bing-Bing, and this is my husband, Almond." the red haired woman introduced. She smiled warmly at Licortwist and said "And these are our girls.".
Two twin girls walked out from behind Cheri and Almond.
"I'm Citruesella Flugpucker." the younger twin, a purple colored girl, said calmly.
Her older sister, a red colored girl, however, looked way more energetic.
"I'm Jubileena Bing-Bing, but you can call me Jubi!" the older twin introduced.
A small green colored woman giggled next to Cheri, standing next to a taller green colored man.
"Hello, dearie. My name is Mentha, and this is my husband, Yuki." the woman introduced.
Licortwist smiled and then noticed three girls that each wore a huge ribbon on their heads. He blinked when he noticed that they were triplets. Mentha gestured the three girls.
"These are my and Yuki's daughters. The yellow one is Torvald Batterbutter, the turquoise one is Sticky Wipplesnit, and the green one is Minty Zaki." Mentha introduced.
Minty, Sticky, and Torvald waved at him. Licortwist suddenly heard a cough and turned around to see a tan skinned man stepping ahead, along with a tan skinned woman.
"I'm Biscuit DiCaramello, and this is my wife, Zabaione." the man introduced. He fixed his bow tie, pointed to a tan skinned girl between him and Zabaione, and introduced "And this is our girl, Crumbelina DiCaramello.".
Crumbelina smiled.
"Hello." Crumbelina greeted in a shy tone.
Licortwist waved at her. Licortwist looked at Reese, who laughed nervously.
"Oh, well, you know me already." Reese said. He looked at his son, the girl, and the woman and said "But you don't know my son, daughter, or wife. My son's name is Rancis Fluggerbutter, my daughter's name is Creamy Buttercap, and my wife's name is Chocolatte Cocoabutter.".
Rancis fixed his hair and held his hand in front of him. Licortwist blinked and carefully took it. The two boys shook hands and Rancis smiled smugly.
"Even if your style isn't 'shiny', I think your a good guy." Rancis said.
Licortwist looked puzzled by what he meant. A woman wearing a green dress roared with laughter.
"Shiny! HA HA! Your son is such a sight, Reese!" the woman said.
Reese rubbed the back of his head, laughing nervously. The woman smiled and faced Licortwist.
"Well! My name is Candella!" the woman introduced.
A green haired man walked over, holding Candlehead in his arms.
"And this here is my husband, Candello, and my little sweet cupcake, Candlehead!" Candella introduced.
Candlehead waved at Licortwist, who waved back. He turned and saw a couple standing by him, along with a tan skinned boy with dark green hair. The woman was wearing a blue dress, and she had tan skin, purple-brown hair tied in a ponytail with a big lollipop clip in the front, and green eyes. She was rather fat, but looked really nice. The man was thin and tall, his skin was a tan color, his eyes were light blue, and his hair was green, and he wore a blue jacket, a dark yellow shirt, striped blue pants, striped yellow leggings, and dark green boots.
"Hello. My name is Meiji Malarkey, and this is my wife, Chupa, and my son, Swizzle." the man introduced.
Licortwist smiled.
"Nice to meet you." Licortwist said.
He turned to another couple that also had a boy with them. The boy had pale skin, dark brown hair, and brown eyes, and he wore a pumpkin hat and orange clothing. The man had pale skin, dark brown hair, and blue eyes, and he also wore orange clothing. And the woman had pale skin, black hair, and brown eyes, and she wore black clothing.
"Hello, kid. My name is Kobacha, my husband's name is Blanc, and my son's name is Gloyd." the woman introduced.
Gloyd smiled at Licortwist and waved at him. Licortwist nodded and turned to the last two families remaining. A dark skinned woman that looked like a 60's dancer walked forward. She was wearing purple clothes, and her hair was hidden in a small afro that was made of sherbet.
"Yo, little baby! The name's Sundae Rainbeau, and my husband's name is Berry Rainbeau. And this here is our girl, Snowanna Rainbeau." the woman introduced.
Berry had dark skin, black and dark-purple hair, and purple eyes, and he wore dark purple clothing. And Snowanna looked just like Sundae, except her sherbert afro was more colorful and bigger then her mom's.
Snowanna winked at him.
"Hey, new guy! Nice to meet you!" Snowanna greeted.
"Nice to meet you too!" Licortwist said.
He looked at the last couple. The man had pinkish-white skin, red hair, and blue eyes, and he wore red and white snow clothing, while the woman had pale skin, blue hair, and cold blue eyes. Licortwist cringed a bit when the woman huffed and looked away, crossing her arms over her chest. However, the man and the girls (who were also twins) next to the woman smiled sweetly at him.
"Please forgive my wife. She tends to be cold sometimes." the man said in an apologetic tone.
The woman sighed and looked at him.
"My name's Bomba Winterpop, and this is my husband, Icy." the woman introduced. She lifted her index finger, looked sternly at Licortwist, and said "But you must address me as Ma'am, young boy.".
"Y-Yes, Ma'am." Licortwist said, not liking her already.
Sundae got next to her friend, put her hands on her hips, and leaned slightly.
"Bomba, give the poor sugar a break. We just meet him." Sundae said.
Bomba rolled her eyes.
"Fine." Bomba said. She sighed, looked at Licortwist, and said "Well, I told you who I am. This girls here are, of course, my and Icy's little daughters.".
Icy gently put his hands on their shoulders.
"Girls, introduce yourselves." Icy said.
The blue one nodded and looked at Licortwist.
"My name is Adorabeezle Winterpop." the girl introduced.
The pink one waved at him.
"My name's Nougetsia Brumblestain. It's a pleasure." the girl introduced.
Licortwist smiled at them, glad to know that they and Icy were sweet and calm compared to Bomba. Blanc looked around for any adult that seemed to be caring for Licortwist.
"So, who are your parents, Licortwist?" Blanc asked.
A few of the adults looked curious as well. Licortwist rubbed his arm and looked away.
"I... I'm living with Vanellope for now." Licortwist replied.
His gaze returned to the Halloween themed man, who was rubbing the back of his head, clearly getting the message.
"I'm so sorry, my boy. I shouldn't have asked." Blanc said.
The other adults were looking worried as well, but the kids, on the other hand, were clueless. Only Vanellope, Rancis, and Creamy knew about Licortwist's case (Rancis and Creamy knew because Reese had told them). The rest of the kids didn't know a thing.
Licortwist smiled.
"Don't worry about it. There was no way that you could have known." Licortwist said.
Blanc blinked at the boy. He then smiled and ruffled his hair.
"I like you, kid. You seem like a good person." Blanc said.
Suddenly, the sound of a microphone being tested called everyone's attention. The Sugar Rush racers and their parents looked up to see King Candy waving at them. Vanellope grabbed Licortwist's hand, and she led him up to the popcorn stand.
"Stay here with my mom, Licortwist. I have to go with my dad." Vanellope ordered.
Licortwist nodded, and he watched as Vanellope climbed down the popcorn stand and joined King Candy, the Sugar Rush racers, and their parents by the karts. He frowned and walked over to Maltina, who was sitting in the popcorn stand's chair.
"So, what's going on?" Licortwist asked in confusion.
Maltina looked at him.
"The kids are going to race, and we, the king, and the parents are just going to watch." Maltina replied.
Licortwist nodded in understanding.