Also Bitalo and Torvald dating spread through the kingdom, or country as Vanellope preferred. Everyone was happy for them, especially Minty and Sourward. Surprisingly Sourward was not resentful or jealous. He always knew his best friend deserved true love and was grateful that he finally found it. Sticky was happy for Torvald like Minty, except she was also sad. Being the romantic that she was she kept wishing that she could find someone like Minty and Torvald had. She didn't resent her sisters for being lucky in love, but she did feel lonely.
You see her feelings for Adamec had been growing stronger during the past few weeks until her feelings for Swizzle had completely gone away. And it wasn't because Adamec was bolder about stunts either. She had gotten to know Adamec personally and fell in love with his passion for life, his kindness and bravery, and how he cared about others. One example of it: sometimes Swizzle would fall down - even the best fall down now and then - and instead of completing the run Adamec would stop and go back to make sure that Swizzle was all right.
Sticky had been confused about her feelings at first. After all Swizzle was kinda the same as Adamec and vice-versa, so why had her feelings shifted? Was it because Swizzle had chose Minty and her heart decided to give up on him? Was Adamec just a replacement? Despite her confused feelings she couldn't help but daydream about ending up with Adamec, and she even made drawings and poems about it.
By August Torvald was the first to catch on. She had been walking to her room when she saw Sticky's door open. She only glanced, but had to double-take: Sticky was doing more drawings. Torvald, thinking they were of Sticky and Swizzle, sighed and decided to talk to her. Despite the door being open she slightly knocked on it. Torvald looked up, blushed, and brought the drawing she was working on to her chest so that Torvald couldn't see it.
"Sticky you really should let go of Swizzle." Torvald said sympathetically. "You know how much he loves Minty."
"I know." Sticky continued blushing. "I...it's not him."
"Really? You found someone else?" Torvald smiled and entered Sticky's room. "Who?"
"Adam." Sticky admitted as she let Torvald see her drawing.
It was of her and Adamec dancing.
"Ah." Torvald smiled. "Well have you told him?"
"Told who what?"
Torvald and Sticky looked and saw Minty at the doorway.
"Told Adam that I love him. And no I haven't." Sticky sighed.
"Well why not?" Minty smiled even though she was confused.
"Because I'm worried that I just love him as a replacement for Swizzle." Sticky said sadly.
"I doubt it, you never did drawings about yourself and Swizzle." Torvald remarked. "At least not that I know of."
"No...actually I didn't..." Sticky thought it over. "I never wrote poems either."
"You really are a romantic-" Minty snapped her fingers. "Of course, that's why you had a crush on Swizzle. He's romantic."
"Exactly." Sticky blushed again. "So I don't understand why my feelings switched over to Adam instead."
"Well from what I've seen Adam is more passionate about things than most other characters." Minty said. "Maybe even including...romance?"
Sticky looked up, starting to get it.
"Meaning he might even be more romantic than Swizzle...at least by my perspective." Sticky smiled. "Plus...plus he does care about others so much, and he's so brave and kind..." She then grinned feeling a lot better. "Maybe this time my feelings are real."
"I think so, and you should tell him before he ends up liking someone else." Torvald nodded. "Like what happened with Swizzle."
"Oh yeah." Sticky sighed. "I hope I can find the courage to ask him."
"How about we be there with you? Same with Swizzle and Bitalo." Minty suggested. "Then when he agrees we can go on a triple-date."
"Great idea." Torvald nodded.
"You really think he'll agree?" Sticky look hesitant.
"Well he never said anything about having a girlfriend." Minty shrugged before grinning. "In fact not long after he learned about me and Swizzle being a couple I overheard him admit to Swizzle that he was hoping he could find someone who was also passionate about certain things. And from what I've seen you can be passionate about certain things, especially romance. You're just more subtle about it."
"Well, I'll give it a try." Sticky smiled again, feeling a little confident though still scared.
The next day after the Roster Race and race training Sticky approached Adamec. Minty and Torvald followed with Swizzle and Bitalo respectively.
"Hi Adam." She said shyly.
"Hello Sticky." Adamec grinned, his sparkler turning pink. "I was actually just about to go over to you."
"You were?" Sticky blushed.
"Yes, I was wondering if you'd like to go out tonight." Adamec smiled, his sparkler now turning red.
Sticky blushed heavily and her heart leapt into her throat.
"I...you..." She stammered.
"Uh, you can take that as a yes." Torvald translated. "She actually was about to ask you out."
"Really?" Adamec smiled happily, his sparkler flickering between red and orange.
Sticky couldn't help but smile back and she nodded.
"Awesome." Adamec grinned, his sparkler now flickering between red and blue . "Say, how about the six of us all go out tonight? It can be a triple-date."
"We were actually going to suggest the same thing." Minty grinned.
"All right!" Adamec punched a fist into the air, his sparkler now red and orange again. "I'll see you guys later tonight, I want to get ready first! Bye Sticky!" He ran off.
Sticky, still blushing, felt her legs buckle. Minty and Torvald rushed forward and caught her before she fell.
"He asked me out...he asked me out..." Sticky gasped. "He likes me?"
"Yeah, he does." Swizzle grinned.
The triplets and Bitalo stared at him.
"You knew?" Torvald was surprised.
"He confided in me that he had noticed Sticky watched us perform stunts admiringly instead of worriedly like most others." Swizzle explained. "He had never known any girl to watch stunts without fear before and he realized that Sticky has the moxie to handle watching stunts. He ended up really liking her back for it, and talked to me about her. I told him to go ahead and ask her out since I like the idea of him being with her. And since I view Sticky as a sister that's saying a lot."
"Thank you Swizzle." Minty went over to him and kissed him on the cheek.
"Yes thank you...but what if something goes wrong?" Sticky said nervously.
"Oh what could go wrong?" Torvald scoffed.
Sticky's eyes widened.
"Torvald!" Minty said warningly before turning to Sticky. "Nothing will go wrong, look the four of us will be there to back you up okay? He likes you and you like him back and that's what counts. Just be yourself, and if things don't work out then he wasn't the one for you anyway. But I'm sure he is." She smiled.
Sticky smiled back weakly.
"Okay..." She said.
"Now come on, let's get you ready." Minty went back to Sticky and hugged her.
"I'm gonna go get ready too, see you gals later." Swizzle said.
"Ditto." Bitalo agreed.
The triplets said their 'see you later's as Swizzle and Bitalo left. Sticky trailed behind a bit, still nervous.
"So why did you give me the brush-off earlier?" Torvald asked Minty quietly.
"Never ask someone what can go wrong if they're really nervous." Minty whispered. "It makes them think about what can go wrong and then they end up coming up with a worst-case scenario."
"Oh."
They then went back home to get themselves ready. Basically they were just going to clean themselves up - racing can get messy after all - and make sure they looked nice. Torvald, being a tomboy, was done first. She only made sure that her clothes and hair weren't messy. Minty and Sticky were more feminine, so they were taking a bit longer. Not too long though, they were ready with time to spare. Then they discussed if they should do anything special.
"Well I think I'm all set." Torvald shrugged.
"What about accessories? Sticky and I are going to bring our best purses." Minty said.
"I don't have purses remember? I do have a nice-looking shoulder bag though, I guess I'll bring that." Torvald shrugged.
"Now...should we do make-up or no make-up? I meant me and Sticky." Minty added as she saw Torvald open her mouth.
Torvald shut it.
"You've dated Swizzle lots of times without make-up so I don't think it's necessary." She noted.
"Good point. What about you Sticky?"
Sticky just sat worriedly on the bed.
"Come on Sticky, everything will be fine." Minty sat down next to her and put an arm around her comfortingly.
"But what if he ends up not liking me?" Sticky sighed.
"What's not to like? You're kind, romantic, and care about others." Torvald shrugged.
"How about we do a little make-up? It could help boost your confidence." Minty smiled.
"Well...okay." Sticky smiled back.
And Minty helped Sticky put on a little make-up. Torvald stayed out of it due to knowing nothing about make-up.
Minty didn't overdo it of course, instead she did a little bit that brought out Sticky's natural beauty. Minty gave her a light mint-green eyeshadow and a lip gloss that matched the salmon in her clothing.
"There." Minty smiled.
"Say, you're pretty good with that." Torvald remarked.
"Thanks...want me to do you?" Minty grinned.
"Are you nuts?" Torvald frowned.
"No, I'm mints and candied apples." Minty snickered.
"Hardy-har-har." Torvald rolled her eyes.
Sticky, meanwhile, looked at herself in the mirror.
"I look beautiful." She actually smiled.
"Duh, come on we're all good looking." Torvald turned and grinned. "We're the Tasty Triplets."
"I hope you're not going to make that our official nickname." Minty frowned.
"What's wrong with it?"
"How about the fact that we're candy people?"
"Uh, yeah, it's a pun."
"Well I don't know about you but I'd rather not remind the other game characters that we're candy people."
"Wha-oh for...do you seriously think any of them would ever try to eat us?"
"No, it's just the thought isn't exactly pleasant."
"True...okay okay I won't make that our official nickname."
"Thank you." Minty said with relief.
"You're welcome." Torvald said dryly.
Sticky giggled at this friendly argument. Torvald and Minty ended up laughing as well.
Now as for the guys, they too were just making sure that they looked clean. However they were also getting gifts for their girls. Swizzle, not surprisingly, was getting a rose for Minty. Bitalo knew that Torvald was a tomboy, so instead of a romantic flower he just got one that he knew would look good with her outfit: a sunflower. Adamec however had something else in mind...
Later that night, Swizzle, Bitalo, and Adamec went together to the Zakis' house to pick the girls up. See the Recolors had different last names to help them stand out more, kinda like how celebrities had second names. Citrusella was the only Recolor who kept the family name, Jubileena instead picked a different last name to respect the fact that Citrusella is better at racing than she is.
"Hey guys." Torvald opened the door, grinning. "We're ready to go."
She and Minty came out first and greeted Bitalo and Swizzle. They also liked the flowers they got (unsurprisingly). Sticky then shyly came out.
"Wow..." Adamec smiled, his sparkler turning a bright red. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you." Sticky blushed.
"These are for you." Adamec gave her...a small bouquet of wildflowers.
Sticky blushed even more.
"You...you actually took the trouble to...?" She stammered.
"Of course, I wanted to give you something more colorful...like you." Adamec put a hand under her chin.
Sticky smiled and hugged him. He hugged her back for a little more than a few seconds. Sticky then quickly went back inside to put most of the flowers in a vase, saving the prettiest one to wear.
The six of them then went out to eat. They all chatted during the meal and had a great time. Sticky found herself falling even more in love with Adamec.
Then, at the end of the date, Torvald and Minty held their boyfriends back as Adamec continued walking Sticky to the door.
"I had a wonderful time." Sticky smiled.
"Same here." Adamec smiled back. "I have never known anyone as passionate as you. I mean when you talk about something, you really express your feelings about it. I like that."
"Sometimes, other times I can be a bit shy." Sticky admitted.
"Nothing wrong with that. I can tell you're passionate on the inside and that's what matters."
"Thank you...Adam I..." Sticky took a deep breath. "I love you. I love your passion and how you care so much about others. I also love how you always try to enjoy life to the fullest."
Adamec just smiled...and kissed her. Sticky tensed up a bit, mostly because she didn't expect that reaction. Then she found her heart speeding up and relaxed. She started to return the kiss, until they were now kissing as one. 8-bit hearts surrounded them...and they started to kiss a little more passionately.
At the end of the kiss they both just gazed at each other, lovestruck.
"Wow..." Sticky sighed.
"Obviously, I love you too." Adamec smiled, his sparkler very red. "I have known a lot of girls in the past, but none of them were even close to being like you."
Swizzle and Bitalo said their goodbyes to Minty and Torvald, and left. Minty and Torvald then went inside...while Adamec and Sticky continued to gaze at each other. Minty and Torvald hesitated for a moment, looked at each other, and shrugged. They decided to let the new couple recover before suggesting that Sticky should go to bed.
Turns out they didn't need to. After Adamec and Sticky recovered Sticky kissed Adamec on the cheek and promised to see him tomorrow. She then headed inside, giving him one last smile before closing the door. Adamec grinned and danced away happily.