A/N: Thanks for all the reviews last chapter! Your insight and feedback mean very much to me, and I'm glad that you're all so invested with this tale. I love how observant you all are when picking out the small details. Seeing them now will only benefit you later when they start coming back into light, tee hee. Trust me, I regard any review that isn't simply "Good chapter" or "Nice story" as feedback truly worthy of appreciating and being deemed a review in the first place.
I still remember why 'Violin's Song' was super fun to write, and the answer is because no one had ever done it before. There was so much untapped gold to mine with Gloyd and Crumbelina's character foil and so I really went loose with it. People typically pair Gloyd up with Candlehead or Jubileena and call it a day. There's nothing wrong with that, but I like to explore things that few or none have ever embarked on before. These two are just so endearing to mess around with, in the ways they strongly contrast in personality and clash with each other's minds, yet at the same time manage to strengthen the other where they stand weak. Remember that in the canon of the story, they've had a month to bond. And the flashbacks placed in chronological order throughout the story up to this point served to show you critical points of their development. I already had some fun meddling with their interactions back in a few brief scenes together in 'Go See the World', so now I'm over the moon that I get to do it again…on a far more significant scale.
By this point, we've fueled up on feedback from all the other racers, tapped into Taffyta's mindset, and revealed even more puzzle pieces from Felix and Minty Sakura's findings. Now the time has come to focus on the racers who are locked in the centre of this mystery and see if these pieces can fit into place in any way.
Chapter 15 – Gloyd's Housekeeping
In her massive living room, Crumbelina DiCaramello sat pleasantly upon the ledge of one of her many large windows, just peering out to the world below through the spotless sugar glass. All by herself and sitting perfectly still, she was wearing her cozy snow-white bathrobe with matching slippers. Her hair, still a little damp, was falling down her back instead of curling tightly in signature cinnamon buns. A mug of her favourite mocha blend sat warmly in her palms.
The smile on the young girl's face was enough to tell anyone that she had had a great day. And Crumbelina would be all over telling you every detail about it. For starters, no less than six players had selected her to be their avatar in that morning's races alone – a personal record for her – and she had won four golden cups with their help. There they were, just a few feet away in her shining cabinet along with the dozens of others she had collected over the years. Right next to a very large and very blue piece of candy corn.
After the full day's worth of quarter alerts and the Random Roster Race, she had spent some quality time with her fellow-racers at The Sweet Spot, their typical meeting place to unwind following a busy work day. Jubileena and Candlehead had stirred up a great round of acclamation with the facility's karaoke machine while a few candy citizens had approached the posh racer hoping for autographs. And when all the racers had gone their separate ways, she had retired here for a long hot soak in a frothy bubble tea bath. Feeling relaxed and squeaky clean, she was now gazing out at the lands of Sugar Rush from her window, just reveling in the orange glow of the majestic sunset that bathed over the tops of every lollipop tree and chocolate-dipped truffle boulder mountain. Not many people knew that Crumbelina secretly loved high places. Being able to see all of her surroundings without herself being seen gave her a sense of control. Nothing out of arrogance or hierarchy, but she simply liked knowing her environment and being able to take charge at any given moment.
She turned her sight back inside and savoured the rich evening glow streaming through her windows to paint her luxurious living room with the same brilliant orange as the outside. Her expensive vases filled with iced fondue roses, her coffee cake table, the intricate lollipop chandelier that she had extracted from Vanellope's castle when they had done renovations…all were cast with the sun's final rays.
Truth be told, she had been finding herself becoming quite used to orange.
Sipping the final drops of her drink, Crumbelina then stood up and closed the Godiva wrapper curtains of her windows.
"Those outfits aren't going to wear themselves," she simmered cheerfully. "Best get a move on. Only two hours left before showtime!"
Leaving the mug on the coffee table, she skipped gracefully off to her bedroom while humming herself a little tune. A bit odd for her; she usually saved her skipping routine for showboating before her fans at the racetrack. Candlehead was the one who found reason to skip anytime and all the time. But perhaps Crumbelina had unlocked her own reasons for doing so too. She had been feeling particularly happy for weeks now. She hadn't felt this happy in years.
So much in a good mood she was, she abandoned skipping and instead danced her way into her bedroom (which was no less fancy than the living room). Her long hair and the hanging ends of her bathrobe belt swished this way and that as Crumbelina, grooving carefree to the beat of her own little world, gracefully slid through a door off to the side in one smooth move. She flicked on the hundred tiny fluorescent gumdrop lights that lined the polished wafer-work of her enormous walk-in closet, the cave of wonders where all her clothes were kept. Dazzling summer dresses, lavish ball gowns, and glossy jackets proudly filled the room, each one hanging neatly on candy-striped rails. Sparkly skirts and stylish leggings of every texture festooned the lower racks, alongside expensive boots and shoes. And the whole lot was owned by her. To the poshest racer of Sugar Rush, this particular room was just as essential to her home as the front door. Not one of her friends had ever seen this place, not even Snowanna. There were just some places she liked to keep hidden.
Mesmerized by the world of fashion, Crumbelina brought her fluffy-robed hands to her cheeks and released a squeal of glee. Being wealthy had its perks and it truly was in here where she could lose herself. But her clothes of gold and silver weren't the reason for her uncontainable joy.
Her day only seemed to be getting better and better, for she had one last item on her itinerary before it could officially end. The best had been saved for last. There was a concert being held in Paperboy later tonight, hosted by a very large group of the relatively quiet game's inhabitants. Not a band, but a concert. Not one of those noisy boybands that Swizzle was trying to start in Minty's garage. No, this was a full symphony orchestra consisting of a smartly-dressed conductor and ensemble of skilled musicians with real instruments on an outdoor stage under the stars. Apparently, there were musically-talented folks among the Paperboy locals, much like her and Snowanna within the roster of Sugar Rush's racers.
But all those instruments. According to the posters that she had seen around Game Central Station, they were dealin' with a full arrangement from every family. Clarinets and flutes. Trumpets and trombones. Timpani and a grand piano. Maybe even one of those giant harps. Best of all, a quartet of violins. And just imagine how they would sound when played together. Never in Crumbelina's life had she ever been to anything like this in Litwak's arcade. She often had dreams of concerts, many of which she headlined as the star violinist of course, but never believed that she would actually get to experience one for herself. She was ecstatic to hear professional musicians play tonight and see so many smartly dressed people at one time. Most of all, she and Gloyd were planning on attending it together.
That last bit may very well have been why she was so eager for tonight. And that was why she wanted to look her best.
She was soon sifting through an impressive collection of rich-scented dresses, browsing for a good choice. "Mustn't overdo it…" she fussed importantly to herself. "Needs to be just right. Not too fancy…but just the right amount of pizazz."
Selecting an elegant golden dress with straps and a bronze sash that reached to her knees, she brought it against her robe as she inspected the look before her tall mirror that made up a whole section of wall. This reflective surface had seen Crumbelina donning every clothing item in this wardrobe at least once in all its years of service. Hundreds of dresses, skirts, sweaters, jackets, swimsuits, and shoes. Right now, her dress of gold was taking the stage, and it should have been a no-brainer as to why a piece with this level of radiant beauty made the eyes of every girl in Sugar Rush flash green with envy. But Crumbelina had other ideas.
"Yuck! Out of style!" she gagged, practically chucking it back to the rack with disdain. She then plucked a cream-coloured dress with a swirling drizzle pattern along the hem and proceeded to repeat the thorough examination.
There was lots to do. Finding the perfect dress and all of its accompanying clothing articles required very careful attention. She still needed to apply makeup. Should she do up her usual buns or leave her hair down for tonight? She hadn't decided on that one yet. At least one piece of jewelry…perhaps her favourite caramel orb necklace would do. Grab her ticket to the concert. Drive to Game Central and meet up with Gloyd. Travel to Paperboy together and find their reserved seats.
It would be an understatement to say that Crumbelina always took her public appearances very seriously. It was just the way her sugar blood was coded. Her default attire was a no-brainer, but special occasions like this were very rare for her, so naturally she seized the opportunity to dazzle the world with what her fashion plate programming could really do. Especially for Gloyd. In many of the times they had gotten together during closing hours in the past month, she often tried to wear something different to see what kind of reaction he would get. Crumbelina liked being a fashion model, but Gloyd was the first person whom she felt was an actual audience to her. Her gal pals were always impressed by her stunning fashion-sparks, mostly because they didn't have such luxuries in their own wardrobes, but Gloyd was…different.
"Oooh…how about you?" she gushed dramatically as she whisked out a simple, yet dashingly pretty dress, woven from the finest candy fabrics and sucrose particles. It shone in the lights with a glittery render and was rich with a honey golden-brown hue. Perfect. She began to untie the belt of her robe.
Within seconds, Crumbelina was admiring every angle of herself in the mirror, now donning her dress and a pair of glittery shoes. "Marvelous," she glowed as she struck some basic poses. "Simply marvelous."
Allowing a shimmer of her vanity to kick in for a while, she gave an elegant twirl on the spot and put a hand to her head. "Who's rockin' the gorgeous dress for the best night of her life? This girl!" she tittered playfully, blowing her reflection a kiss.
She now turned her attention to her hair, which flowed in graceful swirls down her head. "I'll keep the buns," she decided. "Don't want to surprise him too much." Her dress was sure to give Gloyd plenty of mind-twizzlers all on its own. One of these days, she'll let her hair down for him. Just once.
Then her honey-amber eyes glanced at the nearby cabinet that she knew was holding all her swimsuits. "Not tonight," she giggled mischievously. Heavenly Hash knows that she could not wait to start spinning his head with those.
Feeling satisfied, Crumbelina smoothed down her dress and sneaked one more look in the mirror before heading off to tend to makeup.
And stopped dead in her tracks.
Staring at her reflection, she suddenly became aware that she didn't look quite right. She seemed paler, almost hazy and transparent. She rubbed her eyes, trying to squint and see better. A strange hollow feeling was now sweeping through her insides as Crumbelina clutched her face…only to find that her hands had lost all sense of feeling. She couldn't feel her face or even her fingers at all.
Her frown suddenly transformed to alarmed fear as a chill ran down her back…at the stunned realization of what was happening.
"No…" she gasped, staring at her fingers as they began to fade from view. "Oh, no…"
She looked at herself in the mirror again, only to see that she was indeed fading away. "No…no! Not again!"
Crumbelina panicked, as she staggered backwards, trying to catch her breath, but suddenly her feet were disappearing too, becoming non-existent and causing her to stumble to the ground. She backed against the wall in hysterics as she looked over herself, now overcome with grips of fear when her eyes were greeted with the horrifying sight of her whole body fading fast. The pixels that made her digital body up were disappearing rapidly and she was now literally breaking down, her physical form growing weaker and weaker by the minute.
"Help!" she suddenly cried out. "HELP! It's happening again! Somebody please help me!"
Her body screamed in agony as she was struck with a surging pain; everything hurt as her code, locked deep inside her, shook violently as if ready to split apart, paralyzing her mind and rendering her unable to move. Her closet, the mirror, and the entire world around her were now flashing and glitching uncontrollably until they disappeared entirely. Crumbelina let out a high-pitched shriek as she suddenly found herself in a surreal blank void that was completely pitch-black; wisps of static electricity and flashing pulses were streaming all around her, and she felt like she was floating helplessly in mid-air. But she had no physical body anymore; pixels belonging to her code were glitching back and forth in every direction. There was barely enough data to hold herself together now; just fragments of her shattered code in close enough proximity to allow her to register what was going on. But Crumbelina had absolutely no idea what was going on. All she knew was that she had to escape before she was broken down to nothing.
"HELP!" she howled desperately, using every ounce of strength left to pound against the nonexistent walls of this terrifying prison, the last remains of her fists breaking away into scattering pixels that blasted away with every strike. She could barely hear her own pleading voice. "PLEASE! Somebody! Anybody! HELP ME!"
"Lina?"
Crumbelina gasped. "GLOYD? Gloyd, is that you?!"
"Lina! Where are you?!"
The distinct voice of her prankster friend echoed throughout the chasm. Crumbelina's fading vocal cords ripped apart as she screamed at the top of what was left of her digital lungs. "GLOYD!"
Eyes snapping open wildly, Crumbelina sat up in a panicked state. Hyperventilating as she heaving rapid breaths in and out, she looked around frantically, eyes struggling to focus as they took in the dark surroundings; she was in Vanellope's bedroom again, safe in Vanellope's royal bed. Hands rushing to her body to feel herself all over, Crumbelina found that all of her was still here. Her disheveled hair was still tied up in her buns, her body was still in one piece, and she was wearing her default drizzle T-shirt, bronze wrapper skirt, and stylish leggings. And she was still emitting her surreal pink glow.
Very slowly, she began to calm down. None of that had been real. A dream. It was just a bad dream. That was all.
A nightmare.
As recollections of what she had seen now began pouring into her mind, Crumbelina winced back burning tears and hugged her arms across her stomach, feeling it ache horribly. "Not again," she moaned. "I can't take any more of this."
That had been the third nightmare to violently scare her awake tonight. Dozing off had been no problem; it was staying asleep that was proving to be impossible thanks to these unwelcome fleeting hauntings that kept flashing before her mind, jolting her awake each time. Talk about impolite.
Crumbelina wiped the sweat off her face and sank wearily into her pillow again. That one had been the worst one yet and she felt sick. She desperately wanted to sleep, but she just couldn't take another blast like that. It was tearing her mind apart. This pain and discomfort made her want to break down in tears, but she refused to. No way was she going to cry about this. After taking a few minutes to let herself calm completely, she weighed her options. She considered ringing the buzzer to ask for someone to retrieve her gummi teddy bear from her mansion so she could try sleeping again, but decided against that. She felt it was childish of her to own a sleep-toy and naturally didn't want anyone to know about it…even though Mr. Wippy Wappy might help her to sleep better. Though still feeling tired and weak, Crumbelina ultimately decided to take fatigue over the frights that kept taunting her every time she closed her eyes.
Her code was still making its recovery, which meant that she was still sparkling and glowing as much as ever. Despite feeling groggy in the head and unsteady in her movements, she grew very bored of trying to stay awake by just lying there and wanted to do something to take her mind off things for a while. Flicking on the hard candy lamp next to her, she opened the little drawer in the heavily-laden bedside table and found some of Vanellope's old racing magazines inside. They would have to do.
Before diving into them, her eyes trailed up to look more carefully at all the colourful candies and treats that had been gifted to her from all her friends. Everything from the big stack of rainbow snowcones from Snowanna to the tower of sugary swirlpops from Swizzle made her smile at the knowledge that even if many players didn't think she was special, she had so many people in her life who did. At the very corner of the table was her favourite cap and her racing helmet. And wrapped all around the helmet were the strings belonging to the dozen balloons that floated above the mountain of sweets. Those were definitely from Candlehead. Crumbelina knew that her candle-wearing sister always gave those out to anyone who showed even the slightest hint of having a bad day.
Looking back down at the candy, she spotted a large bag of pumpkin mellowcremes. Crumbelina smiled; no need to wonder who these were from. Ever since Gloyd had discovered her secret liking to these little sugary balls of pumpkin-shaped candy, it had been nonstop delivery to her doorstep with boxloads of them for several days until she finally convinced him that she had enough to last a lifetime (or at least for the next few months). But even so, it was so sweet of him to go through all the trouble to give them to her just because he knew she liked them. They were one of the few treats that didn't grow naturally in Sugar Rush's lush candy landscapes and were instead only found in Gloyd's personal candy fields behind his house, hand-grown and expertly raised by the prankster himself.
Her thoughts now turned to Gloyd, and she was suddenly met with a burning desire to see him right now. Especially after her latest nightmare. But she doubted that she had the strength to get out of bed and wander the hallways to look for him. She would just have to wait until sunrise…if the lack of sleep didn't kill her first.
Tossing some of the little orange candies into her mouth, she enjoyed the refreshing zing of their familiar sweetness that temporarily boosted her energy. She then helped herself to some of Rancis' cookies and one of Taffyta's lollipops.
As Crumbelina ate, her conversation with Vanellope floated back into her mind, and already she was feeling her cheeks warm up as she pondered her latest thoughts that centered upon her Halloween hooligan friend. Yes, she liked Gloyd a lot. Sure, she often playfully teased him just to get a cute reaction from the easily-flustered boy. For some reason, it was just so amusing to see that nervous, squirmy look in his eyes whenever she successfully toyed with his mind, knowing that she had been the one to do it. Hidden deep inside Crumbelina was a playful, flirtatious personality that just couldn't resist teasing victims every once in a while. It was a side of her that she very rarely showed. But she found that she had been revealing it often whenever she and Gloyd got together after the races. Especially in public. She enjoyed making him blush that peculiar orange tint in his cheeks rather than red, a trait that only he seemed to carry. Crumbelina had become so fascinated by this ever since she had seen it on the night she had first played her violin for the boy that she kept trying to catch a glimpse of it through various methods. Seeing him all embarrassed and annoyed as his shy nature battled the forces that she playfully tossed upon him, and listening to him protest to her, when really, he was not mad at her whatsoever…she rather enjoyed it.
Lately though, he had been bringing up a silent reaction within her, one she did not outwardly show and one she knew that he wasn't intentionally trying to evoke. She felt happy. And sometimes felt a glimmer of nervousness whenever they hung out together, maybe even a little giddy inside, and though she didn't know what it was, not once had she ever wanted it to stop. It was strange, but at the same time, rejuvenating. For one thing, being around Gloyd had helped her to loosen up from her comparatively refined and polished lifestyle. Honestly, she couldn't remember the last time she had effortlessly giggled so much with any individual before. But Gloyd also made her feel warm inside whenever he smiled that innocent crooked toothy grin of his, a look that she would love to treasure forever.
And yes…she sometimes dreamed about him.
The smile on Crumbelina's face faded and she let out a troubled sigh, considering herself deeply as she fiddled the lollipop around. She wasn't used to feeling this way. Did this mean she was falling for Gloyd the same way Minty had fallen for Swizzle? It didn't seem likely, given that Minty had spent 22 years hanging out with Sugar Rush's daredevil racer before realizing her love for him. She and Gloyd had only really known each other for a month. She couldn't tell for certain how any of this added up, but she wanted to know before declaring anything official.
Actually, there was one more thing that she wanted. Crumbelina secretly wished for Gloyd to come with her to Paperboy's upcoming symphony concert. Despite it popping up in her dream, the concert was very much a real event that was scheduled to happen next month. The posh racer had been trying to think of a way to ask her Halloween friend to accompany her. It was a little tricky since this wasn't exactly his kind of thing. She knew that Gloyd enjoyed her short little sessions on the violin, but could he sit through three hours of listening to an entire orchestra?
Pondering this, she let her gaze pass back to the pile of candy, and she then noticed something among the gifts that she hadn't before: a single orange fondue rose.
Curious, she picked it up to examine it. Now who had given her this? None of the racers had a candy theme based on flowers. It might have been Candlehead since she dabbled with icing and cake decorations, but she couldn't grow anything if her life depended on it. Any packet of candy seeds handed to the ditzy racer would have no chance in blooming into the flowers that they were supposed to become. Once, when they had been waiting for their new steering wheel to arrive from the Internet a year ago, Felix had allowed Candlehead assist Gene in watering his impressive petunia garden behind the Niceland apartment building, and subsequently spent the following minutes restoring the drowned plants and clearing up the flooded mess while the poor girl apologized again and again to the little mayor.
Twirling the green stem in her fingers, Crumbelina was suddenly lost in wonder as she gave the rose a gentle sniff. No one had ever given her a flower before…it could have been from anyone, but she felt oddly touched by this simple gift. She took a quick bite from the sugary stem to reduce its length, then tucked the rose carefully in her hair. Its orange colour stood out magnificently against her white drizzled T-shirt and bronze wrapper skirt.
After that, she propped up the pillows so she could sit and read Vanellope's magazines for a while. She knew most of the techniques and features outlined inside them, but it was better than doing nothing. Certainly better than sleeping. Video game characters, especially racers, weren't programmed to sit still.
A soft knock on the doors caught her attention. "Come in," she called as best as she could. Her voice still came out very faintly.
With a low creak, a familiar face and the unmistakable orange pumpkin hat peeked inside. "House-keeping," he quipped.
The girl smiled instantly, finding him a very welcome sight. "Hey you."
Gloyd shuffled over to her with his hands stuffed in his pockets and sat down on the edge of the bed. He looked exhausted.
"You're still sparkling," he pointed out helpfully with a dopey grin.
Anyone else would have cast him an unimpressed frown or rolled their eyes at his statement of the obvious. But his blunt honesty made Crumbelina giggle. Over the course of the last month, she had come to better notice Gloyd's little quirks, one of which was his habit of stating very clear observations. She took every little detail of Gloyd's personality into account for her own reasons, finding them odd, yet quite endearing.
"Are you feeling any better?" he was asking her.
She cast aside the magazine. "A little. My headache is gone, but I still feel weak," she assessed. "I suppose this is all part of the recovery of my code."
Gloyd nodded and fumbled awkwardly with his jacket zipper. He wasn't used to nursing people. Looking at his friend, he saw that she still indeed looked very weary. And for some reason, she was sweating. This gave him an idea.
"Wait here," he ordered. Getting up, he disappeared into Vanellope's regal bathroom. He returned holding a damp facecloth. Sitting back on the bed, closer to her this time, he was about to reach towards her, but then hesitated at the last second.
"Um…is it okay if I…?" he asked shyly.
Now understanding what he wanted to do and seeing that he was nervous, Crumbelina smiled kindly, trying to make him feel more comfortable with her. "You may."
She closed her eyes and leaned forwards a little to let Gloyd wash her face. She enjoyed the experience; the damp towel felt soothing and his hands were warm and gentle. It felt like forever since the last time she had been able to clean up at all.
With her eyes closed, she couldn't see him, yet she knew that he was right there.
Gloyd worked away carefully, sponging the sweat and grime off Crumbelina's face. One hand held the cloth while the other cupped her gently around the chin. He figured she wouldn't mind if he covered her entire face. Taking great care around her closed eyelids, he noticed that he had unintentionally smudged off some of her mascara and eye shadow. He hesitated again for the briefest moment, during which she started to open her eyes, but he continued with the job, prompting her to close them again. Might as well clean her thoroughly. Besides, he figured that she wouldn't care about her makeup at a time like this.
At last, the job was done. He rolled up the stained cloth and tossed it over his shoulder as Crumbelina slowly opened her eyes to look up at him.
"Thank you," she hummed gratefully.
"Sure."
Feeling a little refreshed now, Crumbelina noticed how very close Gloyd was to her; she observed the reflections that danced in his eyes from the sparkles she was emitting. Thoughts of her nightmare began to seep into her mind, making her stomach ache again.
She desperately wanted to hug him, to throw her arms around his neck and embrace him to squeeze out the remnants leftover from her trauma. Heck, part of her wanted to tell Gloyd about it to somehow vent out her troubles. But I don't want him to worry himself sick over me, Crumbelina thought to herself dismissively. This isn't like my depression over the players. My nightmare isn't a real thing. Just a big fuss over nothing.
But she couldn't help herself; tentatively, she raised a glowing hand and ran it gently along his cheek. Crumbelina needed to feel him, to make sure he was really there…to confirm that she wasn't living in another fabricated lie. The pain inside her slowly began to dissipate as she took Gloyd in. Every detail she saw meshed with the fabric of her mind: his round face that winced just a little as she touched his cheek, the light orange blush that was beginning to appear, the flick of hair that often concealed one of his chestnut-brown eyes, and the way his mouth always seemed to appear crooked even when it wasn't in use. Slowly but surely, her heart calmed for she knew that it was really him.
Gloyd meanwhile felt himself tense up as she stroked his cheek, but he too was gazing carefully at her face; it was still glowing from her updating code, but somehow seemed to glow just a bit more now that she was clean. Though all her makeup was now removed, she didn't look any different to him. She still looked beautiful. Such an adjective had come to mind whenever he thought of Crumbelina, but after a whole month of knowing her, the word 'beautiful' wasn't a word that he simply linked with the posh racer; it was something he had accepted as being a part of her.
"Are you okay?" he asked, breaking the silence. "You look kinda…sad."
He hated to point that out to her, but he couldn't help it. She just looked so downcast.
"No, I'm not sad," murmured Crumbelina, her mind trying to push thoughts of her latest fright away as she put her hand down. "I'm just…tired. And maybe a little embarrassed."
He stared at her in confusion. "Embarrassed? Why?"
The girl blushed lightly, wishing she had her cap on; in the rare times when she felt this way, she would instinctively use its drizzled icing brim to hide her face. Being the big sister of her family, as well as the posh and sophisticated racer of the land, she liked to feel confident and strong. Able to take control of any situation, know exactly what was going on, and see the angles leading to the solution immediately. But right now, she wasn't feeling any of those things. "Well," she said, "I'm here in this comfy bed all to myself, all my friends are tending to my every need, and I appreciate it so much…"
Crumbelina subconsciously rubbed her bare arms and looked down. "…but I feel so small. So helpless and vulnerable. I'm not sure if I like being the center of attention in this way…"
She stopped when Gloyd's hand landed softly on her sparkling shoulder.
"You don't need to feel embarrassed, Lina," he told her. "You're still recovering from a really near-miss today. You're our big sister, so maybe you're not used to people looking after you this much…but why not just enjoy it while it lasts? I know I would."
He offered her an easy shrug. "Live like royalty for tonight," he said with a crooked grin. "This is a castle after all. Tonight, you get to own it. And you're not helpless either. You can do so many things. But tonight, maybe just let us take care of you. I'll…we'll make sure you're all better soon."
As the warmth from his hand passed through the sleeve of her T-shirt to wash over her virtual skin, Crumbelina listened to his words and began to notice how safe she felt with Gloyd. There was warmth and familiarity in those chestnut-brown orbs that made her feel vulnerable…yet safe at the same time. She slowly began to feel her anxieties ease off. It was something she had quietly seen in the Halloween racer over the last month: his ability to make her feel confident inside, even if he wasn't always aware of it. And that was saying something, because Crumbelina was a very confident girl.
"Well…I suppose so," she finally replied softly. "After all, I can't pass up the chance to be given such devoted attention."
Feeling grateful, she smiled up at him. "Thank you for taking care of me, Pumpkin Pie."
She reached to her shoulder and placed her hand atop of his, secretly wishing he could understand her sign of wanting him to hold her hand in return.
Unfortunately for her, Gloyd lost his nerve upon finally noticing how close he was to her face. He retracted his hand from her shoulder and pulled back. "Uh, speaking of which, is there anything I can get for you?" he asked. "You want another pillow?"
Crumbelina giggled. "There's already like 20 pillows here, Gloyd."
He looked around at the city of squashy pillows and cushions surrounding her. "Oh. Right," he muttered, feeling stupid. "Well, uh, can I get you something else? You want a sundae from the Racers' Roost? That stuff is known to erase the pain, if not the stain."
She giggled again at his little rhyme. "No thanks."
"I can drive back to my place and get you some of my pumpkin mellowcremes you like so much…oh, wait…I already did that, didn't I…"
The smile on Crumbelina's face did not waver as she listened to him blubber on. Though she didn't want to come off as weak or needy, she did like the attention. And she enjoyed being pampered. But most of all, she enjoyed watching Gloyd aimlessly trying to think of something that he could bring for her. Not just because it was so sweet of him to want to do so, but because he was so adorkable when he did. And it was during times when Sugar Rush's resident jokester wasn't actually trying to be funny that he actually was, at least to her.
Why are you so cute? she thought.
She considered asking Gloyd to fetch Mr. Wippy Wappy, but immediately rejected that idea.
"…or I can try making that cappuccino you always have in the morning…"
His jibber jabber stopped when Crumbelina, who finally decided that he had suffered enough, suddenly raised a finger right to his lips.
"Shh," she shushed. "You've done plenty for me, and I appreciate that. You're very kind. But you don't need to worry about me."
Gloyd eyed her and shrugged. "I know, but…can you blame me? Your broken code wasn't my fault, but I'm still at the centre of this whole mess, y'know. I have to worry about you. And I won't stop until you're 100% better. Besides, what kind of a friend would I be if I didn't?"
Hearing him say these things gave Crumbelina a particular sensation that swirled gently through her code. She lowered her hand to touch his arm instead. "You know, Gloyd, believe it or not, you're already helping me to feel a little bit better," she whispered.
Gloyd blinked in confusion. "But I'm not doing anything."
"You don't have to do anything," she explained. "Just seeing you and having you here to keep me company…and hearing you say that you won't stop until I'm all better…well, it makes me happy. Especially now."
He could feel the heat in his cheeks rising. "Really?"
Lina gave a tender nod, her own cheeks sporting a light dusting. "Really."
They looked at each other for a minute, both their faces rather red (or in his case, orange). Gloyd wasn't really sure what else to say. Even though she claimed that she wasn't sad, there was no denying that her accident had drained her both physically and emotionally. Gloyd felt his programming reach out to her; being coded as a prankster did have one advantage that he was secretly proud of: it was in his code, and thus his nature, to want to make people smile in some way. He felt the urge to do something, anything, to cheer his friend up besides just sitting here. But even he knew that a knock-knock joke wasn't going to fit the bill.
He was spared the bother when Crumbelina spoke softly. "Well, all right then. There is something I wouldn't mind…"
"Name it," he said, almost eagerly. "I'll go get it for you."
"It's not something you can get for me. I really want to get out of this bed. Just to stretch my legs for a bit and maybe get some fresh air."
Gloyd was a little hesitant, since Felix had said that she needed to rest if she was to race during arcade hours, and more importantly, he wanted her to stay safe until her code had finished updating. But she looked so helpless and alone, that he would do anything to get her back to her old self again. "Well…I guess I'd be pretty bored too if I was stuck in here."
"Oh, it's not so bad," Crumbelina hummed. "This bedroom is gorgeous. Vanellope always had good taste and this bed is heavenly. It's comfier than mine."
"And besides," she added with a sudden smirk. "I'm not stuck in here. I'm stuck in here with you." She 'bopped' his round nose with her finger and couldn't resist giggling at his cute blushing face.
Gloyd scowled. "Whatever," he muttered, trying hard to brush off what she just did. He nudged her boots closer to her with his foot. "Fine. But I'm coming with you. Just…just try not to move around too much, okay? Can't let your code get shaken or something."
The girl pushed back the covers and carefully slipped into her waiting boots. Though eager to get out, she had to summon a lot of strength to stand up after having not used her legs in many hours. Slipping on her metallic-gold jacket that Gloyd handed to her, but deciding to leave her cap behind, she and Gloyd left the bedroom together.
The hallway, initially only lit by the glowing candy crystals hung in chocolate brackets fixed to the walls, was now receiving additional light from Crumbelina, who continued to let off her surreal pink glow and gentle hum. The children began to walk down the lonely passage, but right away, Gloyd noticed that she was very wobbly with her footsteps. So he put his arm gingerly around her shoulders as they moved along. He didn't consider this a gentlemanly act of valiance or anything like that; she clearly needed someone to keep her from falling.
Crumbelina gave her silent thanks to the darkness and the continuous shine surrounding her that concealed her blush.
"Where are the others?" she asked him in the still silence, her body softly pressing against his.
"Ralph, Mom, and Dad went back to Fix-It," he answered. "Everyone else is having a party down in the Roost. You wanna join 'em?"
Crumbelina smiled. "That does sound nice. But actually…I would like to go outside. The fresh air might do me some good."
"Yeah, okay."
They said nothing as they wandered the castle's maze of hallways and stairwells, their steps guided by Crumbelina's new full-body glowstick feature. Gloyd wasn't sure where they were going in order to go 'outside', so he let the part of his brain that manned his feet take control for him. He was too busy making sure that Lina walked straight and didn't bump into anything. He didn't want her to get hurt again.
As for Crumbelina, she leaned contently against him as he guided her slowly along. With Gloyd, she didn't need to worry about falling down. Her thoughts turned once again about asking him if he'd be interested in Paperboy's concert, but somehow felt that this wasn't the best time. Better ask him something else for now.
"Did anyone tell you that you're really warm?" she hummed.
Gloyd wasn't really sure how to respond to that. "Not really," he finally chose to say. "What, you cold?"
She smiled, taking this as her invitation to lean closer into him. "No, it's just that…you remind me of my heated JELL-O pad. So warm and squishy."
Gloyd blinked and frowned over at her. "Whoa, what? You actually have one of those?" he blurted out. "How can you afford that? I've been saving up gold coins for years tryin' to…"
Then he remembered. "Oh right," he muttered with an eye-roll. "You're loaded with cash. How could I forget?"
Crumbelina laughed. "Oh, don't sound so jealous, Pumpkin Pie," she said, nudging his shoulder. "You can have mine. I have a baker's dozen more in my closet that I've been trying to give away."
"Ya got one in orange?"
"I do believe I might."
And just like that, the stilled silence that occupied these castle corridors only moments ago was kicked out to make room for the sounds of their voices as they tossed back and forth a conversation just between the two of them. Truly a sound that neither Gloyd nor Crumbelina would tire of anytime soon. It was a reminder to Gloyd that he did not have any trouble talking to her whatsoever.
"I'm starting to think that you really have a thing for scenic views."
Crumbelina grinned. "It's one of my favourite things," she answered. "That's why I love my balcony so much. I always like to get a look at my surroundings and know what's going on. Gives me an edge."
Gloyd now had a mental image of Crumbelina scaling up Felix's living room curtain like a rock climber a year ago when their game had been unplugged. This explained a lot.
Their journey had taken them up to the west tower, the very tallest part of the castle. Unlike the other ones, this tower didn't have a pointy roof, rather a flat top accessible by a hatch in its sugarcube structure. The kids leaned against the crystalized wafer ledge, gazing out to the night-blanketed world. Gloyd had already been impressed by the view from the balcony of Crumbelina's mansion. But that was a postcard image compared to what they could see from all the way up here. Miles and miles of vast candy landscape greeted their eyes, with rounded truffle mountains, zillions of lollipop trees, and the giagantic decorative letters spelling Sugar Rush right in the centre of the chocolate lava lake captured in this one glimpse, all bathed in the marshmallow moon's soft blue-purple glow.
Breathing in the sweet-smelling air, Crumbelina sighed wistfully, feeling glad to be out of bed. But most of all, she was glad to call this game her home.
During this time, she had built up considerably more strength to stand on her own and coordinate her movements. Regardless, the pink glow emitting off of her had not dissipated, nor had shown signs of doing so anytime soon. The circulating sparkles and wisps were also still present, as well as the surreal humming. Other than that, she seemed perfectly normal.
But Gloyd couldn't stop glancing at her; he didn't even try to hide the fact that he was turning his head to face her over and over like a lighthouse beacon. "You doin' okay?" he asked, just to be sure. His eyes trailed up to the orange rose tucked in her hair, its glittery coating shining thanks to Lina's glow.
She turned her head and smiled at him. "Yes, I am," she said softly. "I was just thinking of how much I love this new update. All the features our new game developers added in are simply wonderful. Isn't the night just lovely?"
Her highly ironic statement made Gloyd frown. "But this update nearly killed you."
Lina touched his arm delicately. "It was a bug in the code," she tried to assure him. "It didn't have to do with the update."
He didn't really believe that, but he also didn't want to dive into this subject anymore either. Instead, he faced the darkened candyscapes again, while absent-mindedly running his fingers along the colourful sprinkles embedded in the ledge. In the corner of his eye, he noted that Lina hadn't resumed lookout; he could feel her eyes still gazing at him. Her hand was still in contact with his arm.
"I noticed that you just said the update nearly killed me. Not you. Does that mean you're not feeling guilty anymore?"
Her voice drifted into his ears, prompting him to look at her still-sparkling face again. "Well…maybe a little," he admitted, "but I'll get over it. It's in the past now, right? Gotta let go. And the important thing is that you're alive. Right?"
She nodded. "Right."
And then she said, "Care to tell me why you're missing two of your teeth?"
Caught off guard, Gloyd blinked and then turned his face away from her. "It's nothing."
"Oh yes, it is," she countered strongly. "You weren't looking like this when we started the Random Roster. I was watching you. You were smiling like it was Halloween and April Fools' Day combined because you were so excited about using your Kernal Krackers for the first time. You told me so right before the race."
Gloyd refused to look at her. He was well aware that Lina knew how thrilled he had been to unleash his new power-up in the gameplay. And he knew she was extremely observant, so he didn't wonder how she had taken notice of all those details.
"Something happened to you between my accident and when I woke up," Crumbelina deduced, "because I noticed your teeth were missing when I regenerated and saw you."
She gazed at his unresponsive face. "I'm right, aren't I?"
Gloyd said nothing. He just stared out at the dark world bathed in the moonlight, knowing she was looking at him. He wished that he was programmed with the power to turn invisible at will.
Then he felt a hand cup his chin and gently turn his head around to face her. Their gazes connected and he could clearly see that Lina's eyes were filled with a mixture of concern and determination.
"Gloyd, what happened?" she whispered softly. "Please tell me."
He winced reluctantly, feeling his cheeks burn. He could see that she was really worried about him now. "But…you won't like it. Do I have to?" he asked meekly, wishing and hoping with all his heart she would say 'no'.
"Yes."
The sound of her voice, heavy with persuasion and begging, finally compelled him to give in. After all, it was only fair that she knew of exactly what had happened since she didn't exactly have nothing to do with it. Besides, she wasn't going to let him go until he did.
"Fine. I'll tell you. But I'm warning you right now you're not gonna like it. It happened right after we found out you had crashed…"