A/N: Hey guys! OMG it has been soooooooooooooo long since I've updated, and I am so extremely sorry! I am so flippin late with this update, and I cannot apologize enough for that. Honestly, this summer has just been so hectic, and I was gone in Tennessee for a week, then I just had one thing on top of another, and I still do, in reality. It's just been crazy, and I've barely had any free time. Also, I've kinda been hitting a bit of a slump with my writing, and trying so hard to gather up inspiration when honestly, I've just been at a loss of what to write lately. I struggled a little getting myself motivated enough to write this, but hopefully from now on things will be a smoother ride. I wanna say updates will get back to their usual schedule from now on...but this Monday I'm leaving for yet another week long trip. So this upcoming week I won't be able to post anything, considering I'll be on the mountains and won't have any internet access. Anyway, I'll try to keep writing in my spare time at least, and hopefully I will be able to post again next Saturday! I love you all, thank you for baring with me, have an amazing day! ~XOXO
Chapter Twelve
Early that next Sunday morning, Taffyta, Candlehead, and Rancis were all gathered inside Taffyta's house in the small racer community. They sat quietly around the dining room table, sipping at coffee and orange juice and chatting absentmindedly.
Suddenly, Taffyta brought up a pressing subject that had been on all of their minds for the past few weeks.
"You know, we really need to figure out how to set Ralph and Vanellope up together," she exclaimed, setting her mug of dark coffee down decisively.
"Are you sure we should really be meddling in Vanellope's love life?" Candlehead queried nervously. "I feel like she might legitimately hurt someone. And what if we mess everything up?"
Rancis glanced at her, golden brown eyes glinting uneasily. "Maybe she's right, Taffyta," he conceded. "She can be pretty scary sometimes."
Taffyta rolled her eyes and smirked. "Oh, come on, I can handle her. Besides, we won't mess up! I can overcome aaannnyy challenge." The other two racers exchanged playful glances and Rancis scoffed at her cockiness.
"Okay, okay, don't get your taffy in a bunch," he teased. "If you're so sure. What do you even plan to do anyway?"
She slumped down in her seat, gaze contemplative and distant. Suddenly, she sighed, frowning in a defeated air. "I don't know," she mumbled, stirring her finger half-heartedly in her coffee. "Honestly? I seriously have no clue. I don't know the first thing about romance."
"I think," Rancis began slowly, "We need to get them alone somewhere."
"Ooh, ooh!" Taffyta suddenly sat up, eyes gleaming. "Let's lock them in a room somewhere."
"You forget, Ralph could just wreck through the walls or something," Rancis noted with a sigh, scratching his head.
The three sat in thoughtful silence for a few minutes before Candlehead piped up softly. "Maybe we can't lock them in a room, but what if we walked with them far out in Sugar Rush, and just ditched them? Like, we could hide our cars somewhere and take off without them."
"Hmm, that could work," Rancis murmured, rubbing his chin as he thought it over.
"That's a great idea," Taffyta admitted, though somewhat reluctantly (she secretly wished she had come up with it on her own). "Although, we could make it even more devious and worthwhile. After all, Vanellope knows the Sugar Rush landscape like the back of her hand. All of us do, I'm sure. I think, we should go outside of the game. We wouldn't really have to take our cars there, we could go to EZ Living and make an excuse, like say we wanna go get popsicles or something, and just leave them."
"Oh yeah," Rancis agreed quickly, "but then we should take them out into the jungle or something. That way they don't know their way around as well, and they have a better chance of getting lost!"
Taffyta giggled mischievously and leaned forward over the table to exchange an exuberant high-five with Rancis. Candlehead, though excited, also eyed them somewhat anxiously.
"What if they never find their way back?" She wondered aloud. "Or what if we get lost?"
Taffyta sighed, rubbing her forehead as she settled back down in her chair. "You're overthinking it, Candlehead," she eased impatiently. "I'm sure everything will be just fine."
"Okay," she responded uneasily. "If you say so."
"Alright," Taffyta decided, standing up and slamming her palm down on the table dramatically. "To the castle!"
When the three racers made their way into the castle's kitchen ("She really needs to start locking this door," Taffyta mumbled upon their easy entrance), they found Ralph and Azalea already up and waiting; they had been talking intermittently amid the stark silence.
"Where's Vanellope?" Candlehead questioned, eyeing the two curiously. Ralph sat at one side of the counter and Azalea stood behind the other, seemingly making a pot of coffee.
"Still not up," Ralph grumbled. He looked like he was about to light aflame from the amount of awkward tension filling the room like noxious fumes. "I thought about waking her up, but…" He trailed off, feeling unsure. He felt a lump in his throat begin to form. Before the upgrade it wouldn't have mattered any; he wouldn't mind barging in her room in the morning whenever, but now...things were definitely different.
"What?" Taffyta questioned, putting her hands on her hips as she stood in front of the wrecker. "I think she'd prefer a rude awakening from you than from any of us," she teased with a smirk."
Azalea stood quietly behind the counter, observing silently like she had been over the past few days. Every chance she got, she lingered around the group of friends, barely queuing in to their conversations herself, and scrutinizing their group dynamic. Sometimes she knew the other racers, especially Vanellope, eyed her curiously, but for the most part, they were imperceptive to her schemes.
Although, she had the sneaking suspicion that Vanellope was catching on to her more and more. She was smart, of course, maybe smart enough to match Azalea's programming herself, but maybe not.
She had definitely noticed something brewing between the brunette and Ralph. Her coding screamed with competitive yearning. She knew deep inside her, that when the game's programmers designed her, they had one thing and one thing only in mind: rivalry.
Yes, Azalea Von Schweetz was Vanellope's programmed rival. She was made to bring nothing but havoc and distress to her sister's life. She felt the tug of her coding, pulling her to steal everything the Queen racer possessed. Of course, she couldn't let anyone know. For now, she had to play it off like the sweet, innocent, happy-go-lucky smarty that was brushed over her exterior.
She tuned into Taffyta and Ralph's conversation as she continued to tease and push him into proceeding into Vanellope's room.
"Come on," she urged, tugging at his polo sleeve. "Get up there! Otherwise we'll never get her down!" She exchanged gleeful looks with Candlehead and Rancis as he reluctantly stood.
"Okay, enough!" He barked, throwing up his hands. "Fine, I'll go! Just stop bugging me!"
Taffyta giggled as she continued to push the large wrecker, albeit inefficiently, towards the hallway. Grumbling incoherently, he lumbered out into the hall and began the quiet trek towards Vanellope's quarters.
His thoughts raced rapidly around his mind, whirring and buzzing aggressively in his ears. So many conflicting emotions plagued his mind. His cheeks flushed at the thought of what state the beautiful girl awaiting him would be found in.
He didn't even want to think about what kind of clothing she wore to bed these days.
Meanwhile, Vanellope was sleeping soundly underneath her soft, billowy blankets. She stirred slightly in her sleep, turning over gently and groaning softly against the pillows. She sleepily tugged the soft material closer to her face and smiled happily in her slumber.
As Ralph silently pushed open the door and wandered over to her bed, his face flushed lightly with color. He tried to repress all the adoring thoughts and feelings that tried worming their way into his heart. He gulped, stepping closer to the side of the bed until he was standing over her as she slept.
Her facial expression held that same innocent nature that he saw when she slept against his chest a few days prior. She smiled, her expression pure and unfiltered by restraint. He found he couldn't resist smiling too, as he looked down at the sleeping figure before him.
Finally, after he started to feel a little creepy for watching her sleep, he nervously pressed his hand against her shoulder. "Vanellope?" He cooed softly, voice shaking slightly. When she didn't respond, he sighed and continued to prod her shoulder with more and more pressure. "You really are a heavy sleeper, aren't you?" He sighed, chuckling tenderly and putting his hands on his hips.
He sat down on the bed beside her, eyes widening at the strange way the mattress gently conformed around his shape. He slid his hand under the covers and felt the strange, yet soft texture. "Of course her bed is a marshmallow." He rolled his eyes and shifted, looking down at her again.
"Vanellope," he said firmly, "wake up." He shook her arm somewhat aggressively, bemused when she still didn't wake. He pulled the blankets away from her, and she groaned, eyebrows furrowed in sleepy agitation as she shifted, arms clutching each other in an attempt to keep warm. He smirked, and tugged at her interlocked arms, pulling her easily into an upright sitting position. He held her there and finally she started to show signs of life.
Groggily, the brunette blinked open her tired eyes, and gaze up at Ralph's grinning face with slight aggravated bemusement. Still half-asleep, she slumped against his warm chest, and before he could resist, grabbed his arm and pulled it closer to herself, closing her eyes and resting with a small smile. "Now you're stuck here, Stinkbrain," she mumbled, pulling her legs tightly against her body and curling herself up against him.
Ralph's cheeks instantly lit up with fiery color and he gaped down at her. "Come on," he urged, shaking his arm gently, "You've gotta wake up."
However, when he roughly shifted the arm she was cradled against, her cheeks flushed with rosy pigment and she jolted away from him, eyes suddenly wide. "R-Ralph," she choked out, staring at him in bewilderment..
"W-what?" He barked warily, though as his gaze drifted down to his arm, he realized she had practically wrapped herself around it and his lower arm was precariously situated just between her legs and down past her…
He immediately yanked his arm away from her grip, causing her to tumble a few inches away from him on the bed. He turned away urgently, his entire face burning with the force of what felt like a thousand blazing EZ Living suns.
Vanellope shifted uncomfortably, a surprising warmth easing itself annoyingly between her thighs. She gulped and stared down at the blankets, gripping them unknowingly with her fingers until they became pale.
The two stayed in that very uncomfortable silence for a few moments.
"L-let's just-" Vanellope began.
"Pretend that never happened?" Ralph cut her off hastily, still staring down at the floor so intensely she could swear there were scorch marks left on the wood.
"Y-yeah," she agreed quickly. "Uh, I-I need to get dressed. I'll b-be down in a minute," she coughed, looking away again.
"Y-yeah, okay," he conceded, bolting upright and sidling towards the door without so much as a glance in her direction. "I-uh, I'll be d-downstairs, with the o-others."
She nodded in response, though she knew he didn't see her, and he closed the door with a nervous slam on his way out. She sighed, slumping back down with her back against the sheets, clenching her eyes shut tightly as she slapped her palm over her face and groaned loudly. "What in the name of Sugar Rush am I gonna do now?"
As Ralph hurried back down the staircase and into the sitting room he found that as hard as he tried, he could not get the strange new images out of his head.
His brain kept replaying what happened over and over again in his mind, stamping the image behind his eyes. Except, each time it changed little more. He found himself frozen at the end of the hallway into the kitchen, unable to face the rest of the racers with those images floating around his vision.
He found himself picturing things a little differently, and almost in slow motion, as he moved his arm slowly upward, and he could practically feel her hands clutch him tightly. This time she said his name softer than before, her tone significantly more pleading...He could even hear her making a small sound of pleasure as his face and body filled with an intense rush of warmth...maybe she even moaned..
He yanked himself forcibly out of his disturbing fantasy, and found himself slumping against the wall, tugging at his messy auburn locks. He screwed his eyes shut tightly and used all of his willpower to force every last image out of his brain. Finally, after standing there for a few minutes, he was able to relax again. With a sigh, he stood up straight, glad to see his growing "problem" was gone too.
When he felt like he was ready to face the others, he walked slowly into the kitchen. Taffyta immediately whirled around to face him and grinned mischievously. "So, how's our resident sleeping beauty?" She pestered. Candlehead quietly giggled behind her hand as she watched their interactions unfold.
"She's fine," he mumbled, approaching the counter with his face tilted down. He slid back into his seat and stared at the smooth surface. "Can someone get me a cup of coffee?" He asked with a sigh, his tone signifying a halt to any further inquiries.
Of course, this didn't stop Taffyta. She hurried over to the coffee pitcher and poured him a steaming cupful. "Aw, what's the matter?" She pressed. "Did she get mad at your for interrupting her beauty sleep?"
Ralph rolled his eyes. "Knock it off," he muttered. "I'm fine."
"How do you like your coffee?" She asked.
"Just how it is," he told her, reaching over and gently taking the mug from her small hands. "Thanks."
She eyed him curiously with a small smile. "Hey, you know what," she exclaimed, knowingly glancing towards Candlehead and Rancis. "We should all spend the day at EZ Living!"
"Yeah!" Candlehead immediately chimed in. "I haven't been there yet! I've heard it's like, amazing!"
"It's pretty cool," Rancis admitted, glancing shyly towards Taffyta. "Me and Taff went there a couple of weeks ago for a little while. The beach can get pretty crowded, but if we head over there soon we'll be okay. I think I wanna explore the jungle some more though."
Ralph rolled his eyes. "EZ Living is so overrated," he barked. "Why don't we just stay here?" To be honest, he was more concerned with the thought of seeing Vanellope in her bathing suit.
"Aw come on, Ralph," Taffyta whined, "Don't be such a party pooper! Besides, I'm sure Vanellope would love to go!" Ralph rolled his eyes as she pouted at him and he nearly chugged his mug of coffee.
"Fine," he sighed, "whatever."
"Great!" Taffyta exclaimed. "Well, me, Candlehead, and Rancis all have our bathing suits on, but let me go tell Vanellope where we're going!" Ralph noticed Rancis was wearing swimming trunks and both the girls were wearing colorful sundresses with what appeared to be bathing suits tied up around their neck.
Taffyta rushed out of the room, and Candlehead quickly followed as they ran to prepare Vanellope for the day's events.
Ralph rolled his eyes but couldn't help smiling, continuing to sip quietly at his coffee. He noticed Azalea leaned up against the opposite wall of the kitchen, quietly observing everything. When he made eye contact with her, she smiled sweetly and waved, eyes glinting. He smiled back nervously and nodded.
Today is gonna be a long day.
Shoutout to my amazing followers and all the love I feel just from knowing you like my story! :D