Chapter Fifteen
The walk back through Ralph's game and out the exit went by uneventfully. Vanellope whistled softly during the train ride, and they found themselves too preoccupied with their own thoughts to bother sparking a conversation.
As they made their way silently towards the rest of the group, the short brunette slyly ogled him from the corner of her eyes. She bit her lip, thinking back to the things he said to her earlier.
"Behave and maybe sometime I'll show you."
She gulped, quickly averting her gaze back to the ground in front of her. What exactly does he intend to...show me? A strange tingling sensation rushed through her stomach, leaving her feeling slightly breathless and queasy all of a sudden.
A strange warmth filled her veins and she found herself befuddled by the strange physical effects she found herself enduring. When they finally reached their small trio of friends, the awkwardness of their silence had almost grown deafening.
"Heeeeyyyy, guys!" Taffyta called out, a grin stretching across her features. Blue eyes glinting mischievously, she shared a quick glance between Candlehead and Rancis. "What took you two so long?"
"Actually, they were only gone for about ten min-" Candlehead began sheepishly.
Taffyta cut her off with a sharp jab in the side. "Come on now, I'm sure when they're together, time simply seemed to fly by much faster than it usually goes. That's why it only seemed like ten minutes to you, Candlehead."
The green-haired racer frowned, her brow furrowing in confusion. "But Taffyta, that's not how it-"
"Okay, okay!" Rancis chimed in, noticing the frazzled looks on both Vanellope and Ralph's faces. "How about we stop with this chit chat and just head over to EZ Living. I am dying to get into that water."
Taffyta rolled her eyes, a small smirk gracing her features nevertheless. "Okay, whatever Rancis." She playfully nudged him with her shoulder as she turned and walked past. He stared at her in confusion for a moment before quickly following suit.
Candlehead trailed a few paces behind them, Vanellope and Ralph falling in behind her. Slowly, as they made their way across Game Central Station, the gang finally settled back into their easy playful banter.
However, Ralph and Vanellope couldn't help but feel distracted. She glanced his way every so often. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the images from their earlier conversation.
He looked down at one point to meet her stare, playfully smirking and raising one eyebrow. Frowning back at him in response, she turned her face away with a huff. A faint dusting of color rose to her cheeks. With each passing day, it seemed like their relationship was growing more and more complicated.
As they neared the end of the long line of game outlets, Vanellope looked up to see the name above the only entrance on that wall. "Litwak's...Office.." She slowly read aloud, narrowing her eyes at the vibrant neon lettering. "What's this?" She queried.
Taffyta looked over her shoulder with a smirk. "This outlet will take us through the wall and into Litwak's Office. From there we'll be directed to another, much smaller station. There we'll find Litwak's Laptop. That's where EZ Livin' is."
"Oooookaaayy," the dark-haired girl responded slowly. Still confused, she furrowed her eyebrows but then shrugged. "I guess I'll see when we get there."
They all piled onto the monorail. Vanellope slid into a seat across from Candlehead, Rancis, and Taffyta. Ralph sat down quietly beside her. A strange tension settled between the two. Taffyta shared a knowing glance between the two next to her. "Is it just me, or are they acting even more awkward than before they went to Ralph's game?" She whispered behind her hand.
Thankfully, Vanellope was staring, oblivious, out the window, and Ralph too stared with unseeing eyes at the floor of the vehicle.
"Definitely more awkward," Candlehead confirmed, leaning over Rancis to meet eyes with Taffyta. Rancis sighed, shaking his head of blonde hair.
"Maybe we should just stop interfering," he worried, glancing at Vanellope and Ralph. "They seemed happier before we tried setting them up together."
"No, no, no," Taffyta cut in. "Don't worry, once we get them alone together in the jungle, lost, under the stars...it'll be so romantic." For a moment her eyes seemed dreamy, and Candlehead noticed her momentary glance towards Rancis. "But anyway," she murmured, a slight blush rising to her face, "just don't worry. Our plan will work just fine."
"If you say so," he sighed, raising an eyebrow back at her. She turned away from his gaze sheepishly, folding her hands together in her lap. "Are you okay, Taff?" He murmured softly, so Candlehead wouldn't hear. The green-haired racer turned away from them, humming nonchalantly and looking out across the aisle. "You seem a little...distracted."
The endearing nickname sounded strangely different when he said it, she noticed. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink color. Vanellope and Candlehead called her by 'Taff' all the time, but something about the way he said it...Her heart thrummed faster in her chest.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she grumbled, averting eye contact so he wouldn't noticed her flustered expression.
Furrowing his brow, he frowned in confusion as he looked at the normally confident and quirky girl, who suddenly seemed so nervous and shy. "Okay." In that moment, he didn't know what else to say.
Meanwhile, Vanellope found herself growing more and more uneasy with each passing minute. She turned to look over at Ralph, who was staring quite determinedly at the floor. "Hey, Ralph," she murmured. When he didn't hear her, she persisted. "Psst, Ralph, you alive over there?"
She nudged his arm roughly, and he finally seemed to refocus. Blinking his eyes rapidly, he leaned back in the seat and looked down at her curiously. "What is it, kid?"
Choosing to ignore his unfortunate choice of wording this time, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Wouldya stop being so awkward, ya big fart?" He flinched, seeming surprised, before smirking and shaking his head.
"Now, Vanellope, you know that being awkward is just part of my nature."
She couldn't help it; something about the way her name rolled so softly and fluently off of his tongue filled her insides with warmth. She had to admit, she rather liked the way it sounded coming from his lips-infinitely more better, in fact, than any teasing nickname he could come up with.
"Okay, Ralph," she teased with a smile, dragging out the word as slowly as possible, "At least try to be mildly entertaining. Or, at the very least, talk to me. You can't possibly tell me the tiles are more interesting than I am."
He rolled his eyes dramatically, beaming broader nevertheless. He quite appreciated the sound of his name when she said it; it was a drastic improvement from 'Stinkbrain.'
"Don't worry," he drawled, leaning towards her flirtatiously. "You're definitely much more interesting to look at."
Just like that, her cheeks lit up like a candle, and she did all she could not to drop her jaw open in bewilderment. She figured, however, it wouldn't be a very flattering look for her. So instead, she frowned. "You're just trying to push my buttons," she complained, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at him.
He chuckled at her reaction, lightly nudging her leg with his own. "Come on, Vanellope, don't be so negative. Just because I'm trying to push your buttons doesn't mean I'm not telling the truth."
If possible, her cheeks turned an even darker shade of crimson. "Yeah, well." For once, she couldn't think of a clever response. Not a single one. Her mind was too muddled to concentrate. "You're just a big stinkbrain," she finally countered.
He laughed more boisterously than before. Outside, the monorail was slowing to a crawl at their destination. "Is that it? You're really losing your game, kid."
She simply huffed, turning away and pushing herself up to her feet. He quickly stood up beside her, 'accidentally' knocking her back off with a simple push of his hand.
"Hey!" She exclaimed, eyes wide for a second before a huge grin stretched out across her features. "I know you're the size of a building, but you could at least try not to be a bumbling oaf for five minutes."
He snorted, reaching out his hand to help her back up. She grabbed it hesitantly, pulling herself back up to her feet before quickly releasing it. Too much physical contact and she feared she might be rendered speechless permanently.
"There she is, the dirty haired brat I know and love," he teased affectionately, eyeing her sideways. She rolled her eyes, biting her lip, but couldn't contain her goofy smile.
The five of them made their way off of the monorail, and out into the tiny station outside. Vanellope drank in her entire surroundings eagerly, feeling her sense of adventure gradually return to her.
Granted, there wasn't much of a sight to behold. She smiled, staring around the room. There were no other inhabitants wandering around; anybody intending to go to EZ Livin' was probably already inside. It was definitely a change from Game Central Station.
Besides the outlet they had come out of, there were only two others. One read "Litwak's Laptop" above it, and the other one was empty.
"Wow, this place really is sparse," Candlehead commented, gazing around the room.
"It's awesome!" Vanellope exclaimed, darting out into the middle of the station and suddenly flinging her arms out, spinning around in circles and shouting out as loud as she could. "HELLO, LITWAK!"
Ralph grunted, face palming loudly, though he found himself chuckling softly at the racer's antics.
Taffyta grinned and ran out to meet her, grabbing onto her friend's hands and joining. The two spun around each other joyfully, laughing and hooting until both of them fell square on their rumps.
Ralph watched the two of them in eager amusement. He couldn't help but to notice the way Vanellope's dress flared out dramatically as she spun, exposing the smooth skin of her thighs as she continued to spin around in circles.
He gulped, trying to swallow the lump burning in his throat. He looked back up at her face, bright and beaming with unsurmountable and innocent expressions of joy. He found himself smiling too, feeling his heart swell gently with appreciation for the beautiful and insane girl in front of him. Her hair whipped around her in silky black waves, and he remembered how it felt to run his fingers slowly through the dark tresses.
Time seemed to slow down around him as he stared unfalteringly at Vanellope.
Her cheeks glowed with luminescent warmth and as he watched, he suddenly had the undeniable urge to scoop her up in his arms and share her happiness. He wanted to be the recipient of that bright, though dorky, grin. He wanted to be the cause of her laughter. His heart pounded loudly in his chest and he found that all of sudden he couldn't push these thoughts out of his brain.
Vanellope rocked back, clutching her sides as tears of laughter rolled down her cheeks. Breathless as could be, she let out gasps of air in between her laughter. Taffyta rolled over onto her side, closing her eyes and letting out a loud puff of air as she finally stopped laughing. The two girls laid there, stretching their arms out across the cool tiles, trying to let their breath catch up to them.
Ralph, Rancis, and Candlehead exchanged amused looks before strolling over to the two. Candlehead plopped herself down beside Vanellope and smiled as the brunette pulled herself up to a sitting position. Taffyta soon followed suit, and the three girls looked up at the two slightly befuddled guys.
"What are you doing sitting on the floor?" Rancis questioned, raising his eyebrows and sharing a look with Ralph. "I thought you all were eager to get to the beach."
"After all that spinning, I'm eager to sit my butt down," Taffyta countered. Vanellope and Candlehead laughed obnoxiously in response, snorting and nearly falling down onto their backs.
"What about you, Candlehead?" Ralph asked, crossing his arms in amusement. "You didn't even do any spinning."
"I'm always eager to sit down," she kidded, after a few moments of contemplation.
The group finally all succumbed to soft laughter together, before Ralph responded with, "You and me both, sister."
Vanellope locked eyes with Ralph, eyes twinkling mischievously. He beamed down at her, easily eliciting a broad smile in return.
A flood of affection for her clumsy wrecker suddenly surged through her. She reached her hands up towards him and he pulled her easily to her feet. For a few moments, they stood there silently, hands still locked, the lack of distance between them seeming to pull them even closer. She shyly averted her eyes, a small smile gracing her lips.
He smiled, tenderly reaching up to push a lock of her hair behind her ear. His fingers brushed slowly across her cheek, and she looked back up at him, hazel eyes full of warmth. As comfortable as they were remaining in their position, a silent acknowledgement passed between them that if they stayed there any longer, they would never hear the end of it. Slowly, they separated, and turned to join in with their friends' lighthearted conversation.
Finally, after a few more minutes of friendly banter, they made their way towards the entrance to Litwak's Laptop. Vanellope hung behind the others, stopping to look up at the top of the entrance as everyone else filed inside. Even now, she still found herself mystified by her ability to actually pass through these barriers. Ralph stopped and turned, waiting for her to catch up.
She couldn't help thinking about a time when she hadn't even been able to leave her own game. Back when she still resided in the coca cola mountain, that bright blue barrier that kept her trapped inside had been a source of constant nightmares. Now, thanks to Ralph, she stood facing another brand new game, yet again.
Deep inside, there was still a lingering fear that when she stepped forward, she would feel the sharp jab of electricity shoot through her binary, launching her backwards and keeping her locked out forever. Her eyes welled up with tears to think of all she had been through compared to where she was now.
When she looked back down and her eyes locked with Ralph's, she felt something deep inside of her churning and filling her whole body with undeniable yearning. I love you, Stinkbrain. The words refused to leave her mouth, but she knew in her heart that she meant them now more than she ever had.
He smiled as he watched her. She never stopped amazing him with her endless amounts of wonder and appreciation. He wondered what exactly was going on in that ever-cranking brain of hers. Finally, she looked back down, her eyes meeting his, and flashed him a toothy grin. She skipped forward to catch up to him.
"Hey, Ralph?" She said as they resumed their path into the outlet. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked up into his inquisitive eyes.
"Yeah?" He asked, smiling tenderly down at her. She slowly wrapped her thin arms around his huge one, and his face flushed with pale color.
"Thank you," she murmured, her voice practically no more than a whisper.
In that moment, as she stared lovingly into his eyes, he knew he was done for.
He finally knew his heart had fallen hook, line, and sinker, for the beautiful Vanellope von Schweetz.