Los Aburridos was beautiful at dusk. The city took on a warm glow when the sun was going down.
But the child gazing up at the old buildings looming above her wasn't thinking about that.
She was thinking about how it seemed like the structures got taller and more formidable each time she looked, and the waning light was doing it no favors.
The street lights would be turning on soon. And she did not want to be caught around here at night.
It's not like I have much of a choice though, she thought, pulling her threadbare old hoodie closer. It did little to help against the chill.
If she had her way she'd be curled up in a blanket in front of a cozy fireplace right now, safe and warm and full from a hot dinner. She smiled to herself.
Until her stomach growled, snapping her out of it instantly.
Don't be stupid, the little girl scoffed, shaking her head, That could never happen to you.
That's nothing but a fairy tale, kid stuff.
Things like that didn't happen to people like her.
"Jeez," Ralph thought as he pulled his old jacket closer to himself against the growing chill.
He picked up his pace, not wanting to be out when the street lights turned on. Once it got dark people treated him even worse than usual, and he was so sick of being treated like he was a...bad guy.
Especially today.
Not that Ralph's birthday mattered to anyone though.
Maybe if he had something to go home to it wouldn't get to him so much.
If he had his way he'd be heading home to a warm, cozy little place right now, with a partner or a pet or hell, friends waiting eagerly to jump out as soon as he opened the door with a yelp of SURPRISE!
He allowed himself a smile at the thought.
Until he saw someone almost get run over by a truck in their haste to get to the other side of the street to avoid walking past him.
Ralph sighed.
That could never happen to me.
That's nothing but a fairy tale, kid stuff.
Things like that didn't happen to people like him.
She was too slow.
The little girl's heart sank as she saw the street lights begin to flicker to life.
She didn't know what she was hoping for though. For some nice family to come traipsing through just looking for a scruffy lost kid to scoop up like a stray dog?
Maybe a little bit.
Her stomach grumbled again.
Stupid, she shook her head, scrubbing away the angry tears gathering in her eyes.
You're stupid.
Stupid and cold and hungry.
And...scared, she reluctantly admitted to herself, glaring at the concrete.
"Hey!"
The kid startled, whipping around to find the last two people she wanted to see running towards her faster than she thought she'd ever seen them go.
"Wynnchel and Duncan," she groaned, immediately whirling back around and breaking into a sprint.
Great.
He was too slow.
"Crap," Ralph hissed to himself.
He slowed his pace, kicking a stray can in frustration. No use rushing now.
He paused to look forlornly into the window of a little bakery. It looked so warm and inviting.
Well, it was his birthday after all.
"You only turn thirty once," he sighed to himself.
A little bell jingled cheerfully as he tentatively stepped inside.
The bakery owner smiled, but it quickly disappeared when she saw him.
"Uhm, hi," Ralph waved awkwardly, trying not to take the murmurs of the patrons around him too personally. He just wanted a stupid birthday cake. Lord knew nobody else was going to get one for him.
"Hello," the woman greeted with a slightly nervous smile, "how can I help you?"
He smiled. For once someone wasn't treating him with total contempt.
But as Ralph well knew, good things rarely lasted long for him.
"Mary is this person bothering you?" a portly little man with a mustache appeared seemingly out of nowhere, sneering up at Ralph.
"Um, no Gene, thank you-"
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he said curtly, not even listening to the woman.
"Look, I'm not looking for any trouble," he held his hands up placatingly, "I just want to buy a cake."
"You want to buy a cake?" the man asked skeptically, as if the idea of Ralph buying a dessert was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.
"It's...my birthday."
"Well having...people like you hanging around is bad for business."
"Gene," the woman behind the counter hissed.
"Look at him, Mary! Do you want more clientele like him? He's just a bad guy!"
"No, I'm not," Ralph growled. He could feel his temper threaten to flare.
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm NOT!" Ralph slammed a fist against the counter.
But his anger quickly vanished as he realized what he'd just done.
While the two men were arguing Mary had set a pretty little cake on the counter, Happy Birthday written on it in dainty handwriting.
And when Ralph lost his temper he'd...wrecked it.
"Yes. You. Are." Gene crossed his arms.
Ralph shook his head, rushing out before he could make things any worse.
"That's what I get for trying to do something nice for myself," he grumbled, cringing as he wiped the chocolate from his ruined present to himself on his old jacket.
"I hate chocolate," he groaned to himself as he stepped into Burger Time next door, where the other customers in line immediately parted like the Red Sea after taking one look at him.
"One burger please," Ralph sighed to the teenager at the counter, who looked at him as if she thought he might mug her if she took her eyes off him for a second. She handed him a bag without breaking eye contact.
He left the money on the counter, as usual.
Ralph unwrapped his dinner and ducked into an alley, his usual shortcut.
At least my sad lonely house doesn't seem so bad now, he thought with a mirthless smile.
The little girl was getting tired, she couldn't keep going much longer.
She'd have to hide somewhere until the dimwitted pair got tired of looking.
C',mon c'mon c'mon, she silently repeated like a prayer, pushing herself as far as she could go to make it across the street before the traffic light changed.
She didn't.
Horns blared, people shouted and birds were flipped but the kid didn't care, weaving between cars and trucks and vans and even a scooter like a dangerous real life game of Frogger.
But she made it.
She looked back at the traffic she'd just come out of with wide eyes for a moment.
Before letting out a whoop of triumph.
"HA!" she laughed at her hapless pursuers.
Before the light turned again.
"Uh-oh."
No way am I getting caught now, the kid thought as she desperately looked for an escape.
Didn't make it this far to get caught by these goons.
Perfect, she narrowed her eyes determinedly, darting into an alley.
She laughed to herself.
Atta girl! You're home free no-
"CRAP!"
"Ahh!"
The little girl looked up from where she'd landed hard on the concrete, only to see-
A...giant?
Ralph looked down to see what had painfully slammed into his shins, only to see-
A...kid?
"Huh?" they yelped in startled unison.
The kid's eyes seemed to stare right through him, an odd mixture of confusion and defeat lacing her features, and deep within them something Ralph was all too used to seeing...fear.
Of course she's afraid of you, idiot, Ralph berated himself, adults are scared of you, why wouldn't a kid be? Especially when they literally crashed into you.
The little girl took a deep breath.
She'd been so close.
"U-uhm," he stammered, sure that any second now this kid was going to start screaming or something. And he'd had enough trouble for tonight, thank you very much.
"You're gonna take me back, aren't you?" she asked simply, staring intently at her dirty old boots.
"Huh?"
Her eyes snapped back up to look at him.
"You're not one of the King's stupid goons?"
"Um, no? Who? Wait wait," Ralph held up his hands, "What is a kid like you doing out here at this time-a night?!"
"What're you doing out here?"
"I asked you first!"
"What do you care?" she growled.
"Oh I dunno, maybe because kids don't usually come running through here like something's after them!"
"Well I bet old guys don't usually walk through here scarfing down burgers either."
"Y'know what, touché."
"I think she went in here!" the little girl could hear Wynnchel and Duncan's voices at the opening of the alley.
Crap.
"Well it was nice meeting you jumbo, but I've gotta be going now," the strange kid quickly stood up, dusting herself off.
"Huh?"
"Oh, and sorry."
"For what?"
"This," she said, swiping the burger right out of his hand.
"Hey!"
And with that, the nine-year-old found herself being pursued by three people.
Great.
The little girl took a bite from the burger, and even though she was running for her life she couldn't help but savor it. The cheap fast food was the first thing she'd eaten in what felt like forever, and right now it tasted like the best thing she'd ever had.
Apparently it was too good, as it'd distracted her from noticing that the man she'd pilfered it from was gaining on her fast, and before she knew it, the kid was grabbed by her hood.
"You little guttersnipe," he snarled.
"I-I can explain-"
"Oh yeah?" the man looked incredulously at her, pointing his thumb at the pair of goons behind them as he kept running.
"You're a little criminal aren't you?"
"No!" she snapped, about to take another bite of the burger she'd stolen-
"Hey!"
"Hey nothin'," Ralph growled, "That's mine, ya little cavity."
He wrapped the sandwich up, putting it in his pocket. The idea of eating after this strange kid made him lose his appetite a little. She could have...rabies or something, for all he knew.
"We're losin' em!" the kid cried excitedly, the offenses seemingly forgotten already.
"Whose we?!" the man panted.
"Like the royal we," she shrugged.
Ralph rolled his eyes.
What had he gotten himself into?
After what seemed like forever Ralph made it out of the alley and quickly ducked into another.
The two waited with bated breath for Wynnchel and Duncan to follow and when the pair, panting with their hands on their knees, finally gave up, the kid and Ralph sighed in unison.
Ralph unceremoniously dropped the child, leaving the dark corridor.
"Ow!"
"What...was...that?!" he panted, plopping down on a nearby bench.
"What's it to ya?" she grumbled, joining him.
"What is your deal, kid?" Ralph cried, exasperated.
"You're- you're being chased, you're a little thief-"
"I'm not a thief," she growled defensively.
"I'm just-"
Her stomach growled.
"...You're just hungry," he realized, instantly softening.
She gave a tiny nod, for once not bothering with a snarky comeback.
He pushed the burger into her hands, an unspoken peace offering.
The kid was silent for a moment, regarding him with an unreadable expression.
She had no idea why this complete stranger was helping her, but as her stomach insistently growled again she was reminded that she wasn't really in a position to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The little girl wolfed the sandwich down faster than anyone of her diminutive size should have been able to, before the benevolent stranger could change his mind.
"Thank you," she said sheepishly, wiping her mouth with an already dirty hoodie sleeve.
"What's wrong, kid?"
"I...it's silly," she looked away.
"Aw c'mon, we've been through a chase together."
She managed a small smile, but it quickly faded.
"I...I dunno where I'm gonna go," she said, barely above a whisper.
"Well..." Ralph thought carefully, "why don't you...come with me for the night?"
She looked at him incredulously.
On the one hand, she thought, stranger danger. But on the other hand, this stranger had taken better care of her in all of half an hour than most of the people she'd known her whole life.
But why?
Why does he even care?
It baffled the little girl, and she hated when she couldn't figure something out.
It felt...too good to be true.
It felt like a trap.
"You- you're gonna take me back there," she jumped off the bench as if it had burned her, backing away from him with a glare.
Ralph softened. He could tell she was ready to make a break for it any second.
Whoever "the King" was, she was definitely afraid of going back to him, yet at the same time she seemed like the type of kid to get defensive if it was insinuated she was scared.
"No kid, I-" he said gently, before being interrupted by the voices of Wynnchel and Duncan in the distance again.
"-Oh jeez."
She looked between the strange man and the pair quickly coming toward them.
It was either run from these two until she eventually gave out from exhaustion and got taken back.
Or go out on a limb and against all her instincts and trust this guy.
"C'mon, c'mon," he yelped, scooping her up and making the decision for her.
"AHH!"
This has been the most interesting night I've had...ever, Ralph mused to himself as he weaved through alleyways and sidewalks. He never imagined his thirtieth birthday would end with getting caught up in a chase and being a runaway kid's accomplice.
Speaking of whom...
"You're- you're shivering," he said simply.
"No k-kidding, what an astute obs-servation. Y-ya wanna medal for figuring that one out?" she snapped.
He ignored the little quip, stopping for a moment and setting the child down.
Look what you did, genius, she immediately scolded herself, you messed things up with your big mouth just like always. You never know when to shut up, do ya? Better get comfortable with sleeping on a concrete bed.
"I-I didn't mean to-"
"Hey, relax kid," he laughed, unzipping his jacket.
She looked at him as if he'd grown a second head.
"Why the hell are you-"
"Hey, language!"
She rolled her eyes.
"Why the heck are you-"
But she never finished her question, as she was scooped back up and comfortably nestled in the unzipped coat.
"There," he zipped it back up.
"Huh?"
"There he is!" they heard Wynnchel and Duncan catching up.
"They just don't give up, do they?" Ralph groaned.
The kid looked around nervously. They were out of escape options. This was the end of the line. She gave a defeated sigh.
Only to be shoved down into the coat.
She yelped in surprise.
"Shh kid!"
"You!" Duncan shouted.
The little girl tensed.
"Where's the kid?"
"I don't know," Ralph shrugged, "I've been looking for the little guttersnipe too. She stole my dinner and ran, last time I saw 'er she was going that way," he pointed in the opposite direction.
"Oh ok, our bad. Sorry," the dimwitted pair apologized, running off.
"The coast is clear," he whispered.
The kid snickered.
"They're so dumb."
"It's like they share one brain cell," Ralph marveled.
"Pfff-"
"Now that they're finally out of the way," Ralph chuckled, continuing his usual walk home at a much more relaxed pace this time, "Let's get outta here. We're almost to my place."
"But..."
"Ralph," the man answered the question before the little girl could ask it.
"Why are you helping me, Ralph?" she asked quietly.
"Because kid..." he sighed, "Nobody who comes from a good home gets chased for an hour-" he paused, realizing he had the same dilemma his little accomplice had just moments before.
"Hey...what's your name?"
She paused for a moment.
"Vanellope."
"I'm sorry, what?" Ralph asked incredulously.
"That's my name, or at least it is as far as you know," she said cryptically.
The man shook his head. He'd unpack that later. This kid's name was far from the strangest thing he'd encountered tonight.
"Hang on a little longer kid," Ralph said when he heard the tiniest yawn from inside the jacket, "We'll be there soon and then you can sleep as much as you want."
"'M not tired," Vanellope grumbled, "I don't need a nap, I'm not a diaper baby."
"Ok," he smirked.
"I'm serious!"
"Ok kid, I believe you."
He did not believe her.
And that was only reinforced by how quiet she became as they continued on, not a single quip or snap for a whole five minutes.
They were almost to his apartment when Ralph shivered ever so slightly.
Vanellope, who'd burrowed herself in the giant jacket, popped her head out to stare at him.
"You ok?"
She hummed in response, starting to shift around.
"What're you doing?" he grumbled as she reached up over his head, "I can't see Vanellope-"
"Hold still!"
"There doofus," she smirked, pulling his hood over his head.
"Oh."
"Thanks kid," he smiled warmly.
The little girl smiled back, letting her guard down for a moment.
She shivered, and Ralph zipped her back up with a reassuring "almost there."
Vanellope subconsciously curled up in the warm coat. It was getting...so hard to...keep her eyes...open.
Ralph sighed as he finally unlocked the door to his little apartment.
"Well, here we are kid. Home sweet home," he said sarcastically.
When he didn't get a snarky response he looked down.
"Kid?" he unzipped the coat.
"Oh."
The little girl, despite all her protests just minutes ago was sound asleep, drooling slightly on his shirt.
Ralph laughed to himself.
Not tired my foot.
He however had no qualms about admitting how exhausted he was.
This all felt so surreal. He felt like this whole evening had been a fever dream.
Starting my thirtieth year with a bang, Ralph thought with a yawn.
"Happy birthday to me," he smirked.
Thank you for reading!
If you enjoyed this and would like to see more, feel free to let me know in the comments!