Well folks, here is chapter two! Onwards in Radiator Springs.
pairing: Female Lightning McQueen x?
Lightning hummed cheerfully as she rolled back into her home and sighed with relief. The reaction from the people and from the press had been expected after she had revealed her true self. But now? She wanted to spend some quality time with her friends, Mater, Doc, Sally, and the others. She grinned when she spotted the small town still bustling with a ton of activity and customers, but the closer she got, the more she grew curious when she spotted that familiar blue truck that she knew held Cal from Dinoco and she managed to spot Tex in his gold color glinting off of the sun and she wondered why they have shown up but then a thought appeared in her head and she groaned in annoyance. Of course, they would be here after she had revealed herself.
She zoomed down the road quickly after that revelation and she knew she caught Cal's attention when he heard her familiar engine. Cal grinned in excitement at seeing his friend, but also just a bit nervous since he hadn't seen Lightning since he turned out to be a lady car. Lightning herself finally appeared in a rush, her engine roaring and dirt scrunched up causing Cal to cough a bit. When the dirt and dust disappeared, Cal figured he was safe to open his eyes and he almost gasped at seeing the new Lightning. She was every bit feminine and sleek compared to her male counterpart and what captured his attention were definitely her pretty blue eyes.
He was immediately taken aback though when he saw that she was a bit annoyed and he knew she came up to the conclusion as to why they were there. "Ah Lightning, good to see you old friend," Tex said cheerfully when he spotted her. Lightning loosened her annoyed expression and smiled at Tex. "Hi Tex, how's Mr. The King been doing?" She asked him curiously. He just sighed and shrugged his tires. "Oh, same old same old. Spending his free time with the misses in between training Cal here and all that jazz. He wanted to say he was surprised when you came out to the world, but he was darn proud of ya for having the courage to do so." Tex said to her softly and Lightning soften up even more and gave him a thankful smile.
"Thank you Tex, I hope you guy's enjoyed your stay here in Radiator Spring. You can talk to Sally about accommodations." She told Tex as she suggested over to the cozy cone motel. Tex turned over to see what she was talking about and he nodded. "Thanks, Lightning." He said to her. He looked at Cal with annoyance at the fact that he still hasn't said a single word to her and drove off to the motel.
Lightning immediately ignored him as she started to drive over to Flo's to get more fuel in her tank. She felt just about half empty and didn't want to take any chances. Cal immediately hurried after her and managed to slide up beside her evenly on the road. "Um, so Lightning, I've been meaning to talk to you about something." He stammered a bit, unsure of how to deal with this new Lightning McQueen.
Her tires screeched to a halt and he instantly froze when he noticed the folks at the station looking at the noise with curiosity. She revved her engine as she moved to face him up front and glared. "I know you're here because of what was on the news." She said with slight anger. He definitely froze right there. "Um, it's uh part of it. But I also wanted to tell you that I admire you a lot. And after seeing you come out with that kind of bravery, I knew I had to come to you." He admitted to her.
She calmed down a bit, but still gave him a wary look. "And what's that Cal?" She asked him. "I wanted to say thank you." And it was Lightning's turn to look at him in stunned silence. He gently nudged her tire to get off of the road so they didn't block the oncoming traffic, he noticed a nearby tow truck looking at them with curiosity, but also a hint of concern.
"What...What do you mean about thank you?" She stammered a bit to him. He gave her a bright smile and nodded. "For helping my uncle at his last race. If it weren't for you, he would have lost a whole lot more and some. You saved him Lightning, and I'm forever in your dept for what you did for him." He admitted proudly as he watched her expression.
Lightning soften up a bit after hearing that and she gave him a smile that had his engine stuttering a bit and he almost blushed. She gave him a nudge of her cheek against his tire and they started resuming a slow drive to Flo's. "You're welcome." She said softly as she drove on ahead to meet up with Flo. "Hey honey, how's it going?" The sleek blue car asked her cheerfully.
"Man, she sure is pretty ain't she." A hillbilly accent popped up out of nowhere and Cal screamed a bit when he saw it was that tow truck he noticed earlier when he was talking to Lightning. He calmed down a bit and looked at the truck curiously. "You know her?" He asked the very rusty truck. "Oh shoot, who doesn't know Lightning McQueen? She's my best friend." Mater said proudly at the fact. Cal had a thought he definitely wanted to know.
"Is she seeing any cars right now?" He asked him. Mater looked at the blue car curiously. "Um, no, back when we thought she was male, I was sure Lightning and Sally would get together, but that didn't happen so I guess not." He said to him thoughtfully. Cal hummed his engine a bit thoughtfully as he continued to stare at Lightning. What he didn't expect is that other race cars were planning on visiting, having the same thought he was having about Lightning. And pretty soon, everyone will be vying for her attention.
Lightning sighed cheerfully at her friend Sally after a nice drive at Wheel Well they were planning on having dinner at. It was just a normal girl's night out for them, something she always made sure Sally had some idea that Lightning appreciated them more than anything. "So how's it going with you and Cal Weathers?" Sally asked her teasingly. Lightning blushed, she was still very thankful that her red paint hid that.
"He's honestly been super sweet, we would have mock races at the track nearby, and occasionally share a meal or two now and then. " She admitted and Sally giggled at her. "Awe, he really seems to like you," Sally said cheerfully. Lightning hummed, he really did like her and to be honest, she was starting to like him too.
They looked up unexpectedly when Mater appeared. "Hiya Sally and Lightning, what are you two lovely ladies up to this evening?" He asked them cheerfully. Lightning just gave her friend a grin. "We're just here to have dinner Mater. It's a girl's night out." She told him. She watched a bit sad when he deflated at those words, but then he perked up again, his tow wagging a little. "Well, perhaps I can get you folks something to drink then." He suggested.
Sally and Lightning looked at each with a grin, chuckling at each other. "I think I'll have my usual, Mater." She told him. Sally perked up too. "I think I'll have that too, it sounds really good right now." She admitted. And Lightning smirked at her male best friend in amusement when he looked flabbergasted. "Uh, coming right up then." He said as he drove away into the restaurant.
Lightning resumed looking at Sally after Mater drove away and sighed. "In all seriousness though, I may have a good time with Cal, but in my mind, I can honestly only see him as a really good friend." Lightning admitted. Sally looked at her thoughtfully but she nodded. "I can totally understand that. I'm sure there is someone out there for ya Stickers." Sally said, trying to cheer her up. Lightning smiled at her best friend. "Thanks, Sally." After it got quiet for a bit, both Sally and Lightning looked up to the entrance of the Wheel Well restaurant when they noticed a large crowd had formed, both Sally gave each other curious looks and started to slowly drive through to get in. "What is going on here?" Lightning asked herself out loud.
Lightning and Sally followed everyone's gaze and spotted Francesco on TV. "Oh, it's the Italian Formula car. His name is..." Sally rolled her r's with a purr, " Francesco Bernoulli. No wonder there's a crowd." Lightning immediately agreed with Sally with a slight hum as she watched the tv.
"Well let me tell you something else there Mr. San Franciso-" Mater's voice sounded out on the tv. "Mater?" Lightning questioned out loud in surprise. "McQueen could drive circles around you." He said and everyone's expression was amused. "Driving in circles is all she can do, no?" Francesco asked him with a smirk. "No! I mean yes. I mean she could beat you anywhere, anytime, any track." Mater said and Lightning leaned up a bit over the crowd to find Guido at the bar. She managed to catch his attention and mouthed Where's Mater? She asked him.
He instantly nodded his bumper over in the direction near her where the phone station was and indeed, there was Mater. She faced back to where the TV was. "Mel, can we move on? Francesco needs a caller who can provide more intellectual stimulation. Like a dump truck." Francesco said rather smugly. Lightning instantly loses her dreamland because of his voice and glared immediately.
"Ha ha! That shows what you know. Dump trucks are dumb." Lightning immediately interrupted Mater, and used a tire to yank him away from the phone booth. "Yeah, hi. this is Lightning McQueen here. Look, I don't appreciate my best friend being insulted like that." She told Francesco. "McQueen! That was your best friend? This is the difference between you and Francesco. Francesco knows how good he is. He does not need to surround himself with tow trucks to prove it." He said with a smirk that had Lightning rolling her eyes.
"Those are strong words from a car that is so fragile." Her words instantly had Mel and Axelrod grinning widely while Francesco sputtered in surprise and outrage. "Fragile?! She calls Francesco fragile?! Not so fast McQueen!" He said angrily which had Lightning smirking in amusement. "Not so fast. What is that, your new motto?" She asked him teasingly. Francesco instantly started ranting angrily so Mel muted his screen section. "Well now, this sounds like something that needs to be settled on the race course. What do you say, Lightning McQueen? We still have room for one more racer." Miles Axelrod asked her with a slight hope in his voice.
"Well, I would love to. The only thing is my crew's off for the season so-" She turned towards her team in question. Her team had quickly taken off the tablecloth where Ramone instantly painted Lightning McQueen's team logo to answer her question. "Pit stop," Guido said happily. Lightning turned her hood back to the phone with a grin. "You know what? They just got back. Deal me in, baby. Ka-chow!" She said with a cheerful rev of her engine that had everyone on the phone and in the building cheering to her in response. She laughed in amusement as she turned away and managed to find Sally who stared at her kind of sad but also looking happy for her.
"I know it's cutting into our girl time, but I promise I'll be back Sally." She said to her best female friend. She just shook her entire frame. "Oh don't worry about me. I've got enough to do around here. Mater's going to have a blast though." Sally said cheerfully. Her smile went away when Lightning kept quiet at her words. "You are bringing Mater, right? You never bring him to any of your races." Sally admonishes her a bit had Lightning flinching a little. She hates it when Sally gets mad at her.
Lightning sighed a bit and turned to where Mater was standing with their drinks and saw him privately try to taste the flavor of it, grimace at the taste, and frantically spit it back into the glasses. "Just let him sit in the pits, give him a headset. C'mon, it'll be a thrill of a lifetime for him." She said, hoping she'll take the hint. Mater finally, calmly, approaches their spot. "Your drinks, ladies." He said with his hood pointed up in the air, trying to sound all proper that had Lightning grinning at him.
"Mater." She said rather quickly, causing Mater to jump. "I didn't drink it!" He said hurriedly had both Lightning and Sally giggling. "How'd you like to come and see the world with me?" She asked about her favorite truck. He immediately lit up in excitement, his tow end wagging back and forth excitedly. She chuckled. "You mean it?" He asked her hurriedly. She nodded. "You got me into this thing, you're coming along." She told him proudly that had Mater puffing out happily as he yelled. "Yee-haw, dadgum." And drove off.
Alright, everybody, Some places are going to match the movie, but there will be some changes. I finally decided on the pairing and that's going to be Francesco. I was considering Cal Weathers, but he doesn't exactly show up until the 3rd movie. Now for those of you that don't know about Lightning McQueen and what type of car she is, just know that you can look it up on google, but I'll tell you right here, she or well, in reality, he is a Chevrolet corvette c1. I'm sure you can find some pictures to give you a real look. Well, happy reading. I'll be working on my stories a lot more. I'll probably do a few more of these chapters before I focus on "The Fated Pair". I'm having writer's block on that one I'm afraid.