A/N: Hey guys! So sorry for the late updates. Things are crazy busy for me.
But did anyone else see the Cars 3 teaser? Who's pumped for this movie?
Siblings – Part Two
"Go Lightning!" Harley cheered excitedly, the roar of the racecars not bothering her in the slightest. Doc had wanted her to wear protective earmuffs, but his thirteen-year-old daughter complained that it hurt her ears more to wear the earmuffs. Besides, she wanted to hear every little thing that happened during the race. So Doc reluctantly allowed her to forego the protective gear, and he even let her sit up on his roof to get a great view of the track. Lightning was starting a new season of racing with his new Radiator Springs team. Doc had put him under a training schedule months prior. While Lightning complained about it from time to time, he couldn't deny that his first couple races started out really well. His team from Radiator Springs was the best he could've asked for, and he was thankful that they stuck by him. Then again, even if he wanted a new team, he probably wouldn't find anyone to work with him. There were still many who doubted his change in character.
It was just as well. His new team was the best. Doc especially was the greatest crew chief Lightning could ever ask for. He knew how to combine his knowledge and experience with Lightning's style. Doc took a liking to Lightning McQueen, even to the point where he considered the rookie like a son to him. Despite his initial beliefs about the boy, Doc found that Lightning fit in well with the people of Radiator Springs. Truth be told, Doc was rather happy to be back in the racing scene again. But he would never actually say that to Lightning, Harley, or anybody for that matter.
There was one thing that Doc didn't like: the parties. In his rookie days, he used to love the party scene: the pre-race pageantry, the post-race excitement, and all the bells and whistles. Going back into the racing world, he began to wonder why he loved the parties so much. They were loud, obnoxious, and the cockiness of some of the racers really got on his nerves. If it weren't for Lightning and Harley, Doc would've avoided every single party that followed the race. Lightning wouldn't stop talking about all the racers and other people who wanted to speak with racing legend the Fabulous Hudson Hornet. Harley was curious about how the circuit worked, and her hunger for racing knowledge seemed endless. So Doc agreed to accompany Lightning to parties as often as he could, with the condition that the entire team came as well, including Harley.
The party following Lightning's win that night was a bit more low-key. A loud, rowdy dance floor was inside a ballroom while a bar and dining area was set up outside in the cool night air. The Radiator Springs team mingled about, but most of them returned to the hotel after a few hours. Doc, Lightning, Harley, and Mack remained to enjoy the rest of the party.
Harley excused herself to find the bathroom, but realized she actually had no idea where to look. She weaved her way through the humans and cars, looking for a sign, but soon found herself rather lost. So she skated up to one of the racers and tapped him on the side. "Excuse me?" She asked as sweetly as she could.
The stock car turned, him and his buddies giving Harley rather bored looks. "What, kid? Can't you see we're talking? Shouldn't you be with your parents?"
"I, uh, was just looking for the bathroom." Harley said, a bit taken aback by the car's attitude.
"Aw, is the little baby lost?" one of the forklifts pouted with a mocking tone.
Harley frowned. "I'm not lost. I just need to find the bathroom, please."
"So go find it." The second car at the table huffed. The first car turned back to his friends, purposefully pushing Harley to one side with his back fender. Harley glared, but simply rolled off to find someone else who could help her.
Luckily, she came across Tex and he was plenty kind enough to point out the restrooms. She got inside and did her business before going up to the sinks. But when she finished washing her hands, she turned to skate out of the restroom and suddenly slipped on some spilt water. A couple forklifts snickered at her as they passed. Harley glared after them, but simply stood and dusted herself off. Some of the water got on her shorts, but not so much that it looked like she wet herself. Harley began skating back to her family.
"Hey kid!" Harley paused when another racer sitting with his crew called to her. "What's the matter? Get so scared of the cars you wet yourself?"
Harley frowned, her fists clenched. But she didn't want to cause trouble. "It's just water."
"Sure it is." One of the forklifts laughed.
"This is why a kid shouldn't be here." Another forklift huffed.
Harley felt her face burn with embarrassment, but her fists clenched harder in anger. She knew that if she made a scene, it would only embarrass herself further, and maybe even embarrass her father. So she pushed off and took some time to calm down. It worked. When she finally returned to Doc, Lightning, and Mack, none of them said anything about her appearance. Their evening progressed smoothly.
"What did I tell ya, Doc?" Lightning said with a grin. "Parties can be pretty fun if you just let loose."
"Letting loose is how you ended up drunk and singing karaoke back in Dallas." Doc noted.
"Quite badly, by the way." Harley added.
Lightning rolled his eyes. "Oh whatever."
"You are a bit of a lightweight, Kid." Mack reminded him.
"Which is why you're not having any more of those." Doc gestured to the drink already in front of Lightning.
"Aw, come on!" Lightning whined. "It was one Crudeweiser!"
"And that's all you're gettin'." Doc said firmly.
Lightning pouted. "Can I at least get a nonalcoholic Crudeweiser?"
"You can have a can of oil." Doc said.
Lightning sighed exasperatedly. "Fine."
"I'll get it for you." Harley offered. "Anyone else need anything?"
"Can you carry more than one can?" Mack asked.
"Sure!" Harley nodded confidently. "They ain't so big."
"Then I'll take a can if you don't mind!" Mack said.
"Okay!" Harley nodded. "Dad?"
"I'm good, sweetheart. Thank you." Doc said.
Harley skated off to the bar, weaving her way through the party patrons. She approached the bar and patiently waited for an open spot. Once a forklift waitress had moved, Harley approached the bar and stood on the tiptoes of her skates.
"Excuse me?" she piped up, catching the bartender's attention. "I need two cans of oil for Lightning McQueen's table."
"Comin' right up, kiddo!" the bartender said cheerily, moving to the back of the counter. Harley leaned on the counter, humming while she waited.
"Never knew a human who drank oil." Someone beside her muttered.
"What a freak show." Their companion snickered.
Harley rolled her eyes, but didn't bother to respond. She had heard it all before, and she didn't care anymore. But she didn't expect someone to suddenly pull on her ankle, knocking her legs out from under her. She bonked her head on the edge of the counter as she fell to the floor. The patrons at the bar chuckled, some louder than others.
"Hey, show a little respect!" the bartender barked. He looked over the edge of the counter. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." Harley huffed, standing. She brushed herself off and readjusted her glasses. Her head hurt, but she wasn't bleeding.
"This is the child of the Fabulous Hudson Hornet." The bartender snapped. "She deserves our respect for that if not for her kindness."
Harley murmured a thanks as she took the cans of oil from the bartender. She skated back towards the table, holding the cans of oil close to her so she didn't drop them. It was slow going. She kept having to swerve to avoid party patrons, careful to not drop the oil cans should their caps come off. Harley readjusted the cans again. She could easily see over them and hold them close, but they were a bit heavy.
Then, one of the cars reversed and bumped into her. Harley swerved and yelped, desperate to regain her balance and not drop anything. After nearly doing the split and juggling the cans a little, Harley finally managed to settle into a standing position. She sighed in relief, her glasses a bit askew.
Suddenly, a forklift from one of the racing crews passed by and smacked the oil cans out of Harley's arms. The cans flew into the air while Harley slipped on some water and hit the ground. The lids of the cans flew off, dumping their contents all over Harley while the cans clattered to the ground. Harley became splattered and splotched with drinking oil. Everyone around her began laughing while she just sat there, unsure what to do while her face burned with embarrassment.
"Some kid of the Hudson Hornet."
"Oh please. She's not even his real kid."
"She can't take any credit if she's not related to him."
"She's just a distraction."
"Why would McQueen keep her around?"
Harley finally couldn't take it anymore. She scrambled to her feet and skated/ran off, tears escaping her eyes. She pushed past a couple people and ran inside the ballroom area. She ended up going past/through the dance floor and out a back door, stumbling and falling behind some bushes next to the building. Harley curled up in a ball, burying her face in her knees as she sobbed.
Lightning wandered off to talk with some of his racing buddies, and Mack ran into some of the Rust-eze folks and started chatting with them. When they left, Doc suddenly realized Harley hadn't returned from getting Lightning and Mack their drinks. That was almost an hour ago. He drove off, casually returning the greetings from other racers while scanning the area for his daughter. But even when he began calling for Harley, he didn't see hide nor hair of the girl.
He did run into Lightning again. "Hey Doc!" Lightning greeted. "Loosened up yet?"
"Hardly." Doc huffed. "I'm actually looking for Harley. Have you seen her anywhere?"
"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her in a while." Lightning said. "It shouldn't take that long to get drinks. I'm sure she's just wandering around or maybe she's talking to some of the racers."
"Well, I'd feel better if I knew for sure." Doc said, worry in his eyes. "I'm going to keep looking. Let me know if you find her, all right?"
"Can do, Doc!" Lightning agreed. Doc nodded in thanks and drove off. Lightning took a look around. He saw racers, their crews, and waiters wandering around, but he didn't see a thirteen-year-old human girl. Lightning drove over to the bar area, catching the attention of the bartender. "Hey! You see a girl come by here? Young kid? Blue streaks in her hair? Glasses?"
"Yeah, she got a couple cans of oil for your table and then skated off that way." The bartender said, pointing in the direction Harley left.
Lightning thanked the bartender and drove off. But all he found was a spot where someone had cleaned up a spill. Worry crept up inside him. Where would a kid wander off to? Harley isn't the type of person to just skate off without telling someone. What if she was in trouble? Lightning drove around, calling for Harley and asking partygoers about her location. Nobody seemed to see a thing. Now Lightning was definitely worried.
Maybe Doc already found her. Lightning suggested to himself. Or maybe she's back in the bathroom. Where else could she be? Lightning noticed a line of oil on the ground, like a track made by a pair of skates. He drove in the direction of the tracks, going into the ballroom area. A forklift pointed him in the direction Harley went, and Lightning hurried off. He got outside and scanned the area.
"Harley? Hey Harley!" Lightning called. "Where are you?"
"Here…"
Lightning turned to the bushes nearby, and he poked his front through the foliage. Harley sat behind the bushes, curled up in a ball. "There you are!" Lightning sighed in relief. "You know, Doc's been worried sick about you." He noticed her eyes were puffy and red, and tear stains graced her freckled cheeks. "Hey, what's wrong?"
Harley sniffled. "Nothing."
Lightning frowned. "Hey, come on. Tell me why you're crying."
Harley sniffled again. "People are being mean to me."
Lightning's frown deepened, and he glared. "Who? Who was being mean to you?"
Harley curled up tighter. "Everyone. The racers and their crews. They keep teasing me. They don't think I belong here." She sighed. "I'm a burden and a distraction to you."
"Really?" Lightning scoffed. "And that's what they told you, isn't it?" Harley nodded. "Well, it's not true."
"I can stop coming to your races if you want." Harley said, still not looking towards Lightning.
"Are you kidding?" Lightning nudged Harley, forcing her to look at him. "Harley, I love it when you come to my races. In fact, you're required to. You're my best cheerleader! You're the co-chief! You are one of the reasons I never give up even when the race gets tough."
Harley stopped sniffling, and she rubbed the tear stains from her cheeks. Her eyes didn't look so puffy anymore. "So, I'm not embarrassing you?"
"Of course not!" Lightning assured. "Come on. Let's get back in there. You're staying with me for the rest of the night."
Harley yelped a bit when Lightning nudged her to her feet. "But won't hanging around a kid hurt your image?"
"Even if I did care about my image, it wouldn't matter." Lightning said as he herded Harley back towards the party. "Besides, the press will eat that stuff up in seconds."
Harley gulped, but stayed close to Lightning out of habit. "Lightning, I don't know about this. Maybe I should go find Dad and go to the hotel."
"Nope." Lightning said firmly. "You are staying with me for the rest of the night, and that's final."
They entered the outdoor dining area again, and Harley went as close to Lightning as possible without tripping over her skates. Lightning smiled warmly and greeted other racers, making sure Harley stayed by his side.
"Harley! There you are!" Doc called, driving over to his daughter and trainee. "Where have you been?"
"Uh….." Harley looked down.
"She just got lost on the way back from the bathroom." Lightning said quickly. "But it's okay. She's going to stay with me for the rest of the night. Right, Harley?"
Harley cleared her throat. "Uh, right. Yeah."
Doc looked back and forth between Lightning and Harley. "You sure?"
"Yep!" Lightning nodded. "Come on, Harley. I want to introduce you to a female racer I know." He drove off, Harley right by his side. Doc stared after them, a contemplative look in his eyes.
"Hey, kid!" one of the racers barked at Harley as she and Lightning passed. "Quit being so clingy! You're just slowing him down."
The racer hardly finished his sentence when Lightning whipped around so they were grill-to-grill. The racer jumped back at Lightning's glare. "She is not being 'clingy.' She is part of my team, my family, and I don't want you bothering her anymore or else I will have my tow truck friend drag you right out of here!" Lightning turned with a huff and drove off, encouraging Harley to follow him. The racer he just yelled at was dumbfounded, and quickly turned back to his table in shame.
Harley looked to Lightning and smiled softly. "Thanks."
Lightning grinned back. "Anytime, kid."
Harley's smile grew. Lightning's character may have changed for the better, but sometimes he slipped back into that hotshot mindset, especially on the track. This moment was when Harley realized how much Lightning actually cared about her. In that moment, she realized how much she loved him like a brother. Lightning had noticed it too. He didn't have any siblings of his own. But if he could have a brother-like bond with Mater, then it only seemed obvious that he would view Harley as his little sister.
The best little sister a guy could ask for. Lightning nuzzled Harley lovingly, and she giggled and hugged him back.
Doc smiled at the scene, chuckling softly. "You notice it too, huh?" Mack noted as he parked beside the older racecar.
"Yeah." Doc nodded. "Those two make quite the team."
Mack hummed in agreement. "I want to thank you, Doc."
"For what?"
"For giving Lightning and even me the family we need. Lightning doesn't really have folks that care or really anyone to care about him. But you and everyone back at Radiator Springs really welcomed him."
Doc's grin broadened. "Well, if that little town could take me in, I guess it was pretty easy to accept him, too."
With a new son, this family just keeps growing and growing. He'll be just fine.