Aw, man, I am so flaky...School was a lot busier than I thought it would be. I'm sorry everyone. I'd like to thank foreignxconceptsxx and dogman15 for being the first reviewers. Thank you so much!

Chapter 2: Finding Derek

Upon my arrival I was greeted by...no one. Radiator Springs was much busier from the last time I was here. The main road had an extra lane each way. However, I still had to keep moving, because other cars had shops they wanted to stop by.

I couldn't think, though. There was so much activity around me. Who should I talk to first? What should I ask them?

I turned automatically onto a street that I knew had Ramone and Flo's house on it. Just as Kristopher said, there was another house across from it. I drove up to it and knocked on the door.

"Just a minute!" a female voice called from inside.

During my sixty seconds of waiting, I took notice of the house's design. Kristopher described it as "not bad". The place seemed as if it had at least three bedrooms and a rather nice color scheme of light yellows. Just then the door opened.

"Hello there," a light blue 1991 Toyota Camry with hazel eyes greeted.

"Uh, hi," I said. "I'm Maria, a friend of Derek's." I figured I should introduce myself before asking any questions.

"Well, a friend of my fiance's should be a friend of mine," she said with a smile. She moved out of the way of the doorway. "Come on in."

I followed hesitantly. "Um..."

"I should probably tell you my name," the Toyota realized. "I'm Tarin. So what brings you here, Maria?"

"Actually, I don't know myself," I answered.

Tarin gave me a puzzled look.

"You see," I pressed on, "I come from another universe entirely. There, Derek was a really close friend of mine, but then he was injured beyond repair in a car accident, like his cousin, Kristopher. Kristopher's brother, William, missed them both, and a dream of his brought all four of us here. However, William and I decided that we couldn't stay here forever, and found a way to return to our original universe. Kristopher and Derek apparently stayed here for the past two years. Now, I'm back, and I came to this house to find Derek."

Tarin still looked confused.

"It's very complicated, I'm sorry, but I need to find Derek."

"Oh, he's at Luigi's right now. Derek helps out whenever he can."

"Thanks Tarin!" I zoomed out the house and drove across four lanes of traffic to get to Luigi's Casa Della Tires.

"Yes, another customer," Luigi said as soon as I rolled into the store.

"Actually, Luigi, I'm trying to find someone–"

"Here at Luigi's Casa Della Tires, we are never too busy," he announced. "Guido! Get the young lady our finest set of whitewalls."

"Pit stop!" the little blue forklift said enthusiastically.

I soon found myself on a lift with the aforementioned whitewalls.

"Luigi, this is very nice and all, but I'm trying to find someone," I said.

Shock was written all over his and Guido's face. These days, the dozens of people who came in each day probably never left the shop with at least one set of new tires.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

"Maria?" a familiar voice came from deep inside the shop.

"Derek!" I exclaimed.

Derek drove up to me. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know what I'm doing in this universe. I just decided to visit you while I was here."

"Here, let me get you down," Derek offered. He pushed the button to lower the lift.

"I remember seeing you get your tires replaced and thinking that it must hurt," I said warmly.

"Getting new tires is more like getting new shoes then new feet or hands," Derek laughed.

Now that summer's in full swing, I will try my very very best to update as frequently as muffinly possible (which should be at least once a week). Once you're finished reviewing, check out my profile page! It's undergoing renovation as I'm getting invovled in other interests (for example: drawing). Until next time!