Ch.6

Vanellope stared out the window at the hospital's waiting room, watching the chocolate rain shower fall heavily outside. She just reached the hospital and has been waiting for a doctor to inform her about Rancis for almost thirty minutes. She sighed and turned her gaze at wall clock, gazing at it while the hands ticked slowly.

"Of all the unforgivable, cruelest, nastiest little scheme a game character can ever think of…" she growled under her breath.

She shook her head and looked down at her wrist. Pushing the hoodie sleeve up a bit, she stared at a bracelet with reese's pieces resembling as beads and a mini reese's cup attached to it. It was the first thing Rancis gave her on the day Rancis had asked her out. She closed her eyes and smiled as she remembered that very moment.

*flashback*

"Here you go, Nellie. I figured since we're a couple now, you'd want something from me."

Rancis gave Vanellope a brown box with an yellow ribbon and smiled. "Hope you like it. Made it myself," he said. Vanellope undid the ribbon and took of the top, her eyes widening in awe. She gingerly held up a bracelet with reese's pieces as beads and a mini reese's cup attached to it as a little charm.

"Aw, you made this for me? That's so sweet you! Thank you!" she squealed, slipping it onto her wrist. She smiled at Rancis and hugged him. "You're the sweetest boyfriend ever!"

*end flashback*

She opened her eyes and looked down at her bracelet. "Rancis did all this just for me," she murmured, turning her gaze back out through the window. "How come Ralph can't see the good in him? Why can't Ralph see the good in people, or at least Rancis anyways?" Taking a deep, she heaved out a sigh and continued staring at the now pouring rain outside.

"Vanellope?"

She sighed and continued to watch the rain fall down. "Leave me alone, Taffyta. I don't want to talk to anyone," She mumbled. Taffyta sat down next to Vanellope and looked at her apprehensively. "But you've been sitting here for thirty minutes, just watching the rain." She complained. "If you want to talk about, I'm here for you." Vanellope turned her gaze at Taffyta and frowned. "It had nothing to do with you. It's my business, so I have to deal with it alone. Now leave me alone!" she demanded, looking out through the window.

"But-"

"What part of leave me alone don't you understand?!" she yelled ferociously.

Taffyta looked at Vanellope and walked away, shrugging at King Candy. "I tried your majesty. She just won't talk to us," she said, sitting next to Candlehead. "She must be pretty upset about the fight with Ralph." King Candy sighed and stared at Vanellope. "Ever since Ralph found out about Vanellope and Rancis, Vanellope has been quite distraught. She won't eat her dinner, and she cries herself to sleep every night. I've tried to talk to her, but she won't let me. I don't know what else to do," he replied.

"Maybe if we talk to Ralph-"

"No, that'll only make things worse. Besides, Vanellope would be furious if we were to speak to Ralph." King Candy got up and adjusted his jacket. "Let me see if I can speak to her." King Candy walked towards Vanellope and sat down, softly brushing her hair.

"Leave me alone, dad. I told everyone else that I want to be alone. Please, I just don't want to talk to anyone right now," she begged.

"Vanellope, you're making me worry. You haven't said anything ever since we got here, and you sat in this very spot, just staring at the pouring rain." He said agitatedly, looking out the window to the that the chocolate rain had began to fall down even harder. "I'm not saying anything until someone tells me that Rancis is okay." She mumbled.

"Vanellope-"

"Dad, stop! I really don't want to talk about it, so please just leave me alone!" she beseeched, sniffing a bit. "Rancis is hurt, lying down in a hospital bed. I have enough to worry about at the time being!"

"Is that all you're concerned about, darling?" the king asked dubiously. Vanellope looked at him for a while, her eyes slightly watering. She didn't say anything for a while, but stared at her hands quietly. Finally, after a quiet moment of silence, Vanellope spoke up. "After Rancis and I officially became a couple, he wanted me to tell Ralph. But every time I even mention Rancis, Ralph just goes berserk," she explained, her voice cracking. "I figured Ralph would be mad if I told him, so I waited until he was in a good mood."

"But you never told him since, correct?" King Candy asked.

Vanellope shook her head sadly and brushed her bangs back. "I was going to, but the time never came up." She admitted, taking a deep breath. "I knew Ralph would be mad because I hid the fact that I was dating Rancis, but I'd never suspect he'd cause a stampede and send Rancis to the hospital. If Ralph was a true friend, he'd be at least happy that I actually fell in love with someone who loves me and cares about me for a who I am? How many girls have Ralph fell in love with over the past thirty years in his life? Ralph doesn't know the first thing about love! Who is he to tell me that I can't be Rancis when he himself haven't even fell in love with a single chick in his entire life?!" she screamed virulently. She hid her face in her hands and sobbed, the tears falling down abundantly. King Candy frowned sympathetically at this distraught daughter and patted his lap.

"Come here, sweetheart," he said.

Vanellope crawled onto his lap and clung on to his jacket and continued to cry. "It's not fair!" she moaned. King Candy shushed her quietly and smiled, stroking her cheek gently. "I understand how you feel, Vanellope, but you can't force Ralph to like Rancis. You have to give him some time to think it over." He advised her.

"But I have given him time!" she disputed. "All he's ever done is yell at me just for seeing Rancis!"

"Vanellope, listen to me. Ralph doesn't understand the true meaning of love. Give him some time to calm down a bit and to think it over. He'll come around. I promise you everything will be all right." He assured her. Vanellope sniffed and looked at him, a small glisten flashed in her eyes.

"Promise?"

King Candy smiled and kissed Vanellope's forehead. "Promise." Vanellope beamed at her father and hugged him, squeezing him tightly. "You know, Vanellope. You're lucky to have someone like Rancis who was went out and risked his life for your sake, Vanellope." He added. Vanellope smiled softly brushed her bangs back.

"He did say was crazy for me," she replied, chuckling softly.

At that moment, the doctor walked in the waiting room, a clipboard in her hands. "Princess Vanellope, may I speak to you for a minute?" she asked. Vanellope looked up and jumped up from her father's lap, running towards him. "Is he okay? Is my boyfriend okay?" she asked frantically. The doctor smiled at the young girl and nodded. "I just finished examining him. He's all right. Other than some scratches and bruises, he's good to go. And," he smiled crouched down and looked at her in the eye. "He wishes to speak to you." Vanellope looked at him, and smiled. "Thank you, doctor." She said, giving him a hug. She pulled away and slowly opened the door, looking in the room. She saw Rancis lying in the hospital bed, twiddling with his fingers. He looked and smiled at Vanellope.

"Hi, Nellie," he greeted.

"Rancis, you're okay!" she squealed, running towards him. She crawled on his bed and hugged him tightly, sobbing. "Please, don't you ever do that again, ever! You scared me half to death, you idiot!" she cried, snuggling her face in his neck for comfort. Rancis smiled and sat up, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but I couldn't let anyone or anything hurt you!" he replied. "You're the only thing I care about the most in this entire game." Vanellope pulled away and looked at him deep in his eyes.

"I thought I lost you," she whispered sadly.

"I'm not going anywhere without you," he answered.

Vanellope smiled through her tears, cupping his cheeks and nuzzling her nose against his. Rancis smirked and leaned in, kissing her lips. Vanellope, whose face was blushing like crazy, slowly kissed back, playing with his messy hair. After a while, they pulled apart for air and smiled at each other, quietly panting. Vanellope chuckled and rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes.

"You don't mind, do you?" she asked, not bothering to look at him.

"Of course not, Nellie," he answered, pulling her closer. As the two cuddled up with each other, the others were in the waiting room, killing time by watching television, while the king spoke with the doctor. "I can't thank you enough Dr. Goodbar. You are truly a life saver," King Candy exclaimed. "After this, my little girl may finally sleep happily." Dr. Goodbar smiled and patted the monarch on his back. "Not to worry, my good man. I'd do anything for a friend of mine," he answered with a smile. He stroked his mustache and glanced at the children. "Perhaps you can enlighten me about how this poor boy got hurt."

"Oh, that's easy. Vanellope's best friend Ralph got loco and began wrecking, which caused a stampede of uni-candy-corns. Rancis risked his life for Vanellope so he wouldn't get hurt," Candlehead blurted out.

"Candlehead! It has nothing to do with us. Stay out of this!" Crumbelina scolded.

Dr. Goodbar looked at King Candy, bewildered. "Is that true, your candiness? Doesn't he know how dangerous those creatures can be?" he inquired. King Candy sighed and nodded his head. "Unfortunately, yes. His rage got the best of him. But let's not discuss about this. Will Rancis be alright?" the king inquired.

"Not to worry, my friend. Mr. Fluggerbutter will be alright, but he won't be able to leave the hospital until tomorrow," He informed the king. "I should make sure he knows that. Excuse me for one minute."

Dr. Goodbar walked into Rancis' room, and smiled. "King Candy, come look at this. It's adorable!" he chuckled. Everyone looked at each other and walked into the room, fawning over the adrable sight in front of them. There, Rancis was gently rocking and whispering to a slumbering Vanellope in his arms. He looked up and shrugged, chuckling. "She just fell asleep on me. I didn't know what else to do," he explained, smiling sheepishly.

"Aw, look at Vanellope! She looks so cute and innocent while she's sleeping!" Taffyta gushed, her hands clasped on her cheeks.

"Indeed she does," King Candy agreed. He walked over to her and slightly nudged her. "Vanellope, darling? Wake up," he whispered. She moaned and buried her face in Rancis' chest, mumbling, "Five more minutes." King Candy smiled and continued to nudge her. Finally, Vanellope's eyes fluttered open and she looked at her father with tired eyes. "Hey, daddy," she moaned, yawning.

"Alright, come on. It's past your bedtime, young lady," the king chuckled, scooping her in her arms. "Can I at least say bye to Rancis? Please?" Vanellope begged in a tired voice. King Candy sighed and placed Vanellope back on the bed. Vanellope smiled at Rancis and hugged him, rummaging her hands through his hair. "I'll see you tomorrow, 'kay?"

"'kay. I love you, Nelllie."

"I love you too, buttercup."

Hugging each other one last time and sharing a brief kiss, They pulled apart and waved goodbye. Vanellope and the others walked out and headed to the exit, saying goodbye. "Are you happy now, Vanellope? Now you know that Rancis is okay?" Jubileena asked. Vanellope smiled and nodded, her cheeks slightly tinted red. "Yeah. As long as Rancis is okay, I'm happy." She admitted. King Candy smiled at this and picked up Vanellope, kissing her cheek.

"Now come along, young lady. You need to get in bed."

"Aw, dad!" Vanellope complained, resting her head on his shoulders and closing her eyes drowsily.

While the others were at the hospital, Ralph was hanging out in Tapper's. He was thinking about the whole incident, wondering if he had gone too far. He just sat at the booth, staring at his root beer intently, while his mind was crammed up with questions.

"What have I done?" he wondered aloud. "What did I just do?"

H shook his head and sipped his beverage, when Tapper walked up to him. "Hey, Ralph. Why the long face, hm?" he asked, cleaning up the counter. Ralph looked at him with a guilty expression on his face. "I just made the worst mistake in my entire life," he responded surreptitiously. Tapper looked at Ralph skeptically.

"Well, what's you do?" he asked.

So Ralph explained to Tapper everything: Ralph, finding out about Vanellope's relationship, Ralph and Vanellope arguing about Ralph's actions, and the incident that recently occurred. Tapper listened intently to the story, not saying anything. Finally, after Ralph's explanation, Tapper said, "Well, Ralph, King Candy, Felix, and Calhoun are right. Sounds like you took it to another level. But I'm sure everything will be okay."

"How do you figure? Kid hates me," Ralph pointed out.

"Then you only have one thing left to do: apologize. Ralph, you did something wrong, so you have to fix it. You really wrecked this up, so now it's your turn to fix things back to its original state, before you do some serious damage." Tapper recommended. Someone called Tapper's name from across the bar. "I gotta run, duty calls. I'l see you later, Ralph," he said, walking away. Ralph sighed and drank his root beer.

"Maybe they were right. I did go too far. Vanellope was right… maybe I am worse than Turbo," he mumbled.

Ralph sighed heavily and chugged the remainder of his root beer, staring at the empty glass. "Tapper's right. I wrecked this mess, and I'm going to fix it." He declared, getting up and walking towards the exit.