A/N: Onward!

Chapter 8: Suggestions

Vanellope was NOT having a good day. In fact, her day was SO bad, that she was having a hard time recalling the last time she'd ever been so annoyed. She couldn't recall having crossed the finish line even once during today's gaming. This was, she was certain, mostly the fault of the people who were choosing her. But even when she hadn't been chosen and she was just racing as an NPC she still had never gotten the chance to finish a race because when the player crossed the finish line before you the game automatically reset. She hadn't been able to get any better than 4th place all day.

When the Roster Race had come and she STILL came in 4th she just couldn't stand it any more.

"AUUUGH!" She screamed. She resisted banging her head against the steering wheel, but bit it instead to stifle another scream.

"Jeez Vanellope, there are less destructive ways to get candy if you really wanted some." Taffyta commented, leaning down to examine her friend's face. Vanellope released the wheel and sat up.

"I was... thinking about changing out my wheel for one of those fancy ones that doesn't go in a full circle." Vanellope said after a minute. "I thought if I ate the top bit then I could see if I liked that or not." Vanellope explained. She blushed when Taffyta didn't look convinced.

"Are you okay? You seemed pretty weird this morning." Taffyta mentioned.

Vanellope hadn't gotten much sleep in their off time. Only the small nap she'd had with... She sighed. When she'd gotten to the races at the start of the day her eyes had been all red and sort of droopy. After the adrenaline of the first couple of races had gotten into her system she was able to wake up enough to race as well as she was going to for the day, which clearly hadn't been very good.

"I just... had a long night." Vanellope answered. She sighed and got out of her kart.

"Did something happen between you and Ralph?" Taffyta asked.

"What?" Vanellope asked quickly, trying not to panic. How could Taffyta possibly know?

"Well, you left yesterday. When you leave you always go to see Ralph, so he had to have something to do with it." Taffyta reasoned.

Vanellope relaxed a little.

"So, what's wrong? What happened?" Taffyta asked after a minute.

"I think... Me and Ralph aren't getting along so well now that I'm all..." She gestured to herself.

"Is he being a jerk about the boobs?" Taffyta asked in a matter-of-fact voice.

Vanellope just stood there and stared at her in silence. She could feel her eyes go wide in amazement. Taffyta took her silence as a cue to go on.

"I cannot TELL you how many times I've caught Rancis staring at mine. Just like he's got absolutely no idea what to do with me now that I have them, yknow? Boys are so strange." Taffyta shook her head with a sigh and then stuck her lollipop back in her mouth.

"What do you think... What are you gonna do about Rancis?" Vanellope asked.

"Honestly, I haven't really decided yet." Taffyta answered. Vanellope sagged in disappointment.

"I think the best idea..." Taffyta mused. "Is probably to acclimate him to them. But I don't know that I want to go there with him just yet."

Taffyta and Vanellope just stood there in silence for a bit, both of them thinking on what Taffyta had just said. Suddenly Taffyta just shook her head.

"Anyway, I dunno. I'll see you around Vanellope." Taffyta said as she walked away with a wave.

"Bye Taffyta." Vanellope answered.

Vanellope stopped to think about what Taffyta had said. Could she acclimate Ralph to the way she looked? What would that mean anyway? She sat down on the spoiler of her kart and put her chin on her hand to think about it.

+++[Tappers...]+++

Ralph sat at the bar and sighed as he drank his root beer.

"So, what's wrong Ralph?" Tapper asked. Ralph thought about it for a minute.

"Girl trouble." He answered. Tapper stopped rubbing at the glass in his hands and raised an eyebrow at Ralph.

"What?" Ralph asked flatly.

"Nothing... nothing." Tapper replied nonchalantly. Ralph narrowed his eyes.

"Not that kind of trouble. It's Vanellope." Ralph clarified.

"Oooh." Tapper nodded. Ralph rolled his eyes.

"Oh just shut up." He told Tapper. Tapper shrugged and continued cleaning the glass in his hand. It wasn't long after that Felix came in and sat down beside Ralph.

"Alright Ralph." Felix said with a of determination. "What happened between you and Vanellope last night?" He asked.

Ralph moved his mouth around as he decided how to answer that.

"What makes you think anything happened between me and Vanellope?" Ralph asked.

"Oh please. Don't think I didn't notice that she went away in tears. Not only that but she crashed 3 times today. Without anyone at the controls." Felix replied. As far as Felix was concerned that was nearly unheard of. Vanellope had to be very distracted to even swerve funny.

Ralph had noticed that too. He was pretty worried about her, but he wasn't about to go over to Sugar Rush and check. More for her sake than his, he justified. She didn't want to see him, he was sure. It had nothing to do with feeling a little wounded. He was, in fact, quite relieved that Vanellope didn't find him attractive. God knows how hard that would be to deal with in addition to everything else.

"We just... had a little fight last night." Ralph confessed.

"What about?" Felix asked. He ordered a root beer from Tapper, sensing that this might be a long conversation.

"Nothing important." Ralph answered after a moment, his voice just a little higher pitched than normal. Felix just stared at him, clearly not accepting that answer. Ralph fidgeted.

"She... seems to be under the impression that I find her... too hideous to look at." Ralph answered hesitantly.

Felix's eyes got so wide that Ralph was concerned that they might fall out. Felix opened his mouth and closed it several times before being able to say anything.

"Hideous?" Felix managed to ask. "Her?" He added."Really?"

Ralph gave an over emphasized shrug and a grimace. Felix narrowed his eyes.

"What did you do?" Felix asked with an air of resignation.

"What makes you think I did anything?" Ralph asked innocently.

"Ralph..." Felix insisted. Ralph grunted in frustration.

"I... may or may not have a hard time looking at her." Ralph confessed. Felix blinked.

"Why?" He sounded genuinely puzzled.

"Have you seen her?" Ralph questioned.

"Ye-hes! And I've got to say, she's not exactly hard on the eyes." Felix answered. Ralph glared at him. "Don't tell Tammy I said that." Felix added quickly.

"Felix, it's Vanellope!" Ralph stressed. "You know that cute little girl we knew about a month ago? That's her."

Felix looked away and scratched at his face, thinking about what was said. Felix, although he was friends with Vanellope, wasn't as close to her as Ralph was. Ralph and Vanellope had been almost inseparable since day one. He had to stretch his mind to do it, but he could see how it might be uncomfortable for a kid you were close to to suddenly be very attractive.

"Yeah..." Felix tentatively agreed. "I guess I can see your point." He didn't sound all that sure of that assessment.

Ralph rolled his eyes. Felix clearly didn't get it.

There was a long silence where they both took swigs of their root beers and thought on the subject. Felix started to say something a few times, but stopped himself with another sip. Finally, once his glass was empty, and Ralph had started on his second, he spoke up.

"You know... All of this might be avoided if you just admitted to her that you found her attractive." Felix thought to mention. Ralph choked on his root beer. During Ralph's coughing fit he went on.

"I know it'd be a little awkward and maybe embarrassing. But she thinks the world of you, and - "

"NO." Ralph interrupted.

"Oh Ralph, you know you two could -" Felix started again.

"Not after what she -" Ralph started to interrupt again, but he cut himself off.

There was a tense silence as Ralph could hear the cogs in Felix's head turning. He was figuring it out.

"Oh Ralph..." Felix said sympathetically.

"Don't 'Oh Ralph' me like you just know what any pretty teenage girl would say to me in a situation like that." Ralph insisted with a frown.

"She thought that you were implying she was ugly and so she -" Felix elaborated, to show he knew exactly what Vanellope might've said.

"Shut up, Felix." Ralph said without heat.

"Ralph, she was upset. You know she didn't mean it." Felix said quietly.

"It doesn't matter." Ralph said. Felix gave him an incredulous look. Ralph sighed in annoyance.

"I'm not looking to have her fall for me. I don't care that she not... Nnngh." Ralph couldn't even say it, it sounded too stupid in his head.

"So why can't you tell her the truth?" Felix asked.

"I don't want to make her... uncomfortable." Ralph replied. "Nevermind the way I look, the way she behaves... It's like she doesn't actually realize that anyone might... Be interested in her. Like that." Ralph explained, thinking on the way he'd woken up the night before.

Felix nodded. That made a lot of sense to him. She'd been just a little girl before the upgrade. Felix rubbed at his chin in thought. She must be pretty confused all things considered... It's why she didn't see the signs of Ralph's attraction for what they were...

Felix's eyes lit up as an idea formed in his head.

"What?" Ralph asked warily.

"I bet no one's ever explained the Plugs and the Sockets to that girl." Felix mused aloud.

"Probably not, no..." Ralph agreed with apprehension. He certainly hoped that Felix wouldn't suggest that he should do it.

"I'm sure Tamora would be glad to do it." Felix said, finishing his thought.

Ralph didn't need a root beer to choke on that time.

A/N: Geeez, this chapter was just ridiculous.

Review Response:

The Phantom Soldier, BoredParanoia, vesperlynds, jeh-nee - I'm so glad you all thought so highly of the last chapter and the emotions and... what you all said individually. I was harder to read than to write though. When re read it I felt really mean for putting Ralph and Vanellope through that. So I'm glad you all thought it was worth it.

jeh-nee - I LOVE the name Luicy Gummiberry! And Schaur (pronounced 'sour' I presume?) Lemondrop. Though that one might be just a little too punny. xD