Author's Note: This chapter is sort of boring. But let's delve into Felix's head anyway, since he actually knows what's going on.

Chapter 31: The Worrier

Felix was concerned. Not the regular sort of concerned, like whether or not he forgot to turn something off in his apartment concerned, either. This sort of concern was the type that didn't quite give you a stomach ache, but it made your whole system sort of tense, and when your stomach was tense then food didn't sit quite right. It didn't matter what the programers thought, an apple pie that didn't sit right was NOT a good power up. Especially since he tended to move so fast after devouring them. He was getting sort of nauseous.

Felix spent the work day in a sort of worried haze. What Ralph had said before the day had started was weighing on him. Ralph, he noticed, didn't seem particularly worried. He'd seemed pretty happy from when he'd walked in actually. Felix leaned over to the side and hit the palm of his hand against the side of his head, shaking out the unbidden images of what Ralph and Vanellope could've been doing all night to make Ralph's mood so unshakable.

Perhaps it was that he didn't have all the facts. Ralph was still savoring the 'new relationship' feeling. Felix really didn't want to burst that bubble, especially since he didn't know for certain that it needed to be burst. But still...

"The only thing faster than Sonic's feet... is his mouth." Felix thought miserably. The blue hedgehog was a notorious gossip. About everything. It was, Felix supposed, one of the reasons people liked him so well. Definitely the hub of the social scene in the arcade. Felix wouldn't be surprised if everyone already knew Sonic had seen Ralph that morning. Sonic wasn't one to infer things or spread rumors though, so he wouldn't perpetuate the rumors that were starting to fly... he'd let everyone else do that.

The rumors... The ones Tammy had advised him not to tell Ralph, the ones that Ralph didn't want to hear anyway. That's what was truly bothering Felix. More than it should perhaps. He'd been so certain that they would just blow over, that they weren't worth thinking much about. But after what Tammy had said, he wasn't so sure.

The problem was, the whole arcade didn't know Ralph as well as the games in the immediate area did. Those who didn't... At first they took Ralph and Vanellope's behavior in stride. Everyone had assumed they were dating, even Ralph's closest friends. That part was okay. But then... it wasn't just Ralph who had noticed the similarities between how the two of them behaved now and how they had behaved when Vanellope was just a little girl. That's when the rumors had started to fly.

Just speculation to begin with. Among the more vicious character who couldn't see past the 'bad guy' job of other characters in their own games, let alone any other game. Then it spread to those who either didn't know about the events in sugar rush during Ralph's game hopping adventure, or didn't care, or even some who didn't seem to know all the details of the event and seemed to think that Ralph qualified as a new Turbo and was the worst sort of person in the world.

Those last sort were the worst. Not only did they fully believe that Ralph and Vanellope had been in some sort of intimate romantic relationship before, but they tended to go even further and assume that Ralph tended to portray himself as some sort of Lord of all Sugar Rush and used all of the young racers for his peculiar fantasies. Fortunately those sort were somewhat few and far between.

Felix couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty about this. He and Tammy had seen the crush that Vanellope had on Ralph, and just how much Ralph cared about Vanellope... Not to mention his telling reaction to her older body. Maybe he'd been a little blinded by his own successful romance, he shouldn't have just assumed a romantic relationship was the way for Ralph and Vanellope to press forward. Had he pushed the two a little too fast? Would it had made any difference? Ralph and Vanellope had seemed determined to continue on the way they always had, and that was what everyone was going off of. None of the rumor starters seemed particularly interested in what might actually be going on.

Felix looked up from his musing. The all-clear sounded, letting everyone know that the arcade was closed. He sighed with relief. The day had seemed really long. Felix peeked over the side of the building and saw Ralph picking himself up out of the mud.

"Should I say something to him?" Felix wondered. After a long moment of contemplation he decided not to. Not yet. Ralph didn't want to know, and there didn't seem to be any harm in his ignorance. Not yet anyway. If Ralph asked, or if something happened, then Felix would tell him. But not before. He wondered if he'd have to wait very long?

Author's Note: If you're worried that the story is going to get too serious... I wouldn't. But I feel like I have to address this little point because it was supposed to be a BIG DEAL to Ralph earlier... and then it wasn't. So. DRAMA!

Review Response:

Silverspetz - I'm so glad you forgive me. I really should get back to work on my Stargate Avatar thingy. But it's a lot harder to write than this is.

jeh-nee - "I gotta admit I was confused..." Ah, fanfic readers have such short attention spans. Then again, who am I to complain?

WhatNames - I love all of your reviews. They're so entertaining. xD You didn't really say anything that needed responding to, I just had to say that.