*Chapter 8*

A week later

"Taffyta, your gown looks great!" Vanellope beamed. Taffyta was wearing a gorgeous, light pink ball gown, speckled with cream candies and frills. She looked like a dollop of frosting. Vanellope did a few circles around her, admiring her dress. They were in Taffyta's bathroom, standing in front of her body mirrors.

"Where's your gown, Vin?" Taffyta eagerly asked as she straightened a few frills out, "The ball is in an hour, you realize."

"I know, I have it, it's upstairs in my room," Vanellope sighed with a frown, "All that hard work for nothing."

"What do you mean?" Taffyta gave her a look.

"I made the dress myself," Vanellope said with a long sigh. She sat on Taffyta's vanity bench, her knees tucked to her chest, "This ball is going to reek."

"Oh c'monnn, you only have to arrive with Rancis, and then you can hang out with me for the rest of it," Taffyta smiled mischievously.

"I just don't want Rancis to try to kiss me," Vanellope wrinkled her nose, "I'm not going to let that jerk steal my first kiss. Especially on New Year's."

"I'll deck him in the face if he tries to make a move on you," Taffyta barked as she began to fix her hair. She ruffled her dress one last time before patting Vanellope's arm and smiling, "C'mon, let's go get your dress. The ball awaits! It'll be great, you'll see."

"I'm counting on it not being a disaster," Vanellope said with a frown as she quickly stood. The two stepped out of Taffyta's room and were immediately greeted by Rancis. He was dressed in a nice tux, his blonde hair slicked down a little. Vanellope smiled a weak smile and glanced at Taffyta.

"Vanellope, I've been looking all over for you," Rancis said, almost in a demanding way, "How come, you're not ready?"

"Sorry Rancis, my dress is upstairs… Can I just meet you at the dance?" Vanellope asked sweetly, hoping he'd cave.

"Well it's not very proper, but I guess that's fine. I'll see you there," Rancis smiled and waved. Both girls quickly headed to Vanellope's room to get ready.

An hour and a half later

"Do you see him anywhere?" Vanellope asked as she jumped up and down a little bit, trying to get a good look into End Of Line Game Station. Her and Taffyta walked through Sugar Rush's exit and made their way to End Of Line Station's entrance. The ball was held in Vanellope's station this year, which she thought was convenient if she ever needed to make a quick getaway from Rancis. The ball, just past Sugar Rush's exit, was packed with almost every single gamer in the arcade, even most of the bad guys had shown up. Vanellope looked all over, hoping to spot Ralph, but he was nowhere to be found. Vanellope sighed and looked down at her gown.

She had made her gown herself, a gorgeous minty green silk that tiered and flowed to the ground. It hugged her figure perfectly. She smiled at the finished product and smoothed down a small wrinkle she found before looking up at the crowd. Everyone at this event was dressed up. This was one of the largest arcade events of the year. She heaved a long sigh and continued to sift through the crowd with her eyes, hoping to spot her wrecker.

"Who?" Taffyta questioned, snapping Vanellope back to reality. She shook her head and bit her lip.

"Rancis, do you see him anywhere?" Vanellope fibbed. She rolled her eyes slightly as the line to get into the dance slowly inched forward. She immediately spotted Felix and Calhoun way up ahead of them in the station. She beamed.

"There's Felix!" Vanellope shouted and pointed. A few gamers glanced at her curiously.

"Will you chill? Let's just get inside, then we can hang out," Taffyta said quietly, linking arms with her sister. They continued to trudge in line with everyone else who wanted in as well. After a handful of minutes, they finally made it into the dance.

Vanellope smiled a little as they stepped in. Gorgeous, dark chocolate brown walls and drapery lined the long hall. Beautiful golden chandeliers lined the hall as well, lighting up the place with a warm, golden glow. Loud music played over the whole hall, the entire place was alive with excitement. Vanellope's eyes widened as both her and Taffyta looked all around, astounded at the hall's beauty. They both beamed and nudged each other with excitement.

"This is even more awesome than last year!" Taffyta laughed, Vanellope nodded in agreement.

"Vanellope, there you are!" Rancis beamed as he looked over her dress, "You look great!"

"Thanks, Rancis," Vanellope smiled, she let herself have some patience for him tonight.

"Shall we?" Rancis motioned towards the dance floor. Vanellope's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"Uhh, Taffyta and I need to visit the ladies room really fast. I'll catch up with you, Rancis," Vanellope said apologetically. Taffyta silently chuckled as the two slipped away from Rancis. He shrugged and began mingling with people he knew.

"Vanellope, the bathroom is over that way," Taffyta said as Vanellope led her away.

"I know, I'm just trying to get away from Rancis," Vanellope hissed quickly as she pushed and shoved around people. Taffyta laughed as the two girls scurried across the great hall.

"You're hilarious," Taffyta laughed. Suddenly Vanellope was stopped.

"Vanellope!" Said a familiar voice. Vanellope whirled around and smiled as Felix and Calhoun came up to her. Vanellope felt her heart leap.

"Hi guys!" She said as she gave Felix a big hug, "Have you guys seen Ralph at all?"

"Erm," Felix looked up at Calhoun, who had a concerned look on her face, "He, isn't going to be here tonight."

"Oh," Vanellope's shoulders slumped as she gave Felix a sad look, "Well then… I guess, when you see him next, tell him that he was missed, very much."

"I will," Felix smiled apologetically, "Dances just aren't his thing. The guy has two left feet, heh."

"I suppose that makes sense," Vanellope tried to make her smile look as real as possible, "I hope you guys have fun, maybe we'll see you later!"

"At midnight, we should all cheers!" Felix suggested, trying to lighten the mood. Vanellope beamed and nodded.

"Sure thing. See you then," Vanellope called back as she waved.

Taffyta stuck close to her as the girls weaved their way through familiar gamers faces, all sorts of characters came out to this event. Mostly everyone had arrived. Vanellope finally stopped more than half way down the hall and claimed a piece of wall for her and Taffyta. Taffyta looked around in a flustered way and groaned.

"Vanellope, I don't want us to be two pathetic wall flowers all night!" Taffyta playfully hollered over the music. Vanellope gazed at her sadly. As if she wanted to spill her heart out to Taffyta. Taffyta softened and looked at her in a concerned way.

"Are you ok? You have been acting so strange ever since Ralph came back, " Taffyta said over the music. Vanellope looked away, her eyes watery.

"I wish he was here," Vanellope said softly as a few tears cascaded down her cheeks, "I don't want to dance with Rancis."

"You don't HAVE to dance with Rancis, Vanellope," Taffyta said lovingly as she quickly wiped away Vanellope's tears, careful of her makeup, "I know you want Ralph to be here, but you can go visit him tonight after the party, I'm sure he'd love to see your gown. You put a lot of hard work into it, I'm sure he'd appreciate a visit."

"Mhmm," Vanellope mumbled as she looked down, blinking back more tears, "I guess you're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Taffyta smiled, "C'mon, I see a spot on the dance floor for us."

"I think I'm going to stay here and compose myself," Vanellope said with a small smile, "I'll meet you out there in a minute okay?"

"Only if you promise," Taffyta smiled as Candlehead approached her and waved her to come onto the dance floor.

Vanellope smiled as she waved her friend off before letting her smile sink. She suddenly felt lost. She looked out amongst the large crowd of people, not really recognizing anyone. There were a lot of gamers from games she hadn't even heard of. It definitely put the arcade's size into perspective. Vanellope heaved a shaky sigh and gently leaned into the wall, wondering if this event was even worth going to. She knew something, or someone, was missing from this event. She didn't want to spend New Year's without Ralph. She didn't want to go home tonight without seeing him. She slumped her shoulders and looked down, she figured she'd visit him after the ball, she hoped he wouldn't be asleep.

The music was lively, everyone was having a great time. Vanellope eventually joined her friends on the dance floor, the music being too hard to resist. She was paranoid about her dress, though. Her and her racing friends alternated between dancing and chatting. Rancis joined in as well, which Vanellope almost didn't mind. Her friends were doing a great job of keeping her mind off of not being able to see Ralph. They accomplished this feat for about two hours, but time crept closer to midnight.

"This is some party!" Candlehead exclaimed as she straightened out her gown. Everyone was lively and excited. Taffyta nodded in agreement before the lights dimmed a little, and the music gradually slowed. Vanellope gazed upon the large dance floor and noticed couples beginning to form for romantic slow dancing. Vanellope suddenly felt her heart ache. She frowned over the crowd and sighed. She gently fidgeted with her hair, which was down and wavy. She had a single teal and cream candy flower in her hair above her ear. She fixed herself, desperately giving herself busy work. She tried to avoid eye contact with Rancis, but it was useless.

"Vanellope," Rancis chimed sweetly, "Care to dance?"

Vanellope gazed at Rancis with almost unamused eyes, but smiled and gently nodded.

"Sure," She breathed as she took his hand. Vanellope glanced back at Taffyta, who was giving her a dissatisfied look in return. Vanellope heaved a long sigh and let Rancis lead her amongst all the other dancers. Vanellope swallowed hard; she figured she'd just make the best of this situation. Rancis had been patient with her and kind to her all night long. The least she could do for him was give him a slow dance. She figured it'd be over soon. She knew kissing him for the New Year's count down was, however, out of the question.

Rancis turned to face her and gently put his hand on her waist, the other holding one of her hands. Vanellope put her free hand on his shoulder and the two slowly began to sway. Vanellope felt awkward in Rancis' arms. They were kept at an awkward distance, and she knew Rancis wasn't the one she should be dancing with in this moment. Vanellope gazed at Rancis's shoulder and tried to hide a frown.

"Your dress is really nice," Rancis said softly. Vanellope smiled at him gently.

"Thanks Rancis," She said softly as she tried to give him a genuine smile; she looked past Rancis' shoulder towards the crowd that had gathered around all the dancers.

She could see dull faces, lonely faces, happy faces, all sorts of faces. None of which was Ralph. Vanellope could feel tears sting her eyes. She knew this event was meant to be spent with Ralph. As much as she loved and admired Ralph before her game's update, now that she was finally at his level, she knew what love meant. She knew this feeling was something that everyone felt at least once in their lives. She figured she'd never feel it in her entire game life. Her heart sank farther and farther with each awkward step the two took. Vanellope glanced down at hers and Rancis' feet, noticing that he was trying to let Vanellope lead. Vanellope quickly grew agitated and continued to clumsily dance with Rancis. She knew this night wasn't going to get any better.