*Chapter 16*
After about a half an hour of trekking to the castle, and another hour of a simple celebratory dinner, everyone had gathered in Vanellope's large downstairs kitchen. It was beautiful and modern, embellished with white marble and mint accents. Taffyta, Calhoun and Felix were sat at the kitchen's barstool island. Ralph was stationed on the other side of the island to face the three and Vanellope was seated on the island counter top next to Ralph. Everyone sat in a circle, enjoying spirits and each other's company. Everyone had a drink in hand, their conversations lively and exciting, full of laughter and smiles.
"And so, that's why we don't let Candlehead fill her own cart with gas anymore," Vanellope explained, "One of us has to do it for her."
"It's not that big of a deal!" Candlehead shouted as everyone began to laugh.
"Putting gasoline into the fire spouts on your cart does NOT make your candles burn brighter, Candlehead," Taffyta spouted through a fit of laughter.
"Her cart nearly exploded!" Vanellope shouted, everyone a laughing mess.
"We almost called off the roster race, that day," Taffyta beamed, Candlehead scoffed.
"I can see that maybe she had good intentions, right?" Ralph suggested, snorting back a laugh.
"Yes!" Candlehead shouted in defense to herself, "I just wanted more bang to the sparklers on my cart!"
"Candlehead, we had to remake your cart," Vanellope laughed.
"Too bad I wasn't around when this happened," Felix beamed as he pat his hammer. Everyone laughed and heaved exhausted, satisfied sighs.
"We should all hang out here more often," Calhoun said with a small smile.
"Whats wrong with the Niceland building?" Felix worried with a small chuckle.
"Nothing is wrong with it," Calhoun scoffed, still smiling, "It's just nice to have new surroundings, I guess. I don't ever see you guys hanging out in my game. Don't get all uppity, Fix-It."
"Well, you guys are welcome whenever you'd like," Vanellope said with a smile. She was sitting with her legs criss crossed on the counter, facing her friends. Everyone had taken their shoes and coats off, prepared to stay for a while.
"Thank you," Ralph smiled down at her, she beamed back.
"Of course, Ralph is always MORE than welcome," Calhoun said slyly, eyeing Vanellope.
"Well, everyone is," Vanellope said gently, her face hot red. She could suddenly feel the air grow tense.
"Our doors are always open!" Taffyta said nervously, seeing exactly what was going on. She hurriedly tried to save the situation, "Can you believe that last year has already come and gone? Sheesh, talk about how time flies."
"I think Vanellope and Ralph had the most exciting New Years of all," Calhoun said with a smile.
"Wh-what? Noo, I-I mean," Vanellope stammered, she quickly shot Taffyta a glance.
"We should go back to Diet Cola Mountain tomorrow to spruce up the bridge some more!" Taffyta suggested nervously.
"Why, so Ralph and Vanellope can steal away and make-out again?" Calhoun spouted. Everyone froze.
"Nice secret keeping, there, Vanellope," Ralph barked gently, Vanellope flinched before glaring at Taffyta.
"You told everyone?" Vanellope hollered at Taffyta as she slammed her hands down on the counter.
"I-I didn't mean to!" Taffyta worried, "It just came out!"
"Oh come on, it would've spilled eventually," Felix beamed, trying to lighten the situation, "I don't see what the big deal is."
"You two are in love!" Calhoun smiled, nudging Felix, "I hear wedding bells."
"We are not!" Vanellope shouted, her face hot red, "I-It's not like that!"
"Ouch," Ralph stated softly as he looked down at his cup.
"Oh come on, Vanellope," Taffyta chuckled as she gestured towards
Ralph with her arms.
"It was just a New Year's peck, no big deal," Vanellope's face was beet red as she glared at Taffyta, "It was nothing!"
Vanellope suddenly sensed a sharp vibe coming from Ralph. She hesitantly looked at him, he stared at her through sad, disbelieving eyes. Vanellope's face instantly softened as she put her hand up, not truly knowing what to say. Everyone fell silent, the tension in the air was absolutely unbearable. Vanellope opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted.
"Yeah," Ralph barked out to everyone at the kitchen island before catching eyes with Vanellope, his facial expression hurt and angry, "It was nothing."
"Ralph, I-I didn't mean that, I-" Vanellope said gently, but before she could say more, Ralph stood up straight and began to head for the stairs that led to the main room of the castle.
"Happy New Years, everyone," Ralph said loudly. He caught eyes with Vanellope one last time, his eyes full of pain and frustration. He quickly left the room.
Without words, Felix and Calhoun quickly slipped away, quietly thanking the three girls for the hospitality and the drinks. Before anyone could digest what happened, Felix, Calhoun and Ralph left the castle. The three girls remained in the kitchen, motionless. Taffyta slowly turned around to face her doom. She gave Vanellope a pathetic, sorry smile.
"Vanellope," Taffyta started.
"Do you see the mess you caused?" Vanellope shouted as she climbed off of the island counter, causing Taffyta to flinch.
"How come it has to be a mess?" Taffyta yelled back, "Isn't this supposed to be a good thing? Why did you just state, in front of Ralph, that it meant nothing to you? Was it really just a peck like that? Surely it meant something to you!"
"Of COURSE it meant something to me!" Vanellope hollered as she threw her arms up and paced the kitchen tile, "It meant the world to me. It wasn't just a peck… It was absolute magic."
"So why didn't you just say that?" Taffyta chuckled.
"Does it look like these kind of emotions come easily to me?" Vanellope hollered, her eyes piercing and glassy.
"They don't come easy to anyone, Vin," Taffyta eased, hoping to calm Vanellope.
"Exactly!" Vanellope shouted, tears billowing in her eyes, "I trusted you to keep that a secret and you went and blabbed it!"
"She didn't mean to," Candlehead eased, "It just popped out during conversation."
"I suppose that makes it all better," Vanellope said to Candlehead before glaring at Taffyta, "You're supposed to be my friend, Taffyta."
"I am your friend!" Taffyta pleaded, "I'm sorry I blabbed, you don't understand how happy this makes us! I just was so excited. I-"
"Yeah well you can forget being excited anymore," Vanellope barked, "I'm pretty sure my little screw up choice in words has left Ralph pretty much hating my guts."
"He doesn't hate you," Candlehead stated.
"He showed me so much care," Vanellope slumped her shoulders, "I just took it all away by stupid choice of words that I doubt I'll be able to take back."
"Why didn't you just tell him it meant a lot, instead of accidentally saying it meaning absolutely nothing?" Candlehead questioned.
"This is the first time I've ever felt this way about anyone," Vanellope shouted, "These kinds of things are all jumbled and so confusing to me. I don't know how I'm supposed to act around him with you guys present, I don't know how to present this kind of thing to you guys!"
"Just act normal!" Taffyta suggested loudly, expressing with her hands.
"I can't act normal sitting in a room wondering if one of my best friends is an untrustworthy gossiper!" Vanellope shouted as she swiped her hand across the kitchen island, sending Ralph's half empty glass rocketing towards the wall. The cup shattered, pieces of glass dotted the marble tiles. Vanellope quickly stormed out of the kitchen without another word, leaving Candlehead and Taffyta alone.
"Well, that could've gone better," Taffyta heaved a shaky sigh.
"In the end, Calhoun was the one to spill the beans," Candlehead shrugged, hoping it'd make Taffyta feel better.
"She just played telephone," Taffyta looked down at her hands in her lap, "I'm the one that spilled the beans."
"This kind of thing is just so sensitive to new 'love-birds'," Candlehead used her fingers for air quotes, "I'm sure Ralph and Vanellope are just confused as to where their friendship, or relationship, stands. They have to be the ones to figure it out before they can make any decision public. Couples in a group of friends doesn't just affect the two in the relationship. It affects the whole group."
"Understandable," Taffyta said as she gave Candlehead a pathetic smile, "I just hope this all blows over."
"Don't expect Vanellope to treat you nicely on the tracks, tomorrow," Candlehead chuckled, "That girl is more fiery than myself when it comes to feuds."
"Yeah," Taffyta sighed as both girls stared at the shattered mess on the kitchen floor, "Thanks for the heads up…"
Vanellope quickly flew into her room and slammed the door shut with a loud pang. Thunder suddenly rumbled over Sugar Rush's sweet sky. Vanellope gazed sadly into her still room, the long white curtains softly flickered in the damp air. Her tall French doors stood opened slightly, revealing Sugar Rush's delicate, stormy sky. She slowly moseyed over to her balcony as she clumsily yanked her hoody off of her body. She leaned against the railing of her balcony as she gazed longingly out towards the long path that lead up to the castle. Ralph, Felix and Calhoun were mere specks in the distance. Vanellope inhaled sharply as a few tears slid down her cheeks. She pushed her hands to her face and hid away from the world as it began to rain. She wondered how a beautiful day could quickly come to a screeching halt with just a few, short words.
