So, due to popular demand, I have decided to continue this saga of young crushes and friendship. Truthfully, it's a ton of fun to write. Plus it gives me an excuse to cuddle with my new Gloyd plushie. ;-)

Please note that, because of my early plans to have this story remain a oneshot, the relationship between our main characters will be much more subdued and friendly than in the last part. Bear with me, it'll get better in part three.

Many kudos to Konpeki Rei, one of the best beta readers and WiR fans out there. You, my friend, deserve the Medal of Heroes.

I don't own Wreck-it Ralph, but I do own the art book.

Part Two- Cavities

Sugar Rush was, without a doubt, one of the most successful racing arcade games to have ever been imported from Japan. Between the catchy music, adorable characters, and spectacular controls, gamers from across the globe flocked to the consoles. The PCs enjoyed this popularity immensely, as it subdued any fears of being unplugged. Of course, even if the game WAS in danger of being powered down, two of the racers wouldn't really care. The two pranksters and best friends, Vanellope von Schweetz and Gloyd Orangeboar. As long as they could still hang out and trick people, they would be at home in Mortal Kombat. It was a subject that Vanellope had brought up one day as Gloyd was checking the oil in his kart.

"Mortal Kombat? Really?" Gloyd had asked, wiping off the cap to the oil tank. "Not Fix-it Felix, Jr?"

Vanellope crossed her legs as she shifted her position on the hood of the candy corn car. "Of course I'd stay in FiF. It was just an example, pumpkin brain," she sighed. "I'm just saying we're friends. Right?"

Gloyd screwed the cap back on, looked up, and smiled at her. "Right."

. . .

"Five months... has it really been that long?" she asked him one day.

"Five months since what?"

"Five months since I became President," she answered, lightly swatting the back of his head for his forgetfulness. "Seriously, Orangeboar, get with the program."

He huffed and crossed his arms over his candy-corn printed tee shirt. "Yeah, well, I'm sorry, Vanel, that I forget things. You know my memory is faulty. If you have a problem with it, bring it up with Turbo's ghost," he snapped. He normally wasn't this cruel- especially to Vanellope- but he was in a rotten mood today. Rancis and Swizz had mocked him again, not just for his friendship with the raven-haired leader but also for his orange cheeks. To rub salt into the wound, he had just lost a race against Crumbelina Di Carmello- one of- if not the- worst racers in the game by far. When he looked towards Vanellope, Gloyd saw her lip quiver for a second. Then he sighed. "I'm sorry. Really, I am. I just... look, I'll make it up to you. Or something. Kay?"

Vanellope glitched a little in her melancholy but nodded. "Kay."

. . .

Gloyd couldn't blame her for being so uptight about the whole affair. After all, they were already going through a bit of a rough patch- something neither of them wanted to bring up. It started when Gloyd spotted Vanellope in the Kart Bakery. Normally this wouldn't bother him- until he noticed somebody else was with her. And holding her hand.

Now why in the name of coding would Rancis Fluggerbutter be holding Vanellope's hand? It just didn't make sense! Rancis was their prey- that peanut butter cup- wearing, backstabbing, flamboyant stick-in-the-mud was their frequent target of pranks. Furthermore, he was one of those closest to Taffyta- Vanellope's sworn arch nemesis.

But maybe what stung the most about the ordeal, to Gloyd at least, was how... happy Vanellope looked. She was smiling and laughing and touching Rancis' shoulder... the same kind of treatment she gave Gloyd. And it made him feel... jealous. Afraid. Afraid he was losing his best friend.

. . .

It wasn't until after the RRR of the day that Gloyd had a chance to confront Vanellope. When he finally did, though, the first words out of his mouth were "What are you THINKING hanging out with RANCIS? And what was with that Sweet Seeker?" He had just pulled ahead of Taffyta when the missile had struck him. He remember looking in his rearview mirror to see Vanellope mouthing the word "sorry."

Vanellope stuffed her hands into her hoodie's pockets. "He spent all of the stuff he ever had on a new kart, and it broke."

"Yeah, I know, I was there," he replied, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Well, I helped him make a new kart. The RV1. I only did it because he's a citizen of the Candy Kingdom and it's my job as President to help him," she finished. She glared at Gloyd, her brown-and-green eyes not blinking.

Gloyd gave a small sigh. "And the Seeker?"

She shuffled her feet and rubbed the back of her head. "It was an accident. I was aiming for Taffyta, but you know how high your sweetness level is."

Gloyd stalked away, grumbling to himself.

. . .

Rancis smiled to himself, whistling the Sugar Rush theme. First place... and it was all thanks to the glitch. He turned around when he heard an argument behind him- Vanellope and Gloyd, just as the mastermind of the plan predicted. It was with no dismay that Rancis tapped Taffyta on the shoulder and pointed out the feuding friends.

"Perfect," she purred, patting Rancis' back. "Good job, Fluggerbutter. Now for stage two." A tear began to roll down her cheek as she sent him to go fetch the "leader."

. . .

The fact of the matter was that not all of the racers took to Vanellope being in power as well as Gloyd did. The majority got along with her, but then there was Taffyta.

It was no secret that young Muttonfudge dreamed of being the headlining racer of Sugar Rush. She and her cronies- Candlehead and Rancis- often spent hours devising plans to overthrow King Candy. Naturally, things changed when the truth of Vanellope's identity was revealed, but the hatred Taffyta already had for the ponytailed racer grew. She tried her best to get along with her- she really did- but seeing Gloyd kiss her cheek... things boiled over.

Now, it wasn't that she liked Gloyd. In actuality, she held a strong animosity towards the Halloween-themed prankster. It was the whole nauseating idea of someone being more popular than her. And so she began to scheme. An epic plan that would rip the friends apart. But she needed help, so it seemed necessary to get the old crew back together. Alas, only one other PC was willing to stoop to such dirty tricks- not even the dimwitted Candlehead submitted to Taffyta's will; the mint-haired ditz was developing a nice bond with the elected leader of the Dessert Kingdom. It was Rancis Fluggbutter alone that volunteered to aid the strawberry queen. Even so, he felt sorry for doing this to Gloyd, one of his best friends (in the loosest sense- only because he was another male)... but if it meant making Taffyta happy, he would do it.

. . .

Gloyd went out for a quick drive, desperately trying to get his mind off of the sight of Rancis and Vanellope holding hands... it stung him deeply. Was there nothing sacred between him and Vanellope now?

He was dwelling on this thought when he noticed another kart, pulled off to the side of the road, the driver out of the vehicle and sobbing. It was the Pink Lightning, Gloyd realized with a jolt, and the girl... was Taffyta?! Why would Taffyta Muttonfudge be crying? He slowed down and pushed the gear into park as he drifted alongside her.

"Whatsa matter?" he called to her.

The blonde looked up, her mascara running. "Oh, Gloyd, it's awful!"

The brunnette climbed out of his kart and sat down beside her. "What? Did you break a nail?" His chocolate-brown eyes rolled.

Taffyta just wept all the harder. "N-no, it's... it's-s just... ever since Vanellope became a racer again, I've just... nobody's been picking me, Gloyd... I'm so lonely..." She gestured towards the front axle of the pink roadster. "And n-now, I've got a flat..."

Gloyd may not have liked Taffyta, but he wasn't unreasonable. He sighed and asked, "Want me to fix it?"

She looked up and gave a watery smile. "Would you? Oh, thank you, Gloyd!" Suddenly, her arms were around Gloyd's shoulders in a strangling hug. Much to his surprise, the pumpkin-headed boy found his arms wrapping around her in turn.

. . .

Vanellope watched in horror as Gloyd hugged her rival. How DARE he? Taffyta was the epitome of evil! She didn't belong in a game called Sugar Rush, she belonged in a bag of Sour Patch Kids or even Warheads!

And fixing her tire? He never bothered to fix any problems with the Lickety Split 2... Vanellope glitched with fear as an idea crossed her mind.

Does Gloyd like Taffyta more than me?

. . .

Taffyta smiled to herself. "Orangeboar and Von Schweetz... they must HATE each other!" she squealed with laughter.

Behind her, Rancis nodded eagerly. "It's great, isn't it?"

"I can't believe they fell for it! AGAIN! I knew she was dumb when she thought I wanted her forgiveness back after Wreck-It came, but this is just ridiculous! And the fact that she hit him with that Seeker... it's priceless! They're going to annihilate one another! And then the throne... WILL BE OURS!" The duo's howls of chortles echoed throughout Candy Cane Forest. Finally, the Muttonfudge-Fluggerbutter Reign would begin.

. . .

Vanellope awoke to the honking of a horn. A kart horn, one she was very familiar with. She yawned and blinked, then shuffled across the room from her four-poster bed to the balcony. Stepping out into the rising sun, she looked down to find a splash of orange and yellow in the driveway up to the castle. The Kernel. What a surprise. Vanellope scowled and walked back into her room, but just as she was snuggling back under her sheets, Sour Bill called. "VANELLOPE! THAT BOY'S HERE AGAIN!" With a sigh, she rolled out from the comfortable sleeping furniture and poked her head out the door.

"I'm not goin' anywhere with that stinkbrain!" she hollered. The former glitch was sick and tired of the prankster. Even though they had agreed not to discuss their sightings with enemies, the subject somehow snuck into each conversation, disguised in some way, much like a cybug. After Gloyd had snapped at her yesterday, she wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Sour Bill appeared at the foot of the stairs. "He's says it's important," the butler replied. A low growl escaped Vanellope's lips. Important, huh? Well, Gloyd was the only other racer that knew Ralph fairly well. Perhaps he was being a messenger boy. "Fine..." she muttered. "But lemme get dressed." Bill nodded, as the President was currently wearing a green polka-dotted nightgown, her candied hair a bigger tangled mess than usual.

It didn't take long before the raven-ponytailed heroine was sliding down the banister into the entryway of the palace. Gloyd was standing there, a picnic basket next to his feet. Vanellope kicked it gently.

"Watch it!" the boy exclaimed, wrapping his arms around the carrier. "There's food in there."

Vanellope snorted. "News flash, we live in a world made of food. What's so special about this?"

Gloyd gave a smirk, one of deviousness and excitement. "Wouldn't you like to know? It's too bad, only those that beat me at a race to Candy Cane Forest can find out." He took in a breath to look at the young girl, but was met only by an empty space and the sound of an engine revving.

. . .

Vanellope pulled the licorice pullstring out of her mouth as Gloyd finally drove into view. She smirked. "Now what's in that basket?" she called.

Gloyd shimmied out of the seat and stomped to the trunk. "Geez, Your Highness, it's not fair when you take a head start." He gingerly placed the basket on the ground as he sat next to her. "And why are you stopping here? I mean, sure it's a nice spot, but you could've pulled over at the beginning of the forest, not the cavity-inducing middle," he groaned, much to the other's shock. "Cavity-inducing" was basically a swear word to the Sugar Rush racers. Gloyd must really be frustrated. Still, there was no denying the spot was beautiful- a pristine blue lake dotted with Pocky reeds, an exceptionally large tree looming over them to the side. Vanellope pointed at another point of interest down the way- a frosting swamp. "That's where I met Ralph," she said. "'Sides, this place is cool. Real water for a change. But seriously-" she took a swipe at the wooden pannier- "what's inside?"

Gloyd rolled his eyes, gave a small chuckle, and lifted the lid, humming the Zelda treasure chest theme as he did so. He laughed some more as Vanellope's eyes grew to the size of real- life quarters.

"TAPPER'S ROOT BEER FLOATS?! SWEET MOTHER OF MONKEY MILK, GLOYD, YOU'RE AMAZING!" In a flash, her arms flew around his neck. He hugged her back, happy to see his friend pleased with him again. The dark-haired girl poked around the hamper some more. "And sandwiches from Burger Time, nice... thanks, man. This is awesome."

Gloyd grinned even wider, if it was possible for his pixels to be stretched that far. "Anytime, Vanel."

. . .

The empty glasses from Tapper's laid to the side, contents guzzled down. Said guzzlers were lying on their backs, shoulders touching, on the lemon grass shore of the pond. Gloyd, with a yawn, sat up. Vanellope followed suit and wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. "Phew, it's gettin' warm..."

The pumpkin-capped boy nodded in agreement. "Wanna cool off?" His companion responded with the affirmative. Gloyd gave a malicious smile and shoved her into the water.

"WHAT THE HECK, ORANGEBOAR?" Vanellope screeched once she surfaced from her surprise swim and taken several gulps of air. He didn't respond with words, but rather just laughed, sounding bizarrely similar to a howler monkey. Vanellope frowned. "Farthead..." she muttered to herself. Gloyd continued to shriek with mirth.

Without fully comprehending what she was doing, Vanellope had glitched herself out of the lake and behind the giggling prankster. As she realized her situation, a thought summoned a vicious grin to her face. Taste your own medicine, she reflected, and pushed Gloyd just as he did to her just moments before.

A string of obscenities no nine-year-old should know (Gloyd only knew them from the teens that would play Sugar Rush) died in his mouth as Vanellope screamed "cannonball!" and plunged into the lake. Instead, he satisfied himself by sending a wave of liquid into the girl racer's face. She retaliated, and soon the pair were in the heated battle of a splash fight, any notions of revenge for both a shove or a kind gesture to another all but forgotten.

. . .

Vanellope pulled her way back onto dry ground, then held out her hand for her friend's aid. Gloyd took it and kept holding it, even after he was out of the water. "I'm fr-freezing," he said, a shiver causing the stutter. Vanellope gave a small nod; she was cold as well.

"Follow me," she whispered, shaking her hair like a dog before standing up and trudging to her kart. Gloyd went to his, started the engine, and drove behind her.

. . .

"No way," Gloyd breathed. Vanellope just stuck her hands in her still-soaking hoodie pocket. She had to admit she had the same reaction when she first found this place herself. An unfinished level, hidden inside of one of the biggest and most recognizable landmarks in the Dessert Kingdom: Diet Cola Mountain.

"Yes way. And you said you were chilly?" She picked up a stray stale crumb off the cake floor and chucked it towards the stalactites dripping from the top of the cavern. The projectile nicked the lowest-dangling cylinder, a single disk of white plunging towards the steaming core below. "Watch out!" she yelled, ducking. Gloyd blinked, then soon saw the reasoning behind the self-protection. He dodged around the droplets of boiling cola, screaming a bit after the dazzling (and dangerous) display was complete. "Geez, it won't kill ya, pumpkin brain. Calm down."

The brunette boy huffed and sat on a chocolate boulder. "How do you know about this place, anyway?"

A pensive look spread across the ebony-haired President. "Um, well... back when I was a glitch, when King Candy was in charge... I lived here. See? That was my bed." She motioned at a pile of candy wrappers. "It was safe here. No one knew about it. I wasn't afraid of being teased or hurt or anything."

Gloyd stared at the ground. "I'm... I'm sorry, Vanel. I didn't... I mean, back then..." he rambled, before his eyes drooped and he fell to the side. Vanellope was at his side in an instant, thanks to her glitching. She poked him, called his name, but to no response. She was about to go get Sour Bill or Ralph when she heard him snore. He had just passed out from being too wound up. And probably a sugar high, too... Vanellope mused, recalling how the boy had devoured a good portion of the Pocky reeds back at the lake. Not to mention all that root beer.

Vanellope looked to the side of the sleeping boy and spotted something... orange? She knew Diet Cola Mountain like the back of her hand; there wasn't anything orange in there. She concluded with a jolt that it was a pumpkin... Gloyd's pumpkin hat, to be precise. This really was a huge shock. Although it was common knowledge among both racers and gamers that Gloyd had hair (although the arguments of whether it was green or brown were still going strong), nobody had ever seen the boy without his trademark headgear. Some even thought it was physically attached to him and it was impossible to remove, that the developers hadn't drawn anything underneath and was therefore an unchangeable feature. The truth of the debate was the image before Vanellope- Gloyd did indeed have a full head of hair, and furthermore, it was brown. A silky chocolate brown, a bit unkempt (but that could have been hat-head), with a little flip by the ears like the top of a Snicker's bar. And the girl was entranced by it. Gloyd looked so peaceful asleep, his eyelids fluttering gently as he breathed deeply. More peaceful than he ever did awake. Seeing him so calm, not racing about, rambunctious and obnoxious in his pranks... it was a nice change of pace. It almost made him look... cute.

A memory flashed in the back of Vanellope's brain. Gloyd winning the RRR, she telling him he was the winner and that he need not have raced in her place, him leaning down and kissing her cheek. She blushed at the recollection, but carefully placed her finger on his orange dimple. Hesitantly, cautiously, she bent down and placed her lips on the hair just behind his ear. Much to her surprise, he smelt of pumpkins, even his chocolatey hair. She stroked his cheek caringly, thinking about the day they had shared. He really is my best friend. He made me angry, but he did all this to make it up... I'm sorry, Gloyd. Her eyes slid shut and she collapsed from exhaustion.

. . .

Hours later the duo had returned to Vanellope's castle. Shortly after walking through the door, the girl turned to face her ally. "Alright, Gloyd. Let's take this bull by the horns. What's going on with us fighting?"

Gloyd sighed, "I thought that was obvious. I saw you with Rancis, you saw me with Taffyta. End of story. 'Sides, weren't we not talking about this anyway?"

"Yeah, well, something's up. Now that I think about it, Rancis was the one who told me to go to the area where you and Taffyta were. That's suspicious, don't ya think?" Vanellope asked. She plopped down in a jellybean bag chair in the parlor.

Gloyd remained standing, but nodded. "Yeah. It is. But maybe it's just a fluke, I mean, after all, you were the one who told me to come to the Kart Bakery." The last part was in a low, accusatory growl, giving the sense the boy was questioning the girl's motive.

Vanellope cocked her head to the left. "What? I didn't tell you anything. How did you even get this invite?"

"There was this note at my house, in your handwriting, telling me to see you at the Bakery. I just followed the instructions." His feet shuffled as he felt the tension escalate once more in the room. "If you wait a sec, it might still be in my glove compartment..."

"Get it." Gloyd was out of the room so quickly, a breeze was left behind. It was barely a minute later when he returned, brandishing a piece of paper. Apparently, his speed behind the wheel translated to his feet as well.

"See? Your handwriting." He handed the sheet to the former glitch. It read:

Gloyd-

Meet me at the Kart Bakery in 25 minutes. I got a surprise for you.

Vanellope

She blinked, it was a very convincing forgery. All the letters were correct, down to the tiniest curl. She glanced up at her fellow racer. "Huh. Maybe I did invite you there. Funny, though, I don't remember it..."

"Maybe Turbo locked up our memories again?" he joked, but a stern look from the present silenced that. Vanellope studied the sheet some more. Wait a sec... something like this, I wouldn't call him Gloyd..."I'd call him pumpkin brain," she finished aloud. The boy looked up as his nickname was used. "Wouldn't I?" she asked him. "Plus I would sign it Vanel, I like that name, it's your name for me. I like it, a lot." She blushed as she realized what she had said and buried herself in the note once more. Perhaps there were more flaws?

Gloyd, on the other hand, was pondering something of his own. Namely, the style of writing. It was so... formal. Knowing her, Vanellope would've probably wrote something more along the lines of "Be at the Kart Bakery soon or I'll sic Ralph on you." Finally, the pen. Vanellope only used green ink, the same color as her hoodie. This thought had just come to him as the President looked up again.

"Gloyd, do I seem like the kind of person that would use sparkly pink pen?" She brought the letter close to her nose and inhaled. "That's strawberry scented?"

The questioned shook his head. "I was just thinking that. No, you're not. But now that I think about it..." His face scrunched in thought, then returned to normal. "Taffyta's signature flavor is strawberry!"

Vanellope grinned. "Exactly, Orangeboar. This note was written by Muttonfudge. But that doesn't... Rancis!" Gloyd made a sound somewhere between shock and disgust. "No, Rancis is in on this! She and Fluggerbutter are in cahoots! That's how he knew where you and her would be... Dang it." She flicked a hair behind her ear. "We've been owned, Gloyd. Heck, I think we've been pwned. But you know what we do to pwners?" She barely suppressed a cackle.

Gloyd grabbed her hand and let out a silent chuckle. "We pwn them back!"

. . .

"I can't believe this! After all our hard work, they STILL are friends!" Taffyta screeched as she watched the events unfolding on the security camera she had hidden inside of the castle. Rancis sat silently behind her. He knew from previous experience not to get involved when Taffyta blew a fuse. Unless if she was in danger of doing so literally. The blonde girl stomped and growled, not realizing the truth of the situation in her defeat.

Because the truth was merely that vanilla and pumpkin were the perfect team. They complemented one another. Even if they were to be wrenched apart, they would somehow rejoin to create the ultimate mix. That was what Gloyd and Vanellope's friendship meant. But perhaps there was another factor, something stronger, holding them together... but that was something they would not come to realize or even fully understand for a while longer.

End Part Two

So, observant readers among you may have noticed I mentioned part three in the beginning Author's Note. This is true. Part three will come eventually, with the most fluff ever seen in this story. The reason I say "eventually" is that, because of my new schedule at school, I'll be super busy until the summer. I'll do my best, but it might be a while. Until then, live laugh and glomp! (That is a quote by Uncle Yo. Please acknowledge him if you use it.)