"I'm gonna do it. I'm finally gonna do it." Rancis said, walking out of Swizzle's house.

"Come on Rancis, don't do this to yourself. You know this isn't going to end well." Gloyd said, following his friend.

"Gloyd, Gloyd, Gloyd. Poor deluded Gloyd. This is going to end wonderfully." Rancis said.

"But she doesn't like you. Or me for that matter. In fact, I'm pretty sure most of the girls flat-out hate the two of us." Gloyd said.

"Thanks for the boost to my morale Citrus-Swine." Rancis groaned.

"Those insults still don't make sense." Gloyd said.

"Yes, they do. You just want me to stop saying them because you're insecure!" Rancis shouted.

"You little Wipplesnit, I'll kill you!" Gloyd said, jumping at Rancis. Swizzle pulled him back.

"Come on guys, do you really need to argue like this?" He asked.

"I don't know, do we Gloyd?" Rancis asked.

"You're setting yourself up to fail." Gloyd scowled.

"Take it to the racetrack why don't you?" Swizzle said.

"You know what? That idea isn't half bad. I propose a challenge. We duke it out in a series of races. If I win, you put off this ridiculous plan until we think you actually have a chance. If you win, you let Taffyta tear your heart out and throw it in your face." Gloyd said.

"That's not gonna happen." Rancis said adamantly.

"Do we have a deal or not?" Gloyd asked.

"We do. Swizz, you up for some work as a referee?" Rancis asked.

"If it stops you two from killing each other, I'm up for anything." Swizzle said.

"Great. See you on the racetrack." Gloyd said, stomping over to his car.

"See you then Lemon-Hog." Rancis taunted.

"Alright, race number one." Swizzle said. He was standing in between his two friends' cars in an open field. There was a set of flags set up throughout the field.

"Number one? As in there will be more?" Rancis asked.

"I'm sorry, you're right. Let's just decide whether or not you ask out Taffyta with a little circle around the track. Maybe, instead of a race, we should just have you two play rock paper scissors." Swizzle said.

"Okay, sheesh. What's the objective?" Rancis asked.

"I shared the course with your GPS. All you have to do is beat Gloyd through the track for three laps and you win." Swizzle said. With that, he held up a stopwatch imbedded into an M&M shell.

"3!" He shouted. Gloyd and Rancis revved their engines.

"2!" The two racers pulled up their GPS. Their route was set.

"1!" "See you at the finish line Rancid." Gloyd taunted.

"Was that really necessary?" Swizzle asked.

"Say go!" The other boys shouted simultaneously.

"Ah, alright. GO!" The racers were off.

He was in the zone. It was his level, he was gonna win. He shot toward the first flag, making a perfect turn around it before jetting over to the next. Gloyd was close behind, but Rancis wasn't worried. After all, he was a hero trying to get the girl. What could go wrong?

Rancis pulled around the eight flag now, and Gloyd was practically right next to him. Rancis floored it, but Gloyd mirrored this. The two crossed the hastily made finish line within milliseconds of each other, and pulled their turns to go through the course again. Unfortunately for Rancis, Gloyd decided to use his special power right there. As Rancis accelerated toward the first flag, he heard several loud pops as his tires were hit with Candy Corn Caltrops. Cursing under his breath, Rancis accelerated again. This time, he was far more successful. He went right around the flag, nearly knocking the thing off its pole. It was time to get serious.

In mere moments, Gloyd and Rancis were both on their last lap. Rancis zoomed ahead of Gloyd for a momentary lead. Fortunately, that was all he needed. Rancis flipped a switch on the Kit Kart and sent his Fluggerbutter oil right into Gloyd's face. The pumpkin headed racer swerved out of control, colliding with Rancis. The two spun along the track, eventually stopping a few yards from the finish line. The boys exchanged a quick glance before jumping out of their cars and sprinting toward the finish line. With a slide that would make any baseball player jealous, Rancis crossed the finish line just before his opponent.

"Well, that was… okay, I'm not gonna lie to you guys, you're insane." Swizzle said.

"Yes, but I'm an insane winner. So, Juice-Hog, looks like I'm heading for Taffyta's after all." Rancis said, brushing dust off of his jacket.

"Heh heh, no. That was only the first race, remember? Now I have to think of another one though. Alright, I'll call you guys when I have something set up." Swizzle said before running off.

"Looks like I still have a chance to prove what a terrible idea this is." Gloyd said.

"In your dreams Fruit-Pig. I'm the greatest racer ever. Beating you will be a walk in the park." Rancis said.

"Speaking of walking, I think my engine's shot. Wanna help me push the Kernel back to my garage?" Gloyd asked.

"Eh, why not?" Rancis said, "One thing though, how are we gonna get my car back if I'm helping you?"

"We can always come back for it." Gloyd shrugged.

Accepting that as a decent answer, Rancis walked over to his friend's car and started pushing.

"So, story levels are interesting huh?" Gloyd said as he checked the gearshift to make sure the car was in neutral.

"Yeah. I kind of wish that there were some new NPCs in mine though. Crumbelina got two." Rancis said.

"Yeah, but why crowd the screen with meh when you can fill it with our awesomeness?" Gloyd asked.

"True, true. On the other hand, it would be cool to have some guys around besides you me and Swizz." Rancis said.

"What about Taffyta's mechanic?" Gloyd asked. They had finally gotten the Kernel across the finish line. Now all they had to do was push it to the road.

"He literally lives in the dump. You might have noticed, that isn't exactly my scene." Rancis said.

"I guess. Still, you hang out with me, and I'm not usually around your 'scene.'" Gloyd said.

"I swear Gloyd, if you're trying to push a moral about friendship on me, I'll ditch you and your car here and now." Rancis said.

"I'm just saying, don't knock it 'til you've tried it." Gloyd said.

"That's about food not people." Rancis scoffed.

"I think it's more of a general idea." Gloyd said.

"Hey, you know what's fun? Not debating what phrases are directed toward." Rancis said.

"Alright, alright. So, do you actually like Taffyta or is that just the storyline making stuff up?" Gloyd asked.

"Of course I like Taffyta. She's beautiful, and funny, and smart, and she races like a boss." Rancis said.

"Uh huh. Tell me, have you ever had a real conversation with Taffyta?" Gloyd asked.

"Well, I mean… define 'real conversation.'" Rancis said.

"So that's a no. This is why I keep telling you this is a bad idea. You're trying to rush things when you should just take your time and get to know her." Gloyd said.

"Oh, because you're an expert mister I've never had a date in my life or tried to get one." Rancis said.

"And yet, I would have a better chance than you." Gloyd said.

"Whatever you say seed head." Rancis said.

"See! That's a logical insult. Seeds, pumpkins, it makes sense. Juice-Hog doesn't." Gloyd said.

"You realize that insults are supposed to irritate you right? That's why I always use the ones that you openly hate." Rancis pointed out.

"Fine, whatever, it just makes you sound like an idiot." Gloyd said.

"Real nice. How far away do you live?" Rancis asked.

"About a mile." Gloyd said. They had only gone about fifty feet up the road.

"We're going to be here all day aren't we?" Rancis asked.

"Probably." Gloyd said. Unfortunately for the two boys, they were right.