~ Outside The Speedway ~ (Lightning McQueen x OC)

Chapter 2

After saying good-bye to Lightning for the day, with a few insults, of course, I went to see my car. My crew said everything seemed fine, but I needed to either find a new, thicker type of tire to use or I would have to perfect and/or cut the time I use on my backward driving. They said that the turns I make wear out the tires much faster than expected. I agreed on cutting back on the time I used, keeping in mind that I don't have time and money to look for a whole new set of tires, including buying some extras during the races.

Winning these competitions wasn't just for the glory, or the constant boasting to McQueen, it was for the money too. I'd use it to help fix up town, and keep it running. Anything else I had leftover went into repairing anything in my car, and if I had anything else left over, I'd save it whenever I needed it for something really important. Lately, money hasn't been that low, since more and more people are coming into California through Route 66. And lucky for us, we were right next to the highway, so there were plenty of customers.

But we were low enough that I wasn't able to buy those tires. Sure, I could ask my sponsor for a fund, but my sponsor was Luigi and Guido's store, Cassa Della Tires. And sure, I could ask them for tires, since it's literally a tire shop, but I know for a fact they don't have the type I need.

I said good-night to my crew and drove my car to the truck. I opened up the back, drove it in, and left. I closed up and made sure everything was locked and ready for tomorrow's practice races.

I walked over to Sally's car. She was already inside, on her phone checking social media. I stood next to the car on the outside, waiting for her to notice me. After about a minute of no movement, I guessed she was so interested in what was going on, on her phone to notice I was standing there. I shook my head with a smile. I knocked lightly on the window, and she shot her head up quickly. She threw her phone on the passenger seat and stepped out of the car. I laughed a little at her.

"Sorry, sorry. I was caught up on something I saw on Insta." She apologized. She looked red for some reason, but maybe it was because of the stuffy car. It was sitting in the sun for a few hours.

But I knew it wasn't the stuffy car. For one, Sally hates being hot and sweaty. She says that it messes with her complexion and that it's just uncomfortable. So if she were hot, she'd have the AC on, or the windows rolled down. Two, she was biting the middle of her upper lip, something she did when she was lost in thought about a certain racer.

"I bet you were looking at Mr. McQueen again."

"What? No I wasn't. Don't be silly. I was just looking at a picture of... something." She said, not meeting my eyes.

"Mhmm. You can't even come up with a good excuse." I hummed, leaning against the car next to her.

"Ugh, fine. But he's just so... good to look at. I know you hate him and all, but you have to admit he's attractive." Sal confessed, shaking my arm a little.

I mean, she wasn't wrong. Lightning was attractive, as far as looks go. His hair was usually slicked back, a few baby hair sticking out in the front, but after races, it would be shaken up. His jawline was sharp, and his entire face was just fit. He was about six feet in height, and his body was built for racing, not too thin, but not too muscular to the point where his racing suit was barely holding together by the seams. If I just had to pick a physical feature about him that made me find him attractive, it would probably be his eyes. I've never seen that shade of blue, and I'm noticing that just now.

Sally pushed against me with her side. "You sure you're not the one with a crush on McQueen. I mean the ways you guys act around each other would have me fooled if I didn't know you." She went on. "To the press, it's basically flirting-"