Driven To The Edge

Chapter 2

Friday morning comes, you can hardly contain your excitement at the thought of being able to see the Piston Cup unfold right before your eyes. You pack all travel things into your school bag, so your mom won't notice anything too suspicious, but you tell her you're sleeping over at Cruz's tonight, as you don't want her to worry.

After eating your breakfast you sprint out the front door and run all the way to the bus station. The air has a slight cold ting to it, as it often does on the morning of field trips. Mater is already there, waiting for you, he seems a little nervous.

"I hope my folks don't notice that I'm gone," he says nervously.

"Don't worry, if we follow the plan everything will work out just fine, and anyway, aren't you excited to see Lightning McQueen again?" you ask.

Most people at school didn't believe Mater when he said he was friends with Lightning McQueen who had stayed in his old home town of Radiator Springs. You weren't quite sure what to think, it did seem a little far fetched, but Mater had never come across as a liar before. Besides he sounded pretty confident about being about to meet him when you got to the Piston Cup.

"Oh I can't wait to see him again, I know they say never meet your heroes but he's the nicest person I think I ever done met, you'll love him Y/N" he replied with a smile.

Cruz arrives late as always, and the three of you rush to just make your bus. You lie back and watch the beautiful fields and mountains of North Carolina race past.

Finally, the bus groans to a halt, and you file out along with the other passengers to find yourself in Kentucky. The bus station is packed with humans and cars all pushing and bustling their way towards the stadium, in the distance.

Mater trundles along, leading you and Cruz down towards the main track and the swarms of press surrounding the racer's transport trucks. In the distance, Cruz points out Jackson Storm, one of the most famous, and most handsome racers in the Piston Cup's history. Cruz is one of his biggest fans. She has lined the walls of her bedroom in posters of him and filled her shelves with his funko-pops and collectable action figures. Her obsession with him was the biggest reason it took you so long to realise she was a lesbian. She owns Storm branded underwear for goodness sakes.

Mater weaves in and out of honking vehicles until you come to Lightning McQueen's trailer. You freeze for a moment, wondering whether Mater really was exaggerating his friendship with the racer. The back of lightning's trailer truck drops, and he instantly pushes past the paparazzi to hug Mater.

"How are you doing you old rust bucket?" asks the current reigning king of speed

"Ahahaha! I'm doin' just fine. I brought some of ma friends, this here is Cruz'' he laughed, gesturing towards Cruz, "and here's y/n". Lightning's gaze lingers on you just a moment too long as he shakes your hand. You feel your heart begin to pump harder than it ever has before.

"Well if you guys are staying in town this weekend you should come to the afterparty. You're all old enough to drink right?" inquired Lightning.

You froze for a moment. You knew Mater was old enough to drink, as he'd been held back in school a few years, but you and Cruz were only 18.

"Course they are, ain't ya?" Mater replied, turning to us with the subtlest of winks. Cruz nodded with a grin and elbowed you in the ribs to tell you to do the same.

McQueen's team begin ushering him away to prepare for the race, and the reporters are gathering around, so the three of you make your way into the stands to watch.

At the moment the gun is fired and the cars take off you find there is a sea of adrenaline racing through you like you've never felt before. You assume it must just be the atmosphere of the stadium, yet it feels like something more than that. As you watch you find yourself drawn to McQueen's scarlet figure. Though not in the way you have been in the past. When you watched the Piston Cup at home you watched him because you wanted him to win, but this is something else - like a cosmic force tying you to his victory.

You watch them go round lap after lap, the feeling in your gut only grows in anticipation. You begin to think back on that look he gave you before the race. What did it mean, could he possibly have felt the same way about you that you feel about him now? No. Of course not. After all, he's Lightning McQueen, only one of the most sought after racers in the world, and you are a nobody. A high school senior from North Carolina, hardly beautiful. You never wear makeup or brush your messy brown hair. And besides, you're a human and he's a racecar. So what could Lightning McQueen possibly see in you?