Codename: Snow Queen

Chapter Three

Liberty and Ashley went into the first turn side by side, with Ashley on the outside. She let Liberty take the position, settling in to second place. They ran this way for several laps, then Ashley decided to trick Liberty into thinking that she was going to enter the carousel on the outside. She turned to the inside of Liberty and made the pass for the lead, and started to pull away from her. Liberty adjusted her glasses on the front straight, and began to give chase, quickly getting to Ashley's rear bumper. When she looked to the outside, Ashley moved up to block her, and vice versa. When Liberty tried to pull the same move that Ashley used earlier to make the pass for the lead, she blocked her again. They continued to race hard for several laps, and they continued to pull away from the rest of the field. Coming to fifteen laps to go, both of them decided to make their final trip down pit road, just as the caution came out again for a multi-car crash in turn twelve, also called Canada Corner. Because both Ashley and Liberty had made it onto pit road before the caution, they elected to do their pit stops, meaning that they would cycle back to the front of the field for the restart, as all of the other drivers still had to pit one more time.

Coming to the restart with nine laps to go, Ashley was still leading, and she took off late in the restart zone, catching everyone else off guard. Liberty fell back to fifth place before turn five, where she hit the brakes late and blew past the three cars ahead of her. She began to chase Ashley again, but this time, it took her longer to reach Ashley's rear bumper. Coming to two laps to go, she gave Ashley a bump, making her car slide wide, allowing her to pass her for the lead. On the final lap of the race, Ashley was still right behind Liberty, putting plenty of pressure on her. She gave Liberty a bump, similar to what Liberty had done to her the lap before, but Liberty's car didn't slide wide. Coming into the final corner, Liberty hit the brakes, and her rear tires started bouncing up and down, so she lifted off the brake. Her car had gone wide in the corner, allowing Ashley to slip by and take the race win. Both of them removed their headsets, and Liberty waited for Ashley to complete her burnout before congratulating her on winning the race. "Thank you, Libby. You do realize what this means though, don't you?" Ashley asked her. "What do you mean?" Liberty asked. "The bet we made at the start of the race. You know, whoever finished worse in the race has to tell the other how they feel about them," Ashley explained. "Oh... Can we do that at the hotel? It's a bit crowded in here, and it's something that I'd rather do in private," Liberty replied. "Yeah, 'course we can. I would've said the same thing, Libby," Ashley replied. Before they got very far, however, Liberty's fans closed in around the pair, blocking the exit. They were shouting that Ashley must have cheated, to be able to dominate the race like she had. Liberty tried to tell them that it was a fair race, but her fans weren't giving her a chance to speak.

"Alright, everybody out of the way! Let the ladies through!" Bobby James, Liberty's spotter and best friend, said loudly over the fans. His nephew Jacob was perched on his shoulder, and he was trying his best to help his uncle out. Eventually, the crowd parted so they could leave the track. "Thanks Bobby. I didn't think we'd ever get out of there. I don't understand why they're so upset that Ashley won the race instead of me," Liberty said once they were on their way to the hotel. "Beats me. I'm just glad you two got out of there alright," Bobby said with a shrug. Ashley simply sat next to Liberty, not talking at all. She hadn't said a word since Liberty's fans had surrounded them, and Liberty was worried about her. "Is something up with your friend there?" Bobby asked. "I don't know. She hasn't said a word since my fans surrounded the two of us. I'm worried about her," Liberty said.

Back at the hotel, Ashley immediately went to take a shower, while Liberty and Bobby had some dinner. Right when Liberty was done eating, she heard sobbing coming from the bathroom. "I'll be right back. I'm just gonna go check on Ashley," she said to Bobby, who nodded. Liberty walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "J-Just a second," she heard Ashley say from the other side of the door. A few minutes later, Ashley opened the door and stepped aside so Liberty could join her.

"I heard you sobbing a little bit ago. Are you okay?" Liberty asked carefully. "I guess..." Ashley replied with a hiccup. "Please, don't lie to me. You can trust me," Liberty said softly. "Okay... I'm not alright. See, what happened earlier, it's not unusual for me... I've never been given the kind of attention you have. When I finish well in a race, people accuse me of cheating, saying that there's no way a pretty snow leopardess like me could possibly be so good at driving a race car... it never ends..." Ashley said. "Hey, that's no way to talk about yourself," Liberty said. "It's true, though, Liberty! If it ever got out that I'm a lesbian... I don't even want to think about what kind of repercussions it would have on my career," Ashley said. "Ashley, you're a big fan of mine, right?" Liberty asked. "Yeah," Ashley said. "And what is the number one thing that I always tell my fans?" Liberty asked. "'Don't be ashamed of who you are. Only you can be you, and nobody can tell you otherwise,'" Ashley replied. "Exactly. Just be yourself, no matter what people say about you," Liberty said. "I have a confession to make..." Ashley said. "Okay, go ahead," Liberty replied. "Ever since I first raced against you, I've had a crush on you..." Ashley said, avoiding Liberty's eyes. "Ashley..." she said, her cheeks growing warm. "Go ahead, say it. You won't see me as anything more than a friend," Ashley said. Liberty opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again. She leaned closer to Ashley, then softly kissed her cheek, making Ashley look at her. "Ashley, since I met you in person last night, I've been madly in love with you," Liberty said, and Ashley's jaw dropped. "Close your mouth, hon. You'll end up swallowing a bunch of bugs," she said, and Ashley closed her mouth. "There you go. So, how about you and me go out and get some coffee in the morning on the way to the airport?" Liberty asked. "I'd like that, Liberty," Ashley replied, smiling slightly. "Okay. I'll see you in a few?" Liberty asked. "Yep. See you in a few," Ashley replied casually, and Liberty left the room. Ashley joined Liberty a short time later, sitting next to her in the bed, and they watched some TV before they went to bed, with Ashley holding Liberty's hand.