Star-Crossed

ch.8

A week later

"Taffyta, your gown looks great!" Vanellope beamed. Taffyta was wearing a gorgeous, light pink ball gown, speckled with cream candies and frills. She looked like a dollop of frosting. Vanellope did a few circles around her, admiring her dress. They were in Taffyta's bathroom, standing in front of her body mirrors.

"Where's your gown, Vin?" Taffyta eagerly asked as she straightened a few frills out, "The ball is in an hour, you realize."

"I know, I have it, it's upstairs in my room," Vanellope sighed with a frown, "All that hard work for nothing."

"What do you mean?" Taffyta gave her a look.

"I made the dress myself," Vanellope said with a long sigh. She sat on Taffyta's vanity bench, her knees tucked to her chest, "This ball is going to reek."

"Oh c'monnn, you only have to arrive with Rancis, and then you can hang out with me for the rest of it," Taffyta smiled mischievously.

"I just don't want Rancis to try to kiss me," Vanellope wrinkled her nose, "I'm not going to let that jerk steal my first kiss. Especially on New Years."

"I'll deck him in the face if he tries to make a move on you," Taffyta barked as she began to fix her hair. She ruffled her dress one last time before patting Vanellope's arm and smiling, "C'mon, let's go get your dress. The ball awaits! It'll be great, you'll see."

"I'm counting on it not being a disaster," Vanellope said with a frown as she quickly stood. The two stepped out of Taffyta's room and were immediately greeted by Rancis. He was dressed in a nice tux, his blonde hair slicked down a little. Vanellope smiled a weak smile and glanced at Taffyta.

"Vanellope, I've been looking all over for you," Rancis said, almost in a demanding way, "How come, you're not ready?"

"Sorry Rancis, my dress is upstairs… Can I just meet you at the dance?" Vanellope asked sweetly, hoping he'd cave.

"Well it's not very proper, but I guess that's fine. I'll see you there," Rancis smiled and waved. Both girls quickly headed to Vanellope's room to get ready.

Hour and a half later

"Do you see him anywhere?" Vanellope asked as she jumped up and down a little bit, trying to get a good look into End Of Line Game Station. Her and Taffyta walked through Sugar Rush's exit and made their way to End Of Line Station's entrance. The ball was held in Vanellope's station this year, which she thought was convenient if she ever needed to make a quick getaway from Rancis. The ball, just past Sugar Rush's exit, was packed with almost every single gamer in the arcade, even most of the bad guys had shown up. Vanellope looked all over, hoping to spot Ralph, but he was nowhere to be found. Vanellope sighed and looked down at her gown.

She had made her gown herself, a gorgeous minty green silk that tiered and flowed to the ground. It hugged her figure perfectly. She smiled at the finished product and smoothed down a small wrinkle she found before looking up at the crowd. Everyone at this event was dressed up. This was one of the largest arcade events of the year. She heaved a long sigh and continued to sift through the crowd with her eyes, hoping to spot her wrecker.

"Who?" Taffyta questioned, snapping Vanellope back to reality. She shook her head and bit her lip.

"Rancis, do you see him anywhere?" Vanellope fibbed. She rolled her eyes slightly as the line to get into the dance slowly inched forward. She immediately spotted Felix and Calhoun way up ahead of them in the station. She beamed.