"What's the cover story?" I asked as I was led me inside. I had met Cruz Ramirez -- Dad's new trainer -- while practicing on the track; she seemed to notice that same spark in me that Dad had always shown off, and she seemed to secretly figure me out. Since then, we had made a deal that she would keep my secret and help me train to beat Storm in the Florida 500, the first race of the new season.

"We made a deal to sponsor you in the races for one month to help you get a head-start; in reality, after that month is over, I'll be helping you in secret to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"And, what about Dad?" I reminded, "What if he finds out?"

"He won't."

"How so?"

During this time, I was being stood on a platform; my question was answered as soon as she started attaching new parts to me; I was given the same rear spoiler that my dad was, but my design was different than his. I was given a new, shiny yellow paint, red flame decals decorating my sides. I also had the number "22" painted on my roof panel in red. I was able to keep the headlights but red lightning bolt stickers were placed on the sides of each: one on the left side of my right headlight, the other on the right side of my left headlight.

Once Cruz was done with the redesign, she let me have a look in the mirror, and I was in complete awe. I looked nothing like I had, just a day ago.

"Wow; I look..."

"...Like an actual racer?" she finished with a smile on her face, "You are one now, so I agree."

I smiled.

"You think I'm ready?"

"You've got the looks," she said, "but you also need the speed if you're going to beat Jackson in that tie-breaker; follow me."

I did as told; she led me to a room full of technologically advanced equipment, also known as: the stuff Dad doesn't let me mess with in stores because he knows how many thousands of dollars it costs and he's 100% right when he says I would break it in the first few seconds of touching it.

"Don't get any bright ideas, Hotshot," she warned, "We're only here because you need an increase in horsepower if you're gonna go against any of these new racers; not only that, but we need to increase your 0-60 mph. You're only racing at 198 miles. Jackson can max out as high as 214."

"So, how was I able to catch up to him so quickly?"

"Well, there are two options; either a miracle, or he let you."

"Why would he just let me catch up to him like that? Isn't that cheating or something?"

"Honestly, no one knows," she explained, "I personally think he's messing with you."

"Whatever the reason, I don't like him."

"Why did you let him in on your big secret then, Rookie?"

"I didn't," I corrected, "He found out on his own; how is that my fault?"

"Put a pin in it for one second, Alex," she instructed, "Before I increase your HP, you need a new engine."

"Are you saying we have to go all the way back to the Build Center?"

"Sorry, kid," she answered, "but you wanted to be a racer; sometimes, even racers have to do things they don't like in order to get the best outcomes."

I sighed and let her lead me back to put a new engine in; she explained that it was a V-8 engine, the same one as Jackson.

We then made our way back to the room.

"Alrighty," she spoke, "Back on the platform please, Ms. Swift."

I did as told; Cruz typed some stuff into a computer and an AU spoke, letting her and I both know what was going on.

"Now, you have to be careful adjusting to the new equipment that we've placed in you," Cruz explained, "Don't go too crazy, yet; the last thing we need is for you to go through the same crash. We'll have you stay on this platform for exactly ten minutes to let you adjust and see how you feel."

Cruz typed something else in and the computer attached these metal things to the bottoms of my tires, to help me stay on the platform. A screen powered on in front of me and a virtual race booted up. I spent the next ten minutes practicing on the screen as the computer guided me, and helped give off some tips for the race. I have to say, it was pretty fun, but it would never be anything like the actual track.

Cruz came and picked me up after the ten minutes had passed.

"We've gotta go, Alex," she said, "Come on."

"What is it?"

She turned to me, and smiled.

"You get to have your first Meet-N-Greet." she informed, "I'm so excited for this!"

That got me excited, too.

"Really? With who?" I asked. Cruz didn't turn back, but said the guest's name as she drove ahead.

"Mr. Lightning McQueen."

---

The whole trip, I had a bad feeling; what if Dad figured me out? Sure, it was great that he was coming back and that Cruz was helping him, but I was doing this to:

1. Get back at Jackson, and

2. Give Dad himself a little motivation to get back on the tracks.

If he found me out now, there would be no point in any of this.

"Alright, Alex," said Cruz, "We're here."

Cruz had led us to the beach instead of the stadium as a change of plan. When Dad saw her and me, he smiled.

Much as I missed that smile, I didn't want to see it just yet.

"You must be Storm." he said.

"Jackson Storm, or Storm Swift? You have the "Storm" part right, but one of those names isn't a good one in my book."

Dad chuckled, and I gave him a smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. McQueen," I greeted.

Man was it weird calling him that.

"I'm a big fan."

"Thank you, I appreciate it; I see you're joining our team."

"Heh, yeah," I responded, "Cruz hooked me up for a month with the racing center and then I'll be on my own."

"Well, I look forward to racing you."

I nodded, and he looked to Cruz.

"We should get going," she explained, "You'll need all the training you can get if you're gonna be returning to the big leagues."

"I still don't think--"

My dad was cut off by the yellow-clad trainer.

"--I know what you think," she interrupted, "but you need my help, Mr. McQueen!"

"This is my last chance, Cruz, last, final, finito," he reminded, "If I lose, I never get to do this again!"

The both of us were silent. Cruz smiled and I followed up behind him.

"Mr. McQueen, you're forgetting: it's not about winning, remember? The reward is being able to race, not the stuff that comes with it."

The silence turned around and this time, Dad was quiet.

"...Alright." he agreed, after the silence had ended.

"Let's get this over with."

---

We had been training for the longest and I gotta admit, it was pretty fun to see my dad being trained by Cruz. At one point, she tried to race him, but fell inside the sand; Dad froze and turned to her. She looked back surprised.

"The beach ate me."

I burst out laughing and decided to let them train as I headed back to the stadium. I told Cruz I'd be going there to catch up with Jackson, who we code-named "StormCup" in case Dad was around when we talked about him.

The last thing he needed was to be heartbroken again; he had his motivation back. Now, he needed his training. I had been on the track doing some practice runs when I heard a voice behind me, soon as I returned to the starting line to go another round.

"You're a skilled roleplayer."

Jackson.

"You're good at sneaking up on people," I retorted, "I bet you throw really great surprise parties."

Jackson smiled and I gave a fake gasp.

"Are those teeth?" I asked, "You've never smiled that big, before."

"Well," he said, "When you're entertained by the right person, you give a grin once in a while."

I half smiled. Why was I so calm with him, all of a sudden? When did this start to happen?

"Just came for small talk. I have to leave, anyways," he informed, "I got a lot of paparazzi waiting for me; of course, you country bumpkins probably have no idea what that's like."

I rolled my eyes as he turned to leave, but for some reason in that moment, I couldn't help but want him to stay and talk more. Why did I want to talk with him? He almost killed my dad.

If anything, I should have hated him, yet I didn't.

"Hey."

He turned back around. Looking at him, I almost forgot what I wanted to say. His eyes were hard-looking, icy, and they seemed to freeze me in place.

"You, uh...you mind staying here? Just to help me out?"

"Why would I do that again?"

"Well, we do have a deal; I quote-unquote "date" you so you get the publicity you want, and you keep my secret; if we're gonna have this fake relationship, we might as well just act like it, right?"

Jackson seemed to stare at me for a moment, and I didn't anticipate him agreeing.

"Alright," he spoke, after a while of deathly silence, "I can stay a while."

Why was I even doing all of this? One minute I despised him and wanted nothing more than to beat him at his own game, and the next all I wanted was to spend a few minutes with him.

I couldn't have been developing feelings for him. If anything, I hated the guy.

...Right?

"You coming?" he asked, interrupting my train of thought. I shook my head at myself before fixing my gaze on him.

"Yeah...yeah," I answered hesitantly,"...Let's go."

I drove with him to the starting line.

"Get ready to lose." he confidently warned. I smirked.

"Yeah, right."

We sped off, racing onto the track; within about ten seconds of leaving the starting line, I heard a news report from someone.

"Jackson Storm set a new record when he pulled off the fastest lap ever recorded."

I realized it was coming from a radio that had been rested somewhere along the fences that guarded the seats. Jackson had already zoomed off by this point, and probably hadn't noticed I never left.

"I thought we were going for some practice laps?"

Or maybe he had.

"What's this about you setting a new lap record?" I asked. Jackson grinned.

"Eh, just a little something I managed to pull off." he bragged.

Yup, there it was; my reminder that I was supposed to want nothing to do with him.

"Why'd you ask about it, by the way?" he asked, getting ready.

"Just something I heard on the radio."

He smirked and we headed off.

---

Just great, I thought. If he found out about me being in the leagues, he would never stop talking about it. If he found out Jackson and I were dating, he would never stop talking about that, either. It was a lose-lose situation.

Now, I really couldn't tell Dad anything; It had been a while and I had forgotten about him and Cruz. In my mind, I was panicking like crazy.

If something happened that he found out about me, and what was going on between Jackson and I, I'd be dead.

I had an idea, but I needed to make sure Jackson was a far enough distance from Dad.

"Jackson!"

He immediately stopped, turned back around, and approached.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Come on," I said, "Let's take a drive."

"A drive?" he asked.

"What?" I questioned in response, "Have you never taken a drive, before?"

Jackson was silent.

"Uh...no."

"Come on." I encouraged, giving him a smile and driving off. He followed suit as I exited the stadium.

"Alright, Storm," he piped back up, "Where we goin'?"

I thought for a minute, then responded.

"I don't know."

He pulled up next to me. I smiled, and sped up a little. He smiled and sped off. I drove after him, and was luckily able to catch up to him.

I could thank Cruz for that extra horsepower, later on.

I turned, driving wherever the wind would take me, and laughed as Jackson caught up with me; I managed to drag a small chuckle out of him.

"When did you get so fast?"

"Let's just say a little birdie-car helped me out."

"Is that birdie-car's name Cruz?"

"Wow," I retorted, "You're not as dumb as you look."

"Oh, it's on, now." he declared, and I immediately drove off laughing. We managed to make it to the old Thomasville Speedway, a few miles from the stadium.

"Man, check this out." he said.

"Yeah, I know," I agreed, "I feel kinda bad for this place."

"Hey, don't worry," he said, "Once I become rich and famous, which I already am, we can fix it up."

"We?" I repeated.

What did he mean by "we"?

"Well, I'm not doing this alone." he pointed out.

"Pretty sure the relationship is fake, Jackson." I reminded.

"..."

He fixed his gaze on the road ahead.

"...Right."

He turned around.

"...Jackson?"

He ignored me, driving off.