*Personal Affairs* <A Cars Fan Fic>

Fandom Fan Fiction
#1

Hi everyone :laughing: This is my first ever fan fic! It’s basically going to be a short story mainly from Sally’s point of view. Hopefully it will provide a little insight about her back story and explain why she left L.A. This story takes place after the epilogue of the first film and does not have any connection to the second film. Sally and Lightning are now dating and living at the Cozy Cone still. The chapters are probably going to be pretty short but I will try and post often and not keep you waiting (if people like it of course). Please feel free to leave me comments and feedback. I’m not even out of highschool so forgive any spelling/grammer issues. Whenever you see this (*) it means there will be an Author’s Note at the end about it. Caution I’m going to give this story a PG 13 rating just in case because it may include: coarse language, violence and scenes of sexuality. :open_mouth: Read at your own discretion :stuck_out_tongue: ANYWAYS, here it is…enjoy!

[size=200]PERSONAL AFFAIRS[/size]

CHAPTER ONE

So this was “it”. Screaming fans, blasting music and the smell of tainted fuel*. This was the atmosphere that made McQueen’s engine run. Sally was still in shock from it all. Everywhere she looked she saw his face; bobble heads, bumper stickers, and even temporary tattoos. All featuring a depiction of her boyfriend. It awed her to step into this world of fame that McQueen had been living nearly his entire life. No wonder Radiator Springs shook him up, she thought. Sally was still feeling a bit uneasy about being at the race. The constant fear that someone from L.A. she used to know would recognize her was at the tip of her exhaust pipe. McQueen and the rest of the pack zoomed by and she remembered why she was here. She knew it meant the world to McQueen and that thought alone settled her heart.

Sally turned her attention back to the race and watched as Chick Hicks surged ahead. It was nearly the end of the race season and Chick’s new racing style hadn’t ceased to amaze her. Nearly every race he managed to get himself near the front, including several first place finishes. Nobody knew what it was. A new trainer? Modifications? He was still the same cocky jerk as before but he suddenly had effortless wins. He hadn’t even pulled one dirty move. This made Sally’s oil boil. It didn’t seem right. Time after time, he beat McQueen out. If anyone deserved to win it was McQueen, but Sally had a gut feeling that Chick would be this year’s winner. The race continued and she watched in misery as Chick crossed the checked flag before McQueen. He was going to be so upset…

* (In paragraph one) Tainted fuel is meant to be the equivalent of an alcoholic beverage

I know it's really short to start with and the first chapter isn't that exciting but it's meant to set up the story and get you aquainted with it. It's just an introduction. I promise it gets better. Please let me know what you think!!!  :smiley:
#2

Chapter 2 should be posted tommorow…I see there are a few views. Any opinions so far?

#3

I’ll let you know once i get into it.

#4

MOREEEEEE! :smiley:

Chick seems like he has another trick up his fenders that doesn’t require any cheating. Maybe he actually trained the right way now? :stuck_out_tongue:

#5

@somethingguy I totally understand
@jessie Oh you think so huh? :wink:
Well here is the next chapter!!!

CHAPTER TWO

“Ugh!” McQueen scowled. They were back in Radiator Springs and Sally couldn’t have been more right. McQueen was frustrated with himself and Chick again, this time more than usual. It was nearing the end of the season which was probably adding onto his stress she figured.

“Lightning,” she said firmly, “you can’t keep beating yourself up over this!”
“But what am I doing wrong? It isn’t supposed to be this way! Chick can’t win this time around!” he shouted.
“If you’re giving it your all then there is nothing you can do about it. There will always be someone bigger and faster than you,” she tried to reason.
“Sally! You’re really supporting me I see!”
“I’m just trying to help! You can’t keep acting this way. Chick won that race fair and square.”
“He’s finished before me every single race this season! How can you expect me not to be mad? It’s not about winning Sally. I assumed you of all people would understand that. It’s about Chick, I want him out of my life! You…you just don’t understand.”
“Look, all I’m saying is-”
“NO! I don’t need to listen to this!” And with that McQueen zoomed angrily out of the motel lobby.

Sally sighed. She personally couldn’t wait for the season to end so she wouldn’t have to deal with this anymore. Time after time, the same old fight. Sometimes she even wished that he would quit racing. She cringed at the thought of that last race which was quickly approaching, she could only imagine his response if Chick won. Yet she still felt a pull in her heart. Perhaps she was being too hard on him? Maybe she wasn’t involved with his career enough? Did she really know how he was feeling? And that’s when the guilt poured in. I should go apologize… she thought. Then she decided it was probably a good idea to let him cool down first.

She looked down at her desk and began sorting her paperwork. That’s when she heard it. The most recognizable engine she had ever known. She heard it coming closer and the sound struck her. She knew it, knew it so well, like the tread on her own tires. At the same time though, she couldn’t put a name to the engine. Not until he rolled into the lobby did she realize who it was. She slowly lifted her eyes from desk meeting his eyes at the same moment. He was a flaming orange Lamborghini. For a second her heart stopped.

“Justin…” she breathed. Looking into his eyes was like watching the first twenty years of her life flash by.
“Sally?” he asked. Hearing him say her name again sent her reeling into a memory…the fateful night she left Los Angeles.

Well there you have it! Who might that mystery man be?  :laughing:  Next chapter you shall find out! Thankfully this chapter was longer than the last so I hope it was a little more appealing. Let me know!!!
#6

I sense a fight coming on between Lightning and Justin. :wink:

#7

Jessie! Don’t spoil the story! LOL. But no actually, I wouldn’t make it THAT predictable…or would I? JK. I need to close my mouth before I start giving stuff away. You will just have to wait and see!

#8

Interesting fanfic, MissCarrera! If I may offer a few comments:

For a high-schooler, this is a pretty good effort! I’m impressed with your vocabulary, grammar, and your ‘narrative flow’.

Most authors don’t have ‘author notes’. They either explain the world phenomena to their readers then-and-there, or they trust that the reader is smart enough to figure it out for themselves. Tainted fuel on its own is fine enough, but if you’re concerned the reader might misinterpret it for something else, you can add more descriptions to clarify things. Perhaps “empty cans of tainted fuel” or “broken bottles of tainted fuel”. Or simply use come up with an alternative name, like gaso-hol or an imaginary brand like ‘Motor Lite’, and the reader will get the picture.

When a character stresses or places emphasis on a word, common convention is to italicize the word instead of underlining it.

I would love to hear more descriptions of Justin. Assume the reader doesn’t know how a Lamborghini looks like. “He was a flaming orange Lamborghini, his wide base barely fitting through the doorway and his low-hanging fiberglass bumper scraping the threshold as he rolled into the small office. He had green eyes, and a spectacular grin, et cetera et cetera”

If we are to identify with the character, we must be able to imagine and ‘see’ him/her in our mind. That way, we feel ‘closer’, as opposed to having a vague idea of how the character looks and acts like.

Otherwise, great beginning. Many Cars fanfics start off with a mysterious character rolling into town, but I’m sure yours will certainly be distinct enough! Keep on truckin’! :slight_smile:

#9

I love you…now that you’ve added a Lambo to the story!

#10

Hahahaha! Oh yeah baby :wink: It was either gonna be that or a Ferrari but I went with the Lambo. Gotta love 'em!

#11

If it was a Ferrari, Luigi would be a huge character. :stuck_out_tongue:

#12

So true! Hahahaha.
Well, time for the next chapter! Yay! Hopefully it’s been anticipated. This one is gonna have a lot of flashback sort of stuff so I will try my best to keep it from getting confusing. Enjoy!

CHAPTER THREE

Sally and Justin had grown up as neighbours in the L.A. suburbs. Sally’s father was a renowned modifications specialist. His clients came from all over the country; females wanting bigger bumpers, males requesting better engines. While Justin’s father worked as a doctor for celebrities with a Ph. D from Harvard. Both their mother’s were content to stay home with their children, living happily off their husband’s incomes. It was nothing out of the ordinary when Justin’s mother invited Sally over for a play-date. It merely sparked the beginning of their friendship. Their parents were thrilled. Sally was the smartest girl on the block and Justin was the most well-behaved, good looking guy on the street. To their parents, a future of them together was practically cemented in their minds. Sally and Justin however, were oblivious to the thought. They became best friends, completely inseparable. Both of them had friends besides one another but at the end of the day the others didn’t really matter.

Time went on and things began to change. By high school people began to treat them differently. Suddenly, being friends with the opposite gender meant dating. Sally had never considered dating Justin, but he convinced her they should. He said nothing would be any different, except they could be a little more “touchy”. At first it felt strange but she became accustomed to it all. The feeling of him pressed to her side at the movies, the smell of his exhaust, the taste of his breathe, everything.

After high school they both left to law school. Naturally, they began living together. They already spent nearly every moment together so it was an easy transition. Justin had been with her through everything. He was the one holding her tire while she got her pinstripe tattoo. A memory she would never forget. He was her first kiss. Another thing she could never forget.

It was a Sunday night and Sally was at home watching TV. Her and Justin had finally graduated and they were already up to their roofs in work. It was nice to finally relax. The TV picture started getting extremely fuzzy, something it had been doing lately. She became frustrated and began pressing multiple buttons on the remote. I’ll have to get Justin… she thought with annoyance. “Justin!” she called out. He didn’t answer. Sally drove out of the living room to his office. “Justin?” No answer again. She searched around and figured he must have been in the garage. She headed down the ramp and looked around. He wasn’t there either. She was just rounding the corner to go back upstairs when she knocked a set of old shelves. Tools and other various objects fell to the floor. She carefully reversed…and that’s when she saw it. An engagement rim. Sally gasped and stared in shock. Light glistened off it as it rested against the wall peaking out from behind the shelf.

She couldn’t believe it…Justin was planning on asking her to marry him. A million feelings washed over her in a rush. It was that rim, that simple yet meaningful object that made her realize everything her life had became. It was perfect; she had everything a car could ever dream of. Her father gave her anything she wanted and Justin…was in love with her. Love. It was such a strong word. She had never noticed how much it got thrown around. Her parents had taught her many things: how to get a good job, how to do well in school, how to cross an intersection, but never love. She glanced around the room in panic. What happened? What was she living for? When was the last time she really smiled? It was when her clients had won their case. But why had she smiled? Because she genuinely cared for them? No, it was because she knew that meant she had a big fat pay check coming.

She didn’t want to live this way. She already was, she already had…but not anymore. In that moment, alone in the garage with the engagement rim in front of her she made a decision. A decision to drive away from it all…

Phew! That turned out a lot longer then I thought it would! I was going to add some more but I think I will just save it for the next chapter. So this is what I created as a theory for why Sally left, but I know there could be plenty of reasons. Hope you liked it and comments are much appreciated! Thanks !
#13

Great chapter! I love the fact how they start as childhood friends, then become best buds, then a de facto couple (that means two adults who are unrelated and in love and live together under the same roof, but are not married!).

And Justin’s engagement tire ring is beautiful. I saw something like that in the Cars comics (but it was Lightning giving Sally a relationship anniversary ring). I wonder, though, whether he meant to give that to Sally or to another woman? :wink:

I’m a bit confused how Sally’s thoughts wandered from Justin’s love for her to her sudden epiphany that she hadn’t been doing anything worthwhile in her life. I mean, the ‘flow of thoughts’ felt weird, one moment she was thinking of Justin and the next, she equated romantic love to love in general and then experiences her epiphany.

It would perhaps be more natural, if, say, she lost a client’s case, and this was a very important case. And her law firm fired her, or the founding partner scolded her in front of her colleagues for losing the case or something dramatic.

The discovery of Justin’s ring is a joyous occassion, so I found it strange that she should suddenly feel a compulsion to run away instead of staying to wait for Justin’s proposal. :question:

#14

Yeah, I understand if you are confused. It was difficult to write, I wanted to get all those points into the story. I get what your saying, it was kinda jumpy so I will explain a bit. So, when she saw the ring she was shocked. She had never truly considered him as a lifelong partner (in a romantic way). She had spent most of her life with him so she didn’t really date other guys or experience love. When she saw the ring it set off her mind to start imagining her future. She began to think about her life so far and realized all those feelings etc. Basically, the ring set off her epiphany because for once she stopped and thought about her future, which caused her to think about what she really wanted in her life. Does that clear some things up? As long as you get the general idea you should be fine when the next chapter comes!
EDIT: And the reason she didn’t wait for him to propose was because she knew she never had/never would love him that way.

#15

Sooooortaaa makes sense. :slight_smile:

Aww… that’s so sad! :frowning: Maybe this can be your dramatic angle for Justin when he stays in R.S. He thinks she loves him, but it’s unrequited.

#16

I know, even I feel bad for Justin, and I created him! He definetely has not forgotten about it as you will see in the next chapter. I have already hand written it and I can’t wait to post it. The conversation that goes on between them is pretty intense! I must apologize for my earlier claim that I would post often, I kinda broke that promise. It takes a lot more time then I thought it would actually. Chapter 4 should be out on Thursday of this week and I’m pretty sure it is longer than the last. The chapters keep getting longer it seems, hopefully that’s a good thing though! :stuck_out_tongue:

#17

Here it is! Happy reading!

CHAPTER FOUR

Neither of them spoke, the room was completely silent. Sally slowly let her eyes wander over his body while he did the same to her. It had been so long but besides his paint job, nothing had changed.

His body wasn’t sleek and smooth like hers. It was more wide and angular, as if each curve was manufactured to perfection. His paint job attracted eyes while his large, powerful body commanded attention. He was the kind of guy you would pay the money out of your trunk to get to know. Females would give their two left tires just to see his smile. Even after all this time she had to admit he had the looks going for him.

She looked back to his emerald green eyes. They were full of heartache yet had a glint of happiness too. Sally refused to break the silence. He was here on her territory. She’d left him, but he was still chasing her it seemed.

“I see that the beauty of some roses never fades,” he spoke at last.
He always had a way with words, she thought. However, she wasn’t buying it. She had come to prefer McQueen’s romantic lines. The ones she knew he spent days planning, only to mess it up when the moment came. It was so much more…meaningful.
“Well, roses have thorns you know,” she shot back.
Justin smiled, “Believe me, I know.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked impatiently.
“Just here on business,” he replied.
“Oh really? Please elaborate, Justin,” she said his name differently now.
His lips tightened, “It’s confidential.”
“Ha ha! Come on, I know everything about you. What could it hurt?” Sally grinned mischievously.
“No Sally. You don’t know me anymore,” anger lingered in his voice.
Sally’s grin dropped, “Then I guess it’s a two way street.” The bitterness of her voice mixed into the tense air between them.

“Are you seeing anyone?” he finally asked pointedly.
“The love of my life,” she said calmly.
“Oh Sal baby! Of course you are when he’s parked right in front of you! Don’t flatter me!” he winked.
She’d had enough of his antics. This type of thing used to delight her, now it just made her furious.
“Shut the hell up!”
Justin raised his windshield, “I’m sorry, does it bother you to talk about him? Are things difficult between you two?”
“Nothing is wrong, and it’s none of your business!” she exclaimed.
“What’s his name?”
Sally was about to scream at him but stopped. She narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice, “It’s confidential,” she said sickeningly sweet.
Justin was fuming, “We need to talk.”
“No, we don’t need to talk. I think you just want to talk,” she said.
“Why did you leave Sally?” he asked.
“I’m not having this conversation now, or ever.”
“Well, if you can’t tell me then why don’t you at least explain it to your parents?”
"They’ll never understand,” she said.

“Never understand? They don’t care, they just want to know! You’re a daddy’s girls and I know it. Well guess what? Your dad is devastated! You were the most precious thing in his life! Your mother won’t even talk about it she’s so heartbroken! What did they do wrong? They deserve to know! For the love of Chrysler Sally! You’re their daughter, they don’t care what happened, they just want to see you again! They will love you no matter what. Clean your mirrors off, open your eyes and take a look at what you’ve done.”
Sally’s eyes dropped to the floor and she was speechless.
“And what about me?” his voice was breaking, “Your best friend? Together forever, through thick and thin, good and bad. Do you just forget? Everything we ever had? You don’t have to love me but we could still make it work. Or at least try. If only you could put our relationship aside and remember what our friendship is worth.”
Sally opened her mouth for words that didn’t come. Her vision blurred but she could still make out the movement of Justin leaving the lobby.

Sorry for any mistakes, it was kind of rushed. I really hope you guys liked it!  :wink:
#18

Wow. :open_mouth: I’m stunned. After the pretty ‘okay’ first two chapters, this really knocks the ball out of the park! :smiley:

I can sense the tension, the unspoken words, the undone deeds here between the two.

You described Justin here in much better detail. Was this your intention, to leave that for the next chapter, or did you take my advice? Either way, I love it, because it allows the reader to participate and imagine what a ‘commanding presence’ would be rather than just listing it out for them (he has a hood five feet wide, orange-blue eyes, etc.). I like the car metaphors you employed, very creative.

Also, the description of the actions and body languages really reveal the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters, and I love that sorta thing. Again, it’s much better than “he said angrily” or “he had a very happy face”. Describing what the ‘camera’ sees and allowing the reader to interpret the expression on their own gives the reader the power to immerse themselves and bring their own experiences to the table. ‘Show, don’t tell’, as the famous maxim goes.

I also really love how the story is developing so far. When Sally left, it wasn’t just Justin that was affected, but her family too. That’s something which could have been explored in the movie, but because of the limits of the script and time constraints, it’s left to the interpretation of fans like you to imagine.

And the last sentence of “her vision blurring” speaks volumes about her conflicted feelings about her decision, and possible remorse and is a much more poetic way of describing “she cried”.

Love it, love it, love it! Please continue! :mrgreen:

#19

Oh my gosh. Thank you SO much. I am literally thrilled with your comment, that just made my day. First I want to thank you for reviewing each of my chapters, I really appreciate it. And yes, I added the description of Justin based on your advice! What more can I say but thank you? To be honest, I’ve been hoping to please you since you are my top reader, I think. I will get started on the next chapter ASAP! :smiley:

#20

I always thought Ford was the God of Automobiles.