They couldn't stop, and another car had crashed into the one that wrecked Jackson, to add to it.

Everything went downhill, from there. It was one crash after another, and the reporters couldn't speak fast enough, before the next one.

"Jackson!"

I zoomed into the pile.

"What's she doin', Bob?" asked a terrified-sounding Darrell.

"I think she's going into the crash for Storm!" he exclaimed. "She's gonna get herself hurt, and it won't be the first time!"

"Alex, get outta there!" Dad had yelled into my communicator. I ignored him.

I managed to spot Jackson, and there was another car coming, to add to the crowd.

Zooming in, I had managed to move him away just before the next racer had pushed the crash forward, just before he had trapped the both of us.

He seemed unconscious.

"Jack?" I asked, soon as we were out of the way of the crash.

Two more cars had been coming, but they managed to stop, before hitting the cars that were already in the crash.

"Jack, can you hear me?" I asked. He gave me a nod, the smallest nod possible.

He was awake, but I couldn't whether tell he was in pain or just traumatized.

"S..."

He needed to catch his breath.

"Easy," I said. "Deep breaths, Jackson."

He breathed heavily, closing his eyes, as both of our crews surrounded us.

"S...Side." he said. I looked to his left side.

It had been completely torn up.

By this time, paramedic cars had shown up to the scene. Two of them looked to Jackson.

"Give him room, give him room." one had repeated. The car looked to me.

"That was a risky move, Alex," he said. I assumed he knew me by the media. "You could've killed yourself. Don't ever do that, again. You hear me?"

I looked down.

"You're brave, Alex," he said. "I'll give you that."

I smiled a little.

"He doesn't look too hurt," the paramedic continued. "A few dents and scratches."

"What about his side?" I asked. The paramedic looked to his sides, then back to me.

"His left side is the only one ripped up," he said. "You can get that redone; I think he's just traumatized from it. Who's his chief?"

Ray drove up, and the paramedic had explained to him what had happened. The other paramedic, a nice lady paramedic, looked to me.

"We can fix his side, easily," she explained. "He's just in shock from it. Just let him rest for a few days, and he'll be fine."

"How long does it usually take to get over a shock like this?" I asked. "I mean, for my crash, it took months, but Jackson...he's stubborn."

"Usually, there's a risk with things like this," she said. "Most of the time, trauma like what he's going through right now can usually evolve into PTSD. A lot of cars in the military usually go through things like this. Some people get it from an emotional event."

I nodded, looking to Jackson, who had been surrounded by his crew and Ray.

The poor thing looked as if he'd just had a heart attack.

I couldn't help but feel...horrible.

I had been through the same thing as him, so I knew what he would be going through.

This would stick with him, and I knew that if nothing was done quick enough, it could haunt him.

I had ignored the male paramedic's words, after that.

However, he was right about one thing:

I was brave.

I was willing to risk my life to save Jackson's.

Jackson was worth it.

---

Three Months Later:

His side had been fixed, and he looked as if he never crashed.

But, his mind wasn't in the right place.

I had continued racing, but my mind was focused on Jackson, and I could never truly concentrate.

The reporters would speak about him throughout the race, and the more they did, the worse my heart felt.

Unlike me, Jackson hadn't been rested at the barn, as I was, and as my father, and Doc. Igntr had taken him up, and he stayed in his trailer, Gale.

I hadn't seem him for so long, and he seemed to stay longer than I had, when I crashed. Driving out of my cone, one morning, I had driven over to Ramone's, where he, Sheriff, and Dad were conversing.

I waited for a pause in their conversation, as Dad looked to me.

"Hey, morning, Alex." said my dad, a gentle tone easily sensed in his voice.

I had grown quiet since Jackson's crash, and my parents seemed to go easier on me about things between us. I gave him a small smile.

"Anything you need?" he asked. I looked to the ground a minute, before looking back at him.

"Is it okay if I head down to the stadium?" I asked. "Give Jackson a visit?"

"You want me to go with you?" he asked. I shook my head, and he nodded.

"Alright," he said. "Be safe, okay?"

I nodded.

"I love you."

I didn't respond to that. I simply turned around, and headed off.

"Let Mom know where you're going." he called. I gave him another nod, and made sure to tell Mom that I was leaving.

Team Igntr had been setting up in L.A, though they weren't sure that Jackson would even race.

The trip was long, but it was worth it. I made sure to get some gas, when I got close to the stadium.

The race in L.A. was the last one of the season, and would take place at the Los Angeles International Speedway.

Upon arriving, I noticed that Jackson's trailer was open, but I didn't see anyone driving out of it.

I looked to Ray, who had been in front, seemingly trying to convince Jackson to come out, from the bits and pieces that I managed to hear over the millions of cars there, at the time.

"Ray!" I called out. He looked to me, and I directed my eyes toward Gale. He nodded, letting me through to the back of the trailer.

I didn't know what to say; I only knew to say it.

"Jackson?" I asked. Physically, he looked the same as normal.

He wasn't.

With Ray's permission, I drove inside the trailer. I heard Ray say something, and the door shut behind me. Jackson looked to me, seemingly annoyed that I came in the first place.

"Gale," he said. "Lights."

Yup, he was not feeling it, today.

Two, long, neon blue lights lit up on the ceiling, and within a few seconds, a nice white light lit up in the middle of the two.

"Thank you." I said.

For a few minutes, there was an utterly dead silence, as well as awkward staring around at the trailer.

It was as if we'd forgotten how to speak to each other, and it saddened me.

I looked to Jackson, who seemed to be trying to avoid making eye contact.

"So, that's it?" I asked.

"What's it?" he asked.

"You're not even coming out of your trailer, Jackson." I said.

"What about it?" he asked.

"What about it?" I asked. "Jackson, how long have you even been in here?"

He was quiet.

"So, you're just giving up?" I asked.

"Yeah, I am," he answered. "Alex, I hurt over twenty racers-"

"It wasn't your fault," I argued. "He was going too fast; he didn't realize-"

"Alex, how do you go too fast on a racetrack?" he interrupted.

"Ask him, because he did it," I retorted. "Jackson, nothing that happened on that track was your fault. You can't give up, because of something someone else did."

"Watch me," he said. "Because, no one else did anything."

"Jackson, are you really that stubborn that you would rather give up everything over one crash?" I asked.

"I'm not being stubborn, Alex," he argued. "If I go out there, all I'm gonna get is dirty looks and smart remarks-"

"What does it matter?" I interrupted. "Why do you care so much what others think-"

"Because, you cared what I thought at one point." he cut off, and I was quiet for a moment.

I influenced him?

"They know you didn't intend to do anything." I said.

He was quiet.

So was I.

"Jackson, what's this really about?" I asked. "You're making a big deal out of something that wasn't your fault. You know it isn't."

Jackson was silent.

"It doesn't matter." he answered.

"Jackson-"

"It doesn't. Matter." he interrupted.

"Jackson-"

"What?" he asked, and I noticed the tone in his voice had raised. I was quiet.

"What?" he asked again, and I could practically see the fumes coming from his eyes.

"Never mind." I said, beginning to back out.

"What?! What were you gonna say?!" he asked, his tone growing frighteningly loud.

"Never mind," I answered. "Come back to me when you've calmed down."

"Alex!" he yelled. I ignored him, backing out of the trailer, after the door opened.

He'd grown mad enough, and he needed to calm down. I decided I would wait for him to let off some steam, before I tried to talk to him, again.

"Alex!" he screamed. I kept driving, holding back tears. Ray caught up with me.

"Thank you for trying, Alex," he said. "He'll calm down...he just needs some time."

I nodded.

"You alright?" he asked. I shook my head. He gave me a gentle hug.

"I'm sorry." he said. I nodded, hugging back. He let me go, and I went to set up my pit for the race.

I cried, while getting things ready in there, and every now and then, I'd turn to watch Team Igntr try to pry Jackson out of that trailer.

I was one-hundred percent sure that I had made things worse for them, but if Jackson was going to scream in my face, doubt what I was trying to tell him, and interrupt me, I wasn't going to spend my day babysitting the guy.

However, my heart was still broken for him. He just wasn't used to having been through something like that.

I was lucky that I had been unconscious, instead of in shock.

After a few hours of getting things set up, I got a call from my dad. I let him know that I was in my pit setting up, and that things hadn't gone so well with Jackson.

"Are they still trying to get him out of there?" he asked. I turned, watching the team. Jackson still hadn't come out.

"Yeah, yeah they are," I answered. "I don't think they're having any luck. I tried talking to him."

"How'd it go?" he asked.

"Trying to talk him out of that trailer is like trying to fit a tire inside a lug-nut," I said. "Pointless, and frustrating."

I heard Dad chuckle through my communicator.

"Come on, you can figure something out," he said. "You're Alex McQueen! You can handle anything. Remember that." he said.

That's when the light bulb clicked in my head.

"Dad, you just figured it out," I responded, a little enthusiastic. "I'll call you back! I love you!"

"Wait, Alex, what-"

Click.

---

I smiled, making sure I had my plan under control, and I took a deep breath. Doing this would mean I would risk losing Jackson, but I had to take a chance.

If not, he would be stuck in that trailer until he was nothing but a rusty heap of nuts and bolts. Zooming over, I pulled Ray over, and explained to him what I planned to do.

"You sure about that?" he asked. "There's a lot of trial-and-error with that."

"I know," I said. "But, I think it's the only thing that's gonna pry him outta there." I continued, referring to Jackson's trailer. Ray nodded.

"Alright," he said. "Go ahead."

I smiled, and he drove behind me. We drove to the front, pretending that Jackson wasn't even there.

I turned to face him, when we were in front of the trailer's back door.

"So, do you have the money?" I asked. "I did your dirty work and kept the relationship. Are we done?"

"What are you doing?" Jackson asked, seemingly worried. I pretended he wasn't there.

"It's in a case at home," said Ray. "I'll get it to you before the race, tomorrow."

I nodded.

"Guys, if this is-"

"And, what if he finds out about-"

I couldn't think of a name. Luckily, Ray backed me up.

"That corvette?" he asked. "He won't know a thing, alright?"

"What corvette?" Jackson asked. "Alex, what are you talking about?"

"Good," I said. "Just get the allowance to me, and I'll be good to go."

"Wait, was this a setup?" Jackson asked, and from the corner of my eye, I could tell he was driving forward, as if ready to drive out of the trailer.

It was working.

"You know, you're just like this girl I remember," Ray asked. "What was her name? Wasn't it-"

For the sake of Jackson, I'm not revealing the name of the girl he told me about.

"Guys, I'm right here!" he yelled. "What are you doing, Alex?!"

It was like he was never there, and I could tell that he was slowly drawing out of the trailer.

"Can you believe that he told me I would start acting like her, if he told me about her?" I asked. "So immature! I actually had a nice talk with that girl!"

"Alex!" he yelled.

I kept going on, rambling about stuff that obviously didn't happen.

"Enough!" he screamed, driving all the way out of the trailer, and getting in my face.

I looked to Ray, who seemed worried, and gave him an assuring wink.

"How dare you talk about-"

He said the girl's name.

"Look, I don't know what you're trying to do, but it's not working! Why don't you just leave, and let me-"

He cut himself off, and I smiled. From his expression, it was obvious that he realized what we were trying to do. He looked to me, and I smirked.

He cleared his throat, looking to the ground.

There were a few moments of awkward silence, before he spoke up.

"Okay..." he said, drifting off. "...Maybe, that worked. So, what? It's not like you have some kind of racing superpower or-"

"Jackson." I interrupted. He looked up at me, and I could tell he was embarrassed. I gave him a soft peck to his headlight.

"I'm sorry that I forced you over your limit," I said. "But, it was the only way to get you out of there."

He was silent, and I frowned a little.

"Don't ever let us do that to you again," I continued. "I hated having to pry you out of that trailer, like that."

He nodded, and I kissed him again, while a small round of cheering rose out of the team, most likely, because we were able to get him out of the trailer.

I swore from that day on that I would never do anything like that to him, again.