Just Friends // Pierre Gasly

The Interview

They had landed in France and Pierre was already swarmed by fans. He was extremely happy to be in France and his smile only grew when he saw his parents waiting just outside the gate.

Pascale: Sweetie! I'm so happy to see you. Oh and you must be Y/n! Heard so much about you.
Y/n: Hello Mr and Mrs Gasly. It's nice to meet you both.
Jean: Please, it's Jean and Pascale no need for the titles.
Pierre: Alright mom and dad, shall we go?
Pascale: Of course!

Pierre's parents led the way as Y/n and Pierre followed close behind. Pierre placed his hand on Y/n's lower back as they walked.

Pierre: Don't worry, they already love you.

Soon enough they'd reached the car.

Pascale: I'm so glad you came early! We get a whole extra day with you before you have to be at the track.
Pierre: Actually I have an interview tomorrow but Y/n is free.
Pascale: That's alright but that just means Y/n and I can have some catch up time. I'd love to take you for coffee and talk.
Y/n: That sounds wonderful.
Pascale: It's a date! Don't worry Pierre, I'll not embarrass you.
Pierre: Thank you.
Jean: We understand we're staying a little far from the circuit but stay the night would you? Then go to the drivers hotel tomorrow.
Pierre: Of course we'll stay.

Once they'd reached the house the couple was pretty tired and decided to go to bed. Y/n fell asleep quite easily however Pierre struggled.
He got out of bed and went to the kitchen for some water. Soon enough he felt two arms wrap around his body from behind.

Pierre: I didn't mean to wake you.
Y/n: I can't sleep without you. I felt as soon as you left.
Pierre: Sorry, I just couldn't sleep.
Y/n: Worried about tomorrow?
Pierre: To say the least.
Y/n: It'll be okay, your PR manager will be there the whole time. Tell them to stop it the minute it gets too much. And as for Abbie... treat her like any other interviewer and she won't feel the need to act different.
Pierre: I hope you're right. Let's go back to bed then. You need rest.
Y/n: So do you...

******

The next morning Pierre got up early and went to meet with his PR manager before the interview.

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Pierre POV
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The whole way to the circuit my mind raced. I really hoped that this interview was going to be quick and smooth. Once I arrived I got out and after a quick rundown of the interview I headed toward the pit lane to meet with Abbie in front the garage.

Abbie: Ah Pierre! Great you're here! Let's sit.
Pierre: Abbie, before we start I-
Abbie: -Hello everyone! Abbie here with MotoNewsF1. As you can see we have the home hero, Mr Pierre Gasly, with us.
Pierre: Hey
Abbie: So Pierre, I'll ask a couple questions before moving on to fan questions
Pierre: Okay
Abbie: Firstly, how are you feeling about this weekend? France is a big one.
Pierre: I actually feel pretty good. Given our pace from last week I think we have a fighting chance.
Abbie: How was the feeling when you crossed the line last race?
Pierre: Incredible. At first I was hesitant to celebrate because I didn't quite believe it but then I heard the radio and I was extremely happy.
Abbie: I bet. You had a good support team, your girlfriend per say, how did they react?
Pierre: They, my family and girlfriend, were really happy for me. I-
Abbie: So you're still with her? I guess she won't let a winner go. Pretty typical-
Pierre: -She's not just with me for the wins. But of course we're still together.
Abbie: Okay, times running short. Let's move onto some tweets. Pierre, what are your predictions for France?
Pierre: A win would be amazing but I think a podium is more in reach.
Abbie: And there's one here asking if... if you're aware that Y/n is an online fake? It suggests she's not right for you. Almost dangerous.
Pierre: Uhm-
Abbie: -I have here a comment to back it: "She is using Pierre for fame. She got with Pierre and managed to secure a shoot with a leading fashion brand soon after. She only takes, I mean she didn't even apologize to Charles after clearly being the cause of his accident given their curious encounter on the grid beforehand which the cameraman caught..." or another one that says: "Strange how she talks with Charles for the first publicly known time on the grid and he crashed moments later. Anyone remember the people on the grid in 2014? I thought so." shall I go on?

She looked up, a look of pride on her face. It disgusted me. What she had just done was open a can of worms that was closed long ago.

Pierre: That's quite enough. Charles experienced a mechanical issue. Unrelated to Y/n. As for 2014... tragic accident. She's not a fake, she secured that shoot long before we were public. I apologize but I must be leaving for I have a family dinner to attend.
Abbie: I'll leave it at that. Thank you and all the best this weekend.

I got up and walked through the garage to the motorhome. My phone started blowing up. I was tagged in multiple tweets and images and clips of the video. Was that live? I scrolled and noticed Y/n was also getting tagged. Her name was brought up one too many times. That's it!
I had to fix this. Y/n mustn't look at this. I left the track unannounced and made my way back to the house. I found Daniel outside when I arrived, his face was a clear enough message as to why he was there.

Pierre: She did it.
Daniel: I didn't put it past her. We'll fix this. Just dodge any related questions this weekend.
Pierre: Yeah. Let's go inside, hopefully Y/n wasn't watching.

We walked inside and the house was empty.

Pierre: Y/n? Ma? Pa?
Daniel: Here, there's a note. I don't understand French...
Pierre: They're grabbing takeout then they'll be back. That means Y/n isn't online.
Daniel: Good. I um, I read some of the comments. Pretty brutal.
Pierre: Abbie really brought Jules into this...

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End Pierre POV
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Suddenly a phone rang. Looking confused Pierre noticed that Y/n had left her phone on the kitchen counter.

Pierre: Y/n Summer's phone. This is Pierre speaking.
Claudia: Hello Mr Gasly, Claudia from Star Classique. We hate to do this but we have to deny miss Summers her shoot. We tried to work with her despite the negativity but given that the shoot was brought into it after that interview we have no choice but to deny.
Pierre: Oh. I understand. I apologize for the shoot getting involved. I'll let Y/n know.
Claudia: Thank you. Good day.

Daniel: Who was that?
Pierre: That Claudia lady for the shoot.
Daniel: I take it they denied Y/n.
Pierre: What do we do now.
Daniel: Tell Y/n and just move forward I guess...
Pierre: Yeah...