Love and Rivalry {Female F1 driver}

Why would you do that?

"Not really, just the whole Lando thing, and then complaining about being in Monaco," I admitted and he seemed to think hard about it all. "Well, it does seem like more fun things are happening in London, this week." He said after a while of silence. "Is that so? Like what?" He smiled even wider, opening his mouth to reply, but at that same moment, Arthur barged through the door, yelling something in French. 

Arthur took the phone and spoke, "Sorry Cart, he will have to call you back on his own phone! See ya!" He yelled and hung up the phone immediately. Within a minute, Charles called me back from the same spot. "Sorry about that, haha. Where were we?" He said but before I could reply, there was a knock on my own door. "One sec, Charles, someone is at the door," I said, confused as to who would show up at my door suddenly. 

With my phone in my hand, I went to open up. "Hey, Yn!" Lando stood outside my door with a wide smile. "Lando?" I said confused, and Charles repeated after me, "Lando?" Lando looked down at my phone, seeing Charles on the screen, now he was looking confused as well. "What are you doing here?" I asked and Lando just let himself in. "I came to hang out, so you wouldn't be alone! Hey, Charles!" He waved at my phone while standing beside me. 

Charles looked a bit frustrated and I couldn't do anything but stand there completely baffled. "Hey, Lando. How are you, mate?" Charles spoke politely and Lando just gave a thumbs up. "What are you all talking about?" Lando asked and both Charles and I went silent. "Nothing much, just catching up. Lando, today isn't really good for me, actually..." I said awkwardly, earning the attention of both of them.

"Oh? You made plans?" Lando asked surprised. "Yeah, I did." I lied. I didn't have any plans, but I actually just wanted to relax at home today, and I felt bad that Lando had interrupted my conversation with Charles. "Oh, no worries, I should've probably called before just going here," He said, laughing awkwardly. "Alright, I'll leave you be, but I'll see you tomorrow! I'll pick you up at 7, dress up nice!" He spoke cheerfully, giving me a side hug before he left my apartment again.

"What plans do you have today?" Charles asked as soon as the door was closed. I looked at him with a guilty expression and went to sit down on my couch. "None..." I admitted and a smile formed on his lips. "You lied to him?" He accused and I just shrugged. 

"What about tomorrow? What are you doing then?" He asked and frowned once more. "He invited me to join him with George and his girlfriend for dinner and then drinks," I spoke as he was deep in thought. "Sounds fun," He said, but I could tell he wasn't too thrilled about it. "You know, I could stay home-" I suggested but he shook his head. "Why would you do that?" I could hear the frustration in his voice, and I had no argument as to why. 

I didn't know what to say anymore, so I just stayed silent, and so did he. After a while, I realised how silly the situation was, just sitting there in silence, so I decided to speak up. "Alright, Charles, I'll leave you to go on with your day then," I spoke up, and as he looked back at the screen again, I couldn't read his expression at all. "Sure, yeah." He just mumbled and I couldn't help but let out a sigh. "Have fun then. Bye," I replied and immediately hung up the phone. 

Charles and I didn't talk at all after that. I would see him on Arthur's Instagram stories throughout the next 24 hours, where they would hang out on the boat, but nothing else. 

Saturday came around and Lando had told me to dress fancy. I wore a long red dress with a slit and some elegant jewellery. I had my hair up and wore some black stilettos. 

It was only 6.45 when I heard a knock on my door, but luckily, I was already ready. I went to open and outside stood Lando in a black silk button-down and pants with a matching jacket in his hand. He smiled immediately when I opened the door and he looked me up and down. "Wow, Yn, you look great!" He said, bringing me into a gentle hug to greet me. "You look very handsome yourself, Lan," I said, and I could see a slight blush on his cheeks. 

"You ready?" He asked and I grabbed a bag along with a scarf to wear around my shoulders. "Yes, let's go!" I smiled and we left my apartment. When we exited the elevator to the lobby I stopped in my tracks immediately. There were tons of paparazzi outside, making me pannick. "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you," Lando admitted and I looked at him nervously. 

"It won't be that bad, Cart, don't worry. Hold onto me, I'll lead the way, okay?" He lent out his arm and I hesitantly took it. With a smile, he led us through the crowd whilst I followed behind, keeping my head down the whole time. Finally, we managed to get to his car and went inside. I would probably never get used to this, ever. 

The dinner with George, Carmen and Lando was pretty nice. They were all so kind and we did have some fun, but I couldn't help but feel completely misplaced somehow. It all felt a bit too much like a double date of sorts, and I constantly got the feeling that Lando was trying to flirt with me. I already knew that he liked me I guess, but I didn't want to give him the wrong impression. When I was invited, I thought it was going to be just a casual night out, but this all seemed a bit too much.

I couldn't fully concentrate on the conversation and felt like everyone was staring at us. It was a really fancy restaurant, but we sat almost in the middle of everything, eating dinner. At one point, I felt like I needed a break, so I excused myself to the bathroom. I didn't know what to do, because all I really wanted to, was to call Charles and tell him all about it, but we hadn't spoken since the day before. I couldn't call Arthur either, cause it would just seem as if I was trying to get Charles's attention by calling him. 

Instead, I decided to call Isack. "Hello?" He said when picking up the phone. "Ice, can I rant to you?" I asked and he agreed. I told him all about the whole situation and luckily he understood how I was feeling. He advised me to just be straight up with Lando since he otherwise probably would misunderstand sooner or later. He told me to keep calm, not drink and get home early if I wasn't feeling well. No one would mind. I felt a lot better after hearing that, and I went back to the table a bit calmer.

When we were done eating, we left the restaurant to go for the drinks, but I stopped Lando while George and Carmen were collecting the last of their belongings. "What's up?" He smiled and I took a deep breath, "I think I'm gonna head home, Lan, I'm not really feeling it tonight." I said and his face dropped a little. "Are you okay?" He asked and I nodded reassuringly. "I'm alright, don't worry! I'm just tired, I think." 

"I'll drive you home then." He said, but I shook my head. "No, you should still go with them!" I insisted to which he smiled. "I'll drive you home, yn. I can still join them after, so let me take you." He was persistent so I agreed with a smile. I said my goodbyes to Carmen and George, as Lando said he would meet them later, and then we left.

The car ride home was silent. I didn't know what to say or where to start, but I knew I had to get it out at some point. I had never been good at rejecting people, and it was even harder when Lando hadn't even confessed to me or anything. It almost hurt in my chest, but I couldn't get it out.

It wasn't until we stood at my apartment door, that I turned to him and we both spoke up at the same time, "Lando-" I said, while he said, "You don't like me, do you?" I looked at him stunned. His eyes were sad while he was forcing a smile. "I'm sorry..." I just mumbled, looking down at the ground. He let out a bitter chuckle. "It's okay, I know you're into Charles." I glanced back up and looked at him confused. Into Charles? I wasn't into Charles.

"Don't even try to deny it, Yn, I see the way you look at each other. It's the same way I look at you, ya know? You both just don't realise it yet." I frowned a little and avoided his eyes. I knew deep down that he was right, at least about my feelings. "If you change your heart, though, I'll be here." He smiled sweetly at me, so I couldn't help but return his smile. "Thank you, Lan. You're really great." He smiled and took a step forward, then leaned down and placed a kiss on my cheek. He let his lips linger there for a second before he pulled away, flashing me a last smile and then turned to leave.