VIPER || Oscar Piastri

Chapter 16

"So you told her to come here?!" The two of them began bickering back and forth, keeping the same tone of quiet anger.

"Yes!"

"Why didn't you say anything?!"

"...I forgot!"

Lando stared at Carlos, unbelieving of his idiocy.

The two stood in silence for a while before Lando decided to whip open the door for the second time.

"Hello again, Miss. There appears to have been a mix up—"

"Lando!" Carlos stepped in front of him, shaking his head at the girl and smiling nervously. "Don't listen to him, okay? We're gonna go this way." He said, placing a hand around her shoulder and leading her away from the house. He turned his head back for a second, only to see Lando gesturing at him to 'shoo' from the door, which he closed when he heard Oscar coming.

"Ready to go?" Oscar asked, holding the 'cool' car keys in his hand and swirling them around on his index finger.

Lando smiled widely, stepping away from the door. "Yep! Yes, uh—"

"Where's Carlos?"

"Carlos! Yes, well, that's— Carlos actually decided that he did want to walk after all. Something about... a brisk evening breeze...?"

Oscar stared at him, eyes narrowing. "Huh." He said, clearly not believing a word that was coming out of Lando's mouth. "Okay."

Lando, who thought he'd managed to lie and get away with it, threw punches into the air once Oscar turned his back on him.

*

"Yes, Dad, I'll be home by midnight." Andi answered as if on auto-pilot. This was the fifteenth question she'd received in a single phone call. She smiled at the taxi-driver, attempting to shut the door with one hand, pay with the other, all whilst being on the phone.

"Yes, Dad, I'll be careful."

"No, Dad, you can't meet Oscar."

"No, Dad! Look, I'm here, okay? I'm hanging up. Ok. Ok, yes. Yes, oh my god— Ok. Bye. Bye, bye— Bye."

She let out a long sigh, one of relief but mostly exhaustion and looked up to the sky. She went over her 3 phase plan once more in her head, specifically concentrating on the final phase: Solution. She recalled how she'd greet Oscar nonchalantly, albeit kindly, whisk him over to one side and break the news to him as if it were a business deal. She even had cash in her purse ready to go, in case she needed to resort to bribery.

One way or another, Andreanna Saunterre was going to complete her 3 phase plan tonight. Whatever it took, she'd handle it. This is going to work. She thought, nodding. It has to work.

*

Andi stopped before she went in. The crowds in front of her seemed endless, and not one face looked at all familiar. She bit her tongue and started picking at her painted nails, an uncomfortable wave of unease washing over her. She suddenly became conscious of how she held herself, how she looked, if what she was wearing was acceptable. Just a few minutes ago Andi was fine; She was ready. She had a game plan, and she'd just convinced herself that it was a good one.

But now, she could barely breathe. Did I tie my top too tightly? She thought. She readjusted the neck of it, still feeling breathless. Did I forget to eat? She asked herself, even though she knew she'd just stuffed the wrappings of her lunch into her purse.

She inhaled deeply, knowing that if she stood where she was for too long she'd begin to attract more attention; And that was enough motivation for her to head inside. Andi patted herself down, pulling her bag up higher onto her shoulder and shaking the nerves off of her facial expressions. She straightened up, and began to head into the crowd of people.

Immediately after doing so, she focused her gaze downward. She couldn't help it. She couldn't shake the feeling that every pair of eyes was on her. Unsettling as it was, she kept her head down. If they can't see me, they won't be able to judge me, she thought.

The girl made her way through the lively chatter and laughter, which only amplified the discomfort that weighed heavily on her.

They know who I am, she thought. They know it's me and they're laughing.

Andi gripped her bag tighter, aware of the fact her face no longer looked calm; She could feel her lips drooping downwards and her brows closing in on each other. She knew of an area of the room that had fewer people, so she sped up to make it there.

Yes, she'd been there before.

Back then, she carried herself differently. She ached for crowds like these, to be known. To be seen. Her reputation formed over that summer; The image of a carefree, spontaneous girl stuck to her like glue. A partier, looking for meaningless connections in people she'd never met.
She can remember the night she arrived at this very same venue vividly; Hair down, chin up, all eyes on her. Her phone buzzed constantly, as it normally did. She ignored it, as she normally did. One drink went quickly, the next even quicker. Then...a blur.

She was sometimes glad she couldn't remember what she'd done back then. The guilt increased each time she'd try to form the memories. Because of that, she wouldn't think about it often. Whenever she did, her days would seem longer.

But, occasionally, the thoughts forced themselves onto her.

Without warning, she could smell the fragrance she no longer wore in the air, making her stop in her tracks. She blinked, shook her head and tried to get her vision steady.

Just focus, she thought. Focus.

The dimly-lit area of the venue where she was stood started to liven up as more people arrived; Andi decided now would be a good time to get a drink. I've got to get at least one down before I tell him, she thought, rushing over.

As she was about to order, a familiar voice caught her off-guard. Or rather, two voices. She turned away from the barman waiting on her, forgetting all about her drink momentarily.

Coming towards her, too busy bickering with each other to watch where they were going, was Oscar and Lando.

Andi's shoulders loosened; her breathing suddenly became a lot less strained.

She smiled over at them and the first to notice was Oscar. Lando didn't realise until a long time after that, still arguing.

She laughed at the sight, waiting for them to reach her. Oscar saw her, and began trying to calm the rilled up Lando down in an attempt to draw less attention to them both. The more Oscar tried and failed, the more Andi found it hilarious.

She then though, mid-laugh,
I'll get that drink later.

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