the song for this chapter is "Golden," by Harry Styles :)
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Finley
I could say with full confidence that I used every single second of my time slot on the track to the fullest extent.
Three pit-stops and one tire change later, I found myself taking my last lap on the track. It was the most leisurely one I had made all afternoon. I was no longer focused on the speed anymore, but more so on just enjoying the car as a whole.
Happy sighs repetitively left my lips throughout the lap, and after my three-hour time slot, I felt a huge amount of the stress that had been pressing down against my shoulders with the intensity of an avalanche.
I felt light, just like this car was designed to be, and it was as though the car had decided to remove me of my own emotional weight upon entering it in order for us to be compatible.
I took the last turn and pulled back into the pits, where Alex and Tommy were waiting for me patiently.
Not once had they tried to get me to stop driving. They had enjoyed every second of my time on the track just as much as I had.
I put the car in park and finally got out of it, stretching my legs out and cracking my neck once removing my helmet.
"Finley, I don't think I need to tell you this, but you drove like a fucking pro today," Tommy smiled, the clipboard that he had been using to take notes on my lap times without me even asking him to clutched in his hand as I walked up to them.
"Agreed. It will be an honor to have my ass beaten by you in the next race," Alex chuckled, swinging the string attached to the stopwatch around in his hand as he spoke, a lazy grin on his lips.
"Thanks, guys. And thanks for being so patient, I know I really used my time slot up until the last second," I chuckled, placing the helmet down on one of the stacks of spare tires, swooping a few of the staticky hairs that were rising up on my head from wearing the helmet away from my face.
"I don't blame you, I did the same thing the day I got my car," Alex laughed.
I was suddenly distracted by the sound of a door opening, and all three of our heads turned towards the garage door, my lips parting slightly in shock as I saw Harry walking out of it and up to us.
Why was he still here?
He rubbed at the back of his neck as he approached us, looking awkward for reasons I did not know.
"Hey, um...I know this is kind of a big request, but, I kind of need a ride back to my place, and I was wondering if maybe you could drop me off?" He asked sheepishly, his cheeks tinted a faint red color as he spoke his request into existence.
At first, I thought that he was asking the group as a whole, but then, I noticed that his eyes were focused on me, and me alone.
I knew that it took a lot for him to ask for anyone's help, especially mine. I knew that it also took a lot for him to hand over the keys to my car to me, as it was a car that he too had dreamed of for such a long time. I knew it took a lot for him to talk to Alex and Tommy yesterday. I knew that it took a lot for him to do all of the things that he had recently been doing for me.
And I think that maybe that's the reason that there wasn't much hesitation in my voice as I answered him.
"Yeah, no problem," I smiled, nodding my head as I spoke, and I watched as relief instantly flooded his face.
I felt Alex and Tommy's eyes burning into my body, but I chose to ignore it for now.
"Thanks, Finley," he replied, and I think it was the sincerest I had ever heard him.
I smiled at him and nodded again. "It's no biggie," I shrugged.
"And um, good job today, by the way. You did really well," he added.
Was I dreaming right now?
"Oh, thank you," I chuckled. This whole situation was so surreal, and Alex and Tommy's unwavering stares didn't do anything to help the awkwardness of this encounter.
"Just give me like five minutes to wrap up here, and then we can go, okay?" I asked, a cheery tone to my voice, but inside, I was still so confused as to what was happening and who had drugged Harry while I was on the track.
"Sounds good," he smiled back softly, turning to face Alex and Tommy.
"See you guys at the next race," he spoke to them, but it wasn't menacing or threatening as it usually was, it seemed like he was trying to be...polite?
They both looked slightly taken aback, but Alex snapped out of his daze and managed to reply.
"See you there, man," he nodded, a smile forming on his face as he spoke, Tommy nodding and giving Harry a little grin.
Harry walked away from us and left us to deal with our thoughts.
"Is he...is he on something?" Alex whispered.
I expected Tommy to say something of a similar nature, but instead, I caught him still smiling with his lips pressed together, glancing over at Harry, and then back at me.
My eyes followed where he had been looking, and I found Harry walking around my car, admiring it from every angle, a sad and soft smile on his lips as he admired it. I don't know why, but it made my heart be overcome with a pang of hurt.
"You know, there actually isn't anyone scheduled for the rest of the night," Tommy suddenly spoke, snapping my eyes away from Harry, and directing them back to him.
I furrowed my brows for a second, but when Alex grinned a little and looked back at Harry, and then back to Tommy, nodding a bit, I suddenly realized what he was getting at.
"Your call, Finn," Alex shrugged, walking up and pulling me into a hug.
I chuckled as he pulled away, Tommy immediately coming to take his place.
"You'll do the right thing, whatever you decide," he mumbled into my neck as he hugged me.
When he pulled away, both of them were still smiling softly at me.
"See ya later, Finn," Alex chuckled, giving me a little wave.
"See you both soon, thank you again, for everything," I replied, feeling my chest bubble in warmth as I stood with two people who had grown to mean so much to me in such a short amount of time.
"Always," Tommy nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world to show me unlimited amounts of kindness.
We said our final goodbyes, and I waved to them as they got in Alex's daily driving car, which was a very nice BMW M3.
I waved to them until I could no longer see the car, and I think part of that was just to pass time before I had to do the inevitable...
go talk to Harry.
I sighed as I spun around on my heels and began to walk up to him. It was around five-thirty already, and the sun was getting lower and lower, and I wrapped my arms around myself as a brisk wind brushed its way past me while I walked up to Harry.
He was still admiring my car, shaking his head in amazement at every carefully crafted feature that he observed.
"It really is a beauty, isn't it?" I chuckled, causing him to shoot up straight and look at me, his face looking as though I had just caught him in the act of something equivalent to murder, just like when I caught him in his paint-covered clothes.
"It's amazing," he nodded in agreement, "the story of Caroll Shelby and Ken Miles always inspired me as a kid," he added, glancing back down at the car, and then back up at me.
I breathed out in amazement, not even realizing that I had done so. "Me too," I chuckled softly.
He furrowed his brows and gave me a quirk-lipped grin, his head tilting to the side slightly.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I've loved this car since I was a kid. My dad used to always show me old Le Mans races," I shrugged, stepping a little bit closer, my arms unraveling themselves from around my body so that my hand could discreetly dip into my jacket pocket.
"That's really cool, are you and your dad close?" He asked, and I suddenly realized that this was one of the first times we had ever discussed our personal lives.
"The closest," I nodded, fiddling with the car keys in my pocket.
I almost asked if he and his dad were close, but something told me not to discuss his family unless he brought it up first, and so, instead, I finally removed the keys from my pocket, dangling them out in front of me at arm's length, Harry's eyes moving to them instantly, and then glancing back up at me in confusion.
"Well, you wanna take it for a spin, or not?" I smirked.
He looked so flustered and stunned by my question that it took him a bit before he was able to force out a reply.
"I, uh-well, I mean. I shouldn't, the next time slot starts in fifteen minutes, and plus, I already got to drive it on the way up here," he muttered out, shaking his head in a denial of my offer, but I simply rolled my eyes, smiling a bit as I did so.
"There actually isn't anyone else scheduled today. And Harry, you and I both know that there is a huge difference between driving a car on the road and driving it on the track," I mused, raising an eyebrow at him.
He stood there, completely slack-jawed as I spoke, and I chuckled at his silence.
"Please don't act like you don't want to. It's not a big deal, just drive it," I pressed, walking closer to him when he didn't reply.
When the silence still occurred a minute later, and the only signs of a response Harry was able to muster was a slow shake of his head, I sighed, closing the gap between us and grabbing his right hand, my eyes skimming over the broken chain tattoo for a moment, but hopefully not long enough for him to notice, and placed the keys into his palm, pressing his fingers closed over them.
"Drive it, Harry," I urged, both of my small hands still holding his large closed fist in between them.
His eyes were trained on my hands clasped around his own, but after a moment or two, they looked back up at me, holding a look that seemed to be asking whether or not I was sure, and so, I just nodded at him.
He opened his mouth as though he had something to say, but no words came out, and so, he simply smiled at me softly, clutching the keys tighter in his palm as he slowly pulled his hand away from mine.
He turned away from me and walked up to the stack of helmets, pulling one from the many that were available to him, and placed it on his head.
He opened the door of the car just as gently as I had, both of us seeming to have a shared reverence for the vehicle we had both only fantasized about before today.
His tall body dipped down into the car, and due to our difference in height, it took him a minute or two to get his seat in a comfortable position, and only after doing so did he shut the car door softly.
He placed the keys into the ignition, and I could already imagine the smile hidden underneath his helmet as the car roared back to life again, ready to go with a fresh set of tires and a full tank of gas, and another eager driver seated inside of it.
After revving the engine a few times to ensure it was ready for peak performance, he put it in drive and began to head out of the pits and towards the start-finish line.
The sun was hanging even lower now, a wonderful golden glow being cast on the car.
I smiled to myself as I watched the car just idle there, knowing that he was experiencing the same sensation that I had prior to driving the car like it had been designed to be driven.
And then, just as I had, he took off. He took off full fucking throttle, living up to the nickname that had bestowed upon him for good reason.
It was still just as amazing to watch the car being driven as it was to drive it. I got to see from an outsider's perspective how beautifully the car handled, and I could hear the pops and cracks being emitted from the exhaust pipes in a new effect.
There was something about watching Harry drive today that felt similar to how it felt to watch him drive before I knew who he was. Before I knew the person operating the sleek and expertly crafted satin matte-black AMG GTR, I simply got to admire it. I remember my instincts telling me that he was going to be the winner that night, and they were proved to be right.
After that night, my view of Harry while driving was always one accompanied by hopes of vengeance, malice, and ill-intent.
But with his sudden change in character and the exhibitions of vulnerability that he had shown to me, I was now starting to see both him and my car, in a new light.
Right now, he wasn't the dark, dreary, and brooding man that glared at me from across the crowds of people chanting his name. He wasn't the sexually motivated male specimen that always managed to woo his way into my pants. He wasn't the rival that constantly pitted against me...
Right now, just like the late afternoon sunlight gleaming down on the car, the paint catching the light in all the right places, he was...he was golden. The cloud that seemed to always hang over his head taking a brief hiatus in order to allow the warm rays of sunlight to beam down on him for a change.
And for once, I was perfectly okay with letting him have that sunshine, for he seemed to lack it in his life far more often than I did. And so, there I stood, admiring him in this new light as he drove, being one hundred percent content with basking in whatever leftover rays bounced off of him and back onto me.
Although it wasn't much, I still felt warm. The breeze that had caused a flood of goosebumps to parade across my skin only minutes before not seeming as cold anymore.
And I had no one to thank for it but the golden boy driving past me.
AN: DOUBLE UPDATE IN HONOR OF 200K READS! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! MY HEART IS SO HAPPY AND THANKFUL FOR EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU AND THE SUPPORT THAT YOU HAVE SHOWN ME! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! I DECIDED TO SPLIT THIS CHAPTER INTO TWO CHAPTERS BECAUSE IT FELT NECESSARY TO ME! I HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AS MUCH AS I AM! PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! xx g