tres
the man
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bahrain/ pre-season testing
tali had landed on the sand archipelago on tuesday, february 22nd. the last time she had seen anyone aside from her coworkers was back in january when she spent new year's with her loved ones, so to say tali was excited to see some people would have been an understatement.
walking to the gates she was able to see some fans that had been slightly retained by security to avoid accidents. tali knew it wasn't for her but more towards the fact that she wasn't the only driver set to arrive that day. some pictures had been asked here and there and she happily agreed. there were some people towards the back though, who shouted some nasty things regarding her job or rather why she did not deserve it.
'go back to the kitchen!' and things like that to what she wanted to reply
'then you go fuck yourself!' but she didn't. she had the smallest bit of respect for small minded people. some people defended her and she was sure that a video would start circulating and a fake narrative would begin about how her eyes suddenly 'seemed sad and off' and that she was rather affected by these kinds of comments. which she wasn't going to lie, they did get to her at some point, but as the years had gone by, she had learned to disguise said feelings.
thankfully, the car meant to drive them was already waiting for them, meaning they could immediately leave and for that she was thankful.
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as the car drove towards the hotel, tania made conversation with the driver but halfway through the ride she noticed a very quiet tali looking out the window.
"qué pasa, nat?" she asked with a slight frown.
"was this a good idea?" she asked, removing her gaze from the window. her mind couldn't help but go back to the comments she had heard in the airport. many people were convinced she did not deserve to be where she was right now and her mind loved to play games with her on a daily basis. something she was working on but that was still work in progress.
"look, you have worked harder than anyone to earn, listen carefully here, earn your seat. championships, race wins and dedication. the closest they will ever get to a formula car is through their televisions or a seat in a sketchy, uncomfortable bleacher under the sun."she began with a tight grip to her hand. "you, on the other hand, get paid to drive them." she said encouragingly.
"look, i know it's hard. i've seen in the front row what you have been going through your entire life, but i've been around long enough to know you're headstrong and brave. you love your job, don't let them ruin that." she ended her highly surprising inspiring speech. tania wasn't one to give pep talks but every once in a while she would impress everyone, including herself.
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after their talk, they arrived to the hotel where the team would be staying and where the team dinner would be taking place that evening. opening her door she was welcomed with a huge well-lit room with a small arrangement of dark swiss chocolate in the bed side table and a small bundle of mercedes shirts as well as some tommy hilfiger clothes she could use to arrive in the paddock.
out of all the things in the room, the one that called her name the loudest though, was the big, thick and delicious chocolate. as she left her backpack next to the rest of her bags she noticed a card next to the box.
you said you loved them back at the factory,
so when i went home i brought some for you.
-mick
smiling brightly, she took a picture as a memory and opened the box that contained individually packed squares as she quickly looked through the clothes they had left for her. as she planned her outfit, she heard a knock. knowing who it was, having texted tania a few minutes ago, she just opened the door and walked back to her bed where she had multiple clothes spread out. different outfits formed in order to choose easily.
"wey, ¿cuál me pongo?" she said, slightly frustrated as she looked at the clothes on top of the white duvet.
"i don't think i'm the right person to choose an outfit. in case you haven't noticed, i just wear black and sometimes white." said the person tali had thought was tania. severely confused she turned around to find the one person she did not want seeing her in sweats, an oversized hoodie and bags under her eyes that made her look like a raccoon.
"hi, sorry, i thought you were tania, she was meant to come here you know?" she said slightly embarrassed.
"i see." he said through his serious appearance, but she had spent a few moments with him the past month to know his eyes were highly amused. "i just came by because i heard you arrived and to tell you the event is going to begin an hour earlier than planned." he said before the two teenagers heard a knock.
"i think that's tania." elias said with a hint of humor as both teenagers made their way to the door. one to leave, and one to receive another visitor.
"got your text, let me see- elias, hi did not expect to see you here." tania said, surprised by the presence of the formerly mentioned teeanger.
"i was on my way out already." he said walking out and making his way to the elevator before turning around, looking directly into tali's eyes, saying "you should wear the blue one, the white one will look boring." turning around and turning left, leaving their sight.
"what was that?" said a confused tania as tali closed the door behind her.
"i'm not sure." said the equally confused driver.
"what was he doing here? did you text him for fashion advice before me? wait. since when do you text with him?"
"he told me the time change on tonight's dinner, i did not, i opened the door thinking it was you and did not bother to look until his voice came out and not yours. no, i don't text him, i barely talk to him." she said in one breath while numbering the answers with her fingers to each question her trainer had asked..
"why did he tell you when you would have been notified by the pr team?" the trainer questioned before gasping loudly. "oh my goodness! there's no way!"
"oh my goodness! what?!" she replied in the same tone.
"elias wolff likes you!!" tania squealed excitedly.
"of course he does. in case you haven't noticed, he only talks to a selected number of people, and that's because he doesn't like human beings at all."tali said, not understanding her trainer/friend's point.
"no, tonta. he likes like you" the older woman mentioned with a slight roll of her eyes at the girl's obliviousness.
"what? no, there's no way."tali denied profusely.
"but there is. he never starts a conversation. i noticed, but with you, he would. even if it's just asking about the weather or what you ate for breakfast. he came and told you about something that did not need to be told in person and that a simple text would have been enough for you to know of. he wanted an excuse to see you. and that thing at the end with the whole 'white would be boring thing' he was definitely flirting." listed tania with a huge smile.
"even if he did. the last time i had a relationship i was clearly the problem. i can't get into a relationship right now. i have bigger things on my mind." said the teenager ending the topic before it went further.
"i guess you're right." tania said with a sigh, not believing that to be true but knowing better than to keep the topic alive. "he's also right though." she said looking at the bed.
"what?"
"the white one would be boring."
"oh. yeah, i guess you're right."
"not me, elias." tania said teasingly.
"tania?"
"yeah?"
"shut up" said tali glaring.
"will do."
nini speaks !
chapter three. hope you like it. let me know what you think. i really hope you like it.
don't forget to vote and comment so i know what you've enjoyed the most so far.
check out my other stories !
mine- p. gavi
london boy- h. cavill (coming soon)
love, nini