[POV: Andreanna Saunterre]
I slammed the car door shut.
"How many times, Lando?! How many times!!" I yelled at the culprit as he ran further and further away from me. "Feet! Off! The! Dash! That's the last time you sit shotgun!!"
"Shotgun is shotgun! Sod off, Miss Shouty-Saunterre!" He turned to yell before running even quicker towards the venue.
Little shit. I thought, wishing I had worn running shoes.
Then, I heard a squeak.
"Did you just... laugh?" I asked the boy next to me, who had his hand covering his mouth in exactly the way someone who was laughing would.
"No..." Oscar said, side-eyeing the pathway Lando had taken as if he too were about to leg it. He could've, for sure. My shoes were not made for running, even if it was to cave Lando's face in.
I looked back at my car, parked square in the centre of it's parking spot. I don't mean to brag, but I'm the best at parking. Self-taught, perfected by yours truly, and totally and completely—
"Why did you park here?" He spoke, shocking me, since I'd expected him to have fled by now.
I recalled his question, confused. "What do you mean, here? It's a parking spot. I parked... In a parking spot...?" Pointing at said parking spot, I raised a brow at him, questioning if he'd been faking the whole Formula-One-Driver thing.
"Yeah," he said, "but..." He looked around, taking in the entirety of the car park. What he saw was practically a wasteland. On one end of the car park, near the entrance of the bar we were going to, were the vast majority of the cars. Then, there was mine. In the single farthest spot away from everyone else. At the opposite end of the car park.
I looked at Oscar, then back at my car.
"I'm... doing cardio." I said, raising my chin and walking away, stiffly. He laughed, I let it slide.
For a good three-to-five minutes, the two of us were silent. I bit my cheek, dragging my feet along the pathway that surrounded the car park, that definitely looked a lot shorter than it felt.
Tell him. I thought, then shook my head.
I'll have to tell him at some point, so why not now?! I asked myself, only for myself to answer. Because you haven't even gotten passed phase 1 yet! He'll freak out! I shook my head again. If Oscar was looking, he probably would freak, and it would be because I was acting like one.
"You know, even though I live here, I think I've only come here once." He spoke, thank god. A sigh escaped me; I felt lighter.
"Really? Why? It seems nice to me." I said, looking over my shoulder at the view of the Port that the bar overlooked.
He did the same. "Not sure." He shrugged. "Probably because I know if I do come here, I'll definitely see someone I know."
I get that. I thought, nodding once as I recalled the many times I've walked into a bar and seen the one person I didn't want to.
"And anyway," he continued, "Whenever I'm here, I'm usually always at—"
"The track, yeah." I butted in, letting out a small chuckle, looking at the floor.
"Yeah." He laughed too.
Then, he stopped walking. I wondered why, before I looked up and realised we were at the entrance to the bar.
Already?
I looked back, about to ask why he wasn't going in as I watched him hold up one pair of crossed fingers. I scrunched my brows and tilted my head. He began to walk in before me, whispering: "Please don't let me see anyone I know," loud enough for me to hear, which I'm sure is what he wanted.
I laughed a little, watching as Oscar began filing through the crowd of people that filled the place. I didn't follow him, not yet. The lights are too bright, I just need time to adjust to them, I told myself. I crossed my arms tightly and gulped, unable to see Oscar anymore.
I closed my eyes for a prolonged second, before putting one foot in front of the other.
I held my hand behind my back, crossed my fingers and secretly wished the same thing as Oscar.
*
[POV: Narrator]
The bar, with it being one of the prime locations for Melbourne's night life, was suitably packed. Lando Norris was therefore in his element. A short while ago, Andreanna Saunterre would've been in her element too; A bar that had drinks that had people that had... intentions. Before, she'd have been in the middle of the dance floor - possibly eyeing somebody up, but more than likely being eyed up by many others - with three drinks down and many more to come. But now, not so much. Instead, she was sat at a table for three, alone.
The table was raised above the rest of the bar, thanks to the platform it was situated on, meaning Andi had the perfect view of everything. In the distance, she spotted Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen making fun of a group of people, probably too wasted to even know what they were looking at. A little to the left, she could see Pierre Gasly with... many women, and a little bit more to the left were a couple, doing what couples do. If... doing what couples do is practically eating each-others faces off.
But, these were only passing glimpses. What really caught her attention was something else; Something she'd wished upon entry that she wouldn't have to see.
"Oh, shit! I didn't know Charles was here!" A familiar voice said, indicating that Lando and Oscar had come back from their trip to the bar (which Oscar had been forced to go on.)
Andi's eyes didn't leave the dance floor. Lando sat on the seat next to her, while Oscar took the one opposite.
"Alrighty, then!" Lando rubbed his hands together and looked down at the array of drinks he'd brought back. He handed Andi hers, pulled his own towards him then raised one in Oscar's direction.
"Here you go, mate. Drink up."
"Hey, no." Andi intercepted his pass. "He said he doesn't drink before races—" She said, before downing the drink in its entirety and going back to her one-sided staring match.
Lando scoffed, having failed in his hope to get Oscar drunk with him. "Buzzkill."
He was moody for a solid three seconds.
He gasped, raising from the table, nearly knocking every one of the drinks down. Andi knew what was coming, so she blocked her ears. Oscar, on the other hand, was not yet used to the going-to-a-bar-with-lando experience. It always had the same routine.
1. Lando spots someone. (Usually, Max or Daniel.)
"M-aaaaaaa-x!" He yelled across the room, bolting it down the platform.
2. 'Someone' spots Lando.
"L-aaaaaaaa-nd-ooooooo!" Max yelled back, pointing at the five-foot-something man who was booming towards him.
3. You don't see Lando for the rest of the night.
The two of them hugged, laughing and yelling as they did, before beginning a conga line.
Andi rested her chin on her hand, attention still being taken up by the certain Ferrari driver who had his arms around his girlfriend. She soon leaned back in the chair and forced herself to look away, having to blink a few times in order to properly zone out of whatever trance she was in.
"Andi?" She heard a voice say, slightly blurred.
"What," she looked forwards, "Oh, sorry! Did you say something?" She apologised, realising the boy must've been trying to get her attention.
"No, it's fine," he smiled politely, but Andi still felt bad. "Thanks, for uh," he pointed at the empty glass in front of her, the one she'd just finished. "Remembering, I guess."
"Oh! Yeah, yeah, no worries." She smiled at him, gesturing her hand as if to say that doing what she did was nothing. "Lando can be pushy sometimes."
Oscar snickered, joking: "Really? Hadn't noticed."
Andi didn't laugh, not because it wasn't funny but because she had something to say.
"He calms down once you get to know him," she said, smiling softly and nodding her head. "He just—" She paused, wondering if she should say what she wanted to say. Then, she leaned forward and spoke in a hushed voice, one that meant Oscar too had to come closer. "He just wants to impress you."
Andi leaned back again, watching Oscar's reaction. As she'd anticipated, he looked puzzled.
"You know, he was so worried about meeting you."
"What? Really?" He asked, seeming genuinely shocked.
"Mhm." Andi smirked, finding amusement in how bewildered he was.
"Why?"
"If I had to guess, I'd say that because he was so close with Carlos, he was worried you two wouldn't click the same way. He was the same way with Danny, too."
"But... they did click though, didn't they? Him and Danny?"
"Yeah, yeah, they did. I just don't think he ever really got over Carlos leaving." Andi stated, looking over at the boy in question in the crowd. "But don't tell him I said that." She smiled at Oscar, making him readjust his posture.
"I won't." He said, smiling back.
Tell him. Andi thought.
Just do it.
Tell him.
"Andi, Oscar! How's things?" A voice said suddenly, making Andi jump. It was a voice she knew. His voice.
"Fuck." Andi mumbled, looking down momentarily before inhaling deeply and replying. "Hey! I'm—" She leaned forward. "We're good, you?" She put on a wide smile, facing the couple who'd come to say hi.
He didn't speak, Andi was sure he made a point of that. Instead, his girlfriend did. "Yeah! We're good, we actually just came from..."
Her voice trailed off into the room. Andi concentrated on the man next to her, who was staring her down relentlessly, making her feel a little uneasy. Oscar, who had previously been subject to Andi's countless runaway schemes to get away from this man, tried his best to listen but found it difficult, especially when Andi looked so—
"We spotted you from down there and, you know what, me and Charles were just talking about how cute—"
"Crap! Shoot!" Andi suddenly shot up from her seat. "Oscar, I think I left my keys in the car!" She grabbed her shoulder bag, opened it and pretended to rummage through it. "I can't remember if I— nope! I must have left them!"
Oscar slowly stood up too, following Andi's movements as she hastily left the table.
"I'm so sorry you two, but we've got to go and check." She said, directing her apology primarily at Charles' girlfriend, who looked back at her sweetly and nodded, understanding the emergency.
Andi didn't look at Charles when she walked away. But Oscar did.
What he saw was a stern expression, one that made him feel tense.
When he turned to follow Andi, he saw something else.
Her keys. Clenched tightly in her fist.
____________________
Anyone else watching the new Percy Jackson series on Disney+?
MAJOR SLAY, in my opinion.