hello loves,
i know its been a bit but i was dealing with personal things. now i'm back. okay so this chapter is not as long as the others because i decided not to write the whole race weekend even though i enjoy writing the races i chose not to do it since i wanted to just give you guys content and not take too long, however we have alot of oscar aelina in this chapter and this is supposed to feel like a turning point. the next chapter is going to be a big chapter for them.
so i havent decided if i want to write smut for this book yet. i wanted to get your thoughts on it? please leave a comment here telling me if you want me to write smut of just imply it?
next chapter is very important and you guys are going to love it :D
please remember vote, comment share the story. i love you all :)
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The sunbathed the Silverstone Circuit in a golden hue as the British Grand Prix weekend kicked off with Friday's free practice sessions. Among the throngs of fans and the buzz of the paddock, Aelina herself caught in a whirlwind of emotions she hadn't quite yet addressed.
She stood by her car, adjusting her helmet with focused determination. Her eyes scanned the screens in front of her, but her mind couldn't help but wander to Oscar and everything that had gone down between them so far. She knew she was fucked the minute she kissed him in the car. They hadn't spoken about it and maybe they never would, but one thing was clear, she could no longer say she hated him. The memory of their stolen kisses lingered in her mind, sending a thrill through her that had nothing to do with racing.
As practice sessions began, Aelina found that the McLaren's new upgrades were really sending all the other teams running for their money.
"Andy, I'm having DRS issues again."
"Yes, we noticed, we are trying to override the settings," Andy's voice filtered through.
Unfortunately for Aelina the DRS issues continued through the first session and she had to practice and gather data without the use of her car's full potential.
During a break between FP1 and FP2 Aelina made her way towards the Ferrari garage to spend some time with her brother when she passed McLaren's garage her eyes wandering towards Oscar who looked up as she approached, a smile lighting up his face.
"Hey," he greeted her, his voice warm with affection.
"Hey," Aelina replied, her heart pounding in her chest. "How's it going?"
Oscar shrugged nonchalantly, though his eyes betrayed his true feelings. "Same old, same old. Trying to shave off those milliseconds."
Aelina nodded, her gaze lingering on him. "You looked pretty fast out there."
Oscar grinned, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Well, you know, gotta keep up with the competition."
Aelina laughed. "I'll believe it when I see it."
Their banter was interrupted by the call of his engineer. With a reluctant smile, Aelina bid Oscar goodbye, the unresolved tension between them lingering in the air like static electricity. She then continued down her way to her brother's garage.
The session began with high hopes after the team had told her they had found a solution for the DRs issues but as Aelina embarked on her out-lap, and she activated the DRS down the Hangar Straight, she immediately encountered trouble. The rear wing failed to open properly, causing instability, and compromising her lap times. Now Aelina's FP2 session was also plagued by persistent DRS issues. This was not the second race weekend that she was having issues with it. When she thought they had finally figured what was wrong with it, here she was again frustrated as she clinked on her radio button.
"Andy, whatever you guys did, it did not work, still the same issue from before," she relayed the message to her engineer.
Andy's voice crackled over the radio, his tone calm "Let's try cycling it again on the next straight and see if we can diagnose the issue."
As Aelina completed another lap, she activated the DRS once more, hoping for a resolution. Yet, the problem persisted, frustrating her to no end. If this is how her weekend was going to go, she wasn't going to end up in the points.
"Same issue, Andy," Aelina reported, her voice tinged with frustration. "It's not responding as it should. I'm losing time on the straights."
Andy's voice remained steady, "Copy that, Lina. Let's bring it in for a quick analysis. We aren't able to see any electronic issue with it, there must be a mechanical failure. I know you lost time in FP1, but we'll get to the bottom of this."
Returning to the garage, Aelina's car was quickly surrounded by mechanics, each one working with urgency to diagnose the DRS malfunction. Andy leaned over her shoulder, analyzing the telemetry data with a keen eye, searching for any clues that could pinpoint the root cause of the issue.
"Looks like there's a hydraulic pressure drop in the DRS system," Andy observed, his voice muffled slightly by the noise of the garage. "We'll need to bleed the system and check for any leaks."
Aelina nodded. She went over her data while Theo handed her, her water bottle. Fifteen minutes lost to the team trying to sort out her DRS issues but soon she was back on track. Aelina resumed her FP2 session with renewed focus, pushing her car to the limit while Andy monitored the DRS system closely from the pit wall. With each activation, they held their breath, hoping for a seamless operation.
"DRS engaged, Lina. Let's see how it holds," Andy radioed, his voice tinged with anticipation.
As Aelina streaked down the Hangar Straight once more, she activated the DRS, holding her breath as the rear wing deployed smoothly, slicing through the air with precision. The car surged forward, delivering the performance she had been craving.
"DRS is holding, Andy," Aelina reported, a triumphant smile spreading across her face. "Feels good. I'm going to run the simulations for the race."
"Copy that."
As the day drew to a close Aelina had found herself making her way back to the car right behind Oscar and his trainer.
"Wait up," she called out to Oscar and watched as Theo raised his eyebrow but said nothing. Oscar stopped and turned. "Did you get dinner?" she asked.
"No, was going to just get something back at the hotel."
"Wanna check out another local pub with me?" she asked. It was awkward but she wanted to spend more time with him, and she couldn't help feeling the need to be around Oscar no matter how strange it felt.
"Sure, but I'd like to not be out in team gear."
"Duh, I need to shower," Aelina scrunched her nose.
"Okay, see you in an hour?"
She nodded. Before walked to her car with Theo.
Theo raised an eyebrow at her.
"What?"
"Since when did you two get dinner together?"
"I don't know, since a bit?"
"Okay, if you say so." Theo smirked.
"Shut up." Aelina scoffed getting into the car and driving away from the circuit. She couldn't not explain it but there was this pull she had started to feel. The need to be around Oscar all the time.
💥
Inside the pub, the atmosphere was lively yet relaxed, with the scent of hearty British fare wafting through the air. Aelina and Oscar settled into a corner booth, their conversation awkward at first but they stayed closer to topics about racing and the excitement of the McLaren upgrades and Oscar chance to fight Aelina on track, slowly the awkwardness faded, and their conversation flowed effortlessly as they recounted the day's events. Even their shared DRS annoyance.
Over plates of burgers and fries, and paired with soda, their bond growing stronger. Aelina knew the longer she let those feelings grown the more shit she was digging herself in. The way a few weeks could change their dynamic from pure annoyance and hatred to banter and underlying attraction still baffled her.
As the evening wore on and the pub began to empty out, Aelina and Oscar lingered at their table, reluctant to part ways just yet. With a spontaneous spark of courage, Aelina suggested they could go back to her AIR BNB and watch a movie, she had figured out a way to sneak in an out without anyone seeing her.
"I'd like that," Oscar replied, his voice soft but filled with warmth.
Once inside Aelina's room, they kicked off their shoes and settled onto the plush sofa, the soft glow of the television casting flickering shadows across the room.
As they scrolled through the movie options, their shoulders brushed against each other, sending shivers down her spine. Aelina stole a glance at Oscar, her heart pounding in her chest as she realized just how much things had changed. She wanted to kiss him, but she wasn't ready to ask.
They picked a Christopher Nolan film, and they settled back watching the movie and somehow ended up with their bodies flush from shoulders touching down to the side of their legs brushing against each other. As the credits rolled and the room fell silent once more, Aelina turned to Oscar, her gaze soft and tender. "Thank you for tonight," she whispered, her voice filled with emotion.
Oscar's eyes sparkled with affection as he reached out to brush a stray lock of hair from her face. "No, thank you," he replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "I had fun."
In that moment, as they sat together in the quiet of the room, Aelina knew she was truly and royally fucked. Because maybe, just maybe she liked Oscar and there was no stopping the feelings that had found their way into her cold heart.
💥
Silverstone ended on an excellent note, Aelina had finished P5, not her best result of the season but the McLaren's were preforming so well it was hard to overtake Oscar who had finished P4 and that was his best result of the season so far.
She had joined Lando at the celebrations for his podium in his home race and had seen Oscar and congratulated him too, but she soon got dragged back to her room with her brother and Lando demanding the three of them play FIFA together.
"Oh my god Lian, why are you so bad at this game?" Lando chuckled.
Aelina whined and threw the controller to the other end of the couch. "Shut up."
"Sorry, Lina but he is right," her brother mocked her.
"I hate you too."
Lando narrowed his eyes while Carlos snorted. Neither of them believing that Aelina could truly hate them.
Her phone pinged next to her then, and she lazily grabbed it with the intention of swiping away the notification as she usually did, but the name on the screen surprised her.
IMESSAGE — pastry 🥐 + firecracker 💥
pastry 🥐
hey, firecracker! what are you up to?
Aelina hesitated for a moment before typing out her response.
firecracker 💥
playing fifa with lando and carlos
She chewed on her bottom lip before thinking fuck it and sent a follow up text.
firecracker 💥
want to join us?
pastry 🥐
be there soon
Aelina didn't question why Oscar texted her of all people, the same way she didn't question why she invited Oscar over. Things had been different and even though they hadn't talked about it over kissed since that night in the car. She knew they both felt it. She was just hoping this time it would be Oscar who would make the first move.
When there was a knock on her door a few minutes later, Aelina was the one who got up to open it, while Lando and Carlos played another game, each doing their best to cheat and distract the other while trying to score goals.
"Hey," Oscar said with a small smile. "Sorry for texting you randomly. Logan and Liam ditched me."
"Don't apologise." Aelina opened the door wider for Oscar to enter. "At least now someone can keep me company while those two behave like kids." She pointed behind her.
Oscar looked over to where Lando and Carlos were playing and chuckled as Lando tried to obstruct Carlos' vision to gain some sort of advantage. "At least they're having fun."
"Doesn't take much for them." She shrugged. "Do you want something to drink?"
"I'm good," Oscar replied as they sat on the couch opposite their friends who hadn't noted his presence yet.
"Oscar!" Lando waved at him as he noticed his teammate. Then he turned towards Aelina with a smirk, but she just shrugged hoping he wouldn't open his big mouth. "Nice of you to join us, mate. Also, how good are you at FIFA?"
"Decent, I think. But I can't say it's my game of choice."
"Do you want to play?" Carlos' asked but his eyes were fixed on the screen, tongue poking out of his mouth in concentration.
"I don't know, I haven't played in ages, and I refuse to be destroyed by any of you." He looked at the TV screen curiously.
"Won't be a problem if it's against Lando or Lina, they both suck, Lando slightly less than Lina," Carlos said.
"Hey!" Lando and Aelina exclaimed at the same time.
"Enough slander," Lando added.
Carlos used the distraction to score another goal, winning with just two minutes to spare on the clock. Lando had no time to come back from a 4-1 loss and leaned back against the back of the couch, pouting as the game came to an end.
"Tough luck, mate," Oscar said as a means of consolation.
Lando sighed and looked at Oscar. "Play with me?"
Aelina watched as Oscar contemplated before deciding to give in to Lando's request.
"You got this," Aelina whispered close to Oscar' ear.
"I heard that!" Lando said, indignantly. "You should be supporting me." Before Lando turned to his teammate. "No offence, Oscar."
"There's enough of me for both of you," Aelina chuckled without thinking and pretended not to notice the way Oscar' lips curled a little at that, while both her brother and Lando look at her slightly scandalized.
"That's not how this works." Lando protested.
"Are you going to play or what?" Aelina threw a pillow in Lando's direction, urging him on. "Scared Oscar will beat you?"
"Thank you for believing in me," Oscar said sarcastically. "Lando, you ready?"
"As ever."
There was something about Oscar when he was concentrating. His whole demeanour becomes serious, eyebrows closely knitted as if he was shutting the outside world and nothing beyond his field of vision existed. His fingers flew across the controller and his eyes widened as one of his players shot a ball wide, missing the goal.
"Yes!" He cheered enthusiastically.
Aelina hadn't realized she had been staring at Oscar this entire time until Lando loudly coughed, bursting her bubble. She turned to look at him and Lando raised an eyebrow at her and a knowing smirk on his lips.
Aelina simply rolled her eyes and looked back at the screen, but she kept stealing glances at Oscar for the next couple of minutes. It wasn't her fault that he was conveniently sitting in her field of vision.
The match ended in a 2-2 draw, and they decide to call it a night, both men pleased that they didn't lose. Carlos and Lando left first, not without Lando making an 'I see you' gesture at Aelina when the other two weren't looking. Aelina gave Lando a hug and poked his side, causing him to yelp, but Aelina only smiled innocently, shoving him out of the room.
Oscar was sitting on the couch, knees raised to his chest, and face resting on his hand. He looked relaxed; the weekend's race results no doubt having a positive impact on his mood.
"Maybe I should go as well, it's getting late," he said, but made no move to leave.
"Or you could stay a little longer." Aelina shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about the situation. "When do you head back to Woking?"
"Tomorrow afternoon."
"Are you tired?"
"A little."
"Enough to sleep?"
"Not really."
"Then stay."
Oscar looked at her for a second and then nodded. "And what do we do?" He was looking at Aelina expectantly, and Aelina—
Aelina wanted to walk over and kiss him. Her mind thinking, 'we could kiss. You could hold me. We don't have to do or say anything else; I just want you close.'
But—
She pushed away those thoughts and said, "we could watch a movie?"
"What did you have in mind?"
"Marvel marathon?"
"Sure." Oscar settled back into the couch while Aelina pulled up her Disney+ to play the first movie in the marvel series. At some point during the night, they end up cuddling on the couch, completely forgetting that both of them had to leave the next day or what anyone would think if they saw him sneak out the next day.
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