Just something literally based on my life (except nothing is true, I wish) after I saw Esteban posting Thomas' phone number on Instagram (don't know if it's really his, though) and the Insta live by Dorian (hello ilinca66 ahaha). If you don't know Thomas Neubauer, you can check his Instagram! He's a good friend of Esteban Ocon and Dorian Boccolacci and races in Formula Renault. Hope you like it even if you don't know him! (you don't need to know him to understand this btw).
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"I don't even know why I'm writing you, there's no way this phone number is really yours. And even if it is, I have no idea what to tell you. So hey, hi Thomas! If you have more conversation subjects than I have, I'm listening.
Signed by someone who got your phone number on Esteban's Insta story 👀 (I advise you to get revenge)"
It was a casual evening just scrolling through Instagram. You saw how Esteban Ocon and his crew, Elena Berri, Gabriel Aubry, Dorian Boccolacci and Thomas Neubauer were in a restaurant in Dubai, enjoying some time off after a long season. Esteban posted a picture of his meal on his story Instagram, with the legend "photo credit: @thomas_neubauer" and a phone number. You screenshotted the picture and, in a bold move, decided to text the number. What bad could happen, anyway?
You didn't get any answer to your text on the next day, which wasn't a surprise. You knew this number was mostly not his true phone number and even if it was, there was no point for him to answer.
On the next day, you joined Dorian Boccolacci's live on Instagram. You had never watched any before, but on that night you felt like you wanted to. He was mostly just staring at the screen and not saying much, only answering a few questions. You could hear him talk to Thomas Neubauer through a door and he even showed him on the screen, walking in their Dubai hotel room in just his pants. Quite a nice sight, you thought. Thomas started posting messages on his friend's live. As Dorian showed his mattress put on the kitchen floor, you sent a message on the live telling "Oh, you guys are camping!", to which, to your biggest surprise, Thomas answered with "Yeah, a 500 € per night camping 😐".
You left the live and went to bed, sending another text to the number that was supposed to be Thomas'.
"Good night in you 500 € a night camping bedroom! (Still not confirming this is your phone number?)"
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You woke up in a hurry, not wanting to be late for your exam. You only checked your phone once in the train to put on some music. It almost slipped from your hands when you noticed you had received a text, from the number attributed to Thomas. Holding your breath, you opened it.
"The night was good, thank you! Dubai knows a lot about luxury camping. Yes, I am Thomas Neubauer, you got me. And yes, I'm going to kill Esteban for that. Any idea of a revenge plan? I don't have any idea of a conversation subject, but now I'm quite curious about you. Fact: yours is the only text I received from fans that I'm answering to. Guess I think you're trustworthy."
"My last camping experience was in a tent, somewhere in the North of France, with 20 kids around me and public showers. I'm sure yours was 100% better! Did Dorian or Gabriel snore? Wow, thanks for trusting me with your identity, I feel like a secret service agent, Mr. Bond 🕵️♂️. How about putting some ice in Esteban's bed? Well, if you're curious about me, here's a fact: you are the only person I ever texted without knowing if I was actually texting the right person."
"Are you a summer camp counsellor or something? I bet my Dubai shower was beating your public shower! Dorian snores a lot, he's a nightmare, that's why we made him sleep in the kitchen. Please, call me James! Your idea of revenge is nice, although I'm not so sure Elena would appreciate! I'm happy to have that privilege, dear. Tell me more about you. How old are you? Where do you live? What do you do? It's a bit unfair, you already know my face, my name, my job, my friends, and I don't know anything... 🤔"
You couldn't stop yourself from smiling. Were you really having a conversation with a racing driver you've been following for quite some time now? Looks like you were. You opened his text in class, but were not able to answer immediately. The three hours of economy and social culture never felt so long, as you kept thinking about what you could answer.
Finally, it was lunch break and you could get your phone to answer, after scrolling through your Instagram feed (you were quite addicted to that app) and noticed Thomas and his friends went skydiving in Dubai. Well, his life was definitely more exciting than yours!
"Yes, I've been a summer camp counsellor for a few years, that's quite fun! Indeed, I don't know Elena but I don't think she'll like having her bed all cold and wet! Guess you'll have to find another way to get revenge, then. How was skydiving? Oh, so you don't even want to know my name? Thought that'd be the first thing you'd ask! I'm 21, I live in France and I study communications. All good for you?"
"Kids are not my thing, unless they're mine and then I guess I'll like them, you know? Elena is pretty cool but not cool enough to enjoy a cool bed (see what I did, there?). Skydiving was AMAZING. Don't listen to Dorian and Gabi if they ever tell I was terrified and almost backed down, that's not true, alright? Of course I want to know your name! I mean, you're registered as "Pretty cool fan" in my phone, so I guess a name would be better. Nice to meet you, dear. I'm Thomas, 20, I live in France and I drive. How about you give me your Instagram? I bet I'll learn everything I need about you there. I feel like you're stalking me and I would really like to stalk you too 👀"
"So you are a funny guy! Didn't know if it was just an image or a fact. Of course I'm sure you weren't afraid by skydiving, it is known that Dorian and Gabriel are terrible liars, right? But hey, you still did it, no one cares if you were scared or not. You can be proud! I quite like the name "Pretty cool fan", so maybe I'll just stick to that. Nice to meet you too, Thomas! I'm definitely not stalking you (or am I?). How about I let you find my Instagram by yourself? You have about 13 000 followers, and I gave you a few information about me already. I'm quite sure you can find it all by yourself!"
"Alright, I accept the mission, M 🕵️♀️. Let's see what I have on you. You follow me on Instagram, and probably also Esteban, Gabi, Dorian and Elena. You were on Dorian's Insta live. You're a summer-camp counsellor. You went camping not so long ago. You're from France, probably the North of France. You're 21. You're a student in communications. All good for now?"
"All good."
The rest of the day went by without any new text from Thomas. Your test was alright, even though you wanted to check your phone really badly. You hesitated to text Thomas before going to bed, afraid you might have pushed him away. But you didn't. No one likes an insisting girl, right?
On the next morning, you checked your phone. No new text. With a sigh, you decided to check your Instagram feed. You had quite a few likes and comments, all from the same person: Thomas Neubauer. He liked pictures of you camping, studying, at your birthday party, at Spa Grand Prix. Each time he left a comment, either something funny or cute, mostly about stuff you talked about together. You laughed at his cheesiness.
Once you read each of his comments, you noticed you also had received two private messages. One from a friend from Hungary (A/N: someone should recognize herself here...) and the other by Thomas Neubauer. You opened it.
"Got ya, Y/N."