Chapter Text
summer of 2012, spain.
me and my parents were on a trip to spain. i was 7 years old. the pool smelled like sunscreen and chlorine, and i was dangling my feet in the water, kicking it a little just to make ripples. my dad had gone to get food, which was taking forever.
"moooom…" i groaned. "i’m so boredddd..."
she sighed like i had personally ruined her vacation.
"why don’t you go say hi to that boy?" she said, pointing without even looking at me.
i looked over.
the boy was sitting on a lounge chair like he owned the place. he had dirty blond hair and a helmet next to him. an actual helmet. at a pool.
"…why does he have a helmet," i muttered.
"go ask him," she said, smiling in that fake way moms do.
i shuffled over, squinting in the sun.
"uh. hi."
the boy looked up right away. way too awake.
"hi."
i pointed at the helmet.
"why do you have that?"
his face lit up. immediately. this was a mistake.
"oh! i do karting," he started rambling, sitting up straighter. "we’re here because the track nearby is really good and my dad says it’s important to practice a lot and-"
"ok," i said quickly. "i didn’t ask all that."
he blinked. then laughed.
"you’re kinda rude."
"you’re kinda weird," i said back.
he grinned. "what’s your name?"
"ellie."
"i’m lando," he said. then, like it was the coolest thing in the world, "i’m gonna be a race car driver."
"yeah okay," i said. "i’m gonna be famous too."
his eyes went wide. "for what?"
i crossed my arms. "i’m gonna be a singer."
he stared at me for a second, then laughed so hard he almost fell off the chair.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
that night, somehow, our families were at the same restaurant.
somehow, i was sitting next to lando.
somehow, he stole my fries.
"HEY!" i said, pouting.
"sharing is caring," he said, already chewing.
so i stole his dessert. our parents laughed.
"HEY!" he crossed his arms, frowning. "you took my food!"
i shrugged. "you took mine first."
he thought about it. "…fair."
later, we walked back to the hotel, the air warm and my hands sticky from gelato. lando kept kicking rocks into the street like it was very important.
"i’m gonna be on tv one day," he said suddenly.
i looked at him. he wasn’t smiling this time.
"don’t get annoying about it," i said.
he bumped my shoulder. "you’ll still watch though."
"…yeah," i said. "probably."
he stuck his pinky out like it was obvious.
"promise you won’t forget me."
i hooked my pinky with his.
"only if you don’t forget me either," i said.
"never," he said right away.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
bahrain grand prix, 2023
lando, my childhood best friend, invited me to the first race of the year, the bahrain grand prix.
i walked through the paddock, weaving past people with headsets and clipboards, trying to spot the mclaren garage so i could say hi to him before everything got hectic.
ever since we were kids, i’d been there for most of his races. different countries, different years, same feeling. cheering too loud, pretending i wasn’t nervous.
i stepped into the garage, eyes glued to my phone as i typed a quick message, not really paying attention to where i was going, and then i bumped into someone.
"oh shit- i'm so sorry, i didn't know where i was.." my voice died down.
he was tall. brown hair. light brown eyes that were way too intense for a random paddock collision. the kind of eyes you'd get lost in.
"watch where you're going, yeah?" that's all he said, and then he left to somewhere else. i couldn't even get his name.
for some reason, my heart was beating really fast.
"hey, ellie! over here!" i turned at the sound of lando’s voice, spotting him across the garage.
"hey!" i said, walking over and hugging him. he hugged me back easily, like always.
"i thought you got lost for a second," he joked, letting out a soft laugh.
"yeah, no," i said. "i’m not that dumb. i just ran into someone."
his eyebrows lifted. "oh yeah? who?"
i shrugged. "no idea. tall, brown hair, light brown eyes, lots of moles. his face was kinda… squishy."
lando laughed.
"yeah, that’s the rookie," he said. "oscar piastri." lando said. "i'll introduce you to him after the race, alright?" i nodded, watching as lando was pulled away to get ready.
my mind kept replaying the moment i bumped into oscar. the way he looked at me. the way my heart had sped up for no reason.
little did i know it was the start of something big.