blondie | valtteri bottas [COMPLETED]

sorry | 03

[1141 words] this is written in the third person. sorry if that confuses you. i'll try to stick with one.

——

'you must be dima.'

a shy little girl with hair darker than all of her classmates was pulled to the front. she had left for a few years to her fathers hometown far far away from finland. she kind of hated her parents from bringing her back to finland from lebanon. it was warmer there, and she looked like a sore thumb sticking out amongst the largely-fair haired children, especially now that she was tanned.

'everyone give dima a warm welcome!' the teacher continued as dima's head ducked a little in embarrassment, untucked strands of hair hiding her face. the class was welcoming, all saying hello to the new girl. they couldn't have had reason to be rude, they were only reaching the tough age of 9 years.

'you can sit next to elea and valtteri.' the teacher pointed at the people as they waved her over.

she didn't remember school being like this.

'i'm elea.' the honey blonde girl greeted her while the other bright blond boy stayed silent.

'i'm also elia!' dima said with a laugh. she wasn't sure if the spelling was the same but it sounded similar phonetically. 'it's my middle name.' she was surprised at how quick she managed to be comfortable.

the two girls were chatting away while the boy stayed silent. noticing that he wasn't talking, she asked elia to tell him to join. she knew she would appreciate the company if she felt lonely too. elia shook her head and told her to make the move.

dima turned a little to face the boy.

'valtteri?' she said quietly, as if she was testing out his name on her lips.

the boy with his big blue eyes looked up at her, slightly startled as he didn't notice her waiting for him. she fluttered her eyes as a reflex response, her dark brown eyes shutting slightly.

she felt bad for not having the full breakfast her mother had made for her in that moment. she felt a little sleepy.

'yes?'

dima suddenly became quiet, she didn't know what to say.

a few seconds passed.

'i like your hair.' was the first thing that blurted out of her mouth. while it hadn't been a lie, she did like his hair that looked irresistibly soft in comparison to her dark curlier hair, the boy wasn't convinced.

'really?'  dima eagerly nodded, smiling seeing the boys cheeks tinge red.

'it's pretty.'
—

four years had passed while the friendship between the girl and the boy had started, but it had only grown stronger. his hair not showing any signs of darkening while hers grew in length, darker than ever.

the two sat in their ice hockey clothes, sweating and laughing.

'i really hope you do well in the racing world vicky. ice hockey definitely isn't your thing.'  dima teased while the boy rolled his eyes.

'don't act like you weren't slipping on the ice like two minutes ago,' valtteri started to take some of the hockey armour off as he peeked up from his lashes.

'you know i don't like being called vicky.' 

the girl flipped her hair dramatically. 'i know.'

she leant down to untie her shoelaces. 'you love me too much to cut me off just because i call you vicky.'

'i guess i do.'

they smiled softly at each other in a rare moment of silence.

———

'big 16 huh?' she hadn't expected her best friend who was busy karting and competing in competitions to make it to her 16th birthday.

'dork.' she greeted him with a hug that he reciprocated with longing.

there was a catchy arabic song playing in the background, fitting her heritage. he was sure he had picked up a lot of it simply by being out and about their house.

'i didn't think you would come.' she slowly murmured out under her breath, only for him to hear while the music dominated the background.

he inhaled her lovely scent of in response, while her long dark hair tickled his fingers that rested on her back. he tightened his hold on his best friend.

he didn't give a verbal response, just quietly swaying with her on the spot.

she was wonderful, he thought.

____

'i'm sorry again.' valtteri was quick to talk. it had taken him a few moments before the pieces started to pick up. he was a little sleepy when he had bumped into her. she looked far too familiar, though her hair had gone a few shades lighter than he remembered. she probably dyed it. maybe it was the sun?

he couldn't believe it.

the woman who was once his best friend was standing in front of him as a completely different person than he remembered. she had grown up and while they did lose contact, he didn't expect to run into her again.

at least not like this.

she always said she'd go travelling and then become a writer, penning books about her travels. he wondered if that was what she had been up to if she made it to her dream, as he did.

what struck him the most is that they didn't recognise each other immediately.

her name was too particular and unique for common finnish folk and her dark hair was an obvious giveaway.

'it's okay valtteri.' she breathed out.

did she recognise him? maybe she did and was waiting for him to remember? did she remember the summer afternoons where they used to ride their bikes up and down the neighbourhood because her parents wouldn't let her go more than that, for good reasons now that he thinks about it? did she remember when she taught him how to braid her hair while an obscene amount of youtube videos played in the background?

there were so many memories that started playing in his mind like a little theatre, flicking through the stills that capture the moment best.

'valtteri?'

he shook his head lightly as if he was physically erasing the thoughts that now clouded his mind away, and smiled gently.

he didn't know what to say.

'sorry-' he started again before he was cut off.

'stop saying sorry!' his cheeks flamed in embarrassment. he was sure that he had said it so many times at this point. oh god.

'are you not going to offer me coffee?' she says hesitantly, clearly unsure about whether to bring up the fact that this was valtteri.

valtteri straightened up as if going 'ah' and gestured her to go ahead.

'after you madam.'

——

sorry if it's going too slow, i am terribly sick right now and my eyes are super red and tired. i haven't spell checked this (source?  just trust me bro).
thank you for reading. this has gotten a very good response from people.