Faking it || Lando Norris LN

29

Olivia Reyes

Monday. Silverstone Week.

"Is your phone working properly?" I stared at the device on top of the table, watching it glitch for the millionth time today.

"Yeah, why? Yours isn't?" Lando replied as a notification chimed from his phone, doing the weirdest, most distorted sound I'd ever heard come from anything. "Maybe I spoke too soon."

"Alright, alright," I let a laugh out as I shuffled on my seat and made myself more comfortable. "Questions."

We were sitting at the café Gianna told us to go. It wasn't small, but it was drenched in a cozy feeling that was amplified by the dark wood of the furniture and the low-hanging lightbulbs that painted the café in an intimate yellow. It was a chilly early morning, so I nestled the warm paper cup of coffee inside my hands like a tiny and personal fireplace.

"Questions," he conceded, shuffling on his seat as well as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Alright, let's recap what we already know. Olivia Reyes Flores. February 7th, 2002. Guadalajara. Favorite color is red. No pets. Two siblings: David and Jorge," I began listing all of the questions I remembered answering so far. "Favorite holiday is Christmas with my family or Halloween if I'm away. Hate strawberries and thunderstorms. Quite obvious fear of heights. Favorite track is Mexico City."

"Alright," he cleared his throat before beginning, "Lando Norris. November 13th, 1999. Bristol. No favorite color. Cat called Sirius. No siblings. New Year's. Hate fish. Favorite track is Spa but this weekend is Silverstone."

"Great," I took a sip of my coffee, feeling satisfied so far with my knowledge. "Now, how did we start dating? I honestly don't like the stories Gianna came up with for us to choose. They're too cheesy."

"Agreed," he took another sip. "Let's just say Danny Ric set us up as a joke and it stuck."

I couldn't help but let out a loud laugh as I quickly brought a hand to cup my mouth.

"Perfect," I said. "It's pretty believable, to be honest."

My eyes returned to the glitching phone in front of me as soon as the laughter left my body, bringing back the feeling of anxiety and nerves that anticipated today's photoshoot. It was nearly impossible to be absolutely prepared for a Vogue "couple" interview, especially if it was a fake one.

As a public figure, it's quite usual for the marketing team to have a conversation with magazines or profilers about what they're looking for and hope for cooperation on it. Before an actor is announced as the lead in a movie, it isn't uncommon for an interview to be dropped before the announcement preparing the public to see the celebrity in the exact light that the movie marketing team wants the world to see him or her.

If it's an action movie, they'll paint the actor as complex, full of feelings, and hint at some unresolved part of their personal history that sows intrigue —perfect to go with a dramatic story. If it's a romantic movie, they'll emphasize their feelings, their kindness, their family, etc, etc.

However, Vogue writers had never been known for their cooperation with what was expected by the marketing team. They were huge, and they knew it perfectly. Telling Vogue that you expect the public to feel a certain way after reading their article was the perfect recipe to make them write the exact opposite.

Everyone arrived at Vogue interviews knowing close to nothing about what would be asked, and when it came to couples interviews, it was even worse. Couples' interviews done by Vogue had even less briefing from their side. It was the spontaneousness and the candidness of the couple that determined the direction and success of each of those articles.