Faking it || Lando Norris LN

36

Olivia Reyes

Saturday. Monaco Grand Prix.

I tried brushing off every thought related to the drawing as much as I could, but I still ended up dreaming about it. As we made our way into the circuit, the gears inside my head were working overtime, trying to make sure I didn't lose sight of the most important task: not let Lando in without pushing him away.

It didn't help that I had become suddenly completely aware that it was me in his drawing. Blurting out the question "why did you draw me?" was a 24-hour effort. I was giving the performance of my life to keep up the role I was playing: the fool. I know nothing, I saw nothing, and I think nothing about the drawing of me in Lando's secret and insanely talented sketchbook. I could hardly even think about dodging Vincent as the thoughts ran wild through my mind without end.

"Time to suit up, kid," Matt winked at me as he walked by, letting me know the qualifying session would begin soon.

I had to get in my zone to nail this. I had to clear my head out and make sure Lando took up none of the space inside my brain before I got in the car.

I put on my race suit and left the Ferrari lounge with it tied around my waist, still sporting Lando's sunglasses because, even if Vincent wasn't my top concern at the moment, the thought of bumping into him still made me want to run for the hills and leave the country.

I opened my phone as I walked through the paddock, trying to steer my mind away from both Lando and he-who-shall-not-be-named.

Of course, it was of no use. Apparently the internet was going wild with the pictures that had been released of me wearing Lando's sunglasses while he was riding one of the Ferrari's teams bikes. Even if my decision to log into Twitter hadn't been the best one to get him out of my mind, it was hard not to stare at the pictures. Lando's eyes were wide as the photographers captured the first few seconds of him over the bike and my smile was wide as I stood a couple of steps behind him with his sunglasses perched over my nose.

I stared at that picture a little bit too much, taking on an internal battle of whether to save the picture to my phone or not until a voice rang loud in my ears while I was barely entering the garage.

"OLIVIA!" Gianna sprinted toward me, grabbing me by the shoulders without bothering to catch her breath.

"Woah Woah!!! Hi there," I returned her wide smile, even if hers was a lot more torrential. What was going on?

"IT'S PERFECT!" She beamed as she revealed what was in one of her hands.

The Vogue issue.

My eyes went wild as I took it slowly between my hands, staring at the picture of both of us on the cover and then snapping my eyes back at Gianna.

"Oh... My... God..." I involuntarily muttered, "have you read it already?"

My heartbeat was going at a hundred miles per second, but then it stopped completely as I saw Lando over Gianna's shoulder, walking from a distance but looking over at me.

I notice the Vogue issue under his arm immediately, a mere second before I saw his slight smirk toward me.

I flipped the pages immediately, getting to the article as quickly as possible, not even bothering to read the title.

*

A year before the 30-year-mark since a woman was last signed to a Formula 1 team, Olivia Reyes walked through the Bahrain circuit holding her head high with a smile as she tried to hide her nerves under her brand new Ferrari team t-shirt. Ferrari's decision to sign her had been the subject of hundreds of headlines during the winter break, but still, she recalls the shock in people's faces as though it was yesterday; comparing it to the way a family reacts when a new puppy is brought home by surprise.