Respect and Memories

16 - RB8

"Emrys wait!"

She doesn't turn back as she pulls her cap onto her head, completely forgetting that she was supposed to change into a t-shirt but is rudely reminded when she starts sweating bullets.

"Emrys!" Ally calls out.

The driver turns to Ally, ignoring the fact that Charles is speed-walking towards them. "Oh good, you're with Charles. We have a fan interview with you guys, Max, Lando, and Daniel."

"Ok great, can I talk to you really quick, Emrys?" Charles says, running a hand through his hair and placing the other on her shoulder.

"I need to change," Emrys runs to her trailer as Ally looks up from her iPad, confused.

"What have you been doing for the past hour then?"

~~~~ 🏎️💨 ~~~~

"How do you like F1 so far, Emrys?" Lizzie Mackintosh asks her, giving her a warm smile.

All of them were on the main stage now, with fans surrounding them everywhere. Emrys was sitting on the edge of the couch, next to Max, and across from Charles. Daniel was on the other side of Max and Lando was between Daniel and Charles.

"It's going pretty good, I would say," She says, not explaining further.

"So, Max, what is it like having a girl on the grid now? Are you feeling any pressure since she's been here?" Lizzie smiles as the crowd laughs.

Max smiles and picks up the microphone to answer. "It makes things interesting. I do feel a bit of pressure considering how she's been standing on podiums since she started," he laughs and looks towards Emrys who's already smiling at him, making the crowd go wild.

"Now we know your contract ends this year, is that correct, Emrys?" Lizzie asks.

"Yes," Emrys replies, looking to Ally who was giving her a thumbs up.

"Do you think you'll be renewed for next season or future seasons at Mercedes?"

"Well, I guess we're going to have to wait and see. I mean, that's what silly season is for right?" Emrys smiles brightly as the crowd full of fans cheers for her.

"Let's go to the fans for questions they may have," Lizzie says, as someone passes the microphone to a girl in the crowd.

"Lando," She starts, the rest of the drivers letting out a sigh of relief. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

The drivers all hold in their laughs as he shyly picks up the microphone to answer. "No, next question," Lando says it all in one breath and very quickly, making the crowd laugh at his antics.

The mic gets passed to the girl next to her, who turns to look at Emrys. "Emrys," at the sound of her name, she straightens up a little, "Which driver would you say you are the closest with?"

There was surprise evident on her face as the driver was expecting a question about her dating life like Lando did. Emrys tilts her head as she thinks and eventually picks up the microphone.

"If they're a retired driver, Lewis of course," she smiles as low chuckles are heard from the crowd. "A current driver would probably have to be either George or Max."

She puts down the microphone and nods slowly as the crowd goes wild, somehow growing even louder when Max quickly side-hugs her with a smile.

Emrys glances over to see Charles looking at Max with a blank stare and then making eye contact with her until their attention is brought to another fan that was asking him a question.

"Charles, are you and Alexandra still together?"

That question held different meanings for some of the drivers but the unknowing fans didn't know that, some hoping for him to say yes.

Emrys forgets to breathe as she watches Charles slowly pick up the microphone.

"Uh well—" he laughs nervously. "Short answer is yes, we are."

The Mercedes driver felt like she got stabbed in the heart as the fans go crazy at the confirmation of their favorite couple.

The two meet eyes but Emrys breaks it immediately, can't even bearing to look at him anymore.

The interviews went on, questions about love lives having been talked out at the beginning, all that remained were race questions.

Eventually, it was over and Emrys hurriedly waved to the fans and disappeared down the stairs and made a beeline towards her trailer.

But it must have been her lucky day as she bumps right into someone.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you." She looks up from her feet and smiles at the person.

"Too focused on thinking about winning?" The guy was blonde and significantly taller than Emrys and had a familiar smile.

"Yeah," she looks at him in awe, the sound of his voice also familiar. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

The guy shakes his head with a smile. "I don't think so. I doubt you know of me unless my brother has some new found love for his younger brother."

They laugh and Emrys still looks confused. "I'm Emrys Pierce, but I'm sure you knew that already."

"I did," he laughed and shook her outstretched hand. "I'm Arthur. Arthur Leclerc."

Her smile faded and she quickly took her hand back snd slowly clapped her hands together. "Oh!"

Emrys looks around and immediately makes eye contact with Charles. "Nice to meet you. I should get going now though."

"Wait but—" before he could finish his sentence, she had run off into the distance.

"Why were you talking to her?"

Arthur spins around to see Charles also looking at her. "Uh, because she ran into me and we just made small talk."

Charles ran his hand through his hair and lets out an exasperated sigh.

Arthur furrows his brows and crosses his arms. "Do you guys have something going on?"

"No, why?" The older of the two says quickly.

"She only ran off when I said I was your brother."

"I don't know. Maybe she was busy." Arthur looks unconvinced but didn't have time to interrogate when Charles makes an excuse to leave. "Speaking of busy. I should go too."

The younger brother stood there, dumbfounded. "They definitely have something going on." He mumbled to himself.