Adrenaline: A Lestappen Story

𝟔 - 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞

Allowing Charles a few moments to ponder how to delicately handle the situation with his girlfriend, Max granted approximately 15 minutes before slipping out of his room. He moved through the hotel's hallways, still in his racing suit. And with a purposeful stride, he arrived at the floor designated for the Ferrari drivers, an information he had gathered after noticing the floor that Carlos Sainz had stopped at when they returned from their post-race press conference.

As Max casually traversed the corridors, a voice resonated from the intersection of the hallway, causing him to come to an abrupt halt in his tracks. The unexpected sound sparked intrigue, momentarily suspending his planned journey through the floor's labyrinthine passages.

In fear he would get caught, he started to slowly step back, making as little noise as he could, reversing his walk. However, it took the blond barely two steps back for him to stop again when he recognized the voice — Lando Norris.

"We are hanging out, you know... like me and everyone, in Max's room if you wanna.. tag along." Lando said.

Max frowned confusedly, what was Lando doing here? The Mclaren team was not even set in this hotel, much less had Max been involved in a plan to hang out with Lando anytime soon.
Curiosity striking him, Max stood his ground, far enough from the edge of the wall for him to go unseen but close enough to hear the conversation clearly.

"Not today Lando, have to rest for tomorrow."
The unmistakable voice of Carlos Sainz followed along.

"I mean, you can rest with us." Lando insisted, being immediately shut down by Carlos with a nervous chuckle. "Can't. Lando, got my girlfriend here. Maybe another time, hm?"

"Right..." Lando laughed nervously, the loud chuckles echoing through the entirety of the floor. "Yeah, right, sure... Yeah, some other time."

A small silence followed the awkward moment before they both announced their goodbyes, the sound of the door seeming like the closing of a book, echoing on its crowded pages.
Max barely noticed that Lando had been walking away from the corridor until it was too late— the shorter driver suddenly bumped into him as he fast walked his way around the corner.
Taken aback, Max recoiled, and in that instant, he caught a vivid glimpse of the boy's countenance. Lando's eyes betrayed the telltale signs of distress, rimmed with redness, and his cheeks shimmered with tears.

"Max?" Lando uttered, his voice a mixture of disbelief and surprise. His expression, frozen in a momentary shock, resembled someone who had just encountered a ghost. The flush of red drained rapidly from his face, leaving behind a complex interplay of emotions etched upon his features.

"I don't think you're supposed to be here... Why are you crying?" Max asked him, trying to take any attention away from his own unmotivated presence on that floor.

"I... Why are you here?" Lando said, wiping his tears away as he quickly passed by Max, expecting the blond to follow him. To which he didn't.

Silence hung in the air as Max refrained from responding to the question. His training, deeply ingrained from numerous media sessions, compelled him to navigate around queries deemed unwanted. He held a momentary pause, contemplating his approach.

"I asked first," he asserted, adopting a counteroffensive stance, a subtle maneuver to redirect the conversational flow. The unspoken dance of media etiquette played out in the corridor, each participant vying for control over the narrative.

Lando stood by the elevator, his breathing growing heavier as he was pressured again by Max into explaining himself. "I got an allergy." he mumbled, trying to hide his face away from his view.

"Came to check if Carlos had any pills? or if he wanted to party with us?" Max immediately snapped before Lando had the chance of pronouncing the last word of his phrase.