Can't Help Falling in Love {Ryan Blaney}✔️

| five |

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"Lara!" Chase called, jogging up to her. "Ready for qualifying?"

    She shrugged, "I think I'm going to barf."

    Chase took a step back from her, "You're going to do okay. Just focus and breathe, okay?"

    Lara had to clamp her hands together to resist the urge to reach out and touch Chase. The offseason is over. She reminded herself. "Okay. Thanks, Chase. I'll... uh... see you around." Lara winked before heading towards her car.

    "Lara!" Her grandfather waved her over. Her heart pounded, replaying her interaction with Chase. That had just been friendly, a good teammate helping out the rookie. Her grandfather couldn't see through that, could he?

    "What's up?" She asked as she approached her grandfather, hoping that he couldn't hear the shake in her voice or the pounding of her heart.

    "I wanted to give you this." Rick handed her a necklace with a gold cross at the end, "It was your dad's. He always said it was good luck. I found it in his truck after the accident." Lara watched the tears pool in her grandfather's eyes as she blinked back her own.

    Lara took the necklace, slipping it on. "Thank you." She murmured, burying her head into his chest. "Do you think he'd be proud of me?"

    She could feel her grandfather nod, "He'd be so proud of you. God, I wish he could've been here for you."

    Lara pulled away, her hand on the cross, "Thank you, Grandpa. Thank you for everything."

    Rick mustered a smile for Lara, "Now go kick some ass in qualifying."

    Lara nodded, turning to head back to her car. She tried to shake the thoughts of her dad. Growing up without him was hard, especially after her mom left. Rick loved and treated her like a daughter but it wasn't the same. Lara had always had this feeling that she had been abandoned, unwanted but she never had dared mention that out loud to her grandparents in fear that they would see her as ungrateful and abandon her too. Lara squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, willing the bad thoughts out of her head.

    "Ready?" Kevin Meendering asked as she got to her car.

    She nodded, "Let's do this thing."

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    Lara climbed out of her car after qualifying. She had missed the front row by a couple tenths of a second. It sucked that she didn't make it onto the front row but she was pretty proud of the way that she ran on her first real run at Daytona.

Lara took off her helmet, shaking out her blonde curls from her ponytail. She smiled at Ryan Blaney whose car was next to hers. She hadn't talked to Ryan since last offseason and she had been looking forward to seeing him again.

"You and Chase, huh?" Ryan leaned against a toolbox.

Lara's head snapped towards Ryan with surprise. "How do you know about that?" Her blood instantly boiled but she winced at how sharp and angry her voice sounded towards Ryan.

Ryan shrugged, obviously unbothered. "Chase was bragging about it last night."

Anger continued to well up in Lara. She had made it clear to Chase that nobody meant nobody. "Excuse me," she brushed past Ryan, striding across the garage where Chase had just climbed out of his car.

She made eye contact with him, motioning for him to come to her.

His face lit up as he sauntered over to her, "Yes?" He asked coyly.

Lara rolled her eyes, annoyed that he didn't seem to know what she wanted. "Which part of nobody knowing can't you get through your thick skull?" She hissed.

    "I'm sorry. I just thought they should know since they're our friends." Chase shrugged. "This is nothing to be upset about." He walked away before Lara could say another word.

    Lara's cheeks heated up. He was right, this really was minor, nothing worth getting upset over. But she was so afraid of getting caught, so afraid of the repercussions. There was a part of her that was angry, angry that Chase didn't have the same fear, that Chase didn't have to have the same fear. If her grandfather had voided his contract, every big team would line up to sign him. But Lara? She was Rick Hendrick's granddaughter, the consensus always that she was only here because of her grandfather, her talent unnoticed.

    "Hey," Ryan stopped next to her, "Why don't we get some food?"

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    "I, uh, didn't mean to upset you." Ryan finally spoke once they were on their way to a diner a few miles from the track.

    Lara turned to Ryan, giving him a weak smile, "I know. It's just... I wish he would've at least said something to me first? Like, I don't know if he doesn't get or just doesn't care that there are actual consequences for me if we get caught."

    "Wait, there are actual consequences?" Ryan asked, his eyes trained on the road.

    Lara shrugged, "I mean, I'm assuming. Usually, when Rick says something, he means it."

    "Why do you do that?" Ryan asked, glancing over at her.

    "Do what?" She questioned.

    "Call your grandfather Rick when you talk about him?" Ryan chuckled softly, "Sorry, I've just noticed that you do it and I'm just curious."

    Lara shrugged, "I don't know, I feel like when I call him Grandpa to other drivers especially, then they think 'oh yeah, she's only here because she's got her grandfather wrapped around her finger and she's taking away a ride for somebody who actually deserves it."

    "You do know that nobody that's ever watched you race or raced against you thinks that, right?" He pointed out as he pulled into a parking spot, killing the engine.

    She shrugged again, "I don't know. I always feel like I don't belong like I'm an outsider. Maybe I am."

    Ryan turned, giving Lara a reassuring smile, "Well I've always thought you belong up in the Cup Series. Don't worry about anybody else, okay?"

    She nodded slowly, "Okay. I appreciate it."

    "Anytime, Lara. Now let's go eat."

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