Picture Perfect | Daniel Ricciardo

° 13 °

After work, Dani and Daniel got themselves in a small hipster looking cafe that they used to always go to. They sat down at the window looking over to the beach that was across from the cafe. They sat on the same two couches that they used to sit on. When someone that worked there asked the two what they wanted to drink, Daniel decided to order for both of them and ordered the same two drinks they both used to get here. It was two chocolate milkshakes to be precise. 
'What If I wanted a strawberry milkshake?' Dani asked while she had her eyebrows raised at him. Daniel looked back at her and shook his hand that was pointing to her. 
'Don't give me that bullshit,' Daniel said disgustedly. 'I thought you had learned your lesson when we got here for the first time,' Daniel had a grin on his face, thinking back at their teenage years, that really wasn't that long ago. It felt that way though, for the both of them. 
'Are we really going there?' Dani laughed. 'You don't have the power to not let me like a strawberry milkshake.'
'I let you like it. I'm just saying we both know that strawberry milkshake is the least greatest milkshake on this planet,' Dani shook her head as the two milkshakes were set on our table. We both gave the waiter a smile and looked back at each other. 
'I'm ignoring that comment of yours,' Dani told the man sitting in front of her as she pulled the big glass to her and put her lips on the straw, looking back at Daniel with a guilty face as the magical liquid got to her taste buds. Daniel laughed at the face she made and took a sip himself. There was a small silent between the two of them. It was not an awkward silence, just a silent where both of them were enjoying something that was in front of them... A good milkshake. It was until a question came out of Dani's mouth that was flying around her head when she had heard the news for the first time.
'I've heard something crazy by the way..' she started, looking at Daniel who put his glass back on to the table.
'What's that?' he asked, twisting the glass around with his hand. Dani pressed her lips together, making Daniel more curious as she really let him wait before she actually asked the question.
'I've heard that you stopped racing... crazy right?' Dani awkwardly laughed, hoping what she heard from her mom was not true. 
'It would be crazy yeah. If it wasn't true,' Dani almost choked on her drink as she looked shocked at her friend in front of her. Her eyes couldn't look any bigger as they did right now as she tried to get out of her words. She couldn't, so she asked the simple question.
'Why?' Daniel didn't try to hide the big sigh he let out of his mouth. It was a question that he had to explain to a lot of people. To his friends who thought he was the biggest idiot for doing so, his mom and dad were way nicer about it and Daniel was almost sure he had seen relieve on his mothers face. He told everybody a different story because he knew nobody would understand apart from the person that was the reason for him to quit. The person sitting right in front of her. Dani watched as Daniel started to play with the straw in his glass as he was trying to found the words to tell her the truth. Would she think he was stupid? Daniel decided to just tell her the truth, even if it sounded stupid. He wanted to be honest to her. 
'I guess I just didn't really enjoy it as much as I used to. You know, when you were there at my races, you made me keep pushing myself. At all the races you joined me I felt like I had more to give in the car and I just had the time of my life with you there to cheer me on. After you were gone it felt different to celebrate a good result. Like it didn't really matter? I got bored with that feeling and I quit. And now I'm here,' Daniel put on a smile as he ended his short, but true story. His smile didn't seem very real though.
'Daniel,' Dani said in a whisper. She couldn't help but have a guilty feeling in her stomach. 
'It's fine Dani, really. I'm not doing something where my heart isn't fully in.' 
'But that's not really true, right?' Dani asked confused. She knew him too well that a passion like this couldn't just disappear out of his system. Like he didn't spend all of his life working to the moment he gets into Formula one and becomes a world champion. As a kid, Daniel always tried to impress her by saying he would become a world champion one day. She believed him after seeing him racing in his go-kart. As kids he made it always look so easy, except for when the both of them went karting for fun and Daniel letting Dani win almost every time. 'You lived for racing. Remember all the times you scored amazingly well at races and you telling me; One step closer to getting my world champion title? Daniel, I know you long enough that that kind of passion you have for racing against the best of the best can't just disappear. Trust me, in a few weeks you're regretting that decision.'
'Dani, trust me. I'm done with-' Daniel was suddenly stopped right in the middle of his sentence when he heard a familiar voice yelling at them. 
'The two Danny's sitting in front of each other... This is a dream!' Even Dani recognized the voice and she couldn't help but feel disappointed as she was sure this was the end of having a private conversation between her and Daniel. The voice came from Gavin, someone that Daniel still called a friend, but Dani used to call a friend. It was no surprise to the two of them that Gavin wasn't alone. He was with the whole crew; Sarah, Carl and Corrie. Dani looked back at Daniel, who immediately found her eyes. She gave him a look to show him that she wasn't very exciting to see her old friends. It was maybe the only thing Daniel could read from Dani's face. 
'Hey guys,' Daniel said, turning his head back to the group that was now standing in front of their table. Dani prayed secretly that they weren't joining them at the table, but unfortunately for her, they did. Gavin was the first to sit down next to Daniel and Corrie followed his lead by sitting next to Dani while Sarah and Carl took both a chair out of another table. Dani immediately felt awkward sitting with this group. 
'So, what were we talking about?' Sarah asked curiously, looking first at Daniel before leaving her eyes on Dani. She could already feel the judging eyes, which she almost always got from Sarah. Dani always thought it was something she did, and it kind of was in some way. She found out Sarah had a crush on Daniel and apparently that crush wasn't over just yet. 
'Just about some random stuff,' Daniel said for the both of them. 
'Yeah right, mate. Dani, how is Adelaide treating you?' Carl said with a grin. Carl was someone that Dani didn't mind as much. He was always nice to her, liked to tease her a lot, but he was nice in school.
'Great, yeah..' Dani smiled awkwardly as she realised how much these people became strangers to her. 
'Oh come on Dani! I've seen those two cute boys you had with you. Adelaide is treating you amazing. Wouldn't surprise me if you have done the dirty with both of them,' Sarah laughed, making Dani shuffle awkwardly on the couch. How could she get out of this situation without making it obvious that she didn't want to be here? She looked back at Daniel who clenched his jaw tightly.  
'Right...' Dani sighed, not sure what other answers would've been the right answer. Saying no to Sarah was not enough, she would say I was lying then. She got her phone out and looked at the time, but instead saw a text message from Oliver, telling me that Finn and he were at the beach, so that if I wanted to join them, that I could. 'Sorry guys, I have to go,'
'Going to your cute two boys?' Sarah winked at me.
'Now I want to know what they're looking like,' Corrie sighed. I smiled and nodded slowly.
'Yeah. I guess I forgot about the time,' Dani lied as she looked at Daniel with a sorry face. He had an annoyed look on his face and Dani wasn't sure if it was because of the others or because of her leaving all of the sudden. 
'It's fine, go to our replacement,' 

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A/N: Is Daniel going to be jealous of Oliver and Finn? 🤔
Who knows...
Only one week of school left for me, and I'm already planning on writing a new story. Because now that my school motivation is almost completely gone, my writing inspiration is on its peak. (I'm thinking about a Charles Leclerc story. I'm also having another Daniel story in mind, but I'll write that when I'm done with this story to not confuse myself with the characters.)