if the stars could talk {l.n.}

three

"Dylan come on the last thing we need is to be late on race day!" Hazel shouts as I slide on my sneakers and grab my camera bag along with making sure my pass is still hanging around my neck "alright alright lets go!" I laugh as we walk out of my apartment and climb into the uber we had ordered before. "what are you doing?" she asks entitledly "texting lando letting him know were on our way to the track" I explain to her as we continue to make small talk until we make it to the track. "spasibo" Both hazel and I thank the driver before we walk up to the paddock gates, scan our badges and make are way past the barriers "I have to go talk to Ted about post-interview stuff, maybe go say hi to lando in the McLaren garage?" she suggests "yeah sure, see you" I smile a bit confused before we part ways and I start walking along the hospitality suite road, I continue walking until I make it to the McLaren garage "Dylan!" I hear someone shout behind me, I turn around to find Alex running towards me from a bit farther down the paddock "Alex hi!" I smile giving him a friendly hug "Are you here to see lando?" he asks "kinda? I'm working with sky sport to take some photos for them and I was just hoping to say hi and wish him good luck" I explain quickly "hes probably talking to Carlos, come on" he says ushering me inside if what seems to be the McLaren hospitality, we quickly make our way though the cafeteria, Alex obviously getting a few weird looks coming in wearing a race suit that isn't the signature orange and blue McLaren suits. "this is his drivers room" he says knocking on the door before opening it to find lando sliding on a white turtleneck, the same one Alex is wearing. "Lan, Dylan is here" he chuckles before quickly saying goodbye to me to presumably make his way back to the red bull garages "Dylan hi!" lando smiles coming over to me and giving me a hug "hi! how are you?" I ask as he grabs my hand and pulls me into the drivers room "I'm good, a bit nervous for the race" he tells me as he takes the sleeves of his race suit and tying them around his waist "I just came to say hi and wish you luck today" I smile kindly "it's awesome that you stopped by, maybe next time you'll be rocking a McLaren shirt" he jokes "maybe" I tease back as I look at my watch that reads 1:30 "I should probably go choose where to take some photos, but can I see you after the race?" I ask nervously "yeah of course, I'll see you soon" he smiles kindly kissing my cheek "promise me you'll be safe?" I ask him "I promise" he tells me as we both walk out of his drivers room "I'll see you after" Lando says with a smile before walking away towards the garages and I walk back out to the hospitality road, I walk up the stairs behind the hospitality buildings and make it onto the roof, so I'm able to shoot both the pit lane and the main straight.

Lando ran an incredible race ending up in 8th, I got a ton of photos from the race and the podium ceremony of the drivers. After stopping by the SkySport box to give them the memory card with all the raw photos on them, I put my camera back into my backpack and make my way back to the McLaren hospitality to find Lando. I walk inside to find lando talking to some guy who I assume works directly with his car. I wait quietly by the entrance of the garage not wanting to intrude "apologise for my confusion but might I ask what you're doing here?" I hear a Spanish accent next to me, I look up from the ground to see a guy wearing the same race suit as Lando, presumably his teammate "oh yeah, I'm a friend of Lando's and just came to say congratulations" I explain kindly "alright sorry for being super formal I saw the media pass and thought it was some thing with Sky, I'm Carlos by the way" he smiles extending his hand to shake mine. "no worries, I'm Dylan" I reply kindly as Lando notices us talking and walks over "Dylan hey!" lando smiles giving me a hug "hey! awesome race! from both of you it was a joy to watch and photograph" I chuckle as lando stands next to me as we continue talking with Carlos "I should probably go talk to Zak, I'll see you later Lando, wonderful to meet you Dylan" Carlos smiles before starting to walk away "nice to meet you too" I tell him as Lando pulls me aside "where is your friend you said worked for Sky?" Lando asks "I don't know she ditched me when we first got here and I haven't seen her since, I assume interviewing people" I shrug as Lando takes my hand and leads me into his drivers room "that's kinda shitty, ditching your friend who has no idea what she's doing?" Lando asks as I turn around whilst he changes out of his race suit and into an white McLaren polo shirt and a pair of jeans and sneakers "yeah I mean, I managed to figure out my way around" I shrug wrapping my arms around myself because of the sudden gust of breeze "here, since you're always cold" Lando chuckles tossing me a grey sweater with the McLaren logo on it and orange trim. "thanks" I smile softly as I slide it on over my black t-shirt and due to our size difference is quite oversized on me. "keep it, I have like a dozen of them" he says "bu-" "no buts, plus it looks cute on you" he chuckles "thanks" I deeply blush as I shuffle my feet as he grabs his bags. "do you want me to show you where the Skysport stuff is?" "no that's ok I already went there to drop off the SD card" I explain as we continue walking towards the exit "when do you leave Russia?" I ask "I'm supposed to fly back Tuesday morning with Alex, George and our trainers" he tells me as we scan our badges "do you think by chance there is an extra seat on that plane?" "oh definitely on the McLaren one" he says grabbing my hand as photographers walk up to us "Kym, can you please not post those? I don't want all the fans freaking out and attacking her just yet" Lando asks the photographer "yeah of course Lando, not a problem. I'm Kym by the way" the photographer smiles as we shake hands "I'm Dylan, that's a beautiful camera by the way" I say as I admire the camera "thank you" he smiles as other drivers start to walk out "see you both later" he smiles before walking away to take more photos of other drivers leaving "he's nice" I chuckle as we walk towards what I assume is Lando's car "yeah everyone in f1 is super nice thankfully" he tells me as he holds the door open for me "I really am happy for you with the outcome from today, it was so much fun to watch and I'm excited for the future" I tell him as he hesitates to start the car "do you want me to drive?" I ask him "if you don't mind" he chuckles "not at all you must be drained after that, lets switch" I chuckle as we walk around the car and I climb into the drivers seat and adjust the seat to fit my frame before starting the car again and pulling out of the parking lot "do you just want to go back to your hotel?" I ask lando once were onto the motorway heading back towards Peters "well what are you gonna be doing?" "probably finish packing all of my stuff into luggage before hopefully leaving on Tuesday with you guys" I explain "do you want some help?" he asks "if you're feeling up for it, sure" I tell him as I continue driving and we continue talking on the 2 hour drive back into the city.