Woman- A Formula 1 Fan Fiction

Chapter 14

My phone connects to the AUX when we get into the car, and as I drive away a One Direction song starts blasting. Even though I have gotten into indie music as I have grown older, One Direction was a big part of my childhood- therefore I have a couple songs on my playlist. "No Control" plays excessively loud on the speakers, and I automatically turn down the volume to save Lando's ears. I look at him, and he looks extremely startled with his hands covering his ears, eyes popping out and staring at me. Laughing at his expression, I turn the song on a little louder and bop my head to the beat.

"Not a fan of One Direction I see," I say as he lays his head down on the headrest, eyes tilting up to the ceiling.

"I am surprised that you are," he responds, looking at me carefully. I continue to hum the song.

"Have you ever seen the carpool karaoke with them?" I ask when we reach a stoplight.

"Never"

As the chorus comes on, I do the choreography that James Corden directed during the episode with One Direction. Of course we are at the stoplight, so I perform the whole dance until the light turns green. I laugh at my own stupidity, while Lando looks at me like I have lost my mind.

"What was that exactly?" Lando asks as he giggles and props his head on his hand.

"It's hard to explain," I say softly, turning the music to a lower volume. I skip the song to Monacillo by Argonaut and Wasp, and it quietly plays in the profound silence within the car. Lando speaks first, after a minute.

"I am really sorry I didn't tell you about her. I was stupid" he says sadly. I sense the regret in his voice, and it softens my hard interior. But I still feel anger towards him, he messed my mind up this whole weekend.

"Yes, you were stupid. I was too." I respond, keeping my eyes on the road in front of me. I feel myself glare into the windshield as the anger bubbles up inside of me. The anger isn't just targeted at him for the first time. It was my own fault, I let him in.

"How were you stupid?" he asks, moving his body as far away from me as possible, head looking out to the violet sky.

"I led myself to believe that, well, you liked me. And I followed the intuition, and was left in a bad place. If I hadn't done that, we would not even be here." I tell him, feeling emotion thick through my voice.

"It was not your fault, Hannah, I promise."

I shake my head at his words, tears brimming my eyelids. I take a deep breath and control myself before I have a breakdown in front of Lando. I change the subject quickly.

"Sorry, I didn't ask, how was your race?" I ask him quickly, wiping my fingertip underneath my eyelid.

"Not bad, not good. P8, right behind Daniel. Didn't have the best start, but I caught up to the points in the last laps." he answers, voice strained.

"Last Lap Lando, I am familiar with him." I say, giggling slightly. I feel the tension in the car loosen up a little, as his posture becomes much less rigid.

"You drove a brilliant race. You fail to disappoint, passing George so smoothly and calmly." he tells me, looking into my eyes hopefully. I give him a small grin, and look back onto the road.

"I have high expectations, so I need to succeed. P2 in qualifying is not good enough in my eyes," I explain once more, and he interrupts me.

"Hannah, I am sorry, but we can't just ignore the elephant in the room." he says harshly, making my cheeks warm up and stomach churn. I keep my eyes on the pavement ahead of me.