FIFTY FIVE

"Valtree! My favorite Finnish man!"

Larissa Kimi Cohen grinned as her dark brown eyes noticed her Mercedes team mate standing just outside of his garage, quickly running over to him and standing behind him.

Valterri Bottas rolled the blue of his eyes at her at the words that left her lips, since whilst he appreciated being called that, he knew that he wasn't.

That belonged solely to her Godfather, Kimi Raikonnen.

"My trailer is open, Larissa." Valterri chuckled, hearing her cheer before she took off running towards his trailer.

He shook his head from side to side whilst laughing to himself, head shooting upwards when he noticed the girls trainer running around as if she was looking for somebody.

"Tell me that she hasn't come this way."

Lucy Appleton spoke in a rushed tone to the Bottas man, seeing him shaking his head and shooting her an apologetic look.

"Damnit. I swear she's some kind of hide and seek expert." Lucy breathed heavily, placing the both of her hands on to her hips. "I said hello to Seb for two seconds and when I turned around, she had disappeared."

"She's probably gone to see Charles, or Alex, Pierre, Lando or George." Valtteri lied to the woman with ease, covering for his team mate who he knew would be hoping that he would.

"If in doubt, go to the chaos clan." Lucy muttered underneath her breath. "It's either them, or she's hiding with Kevin and Romain, the little shit."

He noticed how she was trying not to laugh at the antics of the young Cohen and smiled, having a pretty good idea that Larissa had known that Lucy would assume she had hidden with the others.

And that was why she had come to him for help. Clever.

Lucy soon disappeared as she went to search for the Brazilian in the other garages, whilst Valtteri placed his hand behind his back and put his thumb up, to signal to his team mate, who he knew was watching him, that the coast was clear for her.

Two small hands clasped on to his shoulders as he smiled, the young woman quietly thanking him before she released a yelp which caused him to jump in surprise.

"Whatcha doing?"

Lewis Hamilton, her manager, grinned at the two Mercedes drivers who were trying to not look suspicious, both of his eyebrows raised.

"We were just about to go and brag to Toto that we got first and second during our first race, wasn't we, Valtree?" Larissa lied, bouncing on the tips of her toes since she knew just by the look on the face of Lewis, that he knew her to be lying.

"You sure that you're not hiding from Lucy and dragging my old team mate in to helping you?" Lewis chuckled, wrinkles forming around his eyes as it soon turned in to a much louder laughter.

Valtteri placed both of his hands on to the shoulders of the Cohen girl as he stood behind her, noticing how she glanced up at him and smiled.

"Teamwork makes the dream work, Alexander Hamilton." Larissa stuck her tongue out at her brother, a large childish grin covering her face and lighting up her eyes.

"What she said." Valtteri nodded his head once as he backed her up.

The three of them began to laugh together, smiles filling up their faces and making wrinkles form around their eyes.

It was times like these that made Larissa's heart feel full, since it felt like that everything in the world was just like it should be, as if she had everything that she had ever wanted and needed.

She had old friends and family such as Lewis, Seb, Kimi, Fernando, Michael, Gina, Mick, Alex and Lando.

She had her best friends such as Zahra, Pierre, Esteban, Daniel, Kevin, Anthoine and Yuki.

She had newer friends such as Valtteri, Daniil, Nico H and Felipe.

She had her boyfriend, Charles.

It was almost enough to dull the pain.

Almost.

____________________________________________________

"You know how I love to gossip?"

Pierre Gasly spoke in a humorous tone as he was sat in the drivers seat of his car, whilst his passenger was staring at him expectantly.

"I do, indeed."

Larissa raised one of her eyebrows at her former team mate, seeing that he was trying to hide a smirk and stop it from crawling on to his face.

"A little birdie told me that Esteban might ask Zahra to be his girlfriend tonight at the restaurant they are going to."

The Cohen girl suddenly began to choke on air from the words that left the French man's lips, hearing his giggles sounding as she was forced to cough over and over again.

She knew that Esteban and Zahra had been casually seeing each other for months now, but they had yet to make it official or put a proper label on it, she just couldn't believe that Pierre had found out before her.

"Who told you?!?!" Larissa shrieked loudly, her voice raised both in volume and in pitch. "Why aren't I finding out first! I'm their best friend!"

"You know that your uncle Nando does not keep his mouth shut when it comes to gossip." Pierre grinned, seeing the mortified look on the Brazilian's face.

"How does he know? He's never at races anymore." The words stung a little bit as she said them, knowing that her uncle had retired and barely came to visit her, even if it had only just been the first race of the new season.

It had been her first race in a Mercedes, and yet her Uncle Nando wasn't there.

"He was visiting Kimi and heard Esteban ask Seb for permission to date Zahra."

As soon as the words left his lips, Pierre found his eyes widening since he realised that he had essentially ratted the Alonso man out for not going to visit her.

Shit.

"Oh."

Larissa's shoulders immediately deflated as she leant back against the chair in the car, arms folding in front of her chest whilst she hung her dead in a defeated manner.

So her uncle Nando had actually visited the first race of the season. He just hadn't visited her.

"Grab the bag that's by your feet."

Pierre spoke, pulling the Cohen girl out of her thoughts, causing her to bend to grab a black bag that was at her feet and that seemed to be full with things.

"What the hell is it?" Larissa furrowed her eyebrows together as she opened it, seeing things such as hats, glasses and newspapers.

"They are what we are gonna wear to spy on Esteban and Zahra. You in?"

Pierre shot her a gentle smile, one that made her release a deep sigh as the stress and unwelcome feelings in her stomach to disappear.

The Brazilian scoffed loudly, lifting one of her hands to flick her hair dramatically, a bright smile forming on her face just from seeing the French man beside her smile.

"Did you even have to ask?"

____________________________________________________

"Why choose the moustache?"

"Why not?"

"Because most women don't usually have a giant black moustache, that's why."

Pierre Gasly laughed heavily as he sat in a restaurant booth, a bucket hat on his head along with a pair of sunglasses, a red wig and a giant newspaper. His eyes were watering from how hard he was laughing, because honestly.

She looked ridiculous.

Larissa Kimi Cohen immediately rolled the dark brown of her eyes at the words leaving her former team mates lips, a small smile threatening to tug at her lips as she had a black stick on moustache pressed on to her top lip, along with a grey wig and pink sunglasses.

"Maybe they do, and hey, you gave me it to put it on so stop complaining, docinho." The Cohen girl lightly slapped her best friends wrist as he began to mock her.

The French man gave her a sickly sweet smile before raising one of his hands to flip her off.

"Ma cherie, you look beautiful no matter how big of a moustache you have." The Gasly man was forced to hide his growing smile behind his hand as he began to giggle.

Suddenly, the two best friends shot down, ducking underneath the table in the booth to hide from the gaze of the Ocon man who they were supposed to be stalking.

"That wasn't very subtle, was it?" Pierre chuckled, hearing Larissa's giggles sounding soon after, wrinkles around her eyes from her bright smile.

"Since when do we ever do anything subtle?"

"True."

They climbed back up and on to their seats, taking small sips from their very strong alcoholic beverages whilst occasionally giving the side eye to the table where Esteban and Zahra were.

Whilst they were distracted, they didn't notice another person arriving, sliding their way in to seat next to the newest Mercedes driver which caused the two of them to jolt in surprise.

When the two former team mates turned to face the new arrival, they were met with one of the most beautiful smiles in the whole world.

"Papouille, are you here for the same reason that I am? Spying on the lovebirds?"

Anthoine Hubert grinned as he gently placed his arm around the shoulders of the Cohen girl, pulling her in to his side for a small side hug since he had not seen her since a couple of weeks before the newest season started.

He gave the other French man sat opposite a small fist bump, which then turned in to a handshake that they had come up with back when they were children.

"Blame him." Her thumb was jabbed harshly towards the Red Bull driver who smirked, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

"He doesn't even like Esteban." Anthoine deadpanned.

"No, but Zahra is his partner in crime, remember. The Sherlock to his Holmes. The Tony Stark to his Rhodey."

Pierre immediately furrowed his eyebrows together in a tight frown, his bottom lip protruding outwards slightly which made his company smile.

"Why aren't I the main character?"

"Have you met Z?"

"Fair point." Pierre cackled, nodding his head up and down whilst he was laughing.

He had met Zahra. She was one in a million, and he loved having her as one of his closest friends, somebody who he could go to for anything, like spilling gossip of which she loved, to crying over movies and TV shows, to screaming songs in his car whilst they were driving for fast food.

It was as if Zahra, Larissa and Pierre were supposed to be best friends, a trio of chaos, humor, love and a little bit of depression.

Though that was mainly on Larissa's part.

If Larissa was with her other friends and unavailable to hang out, Zahra would be free, unless they were together and busy.

Zahra would often clear her schedule if he wanted to meet up with her and hang out, even cancelling plans with Esteban to go and see him, because as she always told him.

Sisters before misters and bros before hoes.

"Look! It's happening."

Anthoine whispered quietly, pointing that the reason they had come to restaurant, to watch Esteban and Zahra become a couple, was about to go down.

"What kinda thing do you think she'll say to him?" Pierre questioned as the three of them leant forwards, eagerly waiting to see the outcome. "I think she'll just shrug and say yes."

"Maybe she'll leap in to his arms and kiss him." Anthoine suggested, failing to notice the look of disbelief on the faces of his two best friends, their faces scrunching up in disgust that he would even suggest such a thing.

"It's Z." The Brazilian formula one driver released a scoff, shaking her head from side to side. "She'll smile at him, take his hand and squeeze it and make a dramatic performance before saying 'yeah, alright.'"

"Alright, bet."

The two French man each gave her a fist bump, placing money out of their wallets down on to the table so who ever won would get the cash.

They could see Esteban's lips moving, a soft almost puppy looking expression on his face as he stared adoringly at the Bailey woman.

They didn't hear much of the speech that the man made, but they did notice multiple things, including body language, especially from a certain Bailey woman.

Because as the Ocon man finished his speech, they noticed how she took a hold of his hand and gave it a soft and gentle squeeze, smiling at him in the process, before her other hand shot to her heart before brushing against her forehead in a dramatic way, with very familiar words leaving her lips.

"Yeah, alright."

The two men could only watch as Larissa Cohen giggled proudly at her best friend who had finally gotten herself a boyfriend, and took the money in to her hands with a smug and cocky grin.

After all, Zahra was her best friend, her Z.

And absolutely nobody knew her better than she did.

____________________________________________________

A/N

Sorry it took longer than expected, I got distracted by aesthetics (go and check them out) and creating some new drafts for my next book releases on June 14th.

What do you think?

I know it's more about Zahra and stuff, but she deserves a happy ending too so I kinda had to make her and Esteban official.

Only the real ones remember which driver she originally had a crush on. Go on, who was it?

Also just because Larissa is at Mercedes, it doesn't mean that she's just gonna forget about Pierre so he's still gonna be around, BUT I also can't wait to show you the bond that will form between Larissa and Valtteri because he's so underrated and they'll be amazing I swear!!

Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and I'll see you all soon for the next one,

I'm so proud of all of you, my loves

Love you all,

-RUBY