CHAPTER TWENTY
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❛ they need to talk ❜

OPERATION MARLANDO

Love struck kid : lando norris
marnie's max : max Verstappen
lily's bf : alex albon
better half : max fewtrell
max's bf : charles leclerc
danny : Daniel Ricciardo
oscahhh : oscar piastri

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟐:𝟒𝟓 𝐩𝐦

lily's bf removed lovestruck kid from the group

better half
what was that for?

now he's spamming my phone

lily's bf
we can't plan more and talk
about marlando with him here

better half
makes sense

what are we planning now

lily's bf
well I heard from an anonymous source

max's bf
is this source your girlfriend by any chance

lily's bf
yes.

max's bf
i feel that I already know then
from my own girlfriend

danny
me too

marnie's max
i don't?

why is my girlfriend hiding things?!?!

max's bf
maybe cause marnie would
def know if kelly told you????

marnie's max
whatever.

Oscahhh
Idk can someone explain?!?!

marnie's max
oh, speaking of you, oscar and
girlfriends, marnie wants lily's
number so she can invite her to
their next girls night

oscahhh
okay I'll text her

lily's bf
GET BACK ON TRACK!!

marnie's max
sorry.

better half
alex please explain...

lily's bf
well marnie told the girls that the
other day she wanted Lando to kiss
her and now marnie actually believes
that lando could like her after her
brought her her ice-cream so now
she's ready to tell Lando how she
feels but is still a bit scared to do it

danny
let's just get them drunk and
lock them in a room together

marnie's max
no they need to talk first, actually talk.

oscahhh
how do we get them to do that?

max's bf
I say next race we force Marnie
to go and be in the McLaren garage

So if Marnie freaks out right in
front of him she can't lie and not
tell him what's going on

lily's bf
I like that idea

marnie's max
I'll talk to marnie

oscahhh
tell her if she doesn't wanna go
through the front, I'll take her in
the back

marnie's max
will do !

better half
I'll tell Lando to keep an eye on
her which will make him more
observant more than normal

Danny
It's a plan !!

The Monaco Grand Prix was supposed to be one of the best gp of the year – being a home race for Charles and the place where most of the other drivers lived – but between Mclaren's shit car and Charles' Monaco curse, Marnie was not enjoying the prospect of going to the race.

Marnie knew her friends had planned something as soon as Max suggested for her to watch the race from the McLaren garage. It came as no surprise to her after girls night. She knew the girls would all tell their partners who would then gossip between themselves.

She didn't mind. Honestly, Marnie was amused every time her friends tried to get Marnie and Lando as close as possible because they were so obvious. But this time, she didn't quite find the amusement in their trickery. Marnie knew they did it so she would tell Lando about the hate from the media.

But how was she supposed to do that. Lando was struggling with the car, he was slowly losing the joy he once felt in the car because of it, they weren't dating and she was supposed to just dump her trauma on him. Marnie could never.

And yet here she was stood in the McLaren garage, chatting with some of the engineers and trying desperately not to take note of the three cameras that were pointed at her.

"Hey!" Lando suddenly appeared next to her and Marnie felt a sudden calmness wash over her.

Well that was until the camera zoomed further into them, close enough to see how close the two were stood but still out of earshot.

"Hey, you okay?" Lando wondered.

Marnie's eyes widened as she nodded. "I'm good."

Lando's eyes narrowed slightly but he nodded nonetheless. He turned and began to talk to his engineers, glancing over to check on Marnie every few moments. When he looked over for the eighth time and noticed her hands still shaking, he quietly excused himself and took a step closer to Marnie again.

He grabbed her hands, stopping them from shaking. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Marnie forced a smile.

"Nina, your hands have been shaking for the last ten minutes." Lando pointed out.

Marnie let out a small sigh. "I'm just worried about Charlie. I hope this year he breaks the curse."

She wasn't entirely lying. Marnie really was nervous for Charles. But the reason for her hands shaking was the, now five cameras pointed in her direction and the awareness that if she went on twitter there would be at least 200k people berating her for being there. In all honesty if it wasn't for Max V, Marnie would be curled up in bed less than thirty minutes away, watching the race live on television with more chocolate than she could possibly consume.

"Charles will be fine." Lando reassured her.

"You're right."

Lando sat on the counter behind him so they were sat eye to eye. "Stop worrying."

"Easier said than done." Marnie muttered, glancing around.

"Is something else going on?" Lando asked, concern written on his features.

"No. I'm okay." Marnie reassured. "Go out and kill it, okay? Don't worry about me."

"You'll be here when I get back?" He wondered.

"I'm not going anywhere." Marnie promised. "Good luck."

Lando nodded but he still didn't seem convinced as he turned and walked away, needing to get ready for the race. Marnie let out a small breathe once she was alone, glancing around for a corner to hide in until the race started, somewhere the cameras wouldn't want to focus as much, somewhere out of the limelight.

When the race was finished, Marnie was ready to go home or get very drunk. Max had done well, as usual, but the Monaco curse lived on for Charlie and as she predicted Lando was still struggling in the McLaren car... oh, and the camera felt the need to show her five times, FIVE (5) times!

But Marnie promised Lando she'd still be there when he returned so she waited for him, hiding in the back of the crowds until he was done with his debrief and post-race interviews.

Marnie moved out of her hiding spot when people began to leave, walking over and leaning against Lando's car.

He was only a few minutes later when Lando emerged into the carpark, a sad look on his face that morphed into surprised (and part relief) when he looked up to see Marnie there.

"Hey—"

"I thought you left." Lando stated.

"I promised I would stay." Marnie reminded him.

Lando frowned for a moment. "I thought you left anyway."

"I would never." Marnie reassured the boy, placing a hand on his arm. "I'm not going anywhere. I just needed to get out the paddock and away from all the people."

"Okay." Lando smiled, letting out a breath of relief. "Let's get out of here."

"Right behind ya." Marnie nodded, climbing into the passenger seat.

Lando jumped into the drivers side, glancing over at Marnie as he started the car. "So the others wanna go out for a bit, do you want to go?"

"Yeah, sounds good." The girl responded with a small smile.

"You sure?"

Marnie's smiled turned genuine for the first time that day. "Absolutely."

"Okay." Lando sent her a smile. "I'll drop you home and then come back to meet you later."

"Sounds good, Lan." Marnie told him, the nickname he hadn't heard in a while making his heart skip a beat... or three.

He pulled up outside Max's apartment a few moments later, bidding goodbye to the girl who climbed out of his car and made her way inside.

Marnie walked as quietly as she could into the home, trying not to alert Max that she was there. She didn't wanna deal with a lecture right now about telling Lando nor did she want to break it to him that their plan failed.

She rushed into her bedroom, changing into a short white dress, pairing it with her knee high boots. She debated on taking a jacket but then decided against it, deciding she could just steal someone else's if she got cold... then again, she was planning on getting drunk enough that the cold wouldn't bother her.

The girl left the apartment, Lando waiting outside for her.

"You ready to go?" Lando wondered.

"Yep." Marnie nodded.

"The others messaged saying they were already there." Lando told her.

Marnie sent him a smile as they walked down the street. The club they were meeting the others at wasn't that far from Max's apartment, the two getting there in less than ten minutes. The were easily let inside and, while Lando went to them both a drink, Marnie rushed over to her friends.

"Alex, Lily!" Marnie squealed.

"Marnie!" The exclaimed in the same tone, throwing their arms around the girl.

"I got you a drink." Lando's voice caused them to pull away, Marnie turning and smiling at the boy as she took the drink out of his hand.

"Thanks, Lan."

"No problem." Lando responded, moving to greet the guys.

"I'm getting really drunk tonight." Marnie stated, letting out a breath and turning to the girls again.

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑ // 𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗀𝗋𝖺𝗆
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10 minutes ago

Marnie wasn't kidding when she said she was getting drunk.

After Lily and Alex shouted about shots (Marnie always knew the couple were a bad influence), Marnie was gone. The three girls had spent all night dancing, every few songs, one of them would leave the dance floor to go grab another drink – Marnie taking a shot as well every time it was her turn.

Lando kept an eye on Marnie, becoming more and more concerned about her the drunker she got. Max F had gotten in his head about if Marnie was okay when he told him to keep an eye on the girl. Lando knew something was going on with Marnie, she had never been one to get black out drunk before, not by herself, she wasn't acting like herself at all, and Lando was worried about her.

The girl in question, spun around to the Taylor Swift song that was currently playing, singing the lyrics at the top of her lungs while Lily and Alexandra laughed alongside her.

The later it got and the more tired everyone else got, the drunker Marnie became. The others slowly began to leave, but Marnie just kept drinking.

Right up until the moment, her dizziness kicked in.

Alexandra and Charles had already left, Lily was forcing water down Alex's throat and Max had left earlier after Kelly rang him to pick her up with Penelope, leaving Lando in charge of taking care of Marnie.

Marnie's head was spinning as she suddenly stood still on the dance floor, her eyes widening as she looked around to find someone to help.

Lando noticed this immediately. If he didn't, he would be considered the least observant person ever as he had been watching Marnie for the last two hours. The boy rushed towards Marnie, taking a hold of her arm softly and watching as she turned to him with large eyes.

"Marnie..."

"I'm gonna be sick." Marnie stated.

"Okay, let's go."

Lando led Marnie towards the toilets, pushing her towards the woman's toilets and inside a cubicle. Marnie immediately dropped to the ground, throwing her guts up into the toilet. Lando's eyes widened, his nose scrunching up as he grabbed Marnie's hair to hold it back.

Marnie finally stopped vomiting after a few minutes, slumping down on the floor and turning to Lando.

"Marns, I wouldn't sit down there." Lando stated.

Marnie let out a sigh, rubbing her hands over her face. "I feel like shit."

"Do you wanna go outside?" Lando wondered.

Marnie nodded, allowing Lando to help her up and guide her back towards the front door. Marnie wrapped her arm around Lando's waist as they walked, laying her head against his chest. When they got outside, Marnie shivered, leaning closer to Lando.

"You cold?"

Marnie shivered in response, causing Lando to shrug his jacket off and put it across Marnie's shoulders. The girl smiled at him, putting her arms through the jacket and tugging it closer to her.

"Thanks." She whispered. "You're nice."

The two sat down on the curb, Marnie leaning her head on Lando's shoulder. Lando looked down at her, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. "Marns, what's going on with you?"

Marnie stayed silent for a few moments and Lando was convinced she had fallen asleep until she let out a deep breath and sat upright again. "You."

"Me?" Lando stared at her in confusion.

"You." Marnie repeated. "You are too nice. You are so sweet and kind to me and you've made me like you. And I can't like you. Nothing can happen between us because everyone hates me."

Lando's eyebrows furrowed further in confusion. "Who hates you?"

"Everyone." Marnie's eyes watered. "Everyone hates me. The media hates me. They pick apart everything. They make me feel... not pretty, not nice, not human. They... they make me feel not enough. Not enough for anyone, let alone you. And you don't even notice."

"Is this why you were so off today?" Lando wondered.

"There were so many cameras." Marnie stated, tears free-falling from her eyes. "And I know if I go on social media everyone is going to be calling me names, and telling me I don't deserve to be at a race even though I went to every single one of Max's karting races when we were younger and I love motorsports."

Lando's brain was in overdrive with all the information. Marnie had been receiving hate for god knows how long now and had been keeping it to herself. She had been dealing with it all alone and he had been too wrapped up in his own life that he hadn't even stopped to realise how all this change was affecting her.

"Marnie..."

"No, no!" Marnie cried. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this, I mean Max wanted me to tell you in case something happened between us, but it's not, despite how much I want it to, because if I'm seen with you anywhere, I'm gonna get ripped to shreds by your fans because no offence but some of them are fucking insane."

Now Lando was sure his brain had glitched, Marnie wanted something to happen between them. Marnie, who had stolen Lando's heart the moment she smiled at him in that café, wanted him back, wanted something to happen between them. His mouth opened and closed a few times, not knowing what to say.

Lando kept trying to find something to say but couldn't, and when he still didn't respond, Marnie went to stand up, stumbling a few steps away from the boy.

It was at that moment that Lando's brain finally rerouted itself. He shot up, grabbing Marnie's arm.

"Wait, wait." He hurried out. "I'm so sorry that you have been going through this. This sucks, and I wished you would have told me sooner."

"Why?" Marnie shook her head. "So you could make a statement about it, and I got get more hate."

"No, so I could be there for you." Lando corrected her.

"What would you have done?" Marnie wondered.

"You know we should probably have this conversation when you're sober." Lando stated.

"I wanna know now." Marnie told him.

"Okay." Lando let out a sigh. "Marnie I like you so much. I would have done whatever you needed, whether that was hiding you at races, or sneaking you into cafes so you could drink coffee and eat cake in peace, or just running away from all media and watching movies by ourselves, I would have done anything you needed, Nina. Anything."

"I need you to be aware of everything I'm going through, but not let it take over your life too." Marnie responded, tears still running down her cheeks.

"Okay." Lando nodded. "I can do that. But know that if you call, I will always be there, no matter what I'm doing at the time."

"I know." Marnie smiled slightly.

"Can I hug you?" Lando wondered.

"God, yes." Marnie nodded with a wet laugh, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Lando wrapped his arms around her neck, pulling her into him. At this moment, Lando knew he would do whatever for the girl in his arm, whatever she wanted, whatever she needed, he would make it happen to her. He was completely and utterly gone for Marnina Santos.

And he would spend the rest of his days making her smile, laugh and making sure that she knows that she is in fact enough, despite what anyone else in the world might say.

( 💌 ) isobel's notes
heyyyyy hope you all liked this chapter !!
so sorry about the lack of updates i
got my a levels results and then went to
see taylor swift, then went on holiday for
two weeks, and then it was my birthday
and this week i'm leaving for uni so it's
been hectic !!!

anyway... PARIS HIT 100K READS
OH EM GEE IM SO THANKFUL FOR
EACH ONE OF YOU AND I LOVE
YOU ALL SO SO SO MUCH !!

lost a bit at tbe bottom so republishing
this now lmao