˚　 ⋆⁺₊✦⁺₊ 　 ˚　.˚  .　 ☁.　　. 　 ˚　⁺⋆₊　.˚  .　. ✦⋆⁺₊  　 ˚　. ☁ ˚　.˚　 ✩₊˚.   ☾      ⋆      ⁺₊✧  　　˚　⁺₊ . 　 ˚　.　　⁺₊✦₊　　 ☁  　˚　　 . 　⁺₊✧˚　　 . 　 ˚　⁺₊˚  .

ollie
eveline albon.

kimi
FULL NAME this is serious

evie
um

bye!

ollie
NO

stay here.

kimi
i feel like a kid watching my sibling get scolded

evie
shut up andrea

ollie
evie.

evie
oliver.

ollie
what's this franco business i'm hearing so much about?

evie
what do you meannnn

ollie
don't think we didn't see you giving him heart eyes

evie
whaaaat that's crazy who did that

kimi
explain yourself!!!

evie
there's nothing to be explained!

ollie
EVIEEEE

evie
MY GOD

we are going out.

ollie
WHAT

evie
IF he does well in fp3

ollie
WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU

do NOT fumble this

evie
why are you so obsessed with this

do you want him cuz i can back off

kimi
he does

ollie
what

how did we get here

evie
you want to live vicariously through me don't you

ollie
you're both insane

evie
it got you off my back so!

kimi
burn

ollie
mean

evie
😇

ᯓᡣ𐭩

Evie slid her phone back in the back pocket of her jeans with a silent giggle.

She loved Ollie and Kimi, loved seeing them happy and healthy, loved putting a smile on their faces. They were her best friends, after all. But she loved messing with them more.

Her eyes absentmindedly drifted back to the huge screen in front of her, watching as the cars started flying out of their garages for FP3. The sound was comforting to her, the familiar rumbles of the engines zooming past her. She could hear them from where she was standing. Could almost imagine the wind blowing through her hair, the sun shining directly in her eyes. The paddock felt like a second home to her.

As twenty different cars drove through the track, faster than any average person could register, she couldn’t help but focus on a specific Williams car. Not her brother's. He certainly wasn’t a bad driver, she couldn't lie about that. For his first Grand Prix, he was doing exceptionally well.

Evie kept her eyes on him, having to almost force herself to keep track of Alex as well. They were both doing well in the midfield, Alex even being first at one point.

For a few minutes, the two Williams stayed steadily on P8 and P9 respectively, no one behind them setting a faster time.

A grin took over Evie's face before she remembered to contain herself. She pursed her lips and subtly glanced left and right, but let herself smile and clap when she realized the entire Williams garage was cheering for their drivers.

Franco was in the top ten, and time was almost up.

Not only was Evie happy for him doing so well in his first Grand Prix, she was also, self-indulgently, quite excited about what that entailed for her. As long as Franco remained P9 they would be able to go out together, at least according to her silly rules. She could always just make the exception and go out with him regardless, but where was the fun in that?

She diligently watched what was left of the practice session, cheering along with the rest of the garage as they were confident in their drivers' positions.

Eventually, time was up and Alex finished 8th, Franco not even a second behind him in 9th. Evie grinned and resisted the urge to cover her ears as the Williams garage erupted in celebrations. She chuckled and wondered how they would celebrate an actual race when they already got so hyped about a simple practice session.

She watched as the drivers all pulled back into their garages and started to hop out of their cars. When Franco handed off his wheel to a mechanic, Evie panicked and spun around, her hands almost slapping her face to cover the pink tint.

She eventually forced herself to relax and turn back around, immediately making eye contact with Franco, who was staring at her instead of listening to whatever James Vowles was saying to him. A bead of sweat dripped down his jaw, and he absentmindedly swiped it away. His hair was a bird's nest, no doubt caused by the helmet, and his fireproofs stuck to his skin uncomfortably. But still, he looked gorgeous. She smiled shyly.

Franco pursed his lips and finally looked at James, seemingly anxious to get away from him and talk to her. Evie spotted Alex making his way through the garage and her shy smile immediately turned devious. An idea instantly formed in her brain.

As soon as Franco was released from his shackles, he began to make his way over to her, but Evie skipped over to Alex and enveloped him into a hug, not having to fake her happiness for her brother.

"Albono!" she cheered, squeezing him so tight he let out a wheeze and tried halfheartedly to push her away. But he gave in eventually, he always did, and the siblings shared a sweet hug in the middle of the garage.

"You did so great!" She grinned, and Alex grinned back.

"I know what you're doing," he sing-songed, and tilted his head back to where Franco was trying and failing to look natural while also clearly eavesdropping, an annoyed look on his face.

"Pfft, whaaaat?" she said awkwardly, waving her hand back and forth. "I'm not doing anything!" She smiled coyly.

"Uh huh," Alex drawled, clearly not believing her. "Go talk to your boyfriend, I have to go take a shower." He smiled and wiped his sweaty hand across her sleeve. Evie gasped in mock offence and punched him in the side, making him cackle before walking away, waving over his shoulder.

She spent a few more moments staring awkwardly after her brother, slightly wishing he'd stayed to ease the conversation that was about to happen with his charms. She eventually spun around and came face to face with Franco who was smirking at her.

"So…" He sauntered over and leaned against the pole next to him. "That breakfast, hm?"

Evie smiled despite herself, looking up at him. "Breakfast? What are you talking about?" she teased.

"Don't tease." He leaned forward slightly, a smile pulling at his lips.

"Hmm," she considered, leaning forward as well. "Depends, what will we be getting?"

"You're hard to please," he scoffed, but the teasing gleam was ever present in his eyes. "We'll get anything you want. Name it."

"Crepes," she said, leaving no room for hesitation.

"Crepes it is then," Franco finalized, nodding once. "Are you at the same hotel as Alex? If so, we're in the same one."

"Yep, same one," she confirmed.

"Great. I'll knock on your door at exactly 9am."

"Okay," she laughed. “No need to be so punctual. What, are you gonna kill me?" she joked.

"Don't worry, I'm saving that for the third date." He winked, and Evie felt her stomach fill with butterflies. She smiled shyly and looked away, feeling the heat in her cheeks.

"Could I… have your number?" He sounded almost shy. "So we can talk about… crepes. And other things." He cleared his throat.

"Oh, well if it’s for the crepes. I suppose I can consider it," she said with faux confidence, when really all she wanted to do was squeal and go tell Ollie and Kimi. She held out her hand and waggled her fingers, asking him to give her his phone.

"Oh– I don't… I don't have it on me." He chuckled nervously, running a hand through his hair. Evie blanched, berating herself for her idiocy.

"Right!" She also laughed nervously. "Sorry. Obviously." She pulled out her phone from her back pocket and aggressively cleared all the embarrassing notifications her best friends had left about Franco since she'd been gone. She opened the phone app and handed it over, praying to all things holy that nothing popped up.

She admired his profile as he looked down to type in her phone, looking stumped for a long, almost too long, moment before handing it back over and smiling.

"Sorry, the English was a bit confusing. But I did it!" He smiled proudly, and Evie smiled right back.

"Okay," she said with finality, ending their conversation. He'd have to go get interviewed soon and she didn’t want to hold him back.

"Okay," he repeated.

"You should go shower now," she teased. "I’ll see you tomorrow, 9am sharp. If you knock even a minute later, I won't answer."

"Noted. I can't wait for 9am, Evie," Franco said with a smirk, then turned to leave, his eyes remaining locked on hers, even as he got further away.

As soon as he was out of eyesight, Evie relaxed, letting out a breath she didn't even know she had in her. As she turned to leave as well, his words repeated in her mind. The way he said her name with his accent made her want to hear it more. Made her want to hear lots of things.

She made her way out of the garage, smiling to herself. She very much looked forward to 9am.

evie
Hello everyone, this is definitely Evie.

kimi
hi i think

ollie
why are u typing weird

evie
I don't know what you mean

ollie
is it because franco's there

are you nervousss

kimi
just kiss already

evie
Yes

He's so charming

ollie
omg get a room…

kimi
evie and franco on a tree……

evie
WHAT THE FUCK

this is it for me

bye guys

it was nice knowing you

ollie
WHAT HAPPENED

evie
I CANNOT BELIEVE HE TEXTED YOU

kimi
THAT WAS HIM?

ollie
OMG IS THAT WHY HE WAS TYPING LIKE THAT

evie
yes i am going to maim him and then you for going along with it

kimi
what did we do????

evie
you were joking about him and i TO HIS FACE

ollie
WE DIDN'T KNOWW

evie
YOU SHOULD'VEEEE

disappearing forever bye

kimi
NOOO

evie
too late, i am currently sailing the atlantic

ollie
you're so dramatic evie

evie
see you never

───────

dear reader!

I wrote a bad draft of this then akiaoya made it into a masterpiece <33