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

Evie had demanded Ollie and Kimi meet her at the Ferrari garage, but, as she rushed through crowds of people, elbowing her way past people who were too unobservant to notice that she was clearly trying to get through, she slightly regretted asking them to meet there.

But she needed to see them before they geared up for their sprint race in F2, needed to speak to them and wish them luck.

When she finally spotted the distinct bright red garage she saw Ollie almost immediately, his face practically glued to his phone screen. She sneaked up behind him and pulled out her phone, sending him a text that read "boo".

She saw his head tilt in confusion, and she watched with great joy as he looked left and right, before eventually looking behind him, startled when Evie was standing only a few steps away.

"Haha," he deadpanned, clicking off his phone. His eyes narrowed, and he turned around to face her fully.

"No time for jokes," Evie said, and Ollie rolled his eyes. "I need to catch you up. Where's Kimi?"

"Here!" A voice said, and both Evie and Ollie turned to see Kimi running over to them, panting heavily. He stopped and doubled over, holding up a hand when Ollie went to speak.

"Did you... run?" Evie asked, incredulous. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The garages weren't even far from each other.

"Dude, I got your message and came here as fast as I could. I had to avoid people who wanted to take photos," Kimi explained, standing back up straight. Evie smiled and resisted the urge to squish his face in between her palms. Her friends were amazing, even if they were a little stupid sometimes. Kimi ran over just so Evie could fill them both in on her and Franco, even though they both have a sprint very soon. If that wasn't real friendship, she didn't know what was.

"Okay, listen," she started, prepared to keep her rant short and sweet so as to not hold them up for too long. "Franco and I are going to get breakfast tomorrow." She paused, waiting for their reactions. Ollie took a deep breath and then squealed. A literal squeal. Kimi jumped up and down and clapped excitedly. "Exactly!" Evie agreed.

"Should get him all warmed up for the race," Evie joked, smirking when both of the boys' eyebrows shot up. Ollie and Kimi turned to each other in slight horror and Evie burst out laughing.

"Also," she moved on, not letting the boys become indignant. "I gave him my phone number, and you both know what happened during. Let's just forget it ever happened, and let's never let you guys interact again," she laid out the rules.

Of course, the boys became indignant anyway. As Evie took a deep breath to give them the opportunity to speak, both Ollie and Kimi burst out.

"Absolutely not!" Ollie stressed, making Evie's jaw drop.

"What? Why" she demanded, not wanting either of the boys around Franco to embarrass her.

"You are not keeping us away from him. We see him around here all the time anyway, you're not safe, Albona." Kimi said, arms crossed and face smug.

Evie's jaw involuntarily hung open, not believing the nerve of her friends. Her eyes darted from Kimi back over to Ollie, both of them standing proudly.

"Count your days, the both of you," she finally said, shaking her head in faux shame.

"Have fun on your date," Ollie sing-songed in return, not at all moved by her acting.

"Tell us all the details," Kimi added. In return Evie shoved his shoulder with her own, her lips curled into a smile, despite herself.

"Good luck with your sprint. I hope neither of you win," she lied, before turning on her heel and walking away with a skip in her step, back to the familiar Williams garage.

ᯓᡣ𐭩

Franco ending up P18 in Qualifying wasn't exactly ideal, but at least it gave them some more time to spend together. You win some, you lose some.

As Franco took off his helmet and unzipped his race suit, Evie made sure to greet him with a smile. P18 was rough, and she didn't want him to beat himself up over it. But she could tell he already was, his face serious and downturned, nothing like his usual cheerful, laid back self.

As he spotted her slowly making her way towards him, his face relaxed just a bit, and he turned and accepted a drink from a mechanic with a slight smile.

"Sorry you had to witness that," he said right as Evie walked up to him, before he even took a sip. Evie frowned.

"Don't be stupid. It's only your first Grand Prix," she reassured him. Hearing Franco speak badly about himself made Evie feel… wrong. Franco deserved to be treated amazingly by everyone, even himself.

"I guess I just expected myself to do better." He shrugged, finally taking that drink.

"It wasn't your fault," Evie disagreed, ready to go to hell and back just to defend this boy from himself.

"Let's move on." He shook his head, and Evie halfheartedly nodded.

His eyes travelled from her pulled up hair down to the converse sitting snugly on her feet. She felt herself blush.

"You look pretty. Sorry I didn't say so earlier."

"Stop it," she replied, her voice almost squeaking from being flustered. "You look pretty too," she managed, smiling shyly.

Franco's lips finally curled up into a grin, and he laughed slightly. "You think I look pretty? I’m all sweaty," he said, as if Evie didn't have two working eyes and fully functional ovaries.

All she did in reply was shrug. A pretty boy is still a pretty boy when sweaty.

He laughed again, this time a bit louder. Good, her tactics of cheering him up were working. "Wow, Evie," he said, "I wasn't aware you liked sweatiness so much. I'll race more often, then."

"Yes, please." She raised her eyebrows. "Maybe you should wear your race suit to our date," she suggested, not completely joking.

Now it was Franco's turn to blush as Evie's eyes travelled down to his waist, lingering on where his fireproofs hugged his body. She smiled to herself and looked away coyly. Whoever designed these things knew what they were doing.

"No, no. I'll at least be showered before our date. The sweating is for after." He winked, and Evie's heart almost gave out right in her chest. This man was trying to kill her.

"Oh my God," she whispered, and Franco burst out into laughter.

As she looked away to try and tame her viscous blush, she caught sight of a screen showing that Q2 had just begun.

"Hey." She nudged him in the side, distracting him from his giggling. "Wanna watch with me?" she asked, a bit hesitant. She didn't want to force him to watch when he had had such a bad time. She gestured over to the biggest screen and he looked over, seemingly contemplating for a moment.

Eventually, he nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Ma'am?" she asked as they made their way over. "Really? I'm younger than you, y'know," she defended herself.

"What? How do you know that?" he asked, turning his head to look at her.

"Your birthday's on Google. Better watch out, I could dig up some stuff on you," she joked, elbowing him in the side. He went along with her and pretended to be shocked, holding his side as if she had actually hurt him.

ᯓᡣ𐭩⤷

"By the way." She turned to him, once qualifying was over.

She waited until Franco turned his head to look at her to continue.

"I cannot believe you texted my friends." She blinked, keeping her face stoic.

Franco's lips pulled into a smirk, turning his body fully to face her.

"So, you get nervous around me?" he asked, disregarding her telling him off.

Evie crossed her arms. "You shouldn't listen to a word those idiots say."

Franco pursed his lips, feigned upset. "So I don't make you nervous?" He clicked his tongue. "I need to do better," he said, making a giggle escape from her lips.

"No, you're doing great. Just don't let it get to your head."

His pursed lips turned into a smile. "It already has."

Evie playfully rolled her eyes at his response, and his smile was now permanent on his face.

───────

dear reader!

akiaoya editor era, we love to see it

<33