Lando Norris exudes speed, he brings his high speed energy into every aspect of his life. With his life going by so quickly, he finds something that slows him down, where he wishes he could stop time.
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"Good pace out there, Lando" his engineer cheers, beckoning him over with a waving hand. Lando walks over to his engineer behind a screen, analysing the data together. His hands wrap around the base of the helmet, lifting the head piece off his head in a swift motion. He ruffles a hand through his helmet hair, his eyes furrowing in concentration at the data before him. His contrasting blue eyes dart across the screen, the data reflecting strongly onto his glassy eyes
"I'm impressed" he nods slowly, stepping away from the screen and his engineer "I'll rest for a bit" he waves his engineer off briefly before walking off with his hand ruffling through his flattened curls. His feet pad softly against the smooth tiles of the garage, his eyes darting across the engineers and mechanics sifting through the data to utilise for the next prescribe. He spots the back of a familiar girl, seated with a pair of bright orange McLaren headphones still atop her head. As he nears, he can see the edge of a phone screen with the front facing camera in view. A smirk grows onto his lips as a mischievous idea forms in his mind. He quickens his pace, nearing her quicker as he places a hand on her shoulder and leans into her wavy hair which felt soft against his cheek
"Photo bomb!" He exclaims, laughing as the unexpected girl jumps in her seat. He hears the shutter of a burst photo going off as her head spins to see who had scared her
"Fuck off!" She giggles, pushing the sweaty man off her. With her heart racing from adrenaline, Kemala swipes through her phone and looks at the recent photos she snapped. To her surprise, Lando managed to get into a few of them and into a lengthy burst photo. She sighs dramatically, looking at him with a raised eyebrow as she can see his helmet has imprinted onto his skin
"But... you did this, for what?" A hand comes up to signal frustration
"Why not?" Lando replies, quickly catching onto her playful bit
"Why?" An eyebrow is raises from her
"Why not?" He snaps back
"Why though?!" She snaps back even harder, a silence forming between them as they eye each other expectedly. Their noses scrunch up in sync, giggles bursting from their lips as Lando's hand comes up to conceal his wide teeth bearing grin. Kemala through squinted eyes, watch his deep blue eyes crinkle and twinkle with tears. As the pair steal some amused glances from the nearby mechanics, Kemala swipes through the photos once again to pick and choose the ones she favours
"I like that one," Lando leans in from over her shoulder, a lengthy finger coming up to her phone screen to pick a photo where they're both smiling with genuineness "looks legit" The close proximity of the driver perks the hairs on the back of her neck to stand unwillingly
"Surprisingly!" She exclaims sarcastically, attempting to hide the electric heat she felt radiating from his body "Here" she swipes away from the photos and back to her front facing camera, leaning closer to the hunched over man and showing a pearly smile. Lando smiles quickly in return, her eyes fixating onto the way his lips slid upwards into a captivating smile that warmed Kemala's heart. She felt the heat of from his body growing, their proximity closing in even further. Kemala waits for him to settle on his position before snapping a last pic
"Cute," she mumbles, her heart stammering out of her chest once again due to her bold move "I'll post this one" Her words catch the attention of Lando, his eyes glancing towards her screen before nodding in approval. She navigates through her phone with swift swipes, landing onto Instagram with her selfie with Lando ready to be posted on her story. She discards the photo, picking a lone selfie to post first. She tags McLaren and posts it with a heart emote before returning to the previous picture and tagging Lando in her story. She smiles down at her phone as she types out "McLaren come get your mans, he's slacking"
"Hey!" He exclaims as she posts it onto her story, earning a giggle from her down-turned head
"What of it?" She teases, her eyes travelling to meet his once again. This proved to be a mistake as she focused onto the way his eyelashes decorate his deep blue eyes, his slow blinking enthralling her senses. His eyes so bold, so stark that she wished she could drown herself in the depths of his ocean for eyes. Her eyes travel to the way his moles decorate his face, smile lines etched alongside a small smile
"Have you eaten?" He breaks her away from her trance "I have an hour to spare"
•
Kemala was partially huffed from ascending the steps to the cafeteria but she's now too focused on her salted chips to care
"I don't know why but I would've expected you at the lounge"
"That's," she starts, reaching for a glass of cold water and holds a finger up to Lando "the second time I've heard that today" she finishes once she soothes her drying throat, reaching for her knife and fork to work away at the steaming chicken parmigiana before her. Her knife works against the golden melted cheese, delectably draped over the crumbed meat
"That's where all the guests would go" he shrugs absently, reaching for his BLT before him
"I'm no guest," she smiles playfully "I'll be here a while" the reality of her situation sinking into her heart once the words leave her lips. No matter her weighted heart from her father's resurgence in her life, she couldn't deny that being here at McLaren is transforming a once distant dream come true
"Permanent guest?" An eyebrow raises playfully, his teeth coming into contact with the toasted bread. He struggles to bite off a piece of excess lettuce before chewing his food with satisfaction. Kemala could see his beaming tight lipped smile as he chewed down onto his BLT
"I bet the food's better down here anyway" she comments, sharing the same elation from the crumbed chicken and melted gooeyness. Her eyes wander away from the man before him, her ears piqued by the sounds of clanging cups and hum of an espresso machine. She eyes two young baristas with hair tied up, sweat beads forming onto their forehead and hands full and busied at work, they move effortlessly in sync even through the lack of verbal communication between them.
A numb pang of homesickness hits her, missing the smooth jazz caressing her ears, the unmissable aroma of roasted coffee swirling through her nose, the sweet chime of the door when a customer would enter the warmth of the cafe. She could sigh at the thought, hands aching to work against an espresso machine once again
"You miss it?" An English accented voice speaks out to her
"Sorry?" She turns her head to Lando, his hands working against a sheet of tissue; his plate empty before him
"You miss it?" He repeats, his head nodding towards the two young baristas
"How could I not?" She smiles sheepishly, resuming her lunch with downturned eyes
"I bet-" a loud ringing steals Lando's words away from his lips, an annoyed sigh replacing his sentence "Hello?"
Kemala eyes Lando before her, his relaxed eyes, pleasant expression contorting into a frown and furrowed eyebrows
"Sure, I'll be down." He speaks monotone, his phone leaving his ear soon after. She eyes him expectingly, as she can sense him holding his words from her "Driver things" he sighs apologetically, raising from his chair reluctantly
"I'll see you later, then" She eyes his movements, refusing to let him sense her disappointment
"I'm sorry" his tongue gliding over his lips before tucking it beneath his upper lip
"Just go already" she smiles softly, gesturing him to walk away. He sends a small wave at her before trotting down the stairs out of her sight. She sighs, feeling that her time with Lando always had to be cut short. Her silver knife continues to cut away at the warm food before her. She occupies the silence through her phone, receiving a notification that Lando had reposted her story onto his own.
