The Guy Down the Hall- F1

get over it

"You don't like me very much, do you?" He inquired following after her.

"What gives you that impression?" She retorted ironically with a smirk forming on her face, quickly getting rid of it before he can see it.

He stares at her blankly, fixing his hair nervously. Regaining his composure he continues, "You have gained a habit of walking away whenever I try to talk to you. It's understandable... people often become intimidated by my charm."

She laughs momentarily, the sound forming a smile on his face."The fuck you want Norris" Ilaria isn't running late for work, she doesn't has to work today actually, but Lando following after had her lying to him not so long ago, telling him to get lost because she has work. "What is it with formula one drivers annoying me lately" Ilaria mutters the last part.

Lando's face never changes, the sweet smile still on no matter how rude she's been. Only this time there is a hint of hatred behind. "What did you do to Max?"

The question surprises her, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to look up at him. "What?"

"You heard Ilaria." Lando crosses his arms.

"I have done nothing"

"Liar. Why is he so lost lately then?"

"What makes you think it was me?"

He narrows his eyes, "Oh please— the guy didn't stop talking about you for months and then suddenly he shuts up? Something fishy is going on"

"Who even says fishy"

"I do"

"Well you shouldn't"

Ilaria decides on walking again, this time forgetting where she's supposed to go. Max talks about her? It was probably to talk bad about her, yet he still talks about her.

An obvious frown sets upon her face the more she thinks about it. Hate growing inside of her the more Lando follows.

"Did you or did you not?"

"Did I what?" Ilaria finally turns around to stare up at him. "Don't you have someone else to go bother or something"

"I'm happy with you"

"Doubt" she said in a mocking manner. Walking to the port where she pretended to walk in her boss office, trying to get Lando to stop following after her.

Fortunately, that was the last interaction she ever had with one of those guys for weeks.

And so, the routine she had at the begging of the year came back. Wake up, exercise, get ready, go to work.

Oh and, avoid Max.

But there wasn't much to avoid considering he left more times during the month than she could ever keep up with.

And then September rolled around.

Max didn't want to avoid her, which made everything so much harder than it should. He constantly wanted to talk to her whenever he was back, most likely to apologize, but still she hated that he willingly wants to speak to her. To the point she had to look up the dates of the race weekends so she would know when he is back to avoid.

The worst that happened, literally making her want to die more than she already desires, was getting recognized in the street.

How? How in the world they know about her? How could they find out that after years of not speaking with Charles she comes back to him.

"Hi, excuse me..." a girl asks when Ilaria is picking up a book, momentarily looking at the blond girl before dropping the book slowly.

"Yes...?"

"Are you Ilaria?"

"...yes"

"Can we take a picture with you?" The two girls who couldn't be older than her stare intently.

She declined. Scared out of her mind that someone knows who she is.

The two girls who seem the same age as her, look at Ilaria up and down as if she was a piece of scum.

Ilaria always wanted to tell this type of people if they know who they are speaking with, if they know the power she holds with just one call to her father, if they had any clue that her mother was so close to being queen on Monaco then she could finally see the surprise in their faces. But she never does. Her mother taught her better than to brag with people that don't matter to her.

Instead she ignores and walks away, heart racing in anxiety.

She was fuming by the time she reached her apartment complex. And with her bad luck she meets with Max right as she leaves the elevator on their floor.

"This is all your fault!" She grumbled, walking past him in anger. "If you would leave me alone, none of this would of ever happened"

Max stays perplexed on his spot watching her walk down the hallway before he shakes off his confusion and goes after her. "What? You ignore me for weeks and now you are coming up with this bullshit"

Ilaria turns around, her hair slapping his face as she does so. "Two fan girls just came up to me. My privacy is gone" she explains, containing the urge to hit him when she sees a hint of smile growing on his face. "Gone!"

"How is that my fault" Max said in the most calm tone of voice, crossing his arms while looking down at her.

"Because you follow me around. Lando does as well" his muscles flex under the white tight shirt, her stomach dropping in nerves before she speaks again. "Now I will have strangers following me around too"

"Look— I'm sorry, I really am" his words surprise Ilaria, which she studies his face trying to find any trace of amusement, nothing. "I know how private you like to be but there's nothing I can do now. So I'm really sorry"

Now she's the one not knowing what to say.

Her heart picks up in rate when Max never makes a move to leave her be. His close body putting her in a nervous reck.

She can never figure him out, he's always wearing a numb expression and the way his icy eyes study her is the worst.

"What's the joke?"

"What joke?"

"You—you apologizing" she murmurs. Ilaria grips her purse to herself as an emotional support. "You aren't usually nice"

Max runs a hand through his hair in frustration, sighing as he stares down at her. Seconds passed in which he only stared at Ilaria, and finally after some time he says, "You're right. You don't deserve apologies, I'm the one that needs it"

Ilaria never had the time to ask him what he meant, Max was already long gone from the hallway.

An apology? For what? He's the one that started acting like an asshole since the very first time they met.

Maybe Max is a narcissist who thinks everybody owes him everything. It's the only explanation as to why he's so entitled and a snob. She would blame it on the fame but neither Lando or Charles are as rude as Max has been all this year.

She really can't wait to return to home where at least nobody has a clue on who she is.