HALO - l.n

09:00

"Where did you go last night?" Rebecca asks me as we're entering the elevator to go down to the lobby for breakfast.

"I felt a bit ill," I lie, looking at the little screen telling us what level we were on.

"Oh, you missed so much, Carlos brought this girl to the club with him, I'd never seen her before, she was stunning, but it felt oddly stiff between them." She tells me as the elevator doors stop on level 14.

"You sound like a teenage girl," I laugh, checking my phone to see how much time we had.

"Good morning, Lola," he says stepping into the elevator, followed by Daniel who was wearing a pair of sunglasses inside.

"Oh my god kill me," I mumble to myself as Lando stands with his back to me, Rebecca looking at me with an odd look.

I place my hand over my face, looking down to avoid having to look at Lando as my cheeks flush a crimson colour in embarrassment, the memories of last night haunting me.

It felt like the elevator was laughing at me, going slower than usual as the air inside was stiff with tension, or maybe I was just overthinking it.

"Where did you run off to last night?" Lando asks me as I continue to watch the screen for what floor we were on, begging for us to be on the ground so I could excuse myself and hide.

"I was getting tired," I lie again, Rebecca now looking at me with narrowed eyes as she knew I was lying.

The doors ping open, and I make my escape route to the canteen, hoping Lando wasn't going there too.

"Wait up, Jesus Lola," Rebecca calls after me as I continue to make haste and get as far away from Lando as possible, it was too early in the morning to be dealing with this.

I turn back around for a brief moment as I walk into the canteen area, hoping Lando had just left the hotel for the track but unfortunately my life wasn't as simple as that.

He was chatting and laughing with Daniel, a few feet behind me, Rebecca now talking with them.

I make myself a plate of fruit and some toast before finding a seat in the back corner, covered behind some fake plants, begging no one had seen me sit back here.

A few peaceful moments pass as I scroll on my phone, looking at the latest F1 news that had been posted last night.

An article about Madeline and Charles's argument had somehow found light to the media, a picture that had been taken on a mobile, all pixilated but it was obvious it was the pair of them, attached to the bottom of the article.

"Why you sat back here on your own?" I hear Daniel saying as he's pulling a chair out from under the table, a screeching sound echoing throughout the quiet canteen.

He was followed by Rebecca and Lando who were holding cups and plates of food as they all squeeze onto the two-person table I was seated at.

"Trying to catch some quiet time before the race today," I give him a tight smile as I sip on my black coffee, looking over the brim at Lando who was now sat directly in front of me.

My stomach wasn't settling despite the food I was eating, the nerves Lando had brought over here not helping either.

He watched my every move, every time I brought my fork up to my mouth to eat, he watched me thoroughly, my movements, the way I kept looking up from my phone and around the table, he wouldn't take his eyes off me.

"Is there a problem?" I finally snap at him. Rebecca and Daniel pause their conversation to look across at the two of us as I hold Lando's gaze.

"Not at all darling," he grins at me innocently while I roll my eyes, "stop staring at me," I mumble as Rebecca and Daniel continue to talk.

"Why would I do that when I've got such a pretty face sat in front of me?" he leans over the table to speak to me, his voice low as his eyes peak over the top of my phone that I was using to cover his face.

The pit in my stomach drops again, but it wasn't a sickening feeling I felt as he spoke, almost like something was flying around in there, my knees feeling weak even though I was sitting down.

I place my fork down on my plate abruptly, the cutlery clanking on the crockery as I do so, standing from my seat quickly.

"Well I've got to get to work, see you later," I speak mainly to Rebecca as I grab my bag from the floor beside me, taking a few steps away from the table.

"Let me give you a ride," Lando calls from behind me as I'm making an exit for the hotel doors.

"Excuse me?" my mind wonders to what he really means, but I knew he meant a car ride.

He laughs at my response, shaking his head as he does so, pulling the car keys from his pocket.

"My cars parked out front and we're going the same direction, let me give you a lift," he smiles as I stand in my place, him walking on ahead, expecting me to follow him.

I watch him continue to walk, checking his pocket for his phone as he checks the time, spinning the keys around his finger.

"You coming or what?" he turns to see me still stood in place, raising an eyebrow at me as I look back at him, thinking of any excuse to get out of a car ride with him.

"Yeah."

I couldn't.

Outside there were multiple media outlets, all waiting behind barriers guarded by security, yelling out questions to him.

The valet pulls up in his car, a P40, sprayed in the same colours as the McLaren logo, the exhaust still echoing even though it was in neutral.

He opens the door for me as I clutch onto my handbag, looking at the cameras who were waiting for his attention, but he was looking back at me, a wide grin on his face as he beckons for me to come to him.

I stalk over cautiously, hoping the media wouldn't pay too much attention to me as I'm sliding into the passenger seat, Lando closing the door for me.

"Who's the lucky girl Lando?" I hear one of them call from outside the car as he's rounding the front to the driver's door.

He laughs at them, "She's a just reporter guys," he calls back and my heart sinks a little bit for some reason, not knowing how else he would respond to that question.

'She's a just reporter guys.'

The comment echoes around my head as he gets into the driver's seat, the media outside still yelling out questions to him as I sit quietly, my hands placed on my lap as my head continues to think.

'Just' a reporter, was that all he saw me as?

"All good?" he says breathlessly, moving his chair backwards slightly as he puts the car into drive and sport mode, the valves opening up, making it louder as the engine droned on in the background.

I nod my head, giving him a tight smile as he races forward, putting on his seatbelt as he's driving to merge onto the main road.

I watch him as he drives, he was carful, not overtaking and sticking to the speed limit, and something in me was saying he was doing this because I was in the car with him, but I'm sure he just didn't want a ticket.

'She's a just reporter guys.'