get him back! | liam lawson

monza

alexandra had stayed in milan with yuki until thursday, when they were moved to the monza circuit.

the hotel had been fully booked out, so alexandra had to share with the japanese driver, which she didn't mind as the suite had a sofa bed along with the king size one.

"yuki, take the bed, you need to sleep well because you're racing." alex argued over where they would situate themselves that night.

"no, you take the bed. i'll stay on the sofa. i'm short. i don't need much space." he insisted.

"we'll sort it out when we get back after today." she gave up, opening her suitcase to find an outfit for the day.

it was only media day, so she would just be accompanying yuki around as he did interviews. she had tried to convince him to let her stay in the hotel for media day as she didn't need to be there, but yuki was adamant that she came for every day.

"yukes, can i not just stay here?" she whined.

"no. you're coming. that's that. get ready." he persisted.

she rolled her eyes, giving in to him. she picked out some alphatauri brand black trousers and one of yuki's spare team shirts as she was meant to be there as an alphatauri representative.

monza being alphatauri's home race meant lots of yuki and liam content, which alex was not briefed on prior to her entering the paddock.

the first thing her and yuki did was get food. that's what they bonded over most. their love for food.

"pasta carbonara is so much better than spaghetti bolognese!" yuki argued as they sat and ate their respective pastas.

"i'm a simple girl on a diet. i love a good spag bol." she justified.

"why am i even friends with you?" he rolled his eyes.

"it's just my opinion!" her voice got louder.

"your opinion is wrong!" he tried to be louder than her.

the alphatauri team around them watched the pair bicker like siblings. most of them knew who alex was, but not her relationship with yuki. some thought they became friends through her deal, and she wasn't going to correct anyone on that.

then liam walked in. alex felt the air grow thicker as his piercing blue eyes met hers from across the room.

yuki was blissfully unaware of the situation unfolding in front of him, much more interested in whatever he was saying about pasta. alex couldn't understand anything he was saying, as her mind fell silent, only focusing on liam.

"alex? alex?" yuki brought her mind back to where she was.

"yeah?" she turned to him.

"what were you . . ." he turned around to see what she was looking at. "liam! how are you, mate?"

he went in for a quick bro hug with the blonde, making small talk as alex ate her pasta. she tried to keep any attention off her, not wanting to speak to liam.

he wasn't acting cold anymore, not with yuki. of course he wasn't, yuki was one of his best friends.

he was walking away, around alex's side of the table, and she breathed a sigh of relief as he left. until . . .

"y'alright, andra?" he tapped the back of her head with his empty red bull can.

she was thrown off by the use of the nickname. he hadn't called her that in a year. he hadn't called her anything in a year. they hadn't spoken since abu dhabi. not counting milan, if that even counts as a conversation.

she gave him a weak smile, her mouth full of pasta as he walked off. he laughed, and she looked down embarrassed.

"see? that wasn't so bad, was it?" yuki smiled.

"wasn't so bad? i haven't spoken to the guy for almost a year and he comes back with his nickname for me like nothing happened? and worst of all, i had pasta sauce smeared all over my face!" she complained.

"it could've been worse." he shrugged.

alex groaned at his concerning levels of optimism.

the first thing they had to do was film a video with yuki teaching liam words in italian. yuki, once again, insisted that she stayed in the room as they filmed, as 'comic relief'. she knew yuki was lying, he was definitely the funnier one of the pair.

alex sat out of the view of the camera, behind yuki. she was there, but not in the way of any of the filming, as subtle as possible.

she soon regretted her seating choice, as that meant liam could look at her, but to the camera it looked like he was looking at yuki.

she enjoyed having his eyes on her, but quickly remembered that he wasn't her boyfriend anymore, and she needed to let go.

yuki's accent and continuous laughing made it very difficult for liam to learn any italian, but liam had an aid.

"alex! you're italian! how do you say happy birthday in italian?" liam shouted.

"i'm only half italian. but it's buon compleanno, or you could say tanti auguri. tanti auguri is more, like, good wishes, and buon compleanno just means happy birthday." she explained.

"you're italian? i didn't know that!" yuki asked, shocked.

"i'm half, dad's side." she mumbled.

liam noticed her shy away at mentioning her father, and his eyes softened. he changed the topic of conversation, but his eyes kept fleeting to alex, her face not adorned with her usual smile.

he wanted to be the one to comfort her, but yuki swooped her up before he could, leaving him awkwardly standing there once they had finished filming.

***

yuki's unfortunate formation lap left the hotheaded man quite enraged, and alex tried to help him calm down, but he was pissed.

"i couldn't even start the team's home race, and i didn't even do anything wrong!" he kicked something in the garage, wincing as he hurt his foot.

"i know, yukes. i know." she hugged the shorter man, her eyes on the screen showing the other alphatauri car on its third and final formation lap.

liam finished an amazing p11, much to yuki's dismay. he was happy for the team, but he knew he could've been in the points today if it wasn't for his engine problem.