"i'm not gonna lie, i'm more excited for 1989 (taylor's version) than the grand prix this weekend." ria confessed as she walked through the paddock with oscar.
"don't think you should let anyone hear you say that, love." he warned.
"oh, yeah, i forgot, i have to act normal in public." she joked.
oscar laughed as they entered the mclaren hospitality.
"hey guys! great work on tuesday, good press all around. you're doing 'who said what' for today so take these and sit down." dionne said, handing each of them two cutouts with each of their faces on it.
she handed oscar a stack of cards, each with a radio message on them, and they had to guess which of the pair said it.
"alright, the first one is," he read the card. "thanks guys, i had a lot of fun."
ria immediately held up oscar's face, without hesitation.
"that was definitely you. i have never said that in my life." ria said.
"yeah, i think that was me too." he held up his face.
dionne nodded, and they moved on to the next card in the pile.
"oh my days, you big fat burger, how are you taking up the whole fucking track?" oscar laughed after reading it off the card.
"why did you read that in the most sophisticated way possible?" ria almost cried from laughter.
she was hunched over in her chair, cackling at it. she struggled to do so, but held up her face.
oscar did the same thing, and they didn't even need confirmation from dionne to know it was ria's radio message.
oscar handed the next card to ria, and once she had calmed down, she read it off.
"p1, let's go, boys!" she read. "that's so oscar coded." she held up his face.
"that was me in hungary. that was an unforgettable race." he held his face up.
ria also read the next one off.
"move! almost took my front wing off for what?" she remembered. "that was me on oscar, wasn't it? back in bahrain or something."
"oh, how times have changed. you're so violent with your radios, that's how i know they're yours." he said, holding up the paper with ria's face on it.
dionne nodded once more, indicating they were right.
"we're so good at this." ria said, handing the stack of cards back to oscar.
"i know, right?" he agreed. "who's ferrari is up my bumhole right now, leave my ass alone, boundaries." oscar read out, laughing once again. "it's so easy to tell that they're hers because she's so angry all the time."
"watch your mouth with me, piastri. moving like i won't spark you in your jaw right now." she jokingly threatened.
"come on then." he held his fists up near her face. "i watched karate kid religiously, try me."
"alright mate you're getting a bit overexcited there. calm down a little. take a breather. think happy thoughts." she sarcastically said.
"okay, but i was right. it was your radio message." he shrugged.
"yes, it is." she admitted.
"last one then. 'yes, happy.' " he read.
"that's so you. man of few words. but what does that mean?" she asked.
"i have absolutely no idea. like, i'm genuinely lost. i know it's me, but i don't know what i was talking about." he explained.
"yes it was oscar's. now wrap it up for us, please." dionne instructed.
"alright, well, that's all we have for today. wish us luck for the race, and stream 1989 (taylor's version) tonight. love you all." she blew a quick kiss to the camera at the end.
"i think taylor swift should pay you for the amount of free publicity you give her." he joked as the camera crew started packing up.
"hey, i'm just spreading the swiftie agenda." she threw her hands up in surrender.
"it's cute. i like it." he threaded his arms around her waist as they stood up.
"mhm. good." she said before closing the distance between their lips.
due to the different time zones, it was 10pm when 1989 (taylor's version) was scheduled to come out for ria, so she sat in oscar's room with her laptop open. she watched the countdown go from 13 minutes, down to 30 seconds, then to 13 seconds and then, soon enough, it was out.
ria went straight to the vault tracks, playing "slut!" first.
it was nothing like she had expected. it was soft, sweet, and a love song. but the chorus broke her. she felt her eyes brimming with tears, and she turned to oscar, wrapping him in a warm hug.
and if they call me a slut
you know it might be worth it for once
"hey, baby, don't cry." he consoled her, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"oscar, i don't care what people say about me. i only want to be with you. everyone else, they don't matter. it's just us." she told him.
"oh, ria, fuck what anyone else has to say. you're my girlfriend, and i love you, and that's all that matters." he pulled her back into a hug.
"oscar?" she sniffled. "you know, when taylor announced this, i was at the show. that was the day i realised i was in love with you." ria chuckled as she remembered.
"really?" he asked, surprised.
"yeah, when she did the surprise songs after. new year's day. all i could think of was you. and how i never want you to become a stranger who's laugh i could recognise anywhere." her thumb traced his cheek.
"you don't realise how much i love you, ria. i don't even realise how much i love you." he confessed.
"i still probably love you more." she whispered, her eyes captivated by his. did they always have that light glint in them?
***
"i'm ready to go, yep." ria spoke through her radio, right before the méxico grand prix formation lap began. she was on the front row this weekend alongside max.
lando and oscar shared the second row, each of them behind their respective teammates.
at the start of the race, lando got away better, and took second from ria. she fought him throughout the race, but his defence was perfect.
she settled for the last step of the podium, watching oscar down with the rest of the team, staring up at her with pure adoration in his eyes.
that was true love.
