Crashed

XXII

Zoë

The day has been great. I like the team, plenty of growing oppurtunities and great work environment. I am happy, this was a great choice. I'll be working on the team of Alex as number god knows race engineer. So excited, and he was a really cool guy as well and made me feel at ease right away. It's already the end of the day and I'm leaving the paddock. I look at my phone to text Lando I'll be in the hotel when someone bumps into me. MAX. Don't pannic, look at everything else but him. Even better, keep looking at your phone and rush away. I hear him calling me, yet I can't start running in the middle of the paddock. I shoot somewhere in an ally between two motorhomes, hoping to stay clear. I look at my phone that started buzzing, him calling me... again... How the fuck am I going to survive working in F1 and still avoiding him. 

Staring at my screen I feel suddenly a hand on my shoulder. I jump up. "Wow, didn't mean to scare you like that." I hear in a smooth voice. Charles. I look at where I am and right near the entrance of the back for Ferrari. "It's okay, I was just... in my mind..." He nods and smirks at me "Boy aka Lando troubles again or something different this time." I push him playfully "Funny, yes kind off boy trouble, no not Lando trouble. We're just friends." "Cool, just friends than." He looks at my face and I can feel my cheeks burning up. He leans against the wall and turns his head to look at me, scanning me up and down, noticing my new shirt. "Since when are you a Williams fan? Ferrari red would look better on you." I laugh "Over my dead body, if I even support a team it will always be RedBull." "Even if Max stops driving there?" "Yes even than, I'm not a Max fangirl if you haven't noticed yet." "So what's up with the Williams outfit than, Sargeant fangirl?" A smile on my face appears "I actually started a new job from today on, at Williams." His eyes grow bigger, revealing the surprise in his face "Doing what?" Kind off offended by his tone I scoff "Wow, wouldn't have thought you would be so narrow minded about women in motorsports." He shakes his head and starts to appolagize "We never spoke about your job, how could I know that you're not in media like almost all the other women?" I sigh, it gives me bad flashbacks to my old job, always being thought less of because of being a girl. "It's okay"I sigh"I'm on the race engineer team. Of Alex" I look up at him and smile proudly. "Wow congratulations Zo, that's amazing!" He touches my arm a little and smiles at me "Thanks, Lando signed me up for the vacancy behind my back, but now I am so greatefull he did." "Just friends huh?" he smirks, revealing the little dimples in his cheeks. "Yep." I say back, not looking him in the eyes. My phone lights up again, I sigh thinking it will be Max. But I see Lando's name. Charles looked down at my phone out of reflex. "Your just friend is calling you." He mocks me a little before saying bye and walking past me. I swipe to answer the call "Hey you." "Hey you, how has your day been, are you back already or still around?"  "I was just about to leave, see you in the hotel." I say "Okay, I'm also okay to leave already so see you in a bit!"  I take a deep breath before continuing my way to the hotel again.

Max

After the challenge I get my phone out again. I call her again but no answer, like usual. This is horrible. I get back and run into Lando who is heading out. "Hey mate" "Maxieboy, excited for your homerace?" "Yeah the athmosphere is great already. Did you do the stroopwafel thing?" "Yeah it was really fun, I made some extra to take with me."  I laugh, him and his stroopwafels. "Hey ehm, did you know if Zoë came around this weekend?" "Didn't she tell you? She had a testday working today for Williams, I'm going to see her now and see if she took the job." I'm a little startled, will she be working in F1? She always dreamed of working in motorsports. God I so hope she took the job. "Oh that's amazing! Will you tell her to call me if she has time?" "Yeah sure, no problem, see you tomorrow!" He says as he leaves. I pick up my phone and text her. "Congrats on your new job, I hope you took it." Maybe she answers this time?

The next morning I go early. I pace around the Paddock, waiting for her to show up. I sit down at the RB terrace looking at the entrance of Williams. And there she is. Knowing her she's about half an hour early. I take my chances and run up to her "Zo wait" to my surprise she stops walking and lets me catch up with her. "Hi" She says softly. "Hey." I respond, both not really looking at eachother. "Well ehm, the collors look good on you. Congratulations on your new job." "Thanks." She vaguely smiles at me. "I ehm.. I wanted to-" "Max I'm sorry but I... I just don't know what to say to you." "I know I crossed the line, and I will hate myself forever for that but I just needed you to know the truth." "I didn't need your truth Max, I was doing fine without it." She hisses at me. I take her arm to lead us somewhere away from everyone. "Zo, I didn't think about you or what it could do to our friendship. I just... God I was so jealous, I never really felt that way about you after I shut down all my feelings towards you. But than that thing with Eric happened, and we grew closer again, everything just came back. I never knew you felt the same way." She looks at the floor and fidgets with her rings. "So, what now? What do you want because you're with Kelly and I'm with... Lando asked me to be his girlfriend during our holiday and I said yes, he does not know anything about our history and I want to proceed things that way with him. He makes me happy." "I just want to be friends again Zo, if I can't be with you I just want you in my life. Maybe we're just meant to have only a friendship." She avoids my look, I softly bring my hand to her upper arm. The feeling of her skin underneath my fingertips makes me shiver. To my surprise she doesn't pull back. She lifts her eyes to make contact with mine, I can see them watering. "Friends, third try?" I ask nervously.