THE END | Oscar Piastri

47. cold

Oscar's pov

Savannah did come this weekend. Shes been hanging out in the Williams garage again. I haven't talked to her since last weekend. To be fair, I hadn't tried to talk to her. It was clear she was avoiding eye contact or crossing paths with me.

At first, I wasn't sure what could've been the cause of her distance. Then I thought about last weekend. When she got that call, she'd made an attempt at hiding the screen. I caught the name. Nash. But who Nash actually is, is a mystery to me.

While standing around in the media pen, I caught sight of her blonde hair. She was walking around the paddock alone, phone in one hand and a sleeve of crackers in the other.

The remainder of my interviews felt like they were hours long. Not only because every one of them asked the same questions, but also because Savannah didn't have anyone to fake a conversation with.

Logan was in media with me, and taking discrete glances at him became increasingly more difficult every time either one of us moved places.

"Considering your placement today, are you experiencing problems with the car?" One would think with questions like these I had placed p20. I didn't. I placed p6.

I shake my head and shrug. "Eh... car's fine, I think I was just having an off day. Off days happen to everyone. Uh yeah as far as the result goes it's still decent points to the team. So... yeah, car's still great I've just gotta get my head back in it for next weekend." The interviewer nods his head, a sign my answer was good enough for him.

I expected a follow up question from the guy, but he just thanks me instead. I give him a single nod. That was the last interview I had to do.

Logan's still in the middle of an interview. Unaware of how much time I had, I make my steps quick, making it a speed walk.

Despite standing at 150 cm, Sav is an easy person to spot. I know I've found her when I spot a group of people taking pictures.

I stop and wait until they've all taken their pictures. They thank her and walk away, thankfully not catching sight of me.

Sav does though, I can tell by the way she practically runs away. I still go after her. "Can I get one of those?" I ask her, walking in sync with her steps.

She doesn't even glance at me. "No." She says, but still plucks one from the sleeve and hands it over to me. I take it gratefully. "Are you stalking me?" She accuses, tone completely unserious with the ghost of a smirk on her lips.

"Maybe. Are you into that?" I ask with the same tone of voice she used. Her lips thin into a small line, holding back a laugh. She closes her eyes, running a thumb and an index finger over her eyelids.

A rogue kid comes out of nowhere barreling right in our direction. Without thinking, I pull her into me so she doesn't get knocked over by the little ankle biter.

It understandably startles her, eyes shooting open. Both of our feet stop. I rush to an explanation. "Sorry. A little one almost took you out." A apologize, rubbing a hand against the back of my neck. My face is red hot.

Her eyes are trained on the kid as he races down the paddock, weaving through more bystanders. A frazzled looking skinny guy chases after the boy. "It's alright." She says in a low voice, still tracking down the kid with her eyes. We stand with less than a foot between us.

He runs right into the legs of Max, who takes the kid into his arms. Because of the distance, I can't hear what he says to the boy, but I doubt it's anything bad, considering the smile on his face. The skinny man finally catches up, standing in front of Max with his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath.

I tear my eyes from the scene, looking down at Sav who's still looking on. "I want to take you to dinner." I don't know where the courage comes from, or where the idea comes from, but it's not like I can take it back now. Her head shoots up at my request. "What?" She blinks a couple times, eyebrows pulled together.

"I said I want to take you to dinner." I repeat. My hand finds the back of my neck again, and when I realize it, I drop it back down to my side. "No I heard what you said. I meant, why?" She continues to blink at me. It's a little intimidating if I'm honest.

Given that the request itself wasn't planned, I also don't have an explanation. "We're friends, so why not?" An awkward laugh follows my pitiful explanation.

She turns her eyes to where Max and the kid once stood, the both of them are gone now. "I'm busy." She says, straight faced, still staring at the now vacant spot. She crosses her arms over her chest.

She wasn't making a joke, but I still laugh. "I didn't even set a day?" She doesn't laugh, her face remains stone cold. She shrugs a single shoulder. "I'll probably be busy." Her eyes fixate on mine, and I feel like she's looking right into my brain.

Stupidly, I persist. "Then you can pick the time and day. Whatever works for you, I'll make it work." She doesn't even blink. "I'm fully booked for the next six months."

I take a deep breath through my nose, taking glances around the thinning crowd of the paddock. I can still feel her eyes burning holes into me. "Alright, I got the hint." Her face is still emotionless when I look down at her.

I take a step back, giving the smallest of smiles, and starting in the direction of my driver room, intending to question every decision I've ever made.

"Next race weekend. After the race." I stop at the sound of her voice, turning back to face her again. I've already made a reasonable distance between us, but I can still see the large smile she has on her face, and the light tint of pink on her cheeks.

My smile spreads into one that reflects hers. "I'll pick you up." I tell her. She pops another cracker in her mouth, turning sharply and gracefully walking away.

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A/N - I was watching Oscar's post race interviews and noticed how much he says "uh" and "yeah" and now I can't stop laughing every time I hear it.