"You sure you can keep up, Klein?" His voice barely reached me over the sound of the crew and the cars, but I could hear the smirk laced in his tone as he hopped into his seat.
I simply raised my middle finger in response and slammed my visor down.
...
My eyes flutter open as I inhale deeply. For the first time in goodness knows how long I finally feel well rested.
I yawn before taking in my surroundings, the details of the day before rushing back to me.
Lando.
I roll over, eyes wide as I check to see if he's still here. He is.
He's laying on the couch, hoodie pulled up over his head and arm resting across his face as if he's blocking the light, chest rising and falling softly as he breathes.
From what I can see, his face looks peaceful. It's a shocking difference to the usual scowl or blank expression he sports when he looks at me.
If I'm being generous, I'd almost say he looks... cute.
That is, until he wakes up, and the reality dawns on me again.
"Morning sleeping beauty," I say.
He grunts, pulling his hood down and sitting up, checking the time on his watch.
"You stayed?" I ask, yawning as I pull the blankets up to my ears, savouring the comfort it brings.
"You have a concussion, Klein. I would be stupid if I left you alone all night. Speaking of that, do you remember what happened?" He questions, rubbing his eyes.
"Yes Lando." I say, rolling my eyes. "I crashed. I got a concussion and a split lip. I went to the party even though Georgia told me not to. I almost passed out -"
"-did pass out-" he interjects.
"- and you brought me back here. I'm fine, Lando."
I'm fully convinced that's the case, until I sit up and a splitting pain in my head hits me, causing my arm to wobble. Lando flinches, his hand moving slightly.
"Told you." He says, looking at me.
"Shut up." I say, scrunching me eyes together and holding my head. "Do you have an Advil?"
I'm not sure if it's the hangover, the concussion, or both that's causing my head to feel like it's being ripped open. Either way, it hurts like a bitch.
Lando shakes his head, "This isn't my room, Klein."
I sigh, pointing to my bag on the table. He gets up slowly, stretching his arms upward as he stands, before grabbing an Advil and my water bottle from the table and passing it to me. He remains standing next to the bed as I sit up and down the pill.
"So, about today," Lando starts slowly, testing the waters. I frown. Today?
He takes my confusion as an opportunity to continue.
"Georgia suggested we go for breakfast together, then dinner with some other drivers, but I don't know if it's the best idea if you're still feeling- "
"Yes!" I say, throwing the covers off and sprinting out of bed. The sudden motion puts spots in my eyes and I sway, closing my eyes. "No, I'm okay." I say, knowing Lando was trying to help me.
"I have the perfect idea for dinner!" I say, rushing to the closet and pulling out a long, white silky dress with spaghetti straps and an open back. I lay it on my bed, hands on my hips as I inspect the dress.
"Gold jewellery," I mumble, rushing to my jewellery box in my suitcase and rummaging through the serious amount of metal for the perfect simple gold chain and hoops.
Lando's watching me the whole time, a bemused expression written on his face.
"You know it's not even breakfast yet, Klein?" He asks, an eyebrow raised. I turn to him, mouth hanging open.
"This is serious, Norris." I say, holding a hand up to him. "Just let me do my thing."
He holds an arm out, urging me to continue.
Once I'm happy with my work I stand back and nod. "Perfect." I say.
"Okay, can we go to breakfast now?" He asks from the couch, having found his way there in the midst of my outfit planning antics.
"Okay, but I need to find an outfit..." I think, turning back to the closet.
"Fantastic."
*****
@cassieklein 1min ago
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I smile as I post the photo to my instagram story before turning to my crepes, clapping my hands together in excitement.
I dig in, the sweet-sugary-deliciousness setting off sparks on my taste buds.
"Holy shit this is good," I say, mouth full, as I hastily cut another mouthful off. Lando chuckles.
A comfortable silence settles over us as we eat, the food filling the hole in our stomachs. It's been a long time since last night.
Last night.
I can't stop thinking about it, wondering why he stayed, why he helped, why he was worried?
The thought itches at my brain, and no matter how much I try to ignore it, it becomes infuriating. I can't take it any longer.
"Can I ask you something?" I ask, lowering my knife and fork as I look over at him. He meets my eye contact and nods, taking another bite of his breakfast.
"Whole truth?" He asks, voice slightly muffled from the food in his mouth.
I smile. "Whole truth."
I pause for a moment, trying to find the words I'm looking for until it all just blurts out and sounds something like:
"Why did you stay last night? I mean like why didn't you just leave me or palm me off to Charles or someone? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful you stayed but, I don't know, I'm just a little confused because it doesn't seem like we're close enough for that..." I say, lowering my gaze. "Or something..."
It's silent for a moment, before I hear the clink of his fork resting on his plate and I look back up at him. He appears in thought.
"I stayed because I wouldn't live with myself if I didn't do anything to help, or if something bad happened. You're not my favourite person ever, Klein, but I'm not the kind of person to leave somebody like that."
I draw my eyebrows together, processing what he said. I nod slowly, picking my fork back up. Silence settles over us again.
"Can I ask you something?" He breaks the silence.
"Whole truth?" I fight my giggle.
"Whole truth." He smiles. "Why do you love crepes so much?" He points his fork at my almost empty plate.
"Oh, you don't even want to get me started..."
~~~
can't lie i'm surprised i even wrote this chapter so eh it's kind of a filler ngl
