VIPER || Oscar Piastri

Chapter 38

[POV: Andreanna Saunterre]

Andi Saunterre hid in the corner for the entire GP, only choosing to emerge once she saw Lando passing by afterwards. She prepared to greet him, but instead, Lando strode past Andi, intentionally knocking into her and then immaturely ignoring her. She watched on as he walked away, offended and more-so in shock that he'd act so childishly, so much so that she didn't realise a presence appeared behind her.

"What did you do to him?"

Caught off guard, Andi didn't realize it was Charles who was talking to her at first. "He freaked out because Oscar drove my car while he never has, but—" she began, only to pause mid-sentence as she suddenly recognised who it was. She took a step back, clearing her throat nervously.

"You let him drive your car?" Charles asked, his surprise evident.

"Yeah. So?" Andi responded defensively.

"So, not even I've driven it," Charles pointed out.

She shrugged, unsure of what to say. "Yeah, well... You never wanted to," she countered.

"That's not true," Charles insisted, a smile playing at his lips. "I definitely did. Definitely."

Rolling her eyes, Andi challenged him. "What's it to you anyway, that he drove my car?"

Charles's expression softened. "Oh, nothing. I just think it's cool," he admitted.

"Cool?" Andi echoed.

"Yeah! You know, that you're finally opening up to someone."

She scoffed, "Letting someone else other than me drive my car is 'opening up' is it?"

Their gazes locked, a silent conversation passing between them. Charles's look seemed to say, 'really?', and Andi knew why. She knew as well as he did that if he'd asked her to drive her car, she'd have said no. And he knew better than to ask.

"You were so closed off all summer, it's nice to see some change," Charles continued.

Nice? To see some... change? She repeated his words in her head.

"I'm glad it's going well for you!" He concluded, before walking away.

Andi's internal monologue erupted with doubt and frustration.

Oh, fuck.

Am I not doing enough? She panicked. He can't be happy for me, he's supposed to hate it!

No, no, no, I'm definitely not doing enough. He thinks me and Oscar being together is... cool? He thinks it's nice? And he's glad?! God — this isn't good.

Andi's heart raced; This wasn't part of the plan. She replayed Charles' reaction. Is he genuinely happy for me? That I'm with someone? Her hands started to clench. No, this isn't right. Charles is supposed to hate the idea of me being with Oscar, not find it "cool" or "nice."

She looked around, her mind racing with doubts and fears. If Charles wasn't feeling even an ounce of jealousy, then she wasn't doing enough. She needed to step up her game, find a way to make him see that she shouldn't be with Oscar.

But as she thought through what else she needed to do, a nagging voice in the back of her mind whispered doubt.

All of this relied on Charles actually liking Andi; It relied on him ever having liked her, and the chance that he ever could.

What if he doesn't?

Or didn't...

Or never will?

Andi's hands started to hurt; she was squeezing them too hard. Her eyes started burning too - not from tears, but from forgetting to blink. She was thinking too much, panicking too hard, and it was showing.

As Andi spiraled deeper into her thoughts, another presence reached her side.

Oscar didn't say anything; just made himself known.

Completely oblivious to the fact he'd seen her talking to Charles; that he'd seen her freeze, her hands clench and her eyes turn red, Andi glanced up at him. Her racing thoughts momentarily halted at the sight of him. Without even realizing it, her grip on her hands loosened, and the tension in her shoulders eased. She blinked away the burn in her eyes; a sense of calm interrupting her previously noisy head.

Maybe she had been overthinking things. Perhaps Charles's reaction didn't mean what she feared it did. Maybe he was just being polite. Or, better yet, maybe it was one of those 'nice guy' acts, which really meant that he was dying inside but couldn't say anything in fear of hurting her.

Yeah, she thought.

Maybe he believes the act.
Maybe he's just acting too.

With a deep breath, Andi concluded that she was thinking too deeply.

But she also concluded that that didn't matter. Even if Charles wasn't being truthful, Andi still wanted to see that. She wanted to make Charles quit his 'act' if he really was putting one on. She wanted to make it impossible for him not to fight for her.

...Which meant she was going to have to step things up. By whatever means necessary.

It's time to finalise Phase One.

I'm sure he won't mind, she told herself, looking back towards Oscar, who had said something to her but had been completely ignored.

And anyway, she smiled and held out her hand for him to take. With hesitation and immense confusion, he took it, before being pulled away with her.

"Come on," she said, to which he obliged.

We're much too far gone to call it off now.

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