Dear Lando - Book Two

𝟾 ♡ Mr. Blue Sky

Mr. Blue Sky By Electric Light Orchestra

Between FP3 and Qualifying, Lana, Nathalie, and Theo lounged at an outdoor cafe. The bustling paddock served as a lively backdrop while they sipped on their coffees, enjoying a comfortable silence.

Poking her head up from her phone, Nathalie broke the silence, "I reckon Ashford is gonna do well in quali later on. She's been top 3 all weekend."

Before Lana could state her agreement, a nearby table voice called, "Nah, I think Ricciardo's got it in the bag."

All three turned their heads towards the table where the voice came from. Staring back at them were Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, and Azalea Ashford. Azalea turned her head to Daniel, teasing, "Aweh, is someone jealous?"

"Don't got time, too busy being awesome," Danny rebutted with a playful grin.

Lana had an amused look on her face, Theo sat in utter shock at the three F1 drivers in front of him, and Nat sported googly eyes, her jaw-dropping right in the direction of Mr. Awesome himself.

Azalea perked up with recognition upon seeing Lana. "Oh, hey girl!" she greeted.

Lana smiled back, "Hi Az," and gestured to Nat, introducing her friend. "This is my best friend, Nat."

"You knew her personally this whole time?" Nat questioned Lana, finally tearing her eyes away from Daniel.

Lana made a sheepish grin and nodded. "No wonder you vouched for her being in my fantasy team," Nat smirked as she leaned back and crossed her arms. "Which was an amazing," she now turned her attention to Azalea, "choice by the way."

Azalea waved her hand and bowed modestly. "We met in Miami," Lana clarified.

Max peered his head up at the mention of Miami. "Yeah, then you two ran off alone. Took me ages to find you," Daniel added, pointing an accusatory finger at the two girls.

"Maybe that was the point," Az replied, feigning shock.

Daniel's eyes widened. "Damn," he admitted, placing his hand over the right side of his chest. "You wound me."

"Hearts on the other side there, Dan," Lana chipped in, causing the girls to giggle.

Daniel quickly moved his hand to the left side. "Had to point it out, hey little Leclerc?"

Lana shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. "So you two met in Miami then?" Max finally joined the conversation.

"Yeah, right after we ding dong ditched you," Daniel casually replied, earning a kick from Azalea.

"That was you?" Max directed his surprise at Azalea.

"He did it too," Azalea pointed at Daniel.

"Boawh, well of course it was him. But it is a surprise to me that you were there too."

Azalea made heart shapes with her hands before cozying onto Max's side. "If we ever go ding dong ditching again, we'll include you."

Max gave them a fed-up look, while Azalea and Daniel smiled mischievously.

"So, are you coming to any more races soon? I'd love to have a proper night out!" Azalea addressed the group, then turned to Theo. "And sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

Snapping out of it, Theo stumbled, "Oh, erm, Theo. Nice to meet you."

The girls giggled, and Nat chimed in, "You'll have to excuse our Aussie friend. It's only his second day in this," she gestured around her, "world."

"Ah, well, nice to meet you, Theo. Hopefully, we'll put on a good show for you tomorrow," Azalea replied with a wink.

Meanwhile, Daniel was scrutinizing Theo, analyzing the other Aussie before him. "So, Theo. Who's your favorite driver? On a scale from here to here with Azalea," he gestured with his hands to create a ranking system between himself and Azalea.

"Danny, we're not doing this again," Azalea started, but Daniel shushed her. "Ah, ah, ah. I wanna hear this."

"Erm," Theo began, feeling the pressure of everyone's eyes on him. "You, of course, mate," he gestured at Daniel.

"Good answer, mate," Daniel grinned approvingly.

"Hey Nat, I uh, don't wanna overstep here but," 

Nat looked questioningly at Theo from where they stood alone getting a refill of coffee. 

"Lana's such a, calculated? Person," He began to nervously get out before Nat cut in, "And you want to know why she's the completely fucking opposite anytime Sainz is around?" 

He nodded his head in agreeance, glad she said it for him. 

Nat sighed, "Honestly Theo? I don't know," She began, as she searched for the right words. "Lana has had this "little" crush on him for as long as I can remember. And for years, she's kept it all hush hush," She continued as Theo listened intently. "However, I am in no place to tell her, her feelings or what to do, and neither are you," She pointed at him now, "So we help when needed, and play it off as exactly what she calls it; a "little" crush," Nat finished, sounding a bit more tense than before as she picked up their coffees and made their way back to the group. 

Theo only nodded in silent understanding as he followed the blonde back to the group. 

AN

Thought the song was fitting since It's on the 'Awesome Mix' :)))