english love affair | lando norris

7

7

Friday, 26th April, 10:33 pm

"I miss you," my brother whines out on the other side of the Facetime, "all the boys say it isn't the same when you aren't at the games."

"Well tell them that I'm busy travelling the world," I sarcastically say, rolling my eyes, "besides you guys have been playing well, from what I've seen."

"Still not the same!" I hear yelled distantly from his end, "sorry, Charlie's here.." Sam confirms, passing the phone to him.

"Hugsyyyy! We miss you!" Charlie cheers, 

"So I've been told!" I say back, matching his energy, "who are you guys versing tonight? I'm trying to work out time zones so I can watch it."

"Geelong tonight, at the MCG, their home game though," Charlie answers, "it's at 4:30 pm our time, so for you that's..."

"2:30 am, I think I can manage that, don't you?" I tease, "just make sure you win, then it'll be worth the late bedtime."

"We'll try, but we can't always win without you, you're our good luck charm!" He adds, before passing the phone back to Sam, with me smiling like a little kid whose crush just told her he likes her.

"Alright, I'm going to go have some lunch now, and let me know your plans for coming to the finals, whether Carlton makes it or not, I want to see you, Mal," he says softly.

"I'll be there, no matter what," I say sternly, trying to reassure him that I'll see him for the season's finals series.

"No. Matter. What." He repeats, giving me a half-hearted smile.

"Bye Sammy, have a good game! I'll be watching from Miami," I say, giving him a warm smile to try and bring up his spirits. 

"Thanks, Mal, I'll dedicate a celebration to you if I get a goal," he laughs, knowing I'll watch like a hawk to see if he does or not. "Text me if you need me, please, I love you, talk soon. Bye."

The call ends, and my heart drops hearing him plead for me to message him. I had avoided telling him about my panic attacks recently, knowing it would worry him, but I caved and told him on this call. He felt horrible, that he wasn't there for his baby sister, and if he wasn't in the midst of his AFL season, he would be on the next flight to come and get me.

I tried to reassure him that I was okay, and so did Aurora, but failed to fully convince him since she fell asleep almost mid-conversation. Big day out, I guess.

After the call had ended, I headed over to the bathroom to do my skincare, ready for the long night ahead. As I was washing my face with cleanser, I received a Facetime call, this time from Lando. Since we got each other's numbers, we hadn't used them to call or text, so the random ringing concerned me.

Regardless, I answered, drying off my face quickly. His face comes onto the screen, and a wide mischievous grin spreads across my phone before I realise he has an open wound on his nose.

"Hey, Malia," he says, his voice a little hoarse. "You're not going to believe what just happened."

 Shocked at the dishevelled look he had due to his injury, I couldn't find the words to answer, staring at him in pure shock.

"I have no idea, Lando, you'll have to tell me," I answer, checking the time in Amsterdam, where I knew he was for his week off. "4 am Lando? Are you crazy?"

Lando chuckled at my shocked expression, clearly amused by the reaction he had caused, especially by the small little detail that was the current time in his part of the world.