⌞ the chain ⌝

⌞ eighteen : fox and hound ⌝

"You have a flight to catch and you don't want to be late for Free Practice."

_

I tried not to shake as I walked through Barcelona. It was the first time I had been to Spain, and I was overexcited at the idea of being there—not just because it was my first time—I was racing. I was going to be on the track, for the first time, in a few hours, against everyone else. I missed the media day, which I was kinda grateful for. I didn't know I could handle all of the questions and the cameras.

"Okay, Lu. Focus, you have to prove yourself in these laps."

I nodded as Damon walked next to me, looking over everything on that tablet of his. My anxiety hadn't spiked until now. I did have to prove myself. This would show I had a right to be here, on this team.

"Damon?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think I can actually do this?"

He paused, tucking that little tablet away into wherever he always got it from with his hands coming to rest on my shoulders. "You have been outperforming Lando in every test back on the practice track."

"That's numbers-"

"And numbers don't lie. I've seen you. And they will all do the same." His hands left my shoulders, coming to hold my face. "This is you, right now. Not what everyone else has made you believe. You. And only you."

I nodded and he nodded back, pushing me toward the garage. I had a job to do. And I wasn't about to let him down. Even better, I wasn't about to let myself down. Prove it. To them all. That this is exactly where I belong. Tooth and nail, I fought for this. It was mine and mine alone to have.

_

I sat at the very back. Damon had explained that it was because I hadn't raced before. I completely understood. I had an hour to prove what I wanted. Three rounds and the best time I could give. The first one was getting to know the track, the second was getting to know the drivers, and the third was setting the pace. We had practiced this so many times, I should have felt comfortable but as I saw all the cars in front of me. I was stuck.

The silence didn't come as it usually did, washing over me in a wave that slowed everything down to the moment it all settled. It was paralyzing, heart-stopping, all-consuming. I could hear every short breath I took and each race of my heart. I could hear Damon talking to me but I couldn't process the words, I couldn't form my own.

My comfort was tucked under my fireproofs, pressed against my skin. The metal was warm from being held tight and it wasn't offering the grounding I so very much craved. I needed to find myself, I needed to get back into the world around me. There were things I needed to do, to prove.

I shoved my eyes closed, the colors swirled behind my eyelids and I prayed. Not to a God I could never bring myself to believe in but to the one person who always found belief in me. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules. Jules.

"Alright, kid. I hear you. Chill."

The light teasing in his voice made my heart ache. I wanted to talk, to reach out and take his hand in mine. But he wasn't real. It was just the voice I gave him in my head. Reason, logic.

"Seventeen might become a tick now. But focus, eh? This is the moment. We dreamed about it and we talked about it when we knew the angels above us could hear. All so you could have this moment. I am with you. Here-"

I felt the metal warm against my collarbone.

"And here-"

The number on the front of my car glowed.

"And here-"

The decorations on my helmet flashed.

"And here."

I felt everything around me. The car, the rev of the other engines, Damon in my ears telling me to breathe. I could see it all. The cars in front of me tried their hardest to get their tires warm, and the lights starting to count down.

"LU!"

"Yeah, here. Sorry."

I could hear his overly dramatic sigh on the mic. "Jesus, you need to let me know if you have a pre-race ritual so I can get you information before lights go out."

"I have a pre-race ritual now hush before the lights go out."

He snorted and silence filled my ears. The world narrowed down to a single moment in time when the lights went out and my foot hit the pedal. I tucked behind a random car in front of me, following the line they set.

"Track, Lu. That's the first set. Track."

"Copy."

And I did. I pushed only when I saw others pushing, memorizing the lines they took and watching where wheels lost grip. I watched for brakes and acceleration. I could see Lando only a few cars ahead of me and I wanted to push. Sitting in the back made my hands itch. It was a feeling I had long forgotten. The adrenaline pushing so fast through my body that all my nerves set on fire. It called. The competition.

"Lu, focus on the track. I will let you know when it's time to push."

It was just practice, afterall. I couldn't completely show out here. It was to get the car warm and see what needed to be focused on for qualifying tomorrow and the race on Sunday. This was not to find my limits, it was to test my patience. My control.

So I focused on the other drivers. Which people braked first, which hugged the inside or the outside, which liked to take turns a little quicker, and who was better on the straights. And then it was the cars. Which seemed to take the turns tighters, which ones found their footing on the straights and the straights alone. And finally... who knew their car well enough to drive it in a way that would win?

"Damon, come on... let me have some wiggle room here."

I heard his sigh and a soft mumble which meant he was talking to someone with his hand over the mic. Most likely Zak. Getting permission. I think Damon knew that I would do it without permission but he was still going to ask.

"Alright, kid. You have that green light. Let's piss some people off."

"Aye aye, captain."

I smirked as I pushed, taking the wide lane into the turn I was coming up on. I overtook two cars before I tucked back in. My personal goal was to catch Lando. I wanted to pass him, I wanted to be on top, I wanted to lead. Would I be okay with just catching him? No. Content, maybe. But okay? Never. I had to be the best. The best was the only way to prove.

"Alright, kid. Four seconds off the lead car."

"Who?"

"Again?"

"Who is lead?"

"A kid racing for Redbull, name's Jem. Jem Wright."

"Aim?"

"Let's play a little game of fox and hound."

I didn't need to respond. The code for what I liked to call 'hunting down'. I was the hound and I had until the end of this hour to get as close as I could. There were only nine cars in front of me, Lando being only two cars behind this Jem Wright kid. Nine cars to hunt, nine cars to pass.

I forced a gear up and aimed for the car in front of me. I knew what was coming. Break early, inside line, push at the last minute. Wide was not my friend at this turn and if I played it right, that would be two down.

Seven.

I smirked as I hit the straight, feeling the pedal hit the floor. I weaved as tightly as I could, holding off to break until the last second and taking the wide line. I could feel the force against me and I gritted my teeth, forcing the wheel not to shake. I refused to spin out.

Four.

"That's Norris, kid. Zak said not to pass him, I say you didn't get the message passed along."

"Aye."

I pushed. I had watched Lando on the track too many times, I had seen his videos. I raced him on the sim and I forced myself to believe it was just that. The two of us, sitting in that dark room, nothing but the soft sounds of a video game engine and the changing of gears. He would break early, never confident in the turns, and come out quick. I needed to get the jump.

But it was like he knew what I was planning to do, blocking my line. I groaned, trying to push past but he was playing defense. Lando in the sim was not Lando on the track. This was real competition. I took a second to watch. I needed to predict or at least, be unpredictable.

"You've got a straight left, kid."

The reality of it pushed me. I needed to win. I needed to be better. If not the lead car then Lando. And I saw my chance. He drifted toward the right as we came down the track. It was the better part, not as worn down and it was clear of tire pieces but I could just pass him. There was a bit. It would be close but I saw it.

I pushed my pedal into the floor, and even farther. Praying that the speed would be enough as I watched the flag fall. I didn't have the heart to look out when I was going past, I didn't know if I had passed him or if I had fallen short.

"Bring her in, Lu. I need to at least say how proud I am of you before we both get lectured by Zak."

"Wait- I passed Lando?"

"Right as the flag fell."

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a/n: i will take no comments about something not fitting reality... this is fanfic. i am changing reality to play into my whims. i also hate to admit i actually know only the bare minimum about f2 and only because it intimates me so much. i have no clue why but it does. but no more rambling. it's here. for you. as always, love it or don't :p