|Love 4 Apex| Lando Norris

🏎 23 - On the Edge of Chaos

The morning after his impulsive comment, Lando groggily reached for his phone, squinting at the harsh glow of the screen. Notifications flooded in, each one tightening the knot of dread in his stomach as he read headline after headline: "Lando and Franco: Rivals in Racing and Romance?" The words blurred together, his private emotions now sprawled across the public eye. He'd wanted to keep everything under control, but now it was all slipping through his fingers.

He scrolls through the comments, most of them filled with excitement over this perceived rivalry. Some fans side with Lando, flooding his posts with supportive messages. Others laugh at the situation, teasing him about his jealousy. But it's the replies that sting the most—the ones that call him out for being petty, or worse, desperate.

And then, buried in the sea of messages, Franco's reply stood out. Lando's pulse quickened as he read it: "Having a great time, thanks, mate! Wish you were here." Friendly enough on the surface, but Lando could read between the lines. Wish you were here. The irony cut deep because Lando did wish he were there—but not with Franco. He wished it were just him and Rose, alone, like it used to be. Now, Franco was the one by her side, and Lando was left on the outside, realizing that his hesitation may have cost him everything he wanted: Rose.

After reading Franco's response, Lando's phone buzzes again, and this time, it's from Rose. His heart skips a beat as he opens the message. But instead of the usual lighthearted banter he might've expected, the words hit him like a punch to the gut:

Rose: What the fuck is wrong with you?

Lando stares at the message, his frustration bubbling to the surface.

He'd been trying to reach Rose for days, especially since Daniel mentioned she left the club in tears. She hadn't replied, not once. The only glimpses he'd gotten of her life were through her Instagram, showing her vacation with Franco as if everything was fine. And now she had the nerve to call him out?

His thumbs move faster than his mind can process, driven by all the hurt and confusion he's been bottling up.

Lando: Oh, now you wanna talk? After ignoring me for days?

Lando waits, staring at his phone after sending the message, hoping for an immediate reply. Minutes pass, then an hour, and still—nothing. His frustration morphs into a sinking feeling in his chest. Why is she ignoring me? he thinks bitterly. What happened that night when she left crying?

As the headlines continued spiraling out of control, McLaren's PR team jumped into action. Within hours, an official statement was released on social media, aiming to quell the frenzy.

"Regarding recent online interactions, we want to clarify that Lando Norris and Franco Colapinto share a friendly, competitive relationship, and there is no animosity between them. Their recent comments were made in good humor, reflecting the camaraderie between drivers in the paddock. #NoBeef #InsideJoke"

Lando reposted the statement with a thumbs-up emoji, hoping it would do the trick. He didn't like having his feelings reduced to a mere "inside joke," but it was better than letting the media storm spiral further out of control.

After the PR statement, days passed, though the media uproar barely faded, and whispers about Lando, Rose, and Franco continued. Ignoring the headlines was harder than Lando expected, but he tried to stay focused on anything that felt normal. Meanwhile, things with Magui weren't easy. Their conversation was tense, every attempt at explaining his actions only deepening her frustration. She had been blindsided, caught in the fallout of his impulsive mistake, and she wasn't about to forgive him easily.