midnight rain [f. colapinto]

t w e n t y - t h r e e

Evita was thrilled to be back in the paddock after the two week break. She was not, however, thrilled to be back with Franco, accompanying him to another media day appearance.

"What did you do over break?" he asked, attempting to break the tense silence between the two.

"Went back to England. I was able to go to class in person," said Evita.

"What do you do for class when your traveling?" asked Franco.

"My professors send me videos from lectures, they're very accommodating," replied Evita.

"I see," said Franco. "I had a lot of sim training."

Evita nodded. "Exciting." The tone of her voice did not match her choice of words.

Franco caught the sarcasm, smirking at her poor attempt to hide her irritation. "Well, I'm sure it's not as exciting as your classes."

Franco leaned closer to her as they walked, his voice lowering. "You really don't have to be so cold, you know. We're stuck together, might as well make the best of it. If you know what I mean," he said.

Evita's steps faltered for a second, but she quickly recovered. "We aren't stuck together. This is all part of the job."

"But you don't have to make it seem so torturous. We used to-"

"That was a long time ago, Franco," said Evita.

Franco shrugged, unfazed. They continued walking in silence, the tension rising with every quiet step.

"You've been even moodier than usual," Franco remarked. "Missed me that much?"

Evita shot him a look. "Quite the opposite."

"Could've fooled me," he teased. He lowered his voice again so passersby couldn't overhear them. "You're still mad about something, and you're acting like it's got nothing to do with me. I want to know what it is."

"What are you talking about?"

Franco sighed. "You hated me the second I joined the team. You think I haven't noticed? You said this wasn't about Logan, but I'm not inclined to believe you."

"I've told you," said Evita, her voice laced with frustration. "This has nothing to do with Logan and everything to do with you."

Franco scoffed. "You're sure about that? Because from my standpoint, it seems like you had other reasons to care who kept the seat."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Evita asked angrily.

"I don't know. You and Logan seem close. Really close."

Evita's breath caught as she picked up what he was putting down. "Are you seriously implying-"

"I don't need to imply anything," said Franco. "The look on your face tells me enough."

Evita's heart pounded, her face feeling flushed from a combination of anger and embarrassment. Franco wasn't wrong. She and Logan had slept together once, but it meant absolutely nothing to either of them. It happened one night when Carmen was away, both felt lonely, and one shared bottle of wine later, it just happened. They'd laughed it off afterward, and it hadn't changed anything between them.

"It meant nothing," snapped Evita. "Not to him, not to me. And it sure as hell isn't why I don't like you."

"Then what did I do?" asked Franco. He was growing increasingly more irritated, which was unfamiliar to Evita. In most of their interactions, she was the emotional one, while he kept an even temperament. She wasn't sure how to react to this new display of frustration.

"I seriously have no clue how you don't know," said Evita, throwing her hands up in the air in annoyance.

"I don't know because you won't tell me," said Franco in pure exasperation.

Evita was too upset to respond. Instead she turned away from him, heading to the media center without him. He could figure things out on his own.