Tangled in Trophies- Lando Norris

6. Hesitation and Sprints

Evangeline lay on her bed, the faint morning light filtering through the curtains as she started to scroll through her phone and unhealthy morning habit she had picked up recently.  The notification icon on her Instagram app glowed with a number she wasn’t expecting. She opened it, and her heart gave a small jump: Lando Norris had followed her. And, even more surprising, he’d sent her a message.

Curious but wary, she tapped the message open. It read, "Hey, so Clara told me people actually liked the photo shoot , didn't expect that, did you? ." Short and casual, but his words felt sincere, like a warm invitation without pretenses, and yet she has no clue how to respond, normally she would just leave people on read, or just double tap the message if she was feeling generous.

She could feel a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she reread the message, her initial skepticism giving way to intrigue. She typed a quick response, then paused, second-guessing herself. Why was she even nervous? It was just a message—a quick exchange with someone who’d been friendly with her as he was obligated too.

"It was good news to hear, surprising, but good" She responded to his message.
She tossed her phone aside quickly, sighing as she stretched. The reality of her day ahead—a grueling training session and a long afternoon in the gym—brought her back to the present. Lately, these routines had been her constant, her coping mechanism. Every swing, every sprint on the court, was a deliberate attempt to keep her focus on the game. It was a hard-won discipline, instilled in her over years of practice, particularly by her father.

The thought of him was enough to make her shoulders tense. Tennis had always been more than just a sport in her family; it was practically religion. After her mother passed, it was all they had left to bond over—or, more accurately, it was all he’d given her to cling to. The pressure to be better, to win, was relentless from the beginning. Every time she held a racket, it felt like she was trying to prove something—prove herself, her worth, her place on the court. But who was she proving it to anymore? The fans? Her father? Herself? He was gone now, she didn't need to prove to him she was worth the effort or the love. She could participate in her sport guilt free now, and yet with every win and every match the urge to dominate grew, and she knew deep down it was because of him, and not her love for the sport.

Her phone buzzed again. She glanced down, expecting Clara with an update, only to see a few new comments on her latest post. The interaction with the young athlete and her exchange with Lando had caught people’s attention in a surprising way. Comments were popping up, mostly positive, with fans actually encouraging her, complimenting her openness, most of them however did focus on her interactions with Norris, which she for some reason wasn't the most pleased about. "Maybe Clara was right,” she thought, “maybe there’s a way to connect without it feeling forced.”

Evangeline grabbed her gym bag, tightening the strap around her shoulder. Despite her misgivings, the thought of getting to know Lando lingered in her mind, a strange thrill of excitement she couldn’t quite shake. It wasn’t that she needed anyone; she was used to being alone, used to the singular focus her sport demanded. And yet, after last week's shoot she couldn’t help but feel an unfamiliar pull to let her guard down, to see what might happen if she let someone else in—even if only a little. Even with her thoughts regarding opening up to someone or getting to know Lando lingering Evangeline knew that it would never happen, maybe with someone, but not with him. The man was a formula one driver which is known to be one of the most demanding sports you can partake in. She'd likely never interact with him again, if she was being realistic.

In the quiet of the gym that Evangelines townhouse in London was closest to, she surrounded by the rhythmic hum of equipment and the low chatter of other athletes. Distracted Evangeline’s thoughts turned to Italy. She hadn’t been back since her mother’s funeral, her father so quick to distance them both from her mother’s roots. She sometimes wondered if it would feel different now, if the landscape would still seem just as beautiful or if it would feel distant, like a forgotten memory. The thought brought a soft ache to her chest, a reminder of the dreams her mother had once shared, of how she wanted Evangeline to be more than just a tennis prodigy—to be happy.

Lost in thought, Evangeline took up her racket, finding comfort in the steady rhythm of her practice drills. The clarity she found here was priceless, a chance to focus her mind on something tangible, something she controlled. But as much as she tried to shake it, she found herself wondering what Lando was like beyond that easy charm, wondering if he, too, had things he kept hidden beneath the surface.

The gym’s clock chimed softly, marking the end of her session. She towelled off, reaching for her phone almost out of habit. Her homepage revealed the person she had followed earlier that morning, Lando Norris on a flight to Monaco, were she presumed he lives. Seeing it now felt different—unexpectedly personal. It wasn't just her scrolling through his feed after discovering he existed. Maybe he was truly the confident, ego filled young driver the formula one fan based presumed he was, or maybe he was more then that. Although Evangeline would never really know.