VIPER || Oscar Piastri

Chapter 73

[POV: Narrator]

Andi stirred the ice in her drink with the tip of her straw, watching it slowly melt into watered-down nothing. Her dad and Oscar were deep in conversation across the table, and she might as well have been invisible.

"–and that's why I'll never put synthetic oil in a classic engine," her dad was saying, leaning in like he was about to reveal some crazy-shocking secret. He wasn't even looking at her. Just Oscar, who was nodding along politely, eyes flicking to her every so often like he could sense her boredom.

She was sandwiched between the two of them at the end of the table: her dad across from Oscar, Andi stuck between like some awkward buffer with nowhere to look or go.

"...once you switch, you can't go back, I don't care what anyone says—"

Andi tuned out the rest.

Her gaze drifted toward the entrance of the Silverstone hospitality suite, where the doors had just opened and a small wave of noise rippled in. She spotted Alex first—a classy smile, sunglasses on top of her head, walking with Charles beside her, casually, with a hand on her back.

Andi's spine folded in on itself as she sank lower into her chair.

She was suddenly very interested in the condensation sliding down her glass, and when she took a sip, her drink had started to taste bitter.

She kept her eyes down until a small group of people gathered a few feet away, greetings and waves all signalled that Charles had elsewhere to be. Peeling off from Alex, he left her with a quick kiss to her cheek.

Andi shuddered.

Alex's eyes then scanned the area, and landed directly on her—and stayed there.

Uhhh... Andi's neck jolted backwards as she tried to figure out if she was being looked at. She tried to play it cool— Maybe she's not even looking at me.

But then Alex smiled. Bright, dimpled, completely sincere. She lifted a hand in a small wave.

Andi blinked.

Me? She pointed to herself, then looked over her shoulder to check—surely someone else was being summoned. But no. The space behind her was empty. It was her. Definitely her.

Alex just laughed and did a little 'come here' gesture with her hand, beckoning like this was something that happened often.

Andi turned to Oscar briefly, who was still locked in conversation with her dad, oblivious.

No help there.

She sighed, setting her drink down and mumbling to herself, more as preparation than anything.

"I guess I'm going...?"

As she stood and made her way across the floor, her brain whispered horrible things like don't trip and smile, idiot.

"Hey!" Alex greeted her warmly. She gave Andi a once-over that somehow didn't feel judgy. If that was at all even possible. "What a stunning dress, Andi! That green? It suits you!"

Andi nearly malfunctioned. "Oh—uh, thank you," she said, her voice squeaky with surprise. Compliments weren't supposed to come from Alex. No—more specifically, compliments weren't supposed to come from Charles Leclerc's girlfriend, who had every right in the world to be the meanest, most intimidating woman alive. The kind of girl who should've greeted Andi with a raised brow and a passive-aggressive comment about how "brave" it was to wear chartreuse in public.

Instead, Alex was being... nice. Which was unfair, because it came paired with effortless cheekbones and that kind of glowy skin that made you rethink your entire skincare routine.