Aerodynamic {Racing One Shots}

name • chase elliott

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"We can now let Chase know that he will not be competing in Final Four this season." Chase struggled to keep his emotions in check on camera but the satisfaction that was on the reporter's face made him want to punch a wall.

"We had a good run and I look forward to contending for a championship next season." Chase forced a half-smile before turning away, not bothering to wait for the reporter to ask any more questions.

"Chase! Chase! Chase!" His name rang in his ears, inescapable. Sometimes Chase really hated that he couldn't turn who he was off, hated his famous last name.

Chase forced a small smile, turning to the fans. As much as he wanted to walk away from them, he wanted to leave the track and fly away -- but he knew that he couldn't. With social media, the news of his snub would be viral before he made it to his motorhome and turn into a PR nightmare.

"Thanks for coming out." He murmured to each fan. Chase could hear them all talking to him, telling him how proud they were and how he'd be even stronger next season. Chase knew that he should engage, he should appreciate it -- drivers only dream about having a loyal fanbase like he does. And most of the time, he did but now? Now he just wanted them all to leave him alone.

Once he made it to the end of the line of fans, waving his goodbye. As he walked away, he pulled his hat down, trying to move as fast as he could.

"Can I have a minute?" Another reporter grabbed his arm.

Chase let out a silent sigh before looking up. "Sure." His smile looked more like a grimace now but he was beyond caring.

The reporter asked the same five questions that every reporter asked him. Chase rattled off the answers -- a script that he had memorized. He hated this song and dance, hated that this is what he had to do. All he wanted to do was race, that was it. He didn't ask for this, he didn't ask for any of it.

He knew his last name was a blessing, knew that his last name helped unlock all of the opportunities that he had but he hated everything that came with it.

Once the reporter was satisfied, Chase made a beeline for the motorhome, ignoring anybody else who wanted his attention. He had more than fulfilled his obligations and now he needed to be alone.

Finally alone in the motorhome lot, the gravity of what had just happened, how he had just missed the Final Four by one point.

He blamed himself, he was the driver. He could've dug deeper, pushed harder, got a little something more out of his car to make a pass. But he hadn't, he had been complacent with his strong season -- he had been sure that he was an easy lock into the Championship race. He had gotten lazy and complacent, unable to perform under pressure.

Typing the passcode to his motorhome, he slipped in. His girlfriend Callie sat perched on the edge of the couch.

As soon as the door was shut, she rose from her seat and enveloping Chase into a hug. No consolations, just a tight hug — exactly what Chase needed at that moment.

He let himself fall into her, crumbling. She held him as he quickly tried to piece himself together, to process his feelings.

Her palm moved in small circles on his back, comforting him.

"What can I do?" She finally whispered, a little bit of desperation in her voice.

"I just..." Chase trailed off, trying to find something tangible to tell her. "I just want to go somewhere where nobody knows my name."

"Okay." She pulled away, grabbing her laptop. "Go shower and change."

Chase nodded slowly, not completely sure what she was doing but he trusted her.

Callie was the only person in the world that never had been fazed by his last name. Maybe it was because when they met all he was was the painfully shy kid with a famous father. Or maybe she really just didn't care.

Either way, it had never seemed to matter to her so when they reconnected a year ago, she had quickly become his grounding, his safe haven.

Twenty minutes later, Chase stepped back out of the bathroom. He leaned over Callie's shoulder to see what she was looking at.

"Saint Francis' Resort?" Chase read the website.

"One of the most remote resorts in the Bahamas." Callie smiled. "We'd have to wait until after next week to go but I'd think it'd be worth it. Until then, we can shut our phones off until Wednesday."

Chase leaned into Callie, the fifty-pound weight lifted off his chest. For the first time in an hour, he felt like he could breathe.

"I think that'd be perfect."

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for RubyRacer9 -- i hope you like it, it's a little angsty.

a little note to everybody: i'd just like to apologize for having such a gap in between posting these, i honestly lost my motivation to write for a little while. and i'd much rather hold off on posting than post something less than stellar just for to plump my stats.

as always, thank you all for reading.