#izzy-gracewrites

Chapter 1

I slide my paddock pass around my neck before fixing my hair. My short light blue dress falls right above my knees, ensuring I won't overheat at the track today. I double check that my converse are tied as I spin in the mirror, trying to get a good look at the whole outfit. My brown hair falls gracefully around my face and on top of my chest.

"Callie let's go!" Logan yells from outside the bathroom . I groan, slipping my sweater on just incase I get cold, as I know I'll be at the track until late and it can get chilly in Bahrain. I open the bathroom door and walk into the hotel room where my best friend sat waiting for me.

Logan and I have known each other for as long as I can remember. He is the closest thing to a brother that I have. His parents basically adopted me when we were younger, always being at his house and never my own. I've always supported him through all of the races, always trying to be there for him. Once he joined Formula 2, I started traveling with him. Which I still do, especially now since he's in F1.

"You ready?" Logan asks, pulling himself up off his bed. He's wearing a Williams shirt and a pair of jeans. His dirty blonde hair is a mess, which I guess is normal for him.

"Yea," I answer, grabbing my camera bag and phone. My camera bag held my room key and all my cards so I wouldn't have to carry another bag. Logan opened the door, letting me walk out first. I smiled up at him as we got on the elevator and headed downstairs.

"So what are your plans while I'm in meetings and stuff?" Logan asks as we step off the elevator and into the main lobby of the hotel. I think for second, trying to decide between a couple things.

"Wander around a bit. Might get some photos of the boys. Worse comes to worse I'll camp in your drivers room with a book," I tell him and he nodded in response. He helps me into the rental car before getting into the drivers side. He backs out of the parking spot, driving through the crowds of people to get to the paddock.

We arrive at the paddock fairly quickly and I link my arm with Logans as he leads me into the paddock. Cameras go off all around us as Logan and I enter. Fans scream at Logan, asking for autographs and pictures. It makes me smile to see how much people care about Logan and enjoy having him around the paddock. We part ways, him going to the Williams hospitality while I begin to walk around, snapping pictures around the paddock. It's media day, which means most of the drivers are out doing photos and playing around.

"Calliope!" I hear a familiar voice yell, making me snap my head towards where it came from. Lando is waving frantically at me. I chuckle at him and walk over to him, embracing him in a quick side hug.

"How's it going Lando?" I ask when we pull apart and start walking towards the McLaren building. He lets out a loud sigh and starts to jokingly complain about how long it's been since he last saw me.

"I haven't seen you in forever. Like it's been so long. You're literally never around when I need you most. Like you leave me Oscar all the time and he's so annoying," Lando jokingly expressed, making me chuckle.

"I literally saw you a week ago," I reply making him wave his hand at me, dismissing my statement. We neared the McLaren building, where Oscar was sitting outside on his phone. I smile up at him, sending a small wave his way. He ignores it, but calls out to Lando.

"Hey Lando! We gotta go film something," Oscar says, standing up. He pockets his phone, staring straight past me. Lando sighs and gives me a sympathetic look before running up the stairs of the hospitality. As the two papaya boys disappear behind the glass doors I turn my attention towards the center of the paddock. With a forced smile, I make my way to where the RB and VCARB boys are.

"Hey boys," I smile at them, sending a small wave. Daniel engulfs me in a side hug, ruffling my hair as he pulls away from me. I swat at his hand, telling him to leave my hair alone.

"Calliope, hey. What are you up to today?" Max asks, leaning his lower back on the barrier behind him.

"I'm not really sure. Just been taking pictures so far today," I smile at him, gesturing to my camera. He nods and takes a drink of his RedBull. I talk with them a bit until they have to go off for media duties, leaving me alone once again.

I make my way towards the track, slipping an earbud in. I hum along to the music as I begin walking around the track. I take a couple photos of the empty track, the calm before the storm. The sun begins to set, leaving me to walk a fourth of the track purely by street lights. I head towards Williams hospitality building to meet back up with Logan before we head back to the hotel. My earbuds are still in, blasting music. I'm off in my own little world that I don't even hear Lando calling for me - I just feel him grabbing me.

"Wait what the fuck?" I exclaim, fighting the grasp before I realize it was Lan. My fear dissipates a little at the sight of his face.

"Callie I need to ask a favor of you," Lando starts in a really serious tone. "I need you to fake date Oscar." I start laughing the second he finishes his sentence. I remove my arms from his hands and begin walking again.

"That's really funny Lan. That man refuses to look in my direction. Plus I'm not one to date," I say walking backwards so that I'm still facing the Brit. He groans and follows after me.

"Look it's just for the media. You only have to be seen with each other in public. It's not that big of a deal," he practically pleads with me. I ignore him and begin to head inside of the hospitality. "Callie. I'm literally begging you. What's the worse that could happen? Just humor the media for a month."

"Lan I don't know. I barely know him. I don't think it would work," I tell him. He sighs and hangs his head.

"Please Callie? I can get him to talk to you and assure you it's only for the media. No strings attached. No having to do this when you're inside and alone besides the occasional ones to post on socials. Please," he pleads with me, determined to get me to agree. I sigh, rubbing my palms down my cheeks.

"Fine. I'll do it," I say, just wanting him to shut up. I hear him gasp and his hands are around my body.

"Thank you Callie. Seriously I'll do whatever you need from me for the rest of my life," Lando says, basically suffocating me in a hug. I pat his back, trying to ease him off of me. I part ways with him and make my way into the bathroom inside the hospitality.

"What the fuck am I getting myself into?" I ask myself in the mirror. I grip the porcelain sink, trying to ground myself. My phone going off in my pocket causes me to jump and bang my arm on the sink. I grimace as I pull my phone out to see who it was. Oscar is displayed in big lettering at the top of the screen. I sigh and answer the phone.

"Hello?" I ask through the phone, cringing and cradling my arm. I hear him shuffling around in the background a bit.

"Meet me at the pit wall in ten," the Australian voice comes through the phone before the call disconnects. I shot a quick message to Logan telling him I'll find a ride to the hotel if he leaves, not wanting to keep him waiting if this goes longer than a couple of minutes. I sigh, putting the phone back into my pocket. I make sure that I still look okay, not wanting to give an even worse impression than he already has of me.

I walk out of the hospitality suite and begin the walk to the garages. It's not a long or far walk, just the feeling of wanting to throw up causes me to stop quite a few times. When Logan was in karting with Oscar, he would talk to me. Then as they both worked their ways through the chain to get to Formula One, Oscar quit talking to me and began to avoid me at all costs. Logan says he has no clue why; just noticed that it happened one day. The lights around the paddock are the only thing illuminating my walk to the pit wall, which almost feels like a lamb being led to the slaughter. I play with the hem of my dress as I get closer to the pit wall, genuinely scared to talk to the Australian.

The pits are almost empty, just a couple of mechanics here and there. I sit on the pavement of the Williams section of the wall, trying to focus on keeping my breathing even. I sit like that for about four minutes before I'm interrupted.

"Calliope," my head snaps up at the sound of the Australians voice. In the light of the street lamps he looks like an angel staring down at me. He nods down the pit wall, gesturing that he wants to walk. I push myself up off the ground and begin walking with him. It's quiet for a couple of minutes.

"Oscar," I start, "are we actually doing this or not?" He doesn't even look at me, just continues walking forward.

"It's just for media attention Calliope," his voice is hollow. There's no meaning behind his words. I nod, staring further down the pit lane.

"Obviously we'll have to set some rules," I say before he cuts me off.

"Rules for dating?"

"I mean like no dating others," I say, looking down at my feet.

"Obviously. We're supposed to be in love," he sighs out.

"Nothing too big and extravagant date wise. Extravagant makes me nervous," I say, doing my best to stop from looking at him or in his direction.

"We only do this stuff in public. Nothing behind the scenes unless necessary," his voice is harsher than it was earlier.

"Obviously. I believe that's it," I murmur out, finally looking at him. He nods, staring up at the moon.

"How do we make this believable?" Oscar asks, glancing down at me.

"Well we start with following each other on socials and then slowly soft launching, right?" I ask adverting my gaze to anywhere but him. I hear him let out a noise of contentment.

"Saturday you'll walk in with me. I'll pick you up at 10 on Saturday morning. I'll see you then," he says, suddenly walking away. I stand there dumbfounded for a minute before I gather my thoughts and head towards the car park to meet Logan, who has informed me he hasn't left yet.