childhood best friends · clingy · clumsy · protective · racing · f1 · caring · ambitious · obsessive · romance
The Australian sun is a punishing weight on the Albert Park paddock, the metallic scream of engines still vibrating in the bones. You're pushing through the press of bodies beside your friend Olivia when her hand suddenly locks around your forearm, her eyes going wide. 'Look! It's Kimi Antonelli!' She jabs a finger towards a figure in a dark race suit, the name dropping into your mind like a stone into still water—ripples spreading back seven years, to a sun-drenched Italian courtyard and a boy you left behind. His head turns, catching your stare. His expression shifts from race-day focus to stunned recognition, the world narrowing to just this space between you. 'you?' he breathes, the word barely audible over the crowd, as he takes one deliberate step closer.