Mastermind

Circuit of the Americas, October 22nd 2022

"Hamilton...Lewis! Where do you think you'll qualify today?"

"George! Are things looking up for the team?"

"Evangeline! Why were you with Pierre Gasly last night?"

George put his hand on my shoulder reassuringly as we navigated through the jungle of reporters.

"Just try to tune them out." My friend's voice was quiet but helped calm my nerves.

"Why do they keep asking you about Gasly? It has to get annoying." Lewis finally spoke once we were in the paddock.

"It's fine, they need something to gossip about right?" I hated keeping this from him but there was no telling how my brother would react if he knew.

"I mean, I would be lying if I wasn't wondering the exact same thing Evie. Why did you go karting with Gasly? You two have been hanging out a lot recently." Even though Lewis had sunglasses on, I could feel his eyes as they tried to see through me.

"You asked the same questions when I became friends with Lando...and Charles...and Daniel...and George. Gasly has always been at the circuits I just never really got to know him–"

"So you decided now would be a good time?" Something in his tone put me on edge. It was like he was waiting for me to step into a trap.

"Eva!" A familiar Aussie voice filled me with relief as I turned to find Daniel running up to us. "Hey Lewis...hey George!"

"Daniel," my brother inclined his head but kept his gaze on me.

"Lando is already in the garage but your presence has been requested there for qualifying." The Australian driver grinned and looked over my shoulder at the two Mercedes drivers.

"Fine Danny Ric, but we get her for third practice! C'mon Eva let's go see Toto." George took my arm and steered us towards the familiar silver arrow garage.

"See you later Eva!" Daniel shouted and I waved as he continued towards his own team.

"Kind of rude, they're staking claim on our good luck charm." George laughed quietly and I smiled too.

"So Gasly–" Lewis began but was quieted by George and me groaning with annoyance.

"Lew can we drop it? It's not a big deal. He's my friend and honestly I am a bit offended that you're buying into the media's story." My brother just shook his head and entered the garage.

"Good job gaslighting your own brother Eva." George whispered and I turned quickly to face him.

"I'm surprised you even know what that means Georgie." His smile grew even wider,

"Hey, I'm a very cultured individual. I like to keep in the know."

"Oh my gosh George, my ears are bleeding! Go watch some videos or something about how to not crash into people."

"You wound me Eva." He dramatically placed a hand over his heart then headed towards where Lewis and Toto stood.

When it was time for qualifying I walked to the McLaren garage and found that Lando and Daniel were already in their seats ready to go. Both drivers waved quickly in between talks with their strategists. I headed for my usual spot and grabbed the extra set of orange headphones that had been left out.

"Hamilton..." the voice was nothing more than a whisper and I looked around desperately for the source. Through the small side door, I spotted a figure in all white. Quickly, I went to the door and slipped out.

"What are you doing here?" Pierre had his race suit on and his helmet rested halfway on his head.

"I didn't get to say hi to you earlier."

"Wha–"

"Hey Hamilton."

"Hi Gasly."

"Okay, wish me luck. I told the team I was going to the bathroom." He smiled mischievously and I was at a loss for words. "Y'know sometime, you should watch from the AlphaTauri garage." He began backing away, "I think you'd have a great time." Pierre winked at me then turned quickly and jogged off. All I could do was clamp a hand over my mouth to try and contain the smile that had spread across my face.

Qualifying went surprisingly well. I was so happy when Carlos captured pole position with Charles right behind him. Then came the two Red Bulls followed by Lewis and George. Pierre and Lando were lining up next to each other in seventh and eighth and I tried not to think about what could go wrong at the start of the race tomorrow.

I walked through the paddock, heading for the Mercedes garage once again when my phone buzzed. A text had come through from Pierre which read, would you do me the honor of being your Uber driver tomorrow? A small laugh escaped me as I typed a response.

I don't know...can I expect five star treatment? His next text came through almost immediately,

Only the best for a VIP (very important passenger)

Then you have yourself a deal Gasly :)

Looking forward to it Hamilton ;)

Just as I read that last text from Pierre, my phone began ringing with a call from May. I stepped to the side of the walkway and answered.

"Hey May!"

"E...are you there?"

"May, can you hear me?"

"Yeah E, I can hear you now. Okay, I need you to take a deep breath." My stomach dropped to my feet.

"Okay..."

"So, one of my friends at the Daily Mail said there is a story coming out sometime tomorrow that is about you."

"Is it good or bad?" My hands began to shake as I held the phone.

"She wouldn't give me many details but, it didn't sound great. However, I don't want you to worry about it too much until, there actually is something to worry about."

"Well you're not doing a great job of instilling confidence." I tried to smile but it wasn't working.

"E, I just wanted to call and give you a heads up. I would tell you if there really was something bad coming out soon. I mean, I would know. My guess is, it has to do with your songs or something." I could tell she was trying to control her emotions as well.

"Sounds good May, thanks for telling me."

"Of course E, we're in this together. Love you."

"Love you too." The line went silent and I tried to take another deep breath. Suddenly there were hands on my shoulders and I let out a small scream of surprise.

"Hey Evie, wanna go grab some food? George and I are starving." My brother's grin blew away some of the worry. "You can invite the papaya boys too, it'll be my treat." I smiled back at Lewis and nodded. "Maybe you could ask Gasly if he wants to come?" Luckily his back was turned to me because I choked on air at the sound of Pierre's name. "No?" He shot one last smile at me and all I could do was shake my head as Lewis threw his hand around my shoulder.

***

Soooooo...I had to split this chapter up again! I'm sorry, it just makes a little bit more sense this way! But, the next chapter is already up as well so no waiting this time.

I changed the race result just a bit for the next chapter to fit the story better so I hope you don't mind too much :)

<3 U all