Formula One - One-Shots Collection - Complete

5(PC) - Lando Norris

'I'LL BE GOOD, I'LL BE GOOD, AND I'LL LOVE THE WORLD, LIKE I SHOULD'

Holding the umbrella over Lando's head, I smiled at him as I listened to the voice of my boss, Rob who was giving me instructions whilst I was standing on the grid. My eyes glanced to the watch on my wrist as I heard Lando speak, looking back up at him I raised my eyebrow as he stared at me once he finished. "Huh?" I was quiet as I spoke, I didn't hear a word he said, maybe it was because Rob was still rabbiting on in my ear. 

"What's going on with you, Autumn?" Lando asked as he leaned closer to me so our conversation was a little more private. 

I put my right hand on my headphone as Rob encouraged me to get Lando to put his 'End Racism' top on, he wasn't being kind with his words though. "Come on," I thrust the blacktop into Lando's arms, "Just put this on."

Lando took the top from my hand as he stared down at me, "You're not right." Handing his balaclava and helmet to me, he then put his arms through the top before pulling it over his head. Once he'd straightened his top, he reached up for my headphones and pushed them back on my head away from my ears, "What's going on, Au?"

My right hand grabbed my headphones as they nearly fell from my head pushing them back into place, "Just go," I pointed in the general direction to where he needed to go. His eyes narrowed for a second before he headed off leaving me standing at the side of his car with the brolly in one hand and his gear in the other. I watched people moving around, making the final touches to all the cars on the grid, interviews were being had and cameras were pointed all over the place. 

"You need to be more forceful in your approach, Autumn." Rob's voice was in my ear, "We are here to do a job, you're not here to make friends. Please try and concentrate, Lando has a long race ahead. Lando does not need to be worrying about you, you should be worrying about him!" 

I knew he was right but today I was having an off day. Being away from home and my family was hard, especially when there were problems back home. All I wanted to do was go home and be there to support them instead I was here. I knew my support was required here, I knew if I was here I would be doing more good than if I went home, except I wasn't. I just kept thinking about what was happening back home, I knew as soon as this race was finished I was leaving, I just needed to be here for Lando right now and after he'd done his interviews.

Working around all around the world was hard, being Lando's PA was easy enough, his routine was casual and easy to follow. This weekend, Sheila the other woman who stood in if I or Carlos' PA was ill was off sick herself, there was no way I could leave, yet. 

I didn't realise I'd zoned out until I heard a cracking noise, looking around I was quick to find out I'd dropped Lando's helmet on the hard ground. Crouching down, I reached for it as Rob's voice started again in my headphones. Placing the brolly on the ground, I took the headphones off putting them with everything else on the ground as I took a deep breath. 

"Autumn!" I heard someone calling my name, I ignored it as I stared at the helmet that I'd dropped. 

Picking it up, I turned it over and looked at the crack that had formed on the top. "Fuck," I mumbled before I saw a pair of hands come into my view which cupped my own hands. When I looked up I as the hands belonged to Lando, "Oh my God," I quickly pulled away, the helmet falling down to the ground again as I scrambled to my feet. "I'm so sorry," I put my hands up in front of myself before I broke into a bit of a run heading through the pit lane to get away from all these people. 

When I stopped, I was in a tent which had been pitched for the drivers to shield from the sun if they needed to be away from everyone else. It was empty as everyone was getting ready for their race. Sitting on one of the chairs, I tried to take a deep breath but all I could do was panic as I thought about home, my family, about work, my job and everything that was happening around me. My hands pressed against the sides of my head as I closed my eyes and breathed heavily but quickly. 

"Autumn?" I hadn't heard him enter the tent but Lando was definitely here with me at this moment in time. "You need to calm down." 

Those words weren't going to help, there was no way I was going to be calm anytime soon. 

"Just go race, Lando," I didn't look at him as I kept my back to him. "I'll just see you at the end."

I jumped a little as he placed a hand on my right shoulder, "You know it doesn't work like that. I have time to listen, to help. I want to help you, Au."

Opening my eyes, I turned to face him as I sighed. "Everything is just getting too much today," I tried to downplay it knowing that Rob was going to kill me if Lando was late to his race. "I promise, we can talk after the race." 

Lando looked at me, his eyes moving between my two before he gave me a sad smile. "I know there is more than you're letting on."

"You don't know anything about women," I tried to lighten the mood with a joke. 

He offered me his hand which I took as I got to my feet, "I might not but I know you." He gave my hand a little squeeze before he let it go. "I have race to win," he nudged my shoulder as we walked together back towards the pit lane. "And once we're done celebrating you can tell me everything," he told me with a smile.