15. âI think I might be falling in love with you.â â Max Verstappen X Reader.
Requested by an anonymous user so thank you!
Angsty, a tiny bit of fluff if you squint and a hint of Lando.
*this hasnât been proof read so I apologise for any mistakes.*
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âThere she is!â Lando said as you scanned your pass through the turnstiles.
âDid you just wait here?â You laughed as you walked over to him. Lando put his arm around you and gave you a kiss on the cheek.
âYeah.. well, no. Well sort of, Iâve just got here and know you always get here around this time. So yeah I guess I did wait.â
Lando was your best friend, having grown up together and both sharing the same passion of working within Formula 1. It was hard not to want to work within F1 with your best friend going on about it all the time.
âIâm gonna be a driver!! And if you get a job there you can always come with me!â Lando would say. He was ecstatic when you told him youâd finally got a job, there was just one catch.
âHey Y/n! Whatâs up?â Lando said, the phone didnât ring for long, but with him it never really did.
âHey! Iâve got some good news and some bad news.. what do you want first?â
âAre you okay, Y/n??â He asked, panic evident in his voice.
âJust answer the question!!â
âThe good news I guess?â
âOkay.. so, I quit my job-â
âWhat? Why? You loved doing that social media stuff-â
âYou didnât let me finish! I quit my job so I could accept the job offer Iâve just got! Iâm working in F1 Lando!!â
âY/n what! Thatâs amazing, weâve always wanted this!!.. Wait, whatâs the bad news?â
âSo Iâm a social media manager.. for Red Bull..â
There was a bit of silence on the other end of the phone before Lando found his words.
âRed Bull⊠Oh Y/n I donât even care this is amazing! Iâm so so happy for you!â
Youâve loved your job from the moment you started, but with any job thereâs always one downside, and yours just happened to be a blue eyed Dutch man with a temper.
You and Lando walked through to the paddock together until you had reached the papaya coloured garages.
âYou coming out with us later Y/n?â He asked.
âIâm not sure, my hotel room has been calling me as soon as i got out of bed this morning.â You joked.
âOh come on, weâre in Italy! Donât be boring!â He nudged you as you laughed.
âOkay okay, Iâll think about it.â Lando was happy enough with that answer and waved goodbye after wishing him luck for the race.
As you continued the walk to the Red Bull garages you saw Max a few feet in front of you. Not noticing him before you thought he mustâve walked past you as you were saying goodbye to Lando. You rolled your eyes at the thought of the comments Max was bound to make when you walked through the doors but brushed it off as usual.
You greeted the team you walked by as you walked through straight to catering. You really shouldnât have skipped breakfast.
You got yourself some food and found a free table, sitting down and opening your laptop to look at your plan for the day. Thinking of photos you need as well as what times to begin uploading to the different social media platforms.
â12pm isnât going to work for me. Iâm doing my reaction training.â You heard from behind you. You put your fork down onto the plate before turning around.
âThatâs the entire point Max, Checoâs was last week and weâre going to post some of yours today.â You always felt the need to defend yourself around him. You donât know what it was, it was as if he had some sort of power over you. A feeling you continuously brushed off.
âJust donât get in my way.â He said, but instead of walking off he sat opposite you to eat.
âWhat are you doing?â You asked, confused as to why heâd sit there when there were a numerous amount of other free tables. It was no secret you and Max didnât get on. Or maybe it was. It was easy for the two of you to be professional around the team, but most of the drivers knew how much he annoyed you and evidently how much you supposedly annoyed him. The hot and cold behaviour was beginning to grind on you. Heâd always give you the cold shoulder when it was just the two of you, the rude comments and the arrogance. But when you were around others heâd act like he was one of your closest friends, it was a different side to Max. You concluded it was a very fake side of Max which just annoyed you even more.
âIâm eating my breakfast?â He questioned, as if it was obvious.
âCanât you do that over there?â You motioned to the other tables that surrounded you.
âAnd not spend time with my favourite person in the paddock?â He replied, smiling sarcastically as he took a sip of his drink.
âYou roll your eyes a lot you know.â He said bluntly.
âI wonder why.â The two of you were quite matched with sarcasm. Maybe thatâs why Max took a disliking to you? Heâs confusing.
âJust an observation. Are you going out with Lando later?â You looked up at Max seeing him look back at you. You felt the confusion and frustration take over your expression, wondering why he cares what you do with your spare time.
âI donât think its any of your business.â You replied, trying to eat some more of your food before it went cold.
âMaybe Iâll come.â He shrugged.
âOkay yeah, Iâm definitely not going then.â You closed your laptop and began packing your things away before quickly texting Lando.
âStill thinking about it. Still not keen.â You sent.
âWhere are you going?â He asked, a small sense of urgency in his voice.
âWeâre not done talking.â
âYes we are, Maxâ you put your bag over your shoulder and began walking out, noticing Max running behind you to catch up.
âHard pass on you coming at 12. Itâs called reaction training, not distraction training.â He budged past you to walk ahead as you once again rolled your eyes at the confusing behaviour.
âHow long did it take you to think that up?â You said a little louder than expected, a few people looking in your direction as you just awkwardly smiled.
Max stopped in his tracks, turning back to come up to you. He leant in to you, you could smell his cologne as it lingered in the air, you couldnât deny the fact he smelt good. He always did.
âLike I said. Just stay out of my way.â You could tell his teeth were gritted. You donât know what just happened but you havenât decided yet whether your quite liked it or the opposite.
You decided to get set up for the day, speaking with Checo to see how he was but to also let him now what photos you were going to post of him. Why couldnât Max be as kind and easy going as Checo? How does he even put up with Max? You shook off the thoughts to continue with your work, seeing 12pm approaching and deciding to go against what Max had âadvisedâ you.
You headed towards his driver room and knocked on the door, hoping it wasnât just Max in there. You let out a slight sigh of relief when Brad opened the door.
âHey Y/n! Max said youâd be with us today!â Brad said, smiling as always.
âOh did he?â You questioned, looking over to see Max approach you once again.
âOf course I did! Itâs always a pleasure to have you here Y/n!â He hugged you as he then welcomed you in. âDonât piss me off.â He whispered.
âLet me know if thereâs anything specific you want to post, if not I suppose weâll just do our normal thing?â Max said as he turned to Brad, Brad nodding in agreement. Fake Max is quickly back.
Despite Maxâs fake actions, Max was actually super helpful. You managed to get a few videos and photos for instagram and twitter, also uploading a boomerang video to the story of the account. Fans likes and comments were flooding in quickly, at least some people were happy to see Max. Whenever Max switched up what he was doing he kept pausing to explain what he was about to do and why. You must admit, a small part of you quite liked this version of Max, even if you knew it wasnât going to last for much longer. Heâs good at putting on a front when he wants to be.
You were pulled out of your thoughts when Bradâs phone began to rang, he excused himself and stepped outside to take it. You thought you had gotten enough content of Max training so decided to begin once again packing up your things to go and find Checo to see what heâs up to.
âGoing so quickly Y/n? Donât you want to take a photo of me drinking some water? Or Iâm about to check my phone, do you want to video me doing that?â He said sarcastically. You dropped your bag back to the floor as you turned to face Max.
âCan you just stop with this hot and cold routine youâve got going on? Iâm sorry my job pisses you off but I donât have a choice in being around you, if I did I can promise you, Iâd steer clear.â
âYour job doesnât piss me off. You do.â He said bluntly. âOh Iâm Y/n, I follow everyone around the paddock like a lost little puppy. Oh whereâs Lando, I hope he loves me as much as I love him.â He mocked. âItâs pathetic. Why did you even take a job at Red Bull when itâs clear youâd rather be sucking Landoâs dick over at McLaren.â
âFirst of all, once again. This is my job! What donât you understand! I am paid to âfollow people around the paddockâ!â You said using air quotes in a failed attempt to mock him back. âI took a job at Red Bull because quite simply, I love the sport. If you must know it was always a dream of mine to be here and now that I am, youâre making me hate it! And third of all, if youâre just another stuck up man that thinks a female canât have male friends then youâre more deluded than I thought. Iâm sorry my father wasnât a driver, Iâm sorry I donât get everything handed to me on a plate like you do. But at least Iâm not a stuck up, pretentious asshole who has to put others down to make themselves feel slightly better probably about having a shit relationship with their father. Why do you care so much about what I do and who I spend my time with? What would it matter if I was madly in love with Lando, huh?â By this point it was safe to say the two of you were having a full blown argument. Both hoping Bradâs phone call would take longer than a few minutes so he could avoid the awkward tension in the room.
âIs that what you think? I had everything handed to me? Because I also didnât have to fight for a place within this industry right? And youâre calling me deluded? God youâre such a bitch!â Max yelled.
âGoing to avoid my question, huh? Why do you care Max? If Iâm such a bitch, if you hate me that much? Why do you go out of your way?â You stepped closer and closer to Max as you watched him get angrier and angrier.
âBecause Y/n, because Iâm- so yeah thatâs why we have to do reaction training.â Max said quickly moving away from you and lowering his voice .. what?
You turned around slightly to see Brad had come back in, apologising for taking so long.
âOh right, yeah thanks. Well, Iâll see you guys later.â You said, picking your bag up again from the floor.
âNot going to wish me luck for the race?â Clearly Max loved antagonising you, you shot him a look, your eyes were screaming âfuck offâ while he innocently smiled back at you.
âGood luck.â You left his driver room before grabbing some water from your bag. What the fuck had just happened? And what was Max going to say?
You began walking back down the paddock deciding to try and distract yourself with more work, you saw Lando walking down the paddock and it wasnât long before he was running over to you.
âHey, I saw your text, still deciding? Or do I need to convince you to come out with me?â He said as you both began walking together.
âI donât think itâs a good idea, Lando.â
âWhy not? Thereâll be a few of us going-â
âIs Max going?â You asked.
âHe did text me earlier inviting me out actually, so I assume heâll come. But thereâll be loads of us you donât have to worry about him.â He said in attempt to reassure you.
âIf heâs going Iâm not going.â You said bluntly.
âOh come on Y/n!! He wonât be an issue! I promise! I think he likes you more than he likes to let on.â Lando knew of everything thatâs happened with Max. He knows Max doesnât like you and he of course knows how you feel about Max. How your emotions towards him are conflicted based off of what Max you get an interaction with that day.
âI donât think so, listen Iâll see you after the race, yeah? Iâll let you know, good luck again! Youâre going to be great out there.â
âI know!â Lando joked.
You both went to your separate garages. You spent time with a few of the engineers as well as catching up with Checo until it was time for Max and Checo to get to the track. You decided to stay in the garage and watch the race, trying to not think of Landoâs offers of going out after the race.
Max got a good start. Of course he did. No matter how long youâve worked for Red Bull now you still canât work him out. Why does it bother you so much? Why do you let him get one on you like he always does. Why does your heart continue to pound whenever LeClerc is getting closer to him in the race, not wanting him to overtake Max. And why do you keep thinking of his god damned cologne.
Not only was Max in pole position today, Max was able to lead every lap as well as winning the race. It was actually quite impressive to watch. You also witnessed Checo come home in P2 securing a double win for Red Bull. You have to admit though you were probably more happy that Lando was on the podium. Despite the fact your love celebrating with your team, your best friend has just finished p3. You headed down to the track along with the rest of the team, mainly to support Checo and Lando, you told yourself. You saw Max come along first, he began jumping into the crowd of people beside you. Max saw you and instantly pulled you in, wrapping his arms around you and hugging you tightly for the second time today. You lightly put your arms around him, the smell of his cologne was faint but still there.
Checo came along next and pretty much done the same thing, you know where you stand with him. âCongratulations!â You said as you also hugged him. It wasnât the same as hugging Max, it wasnât as tight, wasnât as warm. Why does it matter?
Once again shaking off the thought of the annoying Dutch that keeps entering your mind.
After the podium you managed to find Lando, also congratulating him on his race.
âThat means you have to come out with us Y/n! Celebrate my podium with me!â He said, almost whining like a small child which made you slightly laugh to yourself.
âOkay fine fine Iâll come. Whatâs the plan?â
âYes! Iâll text you! Weâll all meet around 9pm?â You agreed and hugged your friend goodbye.
Despite the fact Max is probably going, itâll be good to not only celebrate your friend and your team, but to also forget this terrible day.
It wasnât long before you headed back to your hotel, you didnât really pack with going out in mind so you tried your best with what you had.
You had met up with Lando at the address he had texted you which wasnât far from where you were all staying. You could see Daniel and Charles were also there waiting for you to meet up with them. Then of course there was Max, with his arms crossed as if heâs just finished throwing a tantrum.
âHey guys!â You said as you approached them.
You said hello to everyone, apologising to Daniel and Charles for the way their races went, you hugged Lando once again as he kissed your cheek like he always does.
âCan we just go inside now? Weâve been waiting for ages.â
âI can see Max is in a lovely mood after his win.â You said as the three boys chuckled.
You were all at a club, somewhere you didnât realise you needed to go until you had gotten your first drink. The five of you were lucky enough to have your own area to sit in, a place where you all got to talk about the race as well as celebrate the results.
âDonât worry Charles, weâll have our own celebration soon enough.â Daniel joked as you all laughed.
You sat beside Lando who had Max on his other side, Charles and Daniel sat opposite the three of you. You leant in to Lando as he moved closer knowing you were about to say something.
âWhose idea was a club?â You asked, feeling slightly out of place.
âIâll give you one guess.â Lando replied and you already knew it was Max. Of course it was.
As the night went on the five of you continued to drink, despite this, the argument you had earlier with Max was still on your mind. You stood up from your seat and motioned to Lando to follow you to the bar.
âDonât tell me youâre going home.â He said to which you quickly shook your head.
âNo, no! I just need your opinion!â You said, slightly shouting over the loud music. Lando nodded for you to continue before you quickly looked back to where you were sitting to make sure Max was still there.
âSo me and Max had this argument earlier..â You began as Lando just looked confused.
You had explained what was said between the two of you, Lando nodding along while sipping on his drink, but still looking evidently confused.
âListen Y/n, I know you and Max donât get along, but I still believe he likes you more than you think.â Lando began.
âDid you not hear what I just said?â You asked.
âJust hear me out! Max had an epic race today after the past few unreliable races. He got a Red Bull 1-2 after however many years and where is he? Instead of going out with his team to celebrate he came here with us!â Lando said in another attempt to reassure you.
âYeah but you got a podium, Lando! And youâre here with us instead of your team!â
âThatâs different. I made these plans days ago. Not relevant! You know what Max is like, why else would he be here if not for you?â Maybe he had a point. No, he canât. Max hates you, you hate him.
âYouâre frying my brain. Just like he is.â
âJust sit back down love, Iâll grab you another drink, just enjoy the night!â Lando said. You agreed and headed back to the table. Due to waiting for Lando to come back you figured it was easier to just slide up in the seat next to Max opposed to getting back up to let Lando in.
âWhere did you go?â Max asked you.
âTo the bar.â You said. You hate how blunt you get around him.
âYou donât have a drink.â
âLandoâs getting it for me. The love of my life remember.â You mocked.
It was clear you wasnât sober, none of you were.
Charles is trying to recreate his small crash into the wall with whatever he can find around the table while Daniel is laughing at what heâs being told.
âOf course he is.â Max said before looking back to you. âDo you mean to be so obvious when you roll those pretty eyes?â He asked, once again leaning towards you.
âWhat do you mean of course he is? And what cologne do you wear?â You asked.
âYou didnât answer my question, Y/n.â
âYou didnât answer mine.â You saw Max slightly laugh to himself before leaning back in to talk to you opposed to shouting over the music.
âMy cologne, its a secret. You donât get to know that yet, but Iâm glad to know you like it. Of course heâs buying your drink, youâre gorgeous, he knows it, heâs trying to get in your pants. Simple. Now answer my question.â
âWait wait, first I love him and now he wants me?â You asked, unable to keep up with what Max is saying.
âMaybe I was wrong about you, but Iâm right about him. Why do you keep rolling your eyes.â
Lando? In love with you? No, he canât keep anything to himself for that long.
âBecause you make me roll my eyes. Youâre rude and arrogant and annoying and you piss me off when you look at me like that.â
âYou said âandâ way too many times. Look at you like what?â He asked, once again moving closer.
âThose eyes, like that! Like up through your eyelashes at me.â You said as you had to stop yourself mid eye roll.
âAnd I havenât been rude to you all night.â Max said as you see heâs trying to remember what else you said.
âIâm getting really sick of this Max. This.. fake behaviour.â You said as you motioned to him. Max sat back as Lando sat back down beside you.
âSorry, Y/n. It got real busy real quick over there.â Lando said as he passed you a drink.
You thanked Lando but turned your attention back to Max who was now laughing along with Daniel.
âYouâre unbelievable.â You said to Max, once again leaning closer.
âJust shut up now Y/n.â Max spat.
You leant over to Lando and told him youâre going to go back to the hotel. You had somehow squeezed past him as he was still sat down to quickly leave the group.
âMove man!â You heard Max say behind you. You quickly weaved through the people in the club before getting outside and walking back to the hotel. Max fucking Verstappen. How can one man make you feel so confused. So angry.
âY/n, wait!â You turned around to see Max running after you, he looked quite amusing running all over the place, once again clearly too drunk to realise what heâs doing.
âWhat do you want Max? Do you want another argument? Or are you going to be nice to me so you can turn on me again? I canât take this anymore, I really canât!â You continued to walk as Max continued to catch up, finally grabbing your hand and stopping you.
âIâm sorry okay?â Max said, he was out of breath which was again amusing as you hadnât gotten that far away from the club.
âI donât need your apology Max, and I donât forgive you.â You said as Max groaned.
âJust listen, Y/n! Please! I know Iâve been an asshole to you, and I really am sorry, okay? I donât want to hurt Lando, I just- listen, earlier, in my drivers room, you were spot on. Kind of. My relationship with my Dad has been strained, yes. But I still worked fucking hard to get to where I am now.â
âIs this all you wanted? To justify how you got into F1?â You asked.
âY/n youâre not listening to me! My relationship with my Dad is why I lash out. When I donât know how to deal with something I lash out! Like I said, I donât want to hurt Lando, heâs my friend too-â
âYou donât know how to deal with me? What is that supposed to mean?â
âY/n, please stop fucking cutting me off! Iâm drunk as fuck, Iâm trying to tell you something here and Iâm sure as hell not going to have the confidence to tell you sober.â Part of you was intrigued, part of you was cold and wanted to get back to your hotel.
âI donât know how to deal with this.. this situation Iâm in. Landoâs my friend too, heâs one of my closest friends and I donât want to fuck that with him. Then you, youâre always there and itâs always when I need someone. It always seems to be you. But then you always ask me to take a fucking photo for instagram or something when all I really want to do is talk to you, but then I fuck it and tell you to fuck off when thatâs the last thing I want!â
âMax Iâm cold okay. I canât be bothered for all of this, you being nice, youâre going to turn on me and Iâm going to go back to my hotel room and cry like usual. Just leave it, okay?â
âI make you cry?â Max questions softly.
âYouâre a prick to me and you know it. All I try and do is my job and you continuously make it hard for me. I canât be bothered to stand here and listen to why youâre going to upset Lando which will probably be my fault. Iâm going back to the hotel. You can either walk with me and be nice, or you can go back to the club and find someone else to verbally abuse.â You said, turning around as you began walking away from him.
âY/n, wait!â Max shouted but you carried on. Max once again grabbed your arm and turned you to face him.
âI think.. I think I might be falling in love with you.â