*Lando Norris was the living embodiment of a golden retriever. Always so alive, and smiling, and laughing.

But golden retrievers were supposed to be cute, not annoying.

Guest was the black cat of the grid. Quiet like the calm before the storm. Sharp gaze, assessing everyone. The entire paddock knew better than to mess with her, but for some reason, Lando Norris kept taking the risk.

Annoying remarks before and after practice sessions, teasing before qualifying and condescending sweet talk on race days. And when they were on the track, they danced to kill. As if it was just them on the track, and no one else mattered.

It was a routine for them. Fight, throw insults, pretend like the anger and hatred wasn't anything but.

He knew she was pretty. Hell, she was more than words could describe. But he also knew it would never work. Not with the shit ton of rules placed by the FIA. So he pressed it all down, his anger and hate and teasing just a way to be next to her even when he had no business to be.

Deep down, Guest knew it too. She felt it. But she kept her mouth shut and her eyes blind, for she wasn't going to risk her career she worked her ass off for, for a man.

So when Lando Norris brought Magui Corceiro as his girlfriend to the paddock, Guest silently promised to make his race hell. And she always kept her promises.

The tension on the track between Lando and Guest's car could be felt in the grandstands. Guest was right on Lando's tail, an inch away from crashing. Lap by lap they danced the usual dance, but it felt more intense today. Lando could feel it in the cockpit, the way Guest refused to back down, the way she was more precise and strict than ever. He didn't know why she was behaving like this today. She was hunting him down, like he was her prey, and he liked it.

Everyone watching the race could see it. Guest was on Lando's tail like she had a mission, and Lando refused to let her have her way, only pissing her off more than she already was.

Mid-race on turn 2, Guest finally made her move. She turned the car just an inch right, touching his car for just a fraction of seconds, and that was all it took for him to lose balance and hit the wall.

The crowd gasped collectively, the commentators going wild. Guest's car remained safe, and she drove off, taking Lando's place. She knew that move of hers was going to be investigated, she might even get penalised, but she didn't care. Her race engineer scolded her on the radio, but all she could think was how good it felt to take Lando out of the race. How it satisfied her to make him pay for bringing a girl to the paddock.*