China
March 27 - March 30
When James said ‘I’ll have my party after media duty’, Marlene didn’t think he actually meant party. Honestly, she should’ve known better, she knows how much of a chaotic social butterfly her friend is, and she knows he always goes all out on celebrations.
After the race two weeks ago where James finished in first place, the man has been in good spirits. He had celebrated with his son and mother on the day itself, but with the team on Tuesday back in Godric’s Hollow.
In short, the factory ended up looking like a disco ball threw up over the place.
The small break between race weekends meant that Marlene got to spend time with her family, as well. She went back to her childhood home, which is coincidentally what James also did, so they spent much of their time seeing each other, still.
Marlene’s older brother Manolito came home for the weekend, bringing along his wife and daughter for a proper family weekend. The days were filled with laughter and her mother’s cooking, as well as her father’s attempt to recap the Australian Grand Prix in words that little Raquel could understand.
On Sunday, her mother invited James and his family for dinner, and it brought everyone great joy to see Harry and Raquel try to teach each other words in Punjabi and Spanish, as well as the little Gaelic Raquel had overheard from her grandfather and the German Harry heard his uncle Peter use in his songs. Not all the words were pronounced right, but it was very sweet of them to try and share their language with each other.
Growing up, Marlene learned Spanish from her mother, Gaelic from her father, and English from them both. Mano and her used to compete with each other, trying to out-do one another with how long they could speak in one of the languages. When they moved to Godric’s Hollow for Marlene’s racing career, the two of them started learning Punjabi from James and his parents, which made their competition even more competitive. Especially once they met this boy from down the street who loved to curse in German.
Their break was good, but now it’s back to work. Although, James seems hell-bent on celebrating his birthday as large as possible.
“You know, I wasn’t expecting this,” Marlene says, looking at the decorated roof top of a building near the track. She’s still fighting off a jet-lag, and the man next to her isn’t helping with her headache. “You do know we’re in China, right?”
“Yes, Marlena,” James smirks, using the name she was given at birth by her mother to tease her. He’s heard it plenty back at home because Marlene’s mother never uses the English version of her name when calling for her. “Come on, it’s gonna be fun. I’m finally twenty-five, let’s celebrate!”
“Fine, Jamir,” Marlene sighs, following behind the man. She’s too tired to argue and just decides to stick close to him, because his energy will guarantee that she doesn’t fall asleep mid conversation.
The music at the party is loud, but it’s noting compared to the sound of many people trying to communicate above the upbeat noise. Marlene recognises almost everyone present at the rooftop. She sees many racers and crew members, as well as a few celebrities James is friends with.
One of which is Peter Pettigrew, who lived not far down the same street as them.
Marlene remembers Peter as a shy boy who wanted nothing more than to prove he could be just as reckless as them. While James and Marlene used to dare each other to the weirdest activities, Peter made sure that no one actually got in big trouble for it.
The last time Marlene had seen Peter had been when the man got his first tour across Europe. Peter had always been blessed with an amazing voice, and now he gets to share his half-English, half-German lyrics with the rest of the world.
Of course, she still talks to him every now and again, but that’s mostly at birthday parties much like this one.
James steers her towards the blond man who’s laughing with a man she’s never seen before. He’s tall, skinny, and has scars all over his face, but those don’t make him any less handsome. If Marlene were straight, she’d totally see herself getting a crush on this guy.
“Pete!” James shouts as greeting, and the two men stop talking to turn to the birthday man. “You made it!”
“I said I would, didn’t I?” Peter laughs and hugs his friend. “Happy birthday, mate.”
Marlene is the next one to get a hug from Peter. “Good to see you, Pete.”
“You, too,” Peter grins. “Have you two met Remus, yet? He’s an intern for Dorcas.”
“I heard my name?” a females voice says, appearing from behind them.
Marlene’s entire body freezes up hearing the voice. Oh, no, she thinks. Oh, why must she be here?
While James is greeting Dorcas and telling her how glad he is she could come to his birthday party, Marlene is trying her hardest to ignore the woman entirely. Sadly, her body is all too aware of Dorcas’ presence, and she can’t seem to relax.
Years ago, back when they were all still getting started in karting competitions, Marlene met Dorcas once she met James. James’ and Dorcas’ fathers were best friends, so they grew up together, and with Marlene becoming fast friends with James, he introduced them.
Marlene’s competitive nature makes it difficult for her to make friends, especially if she met the other person through someone else. In her mind, this meant she has to prove that she’s a better friend than the one who introduced them.
Dorcas, however, didn’t seem to see it that way. No, the two of them got locked in a game of who’s better. It doesn’t matter what they’re doing, it always became a competition.
Marlene is used to competing. Mano and her always made competition out of everything, but they were friendly competitions. Those she was locked in with Dorcas were not.
When Marlene went to Formula Three and Dorcas quit the sport, neither really spoke any more, but the memories and mutual annoyance are still there. James says it’s how they show their friendship, but Marlene will argue it’s pure hatred.
They’re not friends, they barely tolerate each other.
“I’m just here for this season,” Remus is saying, and Marlene forces herself to listen to the man. Dorcas is breathing very loud next to her, and she has to really restrain herself to not call the woman out on it. “Dorcas is set on making me understand all sides of this sport.”
Marlene has to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Of course, Dorcas wants to make the man see all sides. That’s only logical in her line of work.
“I like doing things thoroughly,” Dorcas defends herself, chuckling at her intern. “You can’t write articles about things you only know a certain amount of. That will just cause misinformation to spread and people to become mad at us for not bringing the right news.”
“Hear, hear,” Peter applauds her, raising his glass in praise. “Honestly, the internet is a crazy place, but fans can be nice. Some are absolutely nutcases, but it’s alright.”
“Not like you won’t fit right in, don’t you, Pete?” Marlene jokes and reaches out punch the man. She feels the need to speak now that Dorcas is here. “I can remember going to a One Direction concert with you, James and Sirius. Craziest night of my life.”
“Oi, we had fun,” James says, pointing at her. “I recall you screaming the lyrics right along with Sirius. You two were the most entertained the whole show.”
“That we were,” Marlene agrees.
They were young, back then, but they had the time of their lives singing along. The opening act wasn’t something she had wanted to miss, considering how famous that band became afterwards.
Marlene feels Dorcas’ eyes on her, but she’s determined to not say a word to the woman all night. No, she will not give in, because she needs to be on her A-game this week. She can’t allow herself to be dragged into a competition that has nothing to do with winning the constructors championship.
This year will be their year, and Marlene doesn’t care how delusional she sounds. They will win it.
🏎
Lily is tired.
The whole day, she’s spend meeting the cast of Amazing Spider-Man 3, and learning the names of the make-up and hair crew that will work on her for the duration of her time shooting this movie.
Now, the woman is sitting in her hotel with her laptop open, watching her best friend drive her car during the second Free Practice.
It’s well past midnight and Lily needs to be awake early to do a costume check, but she can’t get herself to sleep knowing she’s missing anything from F1. That crash Mary had during Testing has scared her so much, that a new superstition has arisen; Lily needs to watch every Free Practice, Qualifying and Race, or something like that will happen again. She has herself convinced that the crash only happened because she looked away for a second to make sure her son wasn’t wandering off.
Speaking of her son, Lily’s been in contact with Effie about Harry’s well-being. As a first time mother, Lily is nervous as fuck, but Effie has been helping her every step of the way. She can really see where James got his kindness, and from what she’s seen and heard, Harry’s got the same trait.
Harry understands that his parents have busy careers, and he’s now seen both their work places, so he has his own understanding of it. Still, Lily worries about her absence in his too fast going life.
She can still remember the first time she left the hospital with little Harry in her hands, and now he’s already going to school after the summer!
Where has the time gone?
Yesterday, it was James’ birthday, so naturally, Lily had called him to wish him a happy one. With the time difference, it had been a tricky call, but she managed to catch him for five minutes. She learned from that call that Harry stayed in Godric’s Hollow with Effie and that he’s started making friends around the neighbourhood. Raquel - who’s Marlene’s niece, apparently - had made the first move, and now Harry has been making friends on his own.
Lily wishes she was there to see it for herself.
A knock on her hotel room door makes Lily look away from the laptop screen. She frowns, but calls out for the person to come in.
The door opens to reveal her co-star Andrew Garfield with a bottle of wine in his hand. “Hi, care to drink this with me?”
It’s a dream come true for Lily to have gotten the role of Theresa Parker in the new The Amazing Spider-Man movie. She grew up watching those movies, loving them even though her sister used to call them ‘boy movies’. Now, getting to play the sister of one of the first superheroes she’s seen on screen, it’s truly a dream come true.
A dream she can’t talk about, but still a dream.
Lily pats the seat next to her. “Come on in,” she says with a smile. “I hope you don’t mind watching some F1 while we drink. I’ve got to support my friends.”
“I don’t mind,” Andrew tells her, walking into the room and closing the door behind him. “I didn’t know you watched.”
Lily nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, I’ve been following it since I was eleven. My former best friend used to take me to karting races, and I met most of my friends there. A few of them have come as far as Formula One drivers themselves; one of which is my current best friend, another is Harry’s father.”
“Harry’s your son, right?” Andrew wonders while he gathers two glasses from a cupboard. “How is he?”
Lily shrugs with a smile. “I talked to his grandmother today and she told me he’s socialising with people his age, so I’d say he’s doing well. Do you need help with the wine?”
“No, I’ve got it,” he says, pulling open the bottle. He pours gently before walking over and sitting down. “Explain to me how this goes.” He points to the laptop. “What is it they’ve got to do?”
Lily pulls the laptop closer and points at it whenever needed as she explains that what they’re doing now is getting familiar with the track and seeing where their strongest and weakest points are. Before long, they watch in silence, with Andrew asking a question every now and again when he doesn’t understand something.
Never in her wildest dreams would Lily have imagined herself sitting in a hotel room with Andrew Garfield, watching F1. She hadn’t even imagined getting anywhere with acting, despite desperately hoping so.
Her first ever role was the role of a child in a horror movie. Her role wasn’t large, as she was killed off rather quickly, but it’s what started her career. She had been fourteen at the time, and since then she’s had a role in almost every genre of movie and TV show.
The role that really made her famous was when she played in Julie and the Phantoms season 2 as Emma Mercer. It was the first time she dyed her hair for a role, and it paid off pretty well, since she got booked as Elaine in a spin-off for BBC’s Merlin as an anniversary gift to fans, where she had to have her hair dyed, too.
Her first leading role had her back with her own hair, albeit a bit more curly. Playing Alosa Kalligan had her learning a lot of different ways to use her body in acting, and she’s excited for the sequel that’s coming out this summer.
Her current role requires her own red hair, thankfully. It also requires a lot of research, but that’s alright. Lily loves the Marvel Comics, and she already knew a tiny bit about Theresa, but now she gets to really know the character well, and that’s a very exciting prospect.
“So, the pink and blue car with the number 15 is your best friend, and the red car with the number 95 is your baby-daddy’s?” Andrew asks to clarify. “They’ve both done well, right?”
Lily chuckles. “Yes, but this is only Practice. Mary ended on P9, which is amazing for this is her first season, and thus the first time she’s driving in China with this car. James, however, has been driving here for about five years, and it’s also his birthday weekend, so he is, no doubt, putting pressure on himself. Ending on P4 isn’t bad, but it means he either held back, or there’s something wrong. We’ll find out tomorrow, though. It’s late and we’ve got our costume-checks early.”
“Right,” Andrew nods, and stands up to go to his own hotel room. “Same time tomorrow?”
“Actually, no,” Lily says. She grabs her phone to check the schedule of this race weekend before answering. “Qualifying is at 4 AM, tomorrow.”
Andrew’s eyes widen. “And you watch it live each time, even if it’s that early?”
“Yes,” the woman tells him with a smile. “That’s the life of a fan, Andrew. There are a lot of Marvel fans who wake up at 3 AM to watch a new episode of one of the shows that’s releasing, you know this. Me watching F1 at ungodly hours of the day is not much different.”
The man shakes his head and wishes her a good night, closing the door behind him.
Lily clears away her laptop and dives into her bed, hoping to catch some shut eye before her alarm goes off in four hours.
🏎
It’s been a hot minute since Peter saw a Formula One weekend in person. His life has been so busy lately.
Between the concerts and his days in the studio, he hasn’t really had the time to keep in touch with his friends. Of course, he’d find out the results of each race weekend, and he’d watch when he could, but his free time has been very limited.
Not this week!
No, he took this week off especially for his friend James. It’s only once that you can celebrate your 25th, after all.
Peter remembers his own 25th last December, which was a blast. Marlene, James and him rented a cabin in Vermont for Christmas, and they celebrated his birthday right after the holidays. He’s never been more happy than spending that week with his friends, getting drunk and looking at the stars once it was dark enough.
During the day, they alternated between watching cheesy Hallmark movies and playing games where at least one of them cheated. It was hilarious, and everything Peter ever wanted from those he loves.
Never in a million years did he think he’ get this lucky. Growing up, he was a shy kid. He almost never went outside, and at school he didn’t care for the other kids. Around the age of eleven, his sister forced him to play outside once their mother had gone to work so she could sneak her boyfriend in an not be disturbed, and that’s how Peter met Marlene and James.
Marlene had just moved into the house next to James, and James promised to show her around. They saw Peter sitting at the curb in front of his house and promptly invited him to come along.
They’ve been friends ever since.
Peter loves his friends, and he loves catching up with them whenever he can. The past few days reminded him of what he misses about them, and his inspiration struck once more.
Part of a tune is stuck in his head, and he keeps humming it beneath his breath as he goes about his day. There’s no lyric as of yet, but he knows it’ll come. It’s only a matter of time.
Marlene pops up from behind, scaring the man into letting out a few German curse words he really shouldn’t be saying with little Harry running around. It’s not the first time it happened, and Peter privately thinks she enjoys the chaos is brings James once he hears his son repeating those words.
“One of these days I die of a heart attack,” Peter tells the blonde as he turns to face her. “I’m holding you responsible when it does.”
“Calm your tits,” Marlene says, rolling her eyes. “I did not scare you that badly.”
“You did,” Peter protests. “I was busy, if you hadn’t noticed.”
Marlene beams at him. “I did, actually. I’ve heard you hum the same tune for about five hours now. Is it a new song?”
“A possible one,” the singer corrects. He hums it again to show his friend what he’s working with. “I have no idea what to do with it yet, but I’ll find out.”
“I believe it,” Marlene grins. She starts walking and Peter follows along the paddock. “So, how are you finding this weekend? It’s crazy, right?”
“No more than show prep,” he shrugs, looking around with a smile on his face. “It’s always nice to see passion displayed like this. The Netflix crew can fuck right off, though. I’m not part of the sport, yet they’ve been trailing me each time they see me. It’s crazy.”
Marlene hums at him. “They’ve been harassing Harry whenever he’s here, too. From what Fabian told me, they’ve done the same to Lily when she came to visit Macdonald in Spain.”
“How is Lily?” Peter wonders. “I haven’t spoken to her since, pff, I don’t know. It’s been a hot minute.”
“No idea, actually,” Marlene shrugs, leading the way into the Griffin Racing pit box. “Last I heard of her, she dropped Harry off with James, saying she has a gig that will change her life. Haven’t spoken to her ever since. But, how are you, Mister Singer?”
Peter laughs at his friend and bumps her shoulder. “Honestly, I’m good. Working on some new songs, as you’ve heard, and just waiting for the next show. Hey, can I ask what happened at James’ party? You started talking way more than normal, and ignoring Dorcas, who was standing right next to you, mind you.”
Hanging her head, Marlene sits down in a nearby chair and sighs deeply. “You won’t believe me if I say ‘nothing’, will you?”
“Nope,” he replies, sitting down next to her. “It can’t be still from when we were kids. That’s ages ago!”
Marlene leans against him and shrugs. “Honestly, I don’t know. It’s just… Every time she’s nearby, I feel this urge to talk, but not to her, you know?”
“No.”
“Ugh, Pete, I don’t know!” Marlene yells. “She just pisses me off so badly that I need to physically put myself before her and ignore everything about her, yet I’m also extremely aware that she’s there. Last Thursday? She was breathing so loud, and I couldn’t tell her to quit it, so I started talking to cover it up and then I couldn’t stop talking. Her arm brushed mine, and I wanted to deck her in the face for it! I feel like I’m going crazy.”
“You’re not,” Peter grins. Lucky for him, the blonde isn’t looking at him but at the floor. Taking pity, he changes the topic. “How long until Quali begins?”
Checking her watch, Marlene answers: “Ten minutes, so I should find James.”
Peter watches her run off, chuckling to himself. He’ll get her to open up about Dorcas sooner or later. For now, it seems as if he’s come up with some lyrics for his tune.
🏎
All weekend long, Dorcas has been irritated. It’s been effecting her attitude, and people seem to always stay a little further away from her than normal. Even Remus keeps a person-wide space between them whenever they walk through the paddock. Only Emmeline goes on with her work without seeming to get affected by Dorcas’ mood.
Preparing for this race weekend has been fun. Dorcas has spent her time quizzing Remus on past results, and debating with the team on what the right articles were for the coming time. Yet, now that they’re back in the thick of it, Dorcas can’t find any joy.
She blames Marlene McKinnon.
For years, the two of them fought against each other in any way other than physically. It had been so bad that they had to be kept apart until the competition they were doing that time started.
Dorcas doesn’t know when it started, only that she won’t be the one who ends it. If Marlene wants a fight, she’ll get it, and she’ll get a good one.
Meeting the woman at James’ party last Thursday night made all her feelings regarding the woman pop right back up. All the frustration at just being near her started boiling so much, that seeing Marlene ignore her made her more pissed than she has ever been before.
Remus had thought it was hilarious. He still thinks so, if the way he’s smirking at her gives any indication.
Dorcas has her eyes narrowed at the TV screen that’s set up in the press room. Together with all the other reporters, she’s watching the Chinese Grand Prix happening live, with commentary done by people employed by F1. It’s exciting, but they keep showing an awful lot of Marlene each time the Griffin Racing drivers are mentioned.
“You’re gonna burn a hole through the screen,” Remus says, snapping Dorcas out of her glare. “What is the situation with you and Marlene?” he asks her. “All week, I’ve seen you two glare at each other, but never actually say a word. Even when you two were standing right next to each other, neither spoke.”
Dorcas scoffs and crosses her arms. She makes a note of a Prime Blossom taking a corner on the other side of the red and white curb before she answers her intern. “Look, McKinnon and I have never seen eye-to-eye. I can’t tell you why, only that when we met, something must’ve pissed her off. I had to fight back once she started dangling her victories over my head like they were prices only she could win. I can’t stand being near her. It makes my insides boil and my eyes see red.”
She takes a deep breath of air before her anger takes over. Speaking about Marlene always opens up all her senses, and gets her skin tingling. It’s annoying, and makes her even more angry once she notices it.
“It sounds to me,” Remus begins with a sneaky grin on his face, “like you’re far past a rivalry, yet neither of you want to admit it.”
Dorcas rolls her eyes. “Yeah, it’s burning hatred now.”
She sees the man open his mouth to respond, but the screen before them shows a horrible crash. It happens so fast, it’s hard to tell who the racers involved are until the repeat slows it down.
Coming up to Turn 14, Noir Racing’s driver Bellatrix Lestrange speeds up to try and get in front of Griffin Racing’s Jamir Puttar, but Puttar is in front of her in the corner, thus cutting her off. Instead of slowing down, like she should’ve, Lestrange speeds up even more and ticks off the red car, making them both spin off track. Puttar’s right back tyre snaps, causing the car to glide into the barrier, lodging him beneath the green Rolex advertisement boards that cover the wall.
Lestrange is out of the car quickly, but Puttar stays seated. He has no where to go with those boards on top of him, and Lestrange knows this. She’s seen stalking towards the car, no doubt to cuss out the man currently waiting to be helped out of his car.
The commentators are arguing about who’s fault it was, but Dorcas already knows. She’s seen three different angles of this crash, and there’s no doubt that James owned that corner. He had been ahead, he had the ideal racing line. There’s no way Lestrange is getting away with this scot-free.
Emmeline taps her arm and shows her phone screen, which holds a small video of the crash, posted by a fan currently sitting right behind the barrier the crash had happened. Remembering all those fans who watched the crash first-hand, Dorcas gets even ore worried. She knows James, and so she knows he’ll try to take all the blame and try to make up something to those fans before he even thinks about seeing a doctor for himself.
Swallowing, Dorcas pushes aside her emotions and pulls Remus aside. The race leaders have put out a red flag, suspending the race until further notice, which means they have work to do.
“Lestrange and Puttar will be checked by medical, first,” she tells Remus. “After that, they’ve got to debrief with their respective teams, until they’ll show their faces in the media pen. Emmeline will stay here, but we have to be there, so we have to get our facts straight, as well as our equipment set up. There are screens in the pen, so we won’t miss anything of the race during the interviews, but we need to hurry. Did you remember where they put us this week?”
Remus nods, already turning to walk away. “We’re at the middle, next to Jack Plooij.”
“Ah, Jack,” Dorcas chuckles. She loves that man’s humour, and being right next to him in the media pen means that the drivers are a little more relaxed. The two of them have built up a reputation amongst other reporters, as well as drivers, of always bringing the facts without favouritism.
Until the drivers have walked away, of course.
Dorcas has her favourites, as does everyone else. It’s only natural, but Jack and her have the same policy of staying professional and not showing who they’re rooting for.
Once Dorcas and Remus were set up, the race continues. They watch as they wait for the two racers who DNF’ed the race. Everyone seems to drive more carefully for all of two laps before the heat comes back into the scene.
Lestrange is the first to reach them, and the thunder on her face tells Dorcas she needs to be tactful while speaking to the woman.
“Bellatrix,” she starts with a sympathetic smile. “That was one hell of a corner, wasn’t it?”
The Noir Racing driver scoffs. “I totally had that corner. Potter needs to watch where he’s going.”
Dorcas raises an eyebrow, hating how she has to let that threat to her friend slide in order to appear professional. “Tell us what you experienced, please.”
“The race was going fine. I was gaining on Potter-”
“Puttar,” Dorcas corrects, but the Frenchwoman ignores her.
“-and he just cuts me off while I was ahead of him. It was my corner, and yet, he had to make us crash. He’ll pay next race.”
“Thank you, Bellatrix Lestrange,” Dorcas says to end their interview, forcing a smile. As Bellatrix walks away, Dorcas deflated and leans against the barrier before her.
“That was rough,” Remus comments softly. He keeps his voice down because the fuming racer isn’t that far away from them, talking to another reporter. “This is the first time I’ve heard her threaten someone so casually.”
“Oh, that?” Dorcas snorts. “That was tame. She knows she’s wrong, which is why she didn’t threaten him more. I know you’re quite new to the scene, but Lestrange loves to play bumper cars instead of racing. This won’t be the last crash that’s her fault this season.”
James walks up to them not much later, and the man looks tired as hell.
“Hi, Dorcas,” the Indian greets. “Remus.”
“Hello,” Dorcas greets back, smiling genuinely at her friend. “How are you feeling?”
James sighs. “Sore, mostly. My back hurts a little, but it’s fine. The medical staff told me I’d be sore for a while, which is actually kind of alright. Next race isn’t until the second week of April, so I’ve got time to heal.”
“Glad to hear,” Dorcas tells him. “Can you take us through what happened? We’ve already spoken with Lestrange, and I’m sure you know what she says.”
“I do,” he agrees. “She’s gone to the FIA already, so we’ve got a meeting later today. Yeah, about the accident… I didn’t see her in time. I knew she was behind me, I just didn’t realise she was already that close, and when I turned in for the corner, she must’ve hit my back, or something. I’ve seen the footage, my tyre went flat, but it felt way worse inside the car before I even hit the barrier. I honestly thought I was flying for a second, but the clips I’ve seen just showed me spinning before the wheel broke off and I glided into the wall. I actually hadn’t processed most of it until I saw it from an outsiders perspective.”
“It looked pretty horrible,” Dorcas admits. “I imagine this wasn’t how you’d suspect your birthday week to end, huh?”
“Not quite, no,” he chuckles, trying to find humour in the situation. “Anyway, I feel bad for the fans who had front row tickets. That must’ve been terrifying for them; seeing two cars fly towards them at such speed. I’ve already told my team to hand out gift cards to our team’s online store, but you can’t buy away that kind of trauma.”
Dorcas shakes her head. “You’re doing more than enough, James. Rest up, and we’ll see you in Azerbaijan.”
“Nah, your birthday is up, first,” he grins, but then bids them goodbye and finds his way to Jack.