Just Pretend - L. Norris
summary: a terrible night out in London may end up with you meeting someone new
pairing: Lando Norris x reader
warnings: drinking, a creepy guy flirting at the bar (not Lando), swearing
word count: 1.5k
a/n: i was going to post something completely different today but bc Lando won yesterday, i GUESS i'll post this against my will
The club was the last place you wanted to be tonight. Going out was never your thing. If you were going to drink, you’d rather have a glass of wine on your couch than be in a stuffy club with sweaty, smelly bodies.
And yet, you found yourself out in a club in London. Your friend group decided to take a vacation out exploring the cities of Europe - cafes by day and the clubs by night. The sticky floors and loud music was overwhelming.
It didn’t help that some guy was trying to talk to you. In hindsight, you shouldn’t have gone up to the bar alone. It was supposed to be quick, simply getting yourself a new drink and then returning to your friend group.
“So what’s a pretty girl like you doing here all alone?” The man asked
“Going back to meet up with my friends, actually” You answered as you grabbed your drink from the bartender. You sidestepped to the left to avoid the guy, but he followed, blocking you from leaving.
A smirk danced across his face as you looked at him. “Oh come on, you don’t wanna stay for a chat?”
“No, not really” You replied, your voice lacking any interest in the guy. He wasn’t ugly, just nowhere near your type, “Look, I need to get going”
“Why don’t I come with you? Make sure you get to your friends safely” He suggested. Shit.
“No, that’s okay. I don’t think…”
Panic filled your mind as you tried to think of an excuse to get this guy to go away. Your eyes scanned the room for any signs of your friends looking for you. They all were in a circle, dancing to the music blasting through the speakers. It took a second glance around the bar to find an escape route.
On the other side of the bar stood a guy around your age who looked nice enough. His hair was a curly mop that sat on top of his head and his smile shined brighter than anything else dim light. You made eye contact with the boy, to which you responded with a distressed look. His eyebrows furrowed as his eyes darted between you and the creep that was standing with you.
“...I don’t think my boyfriend would appreciate that” You finally answered
The man you were still stuck with scoffed “Boyfriend? I don’t see him anywhere”
“He’s over there” You said, motioning in the general direction that the curly headed boy was in.
Before the creep could say anything, you were able to push past him. You could feel his eyes piercing through you as you made your way through the crowd. As much as you wanted to go straight to your friends, you knew if you did, the guy would keep pestering you.
As soon as you walked up to the curly headed boy, you rambled, “Look there’s this creepy guy who’s been bothering me all night and I have no idea where my friends are and I’m tired and I just wanna go home. I really would appreciate it if you helped me out and pretended to be my boyfriend and hopefully get the guy off of my dick.” The words came out of your mouth faster than you thought was humanly possible.
Apparently, the guy thought so too. The lights were on, but no one was home as he yelled “What?!”
You sighed before leaning over to him, your mouth only a few inches from his ear. “Just pretend you’re my boyfriend for a minute!” You yelled over the music
The boy looked you up and down before shrugging and placing his arm around your waist. “Yeah, sure, which guy is it?”
A thankful smile was plastered on your lips as you yelled back a thank you before motioning to the guy from before “The weirdo standing at the bar all by himself”
The curly headed boy nodded as he made eye contact with the guy at the bar. He watched for a few moments as you danced with the boy, letting the music take over temporarily. The smell of his cologne took over. It was expensive, notes of leather, but also lavender filled your senses. It was a scent you could get used to.
Once you were sure that creepy guy was gone, you relaxed.
“Thank you again. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.” You said
The boy shrugged “It’s nothing really. I’m just surprised you’re here alone”
A laugh escaped your lips “I wasn’t when I first showed up. I was here with some friends, but honestly I have no idea where they went.”
“Some friends they are” The guy said “You wanna hang with me and my crew?”
“I don’t see why not” You shrugged
As the boy, who you quickly learned was named Lando, led you to his friends, the two of you introduced yourselves. He told you he was a racing driver for a team you had never heard of, and that he travels a lot for work.
“So you’ve never heard of Formula 1?” He asked, confused
You shook your head, “No. Honestly, I’m not really into racing”
“Well maybe I’ll have to teach you about it” He suggested as he pulled you in tighter, almost as if he was proud he had you. “So do you come around here often?”
You shook your head “Honestly, I’ve never been”
“Really? Why are you here then?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowed just like they were minutes prior
You didn’t know if it was the alcohol in your system, or if Lando was that easy to talk to, but you explained the trip that your friend group was going on. His eyes were focused on you as you told him each city that your group was supposed to be going to.
“Well, if you need a tour guide around the UK, let me know. I’d love to show you my stomping grounds” He offered
A smirk danced across your face as you took out your phone “I might have to take your offer, though I’m gonna need your number first”
“That would help” Lando chuckled as he took your phone, putting in his number. He then led you to a group of men and what seemed to be their significant others.
“There you are Norris! We thought we lost you!” One of his friends said as the two of you walked up
“Nah, just grabbing a drink, and saving someone from a creep” He said “This is y/n”
Lando went down the line of his friends and their significant others. From what you could remember, there was Charles and Alexandra, Pierre and Kika, George and Carmen, and Oscar and Lily.
“So you trusted him to save you?” The girl you remembered as Kika asked, a playful smile on her lips
“Yeah, it was a last resort kind of a thing” You joked back
Suddenly, going out to the club didn’t seem so bad. The rest of the night was spent getting to know Lando and his friends, drinks and laughs overflowing. Now that the weirdo from earlier was long gone, you let the alcohol finally hit you. The rest of the group was also fairly drunk, shown through the giggles over nothing.
Whether the two of you were dancing, grabbing another round, or just talking, you and Lando were inseparable. Whatever connection you had with Lando, you knew he could feel it too. He had to be touching you somehow the entire night, if it was the brush of his fingers against yours, or your body pressed up against his.
The club slowly emptied as the night drew to a close, though neither of you wanted it to end. Lando’s friends were all long gone by the time the two of you left, but neither of you cared. He insisted on walking you to your hotel, ensuring that you made it back safe.
“If you had told me this morning that I’d be helping a girl escape some freak, and that it would lead to one of the best nights I had in a while, I would not have believed you” Lando laughed
“Neither would I” You agreed, a smile on your face “But I had the most amazing time”
You said your goodbyes, promising that this wouldn’t be the last time you saw each other. He had said he’d show you around London after all. Lando watched as you disappeared through the hotel lobby door, neither of you able to shake the feeling that it was the start of something beautiful.
“Thanks guys for leaving me, I really appreciated it” You said as you walked through the door to the suite you shared with your friends.
All of the girls were gathered in the main room, debriefing their night. As you announced your arrival, jaws dropped and eyes widened. A chorus of “I'm sorry’s” and “We tried texting” filled the room. You could only smile.
“I actually had a great time. You’ll never believe how it went” You said as you sat yourself down on the carpet, ready to retell the last few hours.
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