INVISIBLE STRING ☆ DANIEL RICCIARDO

twenty-five

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY; JULY 31st 2022

song of the chapter:
please don't say you love me - gabrielle aplin

     "Hey, we're heading out. You ready?" Luisinha announces, Landos arm wrapped around her as they make their way towards where Isla was sat in the McLaren hospitality.

Luisinha wasn't there when Isla had returned from the garage. Turns out her ringing phone had actually been her friend telling her that she had joined Lando on his way to his last interview of the day. Her boyfriend

Isla gives her two friends a smile and a nod. "I'm actually waiting for Daniel. I told him we'd go for dinner together."

A pleasant smile takes over the couples faces, glad to see Isla finally starting to open up to someone, even if she hadn't even begun to realise it herself yet. Luisinha gives her boyfriend a knowing glance, a signal for him to give them a minute and he quickly hugs Isla goodbye before doing just that.

"I'm proud of you, you know." the Portuguese woman states, reaching out for her friends hands. "You're finally letting someone in and I love that for you so much."

Isla shakes her head with a soft smile. "It's not like that. He's just had a bad day and I'm trying to change that."

"Hm, if you say so. But I know you, this isn't how you act with just anyone."

"Because he's not just anyone, he's Daniel."

"Exactly." her best friend winks, grabbing her bag and turning to leave once more. "Text me if you need anything, have fun!"

The couple quickly makes their exit, and not long after the trio of Australians were making their way towards her. Michael and Blake were slightly concerned for Daniel, it seemed like whenever things didn't go his way lately, he kind of just shut down.

They were more than glad that the woman had invited him out for the night, she seemed to be the only one who could put him in a good mood as of late. Michael especially had noticed that whenever Isla was around, Daniel just seemed more alive and more excited day to day.

He just hoped and prayed that nothing would come in their way.

"Hello boys!" Isla smiles brightly at them, eliciting Daniel's first smile since the race had ended as she looked straight at him. "You ready to go?"

"Yep." he replies, holding up his bag proudly as he moves to stand next to her.

Islas eyes immediately turns to the two men now in front of her. "You guys are welcome to join us!"

Michael and Blake exchanged tentative glances between one another. As much as they loved going out post race and exploring the cities with Daniel, they knew the pair needed a moment to just be together.

"Nah, I just need to get in bed and sleep this day off." Michael speaks with a chuckle. "Don't worry about us, Blake and I will just grab dinner at the hotel."

"You sure?" The woman questions again, Daniel was slightly getting agitated. He appreciated how much she got along with his friends, but he was kind of hoping just to get her alone for a little.