"SO do you know where Lando's taking you tonight?" Nia asked, as watched her friend pick an eyeshadow palette to use.

"I never know where he's taking me Nini." Thea chuckled.

Whenever Thea or Nia got ready to go out, they would face time the other whilst they got ready. It was a tradition they had picked up when Nia went on dates during High School, as she would always get Thea's opinion on outfits or makeup. Thea began to do the same when Lando took her out for her birthday every year, not every really having dates with anyone.

Nia was currently sat a small hotel room in Milton Keynes. She was going into the RedBull Factory the next day for a meeting with Christian Horner and Helmet Marko. She had assumed it was about her DTM Drive, and was anxious. But, face timing Thea took her mind off the pressure.

Thea was slowly adding eyeshadow to her ember eyelids, making sure it was blended properly. She leant back from the mirror when she was finished, and when she was satisfied with her work, placed the palette down. "It's a pain sometimes. I never know what the dress code will be until I get there."

Nia snickered at her friend before laughing properly. "I know where he's taking you." she admitted.

Thea dropped her makeup brush. "Nia." she said, her voice unimpressed. "What?"

"He told me yesterday." Nia said between giggles. "He wanted to make sure you'd like it. He said, and I quote, "It's gotta' be perfect." It was kinda' cute actually."

Thea whined. "Oh Nia please tell me where I'm going." She urged, ignoring Nia's comment about Lando.

Nia shook her head. "Sorry babe. I've been sworn to secrecy from the man himself." she said, raising her hands in surrender.

"Nini! Come on. I'm you're best friend!" Thea tried to bribe Nia with puppy dog eyes, but her friend was stubborn as a rock.

"Nice try James. Not. Happening." she said finally.

Dorothea rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Fine. Can you at least give me a rough dress code? I don't want to turn up to a really fancy restaurant in jeans and a t-shirt, or vice versa."

Nia sighed. "Wear something fancy, but not too fancy. Something that looks really posh, but that you can be comfortable in." She advised.

Thea let out breath. "Good thing I pack for England." she joked. She continued to finish up her face, before turning to Nia. "Yeah? No?"

She hasn't added a lot of makeup, just enough to accent her features, and compliment her face. Her eyeshadow wasn't blind or bright, but just enough. Her lips we're only slightly darker than their natural colour, and the bags under her eyes were no longer visible.

Nia nodded. "Yeah you look hot. He'll love it."

Thea frowned. "Thanks?" she chuckled. She stood up and walked towards her suitcase which she still hadn't unpacked. She pulled out several shirts and pairs of jeans she had packed for the weekend, before she found three dresses she had packed. She knew Lando well enough to know he would take her out on her birthday, so she packed a few things just in case.

"Good thing I listen to my gut aye?" she thought to herself. She picked up each dress and payed it out on the bed, before picking up her phone and turning the camera around. "Pick." she instructed Nia.

The dress on the left was the longest out of the three, and was a deep green colour. It had one strap, leaving the left shoulder bare. Nia loved this dress, and had stolen it of Thea a couple if times, but knew it was too flashy for where Lando was taking her, and wouldn't complement what he was wearing (she had been sent a picture yesterday from Lando for her fashion approval).

The middle dress was short enough to rest halfway up Thea's thigh, and had long off the shoulder sleeves. The material was a pastel yellow colour, and the necklace aloud room for a simple necklace.

The dress towards the right was the same length as the middle, but a deep blue. This dress had thin straps that went over the shoulders, crossed along the back. Nia imagined it with a pair of black tights, and black shoes, and knew it was perfect.

"The right one. With some black tights and those boots you always wear." she told Thea. Dorothea thanked her friend before placing her phone back against the table. She took the dress and a pair of
tights, and went into the bathroom to change.

Once she was in the dress she looked at herself in the mirror. She smiled to her self as she admired her features. She saw her mother.

Her mother had always been a beautiful woman, and Thea's ultimate goal as a child was to grow up looking like her mother. She had succeeded. Everyone who knew her mother would comment on how much they looked like each other.

Thea took a deep breath before she eyed her butterfly hair clip resting on the counter. She used it to hold her hair back, but let a couple of front pieces fall down to frame her face.

Once satisfied, she walked out of the bathroom and back towards her phone, twirling around in front of Nia. Nia clapped a hand to her mouth. "Uh- are you single? Can I date you? Please?" she asked.

The pair laughed as Thea sat down on the chair i front of the table. She and Nia talked for a while as Thea waited for Lando at pick her up. As they talked, a notification showed on Thea's phone, and she squinted her eyes at it.

INSTAGRAM | lando.norris.4 has requested to follow you
13.41 pm

INSTAGRAM | lando_mclaren has requested to follow you
14.04pm

INSTAGRAM | landonorriswife4 has requested to follow you
17.03pm

"Hey are you okay?" Nia aaksed, as notice her friends expression fall slightly.

Thea shook her head dismissively, "Yeah I'm fine." she assured her friend.

Nia frowned. "No you're not. What's up?"

Thea sighed. "I've just been getting people requesting to follow me all afternoon. Lando's fans. Some guy photographed us walking together earlier and they've all gone crazy." she let out a small laugh, to try and make herself feel better about the situation. "Stupid." she muttered to herself.

Nia's face scrunched up in disgust. "Ew. That's so creepy. Are you okay?"

"Oh no I'm fine really. I just keep having to delete follow requests that's all." she said.

Nia gave her a sympathetic look. She knew Thea didn't like the press, which is why Nia had never posted anything about their friendship on her public social media account, knowing how much attention Thea would get.

Even the WTF1 team knew how much Thea cracked under massive amounts of pressure, so on their instagram, only Katy, Matt and Tommy were posted.

Both Nia and Lando had private instagram accounts, that only friends like George Russell, Alex Albon, Lando's friend Max Fetwrell, and some of Nia's DTM and Formula Three buddies like Liam Lawson and Dennis Hauger were on, so that they could post things they didn't necessarily want their fans to see, like outings with Thea or family.

Thea loved her friends for this, as instead of commenting about how much of a struggle it was to keep her private, they made sure she felt safe from the attacking fans.

There was a knock at the door, and Lando's voice shouted from the other side. "Thea! You better be ready and not sleeping!"

Both Thea and Nia giggled at Lando, before Thea bid Nia goodbye, ending the call. She grabbed her bag, placed her phone inside, walking towards the door.

She opened the door. "Jeeze could you be more impatient?" she teasers. She took in what he was wearing and blinked.

He was wearing a slightly baggy white shirt, and the top couple of buttons were undone, showing his tanned skin from all the travelling. He wore black trousers and shoes, and he had left his hair curly. A few curls had fallen down in front of his forehead, and his mouth was parted slightly.

His eyes looked her up and down as he spoke, "You look," his words caught in his throat, "amazing."

Thea could feel her cheeks heating up. "You don't  shape up too bad", she said, smiling at him. He returned the smile, holding his hand out for her to take. She did, and she locked the hotel door behind her as she and Lando walked towards the elevator, hand in hand.

————

nia cate = ultimate lea shipper

that's their ship name btw

lea

lando + thea + lea

it was that or thando and to me that just looks like
thanos