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theloveboook · 1 year

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waiting game | daniel ricciardo

pairing: daniel ricciardo x you

summary: in which you switch your phone with daniel's without knowing

tags: falling in love; chatting and messages; kind of enemies to friends to lovers

warnings: insecure reader; f!reader; dumb people

chapter: 1/?

(you: blue/ daniel: orange)

chapter 1 - press start

unknown said: hey!!

unknown said: i think we switched phones last night

unknown said: my password is 123456

Daniel looks at the phone that’s sitting on his dinner table, with a frown that insists on staying on his forehead. The one he’s staring at with so much confusion right now, it obviously isn’t his cell phone.

The phone case is the same - a bright yellow one, but when he touches the screen, there’s a Ferrari wallpaper glowing in red shades, and Daniel knows that even his most drunk self wouldn’t change his wallpaper to a Ferrari one.

He thought it was perhaps a prank from Pierre or Max, but they’re too creative to only change it to a Ferrari design, and when the message pops up, it all makes sense. This isn’t his cell phone indeed, but now someone else is in possession of his, and he has this person’s phone weirdly standing on the table as if Daniel could get an infection by just touching it.

With care, Daniel enters the password and it naturally unlocks the phone in front of him.

you said: very clever password, i might say

you said: you should be like me and simply don’t use any password

unknown said: that’s dumb, i could hack all of your things if i wanted

you said: it’s called freedom, sweetheart

unknown said: or stupidity maybe

They have a point, but Daniel thinks one of his traits is that he’s witty sometimes, he always has the answer for everything. Daniel likes to be right almost all the time, to have the last word when necessary - and this person is triggering this side of him way too quickly. His mouth curves while thinking about an answer.

you said: you call it stupidity and i call it what saved our asses in this situation. my lack of security is what allowed you to message me in the first place

you said: also, i have nothing to hide. im an open book, for your information

Daniel stops for a second, thinking deeper about it.

you said: maybe don’t look into my photos, please

unknown said: uhm… i wouldn’t. ew

unknown said: i’m a woman of my word

unknown said: don’t go into mine too then

you said: i won’t, and i’m a man of my word as well.

Daniel knows she’s someone who attends the Formula 1 events, the possibility of her being from his group of friends being high, but he probably shouldn’t have drank so much last night, to the point where he can’t even remember the girls’ faces or names from last night. It’s a lost battle even if he tries to guess who’s the woman on his phone.

unknown said: sooo…

unknown said: we need to exchange phones right

unknown said: please tell me you, that for any reason, you’re in monaco too and already left the same way i did

you said: you’re not in australia anymore?

unknown said: heh nervous laughing

unknown said: i’m not

unknown said: landed in monaco a while ago

Daniel squints his eyes to see the hour on the phone. He gets surprised, it’s way past noon. If he wasn’t in his hometown and decided to spend some more days here, he would’ve lost his plane as well. He also had no plans on going to Monaco these days, because he had some things to solve before the next race.

you said: may i ask you who you are?

you said: i’d like to know whos in possession of my phone

He can feel a headache increasing its pain the more he’s on his cell phone, but he needs to get this done sooner. Daniel wasn’t too worried because he had two phones, and gladly, the one he uses for work and serious matters he normally doesn’t go to parties with it in his pocket, of course. She has his personal phone, the one he uses with his family and friends. So nothing too serious.

unknown said: you may but i’d like to keep my identity a secret

unknown said: wouldn’t it be entertaining if you didn’t know a thing about how i look like

unknown said: and i didn’t know a thing about you

unknown said: this way we could build a wonderful bond based only on our personalities

Daniel almost snorts at the answer. He just wants his phone back and he doesn’t get how this person isn’t freaking out about a stranger having her phone. On the contrary, she’s thinking about playing games in this situation.

Wait… a game? Daniel grins.

you said: you have a point

you said: sounding more like a challenge

you said: but i think i’m in

unknown said: challenge?

you said: yeah a challenge

you said: i won’t know who you are

you said: or what you look like

you said: and everyone that crosses my path i’ll think it’s you

unknown said: there’s a chance we’ve already met...

you said: it would be so sad if you were an old man that tricked me into this and ends up trying to seduce me and then break my heart

unknown said: i might just do that, you know ;)

Daniel raises one of his eyebrows. Oh.

unknown said: but i’m not an old man tho

unknown said: just in my twenties

you said: can i tell you something

you said: i’ve never done this before

unknown said: what, exchange messages with a stranger?

unknown said: or messaged a person at all

unknown said: also i like the idea of you having a thought about me but not knowing who i am

you said: haha funny

you said: message a stranger, ofc

you said: at the moment the only thought i have about you is that you’re crazy

you said: or something

unknown said: s-so this means i’m your first?

unknown said: i’m honored i might say

unknown said: (i’m something, don’t worry i’m not crazy)

you said: you should be ;)

you said: i don’t do this messaging thing with people i just met or that i didn’t meet at all but you are making my phone your hostage for some reason

Daniel finds himself smiling while chatting with this stranger. He still thinks this is all bullshit and they should tell each other who they are, exchange phones and go on with their lives. But he’s also excited to speak with someone without this person knowing he is Daniel Ricciardo, the Formula 1 racer. She’s treating him normally, not trying to impress him or even trying something else with him. She’s not even that worried about what Daniel might think of her and her quirky ideas.

Daniel vibes with this too, he likes a good challenge.

Another message appears on the screen of the phone, but this time it isn't from Daniel’s number - it has a contact name on it.

you said: oh, someone named ‘bubbles’ just messaged you and they’re waiting for you outside

unknown said: shit, i have to go then

unknown said: also you didn’t receive any messages maybe you’re the creepy one here

you said: i just disable my notifications because they are annoying

unknown said: that explains a lot, me thinks. do the same with mine! so you won’t be bothered and it won’t give away who i am

unknown said: i’m going out, do i take my hostage with me?

you said: sure, if i need i will contact you

you said: we still need to figure it out how to exchange phones

unknown said: yeah

unknown said: save your contact in my phone i’ve already saved mine

you said: how did you save it

unknown said: when you get your phone back you will see it ;)

Daniel clicks to save his own number, a mischief grin growing on his lips. He doesn’t know who this girl is, but she’s not that worried about leaving her cell phone with him, she won’t mind if he puts anything as his contact.

He decides to go with ‘hot stuff’, nothing that will immediately tell who he is, but it isn’t a lie as well.

—

“You’re crazy.” Charles says after taking a bite from his dinner, he looks up at you and can only find your silly smile “You use your phone for everything, especially your work and now, after finding out you didn’t lose it, you just accept that a stranger is using it and live with it.”

“There’s nothing for me to do, he’s still in Australia and I’m here.” You shrug “Do you have a better idea of how I can handle this?”

“Maybe tell him who you are?” Now it’s Pierre’s time to scold you and put some sense in your head “And ask who he is too, you’re trusting someone you have no idea who he is.”

“I have a gut feeling he means no harm, especially because I also have his phone too. He does something against me and I will answer the same way.” You probably sound as insane as you imagine you do, but you can’t help the exciting feeling you get from this. This person will get to know you without looking at your looks, the way you dress, if your hair is frizzy or if you didn’t wash your sneakers last night. No, he will solely know your true core and if he dislikes you or not, it’s his true opinion “I’m on my vacations, enjoying my free time with my friends and messing around as I should do more often. I’m tired of being overly worried about everything.”

Pierre tsks “You worry about minimal things, but this - something you should really worry about - you decide you should live your life fantasy with it.”

“Exactly!” You shout and both of them roll their eyes “I’ll have my phone back eventually.”

“This is so out of character I don’t think I recognize you.” Charles stares at you “But I will keep an eye on it, if he doesn’t pass to you my messages, we will know what is up here.”

“He told me about your message today, Bubbles.” You say “I don’t think he knows you’re bubbles, obviously. Imagine when Pierre texts and he sees ‘buttercup’, he will be thrilled to mess with us.”

“At least your disguise will continue, he won’t know you’re our friend.”

“I’m always thinking ahead of things, this is almost perfect.” You sound and look ridiculous, but you know deep down your friends are with you in this. If you need their help with your story with this cell phone, they’ll be there for you. They have always been “Ah, a new message from him.”

ma fraise said: why is your icloud photo a pink bloob with a knife and your email [email protected]?

you said: IT’S A KIRBY!!

you said: and the email i was going through a phase with a band and really liked this song of theirs. nothing special about it

you said: now stop snooping on my phone

ma fraise said: i’m so bored and without my phone

ma fraise said: but i only went to disable the notifications

ma fraise said: no snooping in my side

you said: me neither

you said: you’re still a blank canvas to me

you said: and i haven’t asked about your wallpaper yet

you said: you already know i’m a ferrari fan

ma fraise said: well, that’s…

ma fraise said: i can’t tell you without saying much about myself

ma fraise said: when we meet i can tell you

You look at the phone, analyzing the wallpaper, perhaps if you stare too much into it, it will give you some clue. It says nothing to you, sadly. It's graffiti on a white wall written ‘hi, howare you?’ and an alien below it. You think about asking Pierre and Charles if they, by any chance, have seen this anywhere. But your guts tell you to not do it, after all, you were the one that said you should keep it a mystery.

you said: is there something you can tell me about you then

you said: that won’t give away who you are

you said: but you know

you said: for us to get to know each other

you said: a secret for a secret

ma fraise said: is it a secret that you are a tifosi?

you said: well

you said: not exactly

you said: just don’t tell bubbles i am

ma fraise said: noted

ma fraise said: thank you for sharing that too, now i really have something on you

you said: damn it

“Are you going to stay on that phone the whole night?” Pierre is always the most straightforward with things, so obviously he would show his annoyance first.

“Chill, you were the one telling me that I should know more about this man, because he’s with an intimate and precious object of mine.” You put the phone away, having all of your attention on your friends again “Actually, you haven’t said that exactly, but it’s what I think I should do.”

“Are you willing to be his friend?” Pierre peers through his glass of water, trying to solve the mess you were at the moment.

“I need him to trust me, so I can trust him with my phone. Everything is about trust here, you see.”

“She’s not wrong, for once.” Charles is siding with you in this, which he normally doesn’t do. Charles only sides with himself “I think I might be going insane by spending so much time with you, because when you say it now, it makes sense.”

“See? I’m not fooling around here. Everything is already planned inside here.” You point to your head, the corners of your lips jerking.

Pierre and Charles roll their eyes at you.

ma fraise said: so you’re a trio

ma fraise said: there’s bubbles buttercup and you’re blossom, i figured

ma fraise said: also you watch too many romcoms in your netflix account for my taste

you said: stop snooping!!

You curl up on your bed, hugging your phone for a moment. You’ve been embarrassed the whole time you were chatting, especially because you’re used to people not liking you, aside from Pierre and Charles who have been around too long. But this stranger seems to like you, for who you’re.

For some reason, the thought of someone enjoying your company without even knowing you, makes your heart warm, comfortable and at ease. You normally don’t feel like this at all, but this night, you sleep quickly and with a shy smile showing up on your face.

—

It’s after the Australian GP and they decided to go to a bar. It’s just a few drivers, crew members and some friends, sitting around together on a circular table. Daniel stares too much in Pierre’s direction, on the other side of the table. He’s discussing something with a girl, someone Daniel feels like he’s supposed to know who she is, but there’s no trace of resemblance inside his mind at the moment. All he can think about is that he likes the way her lips move when she speaks, or how her eyes close when she sighs to whatever Pierre says. They aren’t drinking at the same speed as Daniel, but definitely are already drunk.

Charles looks to Max’s side, seeing him typing non stop on his phone, and he snorts at it.

“Okay, enough.” He says loudly, catching everyone’s attention, even Daniel’s “Let’s enjoy the night, shall we?” All the people on their table agree with him “Cellphones on the center of the table, the first to touch their phone, are paying for the night.”

There’s people Daniel has never seen in his life there, friends of friends, new girlfriends and boyfriends, but each of them leave the phone on the center of their table. Daniel doesn’t mind leaving it there, no one knows who each phone is, and they’re too drunk to think about the consequences right now.

Without the phones, they socialize more with each other, drink more and listen to Pierre’s dumb stories, that make everyone laugh in the end. It’s a nice night, in Daniel’s opinion.

The pile of phones stays there for the rest of the night and when Daniel is already leaving, there’s not many phones there. He doesn’t have to search for his phone, actually. There’s no way someone has a bright yellow phone case like him.

—

ma fraise said: i just hope you’re not gasly, by any chance.

ma fraise said: but i do have his phone number saved

you said: ouch you hurt me saying this. i could be gasly with a new phone

you said: but why are you hoping i’m not gasly?

ma fraise said: let’s say i did something embarrassing in front of him

ma fraise said: actually you’re totally not him

ma fraise said: he would be laughing at my face right now if you were him

you said: i’m a good actor.

you said: i might be fooling you into trusting me just to laugh at your face when you least expect it

ma fraise said: w-would

ma fraise said: would you do it