"You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms to full to embrace the present."

Shelby forces herself to take a deep breath. And then another, and another, trying to convince herself that the near perfect world she had spent two and a half years building for herself is not about to end.

( Two days earlier. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
1085 words

"We don't talk enough
We should open up
Before it's all too much
Will we ever learn?
We've been here before
It's just what we know."

The first thing Shelby does is win the Texas race. The fourth thing she does, after the podium finish and the press conference, is almost throw up in the hauler. Pack racing is the only thing that scares her. It's exciting as hell driving wheel to wheel with the best in the business but she's seen how it can go violently wrong. She saw it again tonight; one moment her best friend was racing her for the lead and the next he was flung halfway across the infield grass. She's glad for the win but wishes it wouldn't come with feeling like her heart is going to explode.

( Just as she's getting her faculties under herself, Shane is knocking at the door. )

Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
919 words

"Sometimes it's not the strength, but gentleness that cracks the hardest shells."

Shelby had been depressed about her birthday. She could still remember the year before, when it had been a fantastic day on the racetrack. It had been the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, which she considered a home race given that she had been born in Los Angeles, and she had won it by the most exciting of margins over her hero. It was a special accomplishment for her, then some of the other drivers had presented her with a cake afterward that Helio had tried to shove her face into.

( That had all been perfect. But... )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
527 words

"People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be."

It's finally here: the start of another Verizon IndyCar Series season. Friday is the first day of on-track activities and Sunday will be the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. I'm ready to go back to work, even as I feel it in my bones that this season is going to be different from any of them that came before.

( Read more... )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
577 words

Love Map Subject: Justin Campbell (Sorry, baby, hope I don't suck!)

1. Name two of my closest friends
Kolbie and Cassidy

2. What is my favourite musical group, composer, or instrument?
You won't restrict to one group/composer, but your favourite instrument is piano

3. What was I wearing when we first met?
Purple I Wish My Life Was Like an 80s Movie tank top, leather jacket, weathered Levi skinny jeans and rainbow Converse High-Tops.

4. Name one of my hobbies.
Song writing.

5. Where was I born?
Las Vegas, Nevada.

( All the rest... )

sasha stanford ( oc )

"For every good reason there is to lie, there is a better reason to tell the truth."

I've never lived my life in controversy. I carry a responsibility on my shoulders to my family, as a teammate, as a representative of the Verizon IndyCar Series and as a public figure. Every time I step outside my front door I'm always aware of the fact that people are watching everything that I do and I need to behave accordingly. That's something I take very seriously, and I also take pride in knowing that I can stand here with my head held high.

( I know there are people who don't feel the same way. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
866 words

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."
- Groucho Marx
mild triggering references
Some nights, having a sick baby could be really hard. For Lorenzo, it was the hardest part of parenting. When your baby cried because they were sick or in pain, it broke your heart if you had an ounce of decent parenting within you. Unfortunately, it was just a cross he had to bear. His little girl had been born with some health issues because her mother was a heavy drug user when she was pregnant. It seemed like such a battle back then. She had gone off her anti-psychotic medication for the sake of the pregnancy, yet continued trying to self-medication because staying clean with an untreated mental illness was too much of a demon to fight.

( These days, when Lorenzo looked back on it all, it felt like someone else's memories. He was scarred from the ordeal, he knew that... )

lorenzo chivalier
- original character -

Ten ways you are energized

1. Hot fuck
2. Hot threesome
3. Hot orgy
4. Hot outdoor fuck
5. Hot beach fuck
6. Hot shower fuck
7. Hot pool fuck
8. Hot backseat fuck
9. Hot mile high fuck
10. Hot married fuck

clint chevalier
original character

"Never miss a good chance to shut up."

Shelby doesn't say anything as the World team takes their victory lap. Just lifts the helmet off her head and runs a hand through her hair, soaked in sweat, and lets it all sink in. Her hopes of taking the Nations Cup demolished in the semifinals but at least she can say she did her part, three wins in the bracket making her the top individual player in Group A plus edging out Tony in the relay. And really she doesn't mind if they don't win. She's just grateful for the chance to have competed.

( That sounds like the most cliche thought ever but she knows it's true. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
287 words

Serendipity

I'm sitting in a hotel room in Miami. My gear bag is packed at the foot of the bed. Tomorrow I'll get up early and put on my helmet for the first time this year before putting myself to the test against some of the best drivers in the world. As one-half of Team USA IndyCar my goal is to win the Race of Champions for my country.

( I never sought any of this out. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
499 words

Portent

Shelby hadn't been paying that much attention to her playlist. She just liked to listen to pop music when she was working out, so she had put on Backstreet Boys Radio on Pandora and let it fill her ears as she jumped onto the exercise bike. But then she heard a song she hadn't heard in a while and it made her pause. Shelby had enjoyed these last few months not working and being a girlfriend and getting settled in a new city with all of its restaurants and places to visit.

But she had also been worried about having to pack up and leave that in just a handful of days, not sure if everything would be the same when she returned. It would be the first time she was in a relationship while racing professionally and she didn't know how the hectic schedule and the travel would affect it at all. To hear that song as she was preparing to travel to Miami, she had to believe it was a portent. A little sign from the universe telling her that everything was going to be okay. Now if only she'd have a similarly good break when she took to the racetrack at Marlins Park next weekend.

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
208 words

Autolatry

Shelby Manning is one of the hottest names in motorsports. She's a two-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion, an Indianapolis 500 and Rolex 24 at Daytona winner, and statistically the most successful female driver in the league. In seven days she'll be touching down in Miami to compete as part of Team USA IndyCar in the Race of Champions. She has all the reasons in the world to be cocky and self-obsessed, several of them sitting in her living room that she walks by every day.

But Shelby has made it a point not to start thinking too highly of herself. She did that before and it didn't end well. Maybe it was getting knocked on her ass and being technically homeless for a year, but she knows just how well all of those accomplishments are earned and how hard emotionally it was to check off each of those boxes. She knows that there are real legends who deserve the worship: Andretti, Mears, Foyt, Unser, Wheldon, Dixon. It'll be a while before her name is on that list if ever.

So she just walks past the trophy case and gets her morning coffee. And while she's drinking it if she happens to look that way she merely smiles. She's incredibly proud of everything that she has been able to do so far, but her biggest accomplishment might be just that she gets to do what she loves for a living, and there's always another race.

--
Shelby Manning
Need for Speed OC
245 words

Trust me.

Scott sent me pictures this morning from the track. It's raining a little in Daytona but nothing I couldn't handle. Andy Priaulx posted one of the day's fastest laps in the No. 69 Ford GT. He's in Tony's car. Tony just had a birthday too. It's impossible not to think of all the things I'm missing sitting out of the Roar Before The Rolex 24, and the Rolex 24 at Daytona that will take place in just a few weeks.

( No race is ever just a race for me. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
568 words

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

I don't know what to do. I don't even know if I can do it.

I screwed up my schedule last month. When I got an offer to drive in the Race of Champions, for the first time that the event has ever been held in the United States, I said yes without really thinking about it. It was an honor to be invited and I didn't know if I'd ever have the chance again. But then I looked at my calendar this week and realized that the Race of Champions takes place just four days before the kickoff of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, which I have participated in for the last two years.

( Two major races in four days is a lot of work. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
705 words

Ten things you would do on perfect day for you.

In Manhattan
1. Wake up without an alarm, whenever I felt like waking up.
2. Go for breakfast at my favorite place, Hů Kitchen.
3. Explore a market, street fair, or event I haven't been to before.
4. Eat lunch at Gramercy Tavern, where I would get their three-course option and order: Sunchoke & lobster with sea urchin vinaigrette, striped bass, and the chocolate & chestnut ganache crisp.
5. If I'm in the area, grab a Magic at Bluestone Lane.
6. Go for a long bike ride and/or hike in Central Park, or drive to a place with good trails.
7. Get dinner at Toloache where I would eat a disgusting amount of food.
8. Drinks with friends at any of the local establishments.
9. Head back to my flat with friends for more drinks and food.
10. Watch the sunrise of the following day from the rooftop before passing out in bed.

"I prefer physical exhaustion over mental fatigue any day."

Monday was my first full day back at the race shop and one of the conversations was about the idea of team orders. I'm sure you've heard the controversy that arose out of the Formula One final with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. With Team Penske in a similar position here in IndyCar we couldn't help but talk about what might happen if we were ever in the same situation. It's really not that far off, since Will and I were competing for the championship this year just like Hamilton and Rosberg were.

( Team Penske's policy has always been that there are no team orders. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
822 words

"Every new beginning
comes from some other
beginning's end."
- "Closing Time," Semisonic

It was another call in the middle of the night, the same as it had been the first time. Fumbling in the dark for the vibrating, screaming device on his nightstand, Isak tried to pick it up but ended up flinging it a few feet away from the bed. With a disgruntled grumble, he kicked the covers off, swung his legs over the side of the bed, and dragged his feet over to where the phone was. By the time he'd picked it up, it had gone to voicemail.

"Jävlar!" he shouted, squinting his eyes at the brightness of the screen. He saw that it had been his mother, as he had suspected. She was one of the only people disregard what time it was in New York whenever she decided to call. He made his way back over to the bed and plopped down on the edge of it, debating in his mentally fuzzy state whether to wait for the voicemail or simply call her back. He decided to wait.

( After three, then four, then five minutes passed, he realized she wasn't leaving a voicemail. )

Word Count | 885

Ten hopes for the future.

Time to revise this list already?

1. To continue to have an amazing relationship because I've finally found someone I love more than my career.

2. To have a strong 2017 season. It probably won't compare to this year but there's no reason it can't still be a success.

3. That things won't be awkward in the race shop with Josef and Peter coming aboard, and Juan not being here. We've built a great organization and I want to keep it that way.

4. That things won't be awkward and painful now that my dad isn't around.

5. To avoid getting hurt or hurting anyone else because I really don't want to break another guy's arm even if he did come after me first.

6. To continue to learn new things outside of racing. Maybe I'll go back to playing the piano.

7. To make more friends outside of racing.

8. To eventually master the pain in my ass that is strawberry cheesecake.

9. That eventually, I'm going to be a wife and a mother and that person telling the kids to get off my lawn.

10. That Hinch wins Dancing with the Stars. Hey, I can hope for someone else, right?

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
203 words

The night before

New York is alive with the buzz of impending history. UFC 205 is less than 24 hours away and I'm sitting in a hotel room drinking my Mountain Dew and realizing tomorrow I'll be in the third row. Watching someone I'm friends with get punched in the face.

This has been an interesting experience. I have never seen somebody pick up a chair and threaten to use it at a press conference. If I even so much as looked the wrong way at somebody in one of my press conferences I'd get told off twice; first by my team owner and then again when my father found out. We have an unspoken professional respect that exists. But there is no such thing in the UFC. Here, apparently, it's a lot of mutual animosity.

( Unless, of course, you are referring to one David Burton. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
725 words

"And I've always lived like this
Keeping a comfortable distance
And up until now I have sworn to myself
That I'm content with loneliness
Because none of it was ever worth the risk."

It's one of those freak accidents no one could have ever seen coming, and yet something that she always knew was coming. Shelby had been lucky to race for five seasons and not be involved in a major accident; the worst she'd ever done before that day was bruise two ribs and break a finger. But every racing driver lived with the possibility of the big one, and as she had watched two friends lose their lives and a third almost die on the track, she wondered when that threat would come to her.

( Cut for potentially disturbing content. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
881 words
Prompt takes place in a future canon.

"Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them."

Anyone who really knows Shelby Manning knows where to find her. Tonight she's sitting at a desk in the Indianapolis Central Library, a few strands of rogue blond hair falling over her forehead as she leans over a worn spiral notebook. Her lips pressed into a thin line, headphones anchored to her ears and playing the new OneRepublic album, as a cup of coffee and an ordinary blue Bic pen lay set aside. She'd look like any college student, if the black polo shirt she's wearing didn't say Team Penske on the breast.

( But Shelby has always seen herself as a student of the game. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
653 words

"On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand, then you stand."

I've realized something over the past two weeks: I no longer fear failure. Oh, I still don't like it, of course and I will continue to do everything I can to avoid it, but I don't fear it. I'm not sitting here across the room from my Astor Cups thinking "I have to defend this. I can't let someone take it away from me." I know that I am one of twenty-two very accomplished drivers and that any one of us could be holding the trophy in 2017, and I'm okay with that.

( Because what I've learned is it really is true, no one can take it away from you. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
576 words

"So, I've broken every bone
And fought through what felt never ending
I thought my head was made of sadness
But my heart is mending."

Shelby doesn't know what to feel when she first sees Peter Fowler in her race shop for the first time in three years. He's still the same man she saw in Victory Lane just a month ago: the tall, slightly lanky Irishman who never seems to age and still has that sparkle in his green eyes. Yet it feels like she hasn't seen him in forever. The last time they worked on the same side was when he was a second-year strategist still cutting his teeth and she was still an immature, impulsive young woman. Not a five-year veteran and a two-time IndyCar champion.

( It's not that she doesn't want him there. He's like a brother to her, and like a son to her father, and she will always remember that he came first. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
832 words

"Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart."

It was a series of conversations that led to the most difficult moment Shelby had ever faced in her life.

The announcement had happened on Wednesday. Her former teammate was going to join Team Penske and become her current teammate. She was happy for Josef; she'd spent her first two years racing with him and knew that he was talented, as well as a good colleague and a great representative for the IndyCar Series. But his decision wasn't so simple as just being reunited with a friend.

( There was a very firm dividing line between who Shelby had once been and the woman she was today. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
1066 words

Ten national days of recognition relevant to your life

1. National Nude Day
2. National Sex Day
3. National Tattoo Day
4. National I Love Horses Day
5. National Weed Day
6. International Whores Day
7. National Beer and Pizza Day
8. International Day of People With a Disability
9. Bisexual Awareness Week
10. Dyslexia Empowerment Week

+ KIP PRYOR (oc)

(ooc) because clearly i'm a sheep and want up in this fun shit :P

"But I will hold on hope,
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck.
And I'll find strength in pain,
And I will change my ways.
I'll know my name as it's called again."
- "The Cave," Mumford & Sons

"What is this all about this time?" Elis asked, sitting down on the park bench alongside his brother. There was a teasingly exasperated lilt to his voice, but Isak knew it was to mask the underlying concern his brother felt. Isak did not often call Elis to meet at their favorite park with the explicit request of wanting to talk. In fact, this was the first time he'd ever asked. They met up at the park often, both when growing up and whenever Isak was home, but it was usually to play a football match or go for hikes. Talking happened during those activities, but it was never the focal point. Isak could see the concern in Elis' face, even behind the sunglasses.

"It is nothing bad," Isak responded in an attempt to soothe his brother's worry.

( 'Oh, well, in that case,' Elis said, making a feigned motion to stand. Isak rolled his eyes and gave his brother a light slap on the arm. )

Word Count | 1391

Morning

It's just another morning in Indianapolis, and that's the problem. Shelby gets up, showers and throws on another old T-shirt, makes herself breakfast and sits at her kitchen island finishing her coffee watching the news. Other people would consider this relaxing but not her. She doesn't know what to do with herself.

Everything she has any clue about is done. She's run all of her races. Made all of her gym sessions. Finished all her interviews. Taken her one week in Hawaii to recover. There's a dress hanging in the closet for Tuesday's Championship Celebration but that's the last date circled on her calendar. Right now, she's not Shelby Manning, Verizon IndyCar Series champion and driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet.

She's just Shelby, and she's never really figured out how to do that.

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
136 words

"Death by crying doesn't exist, though
The headaches feel a bit like it
You might explode
But you reach the end of the road
And you, little tree
I'm certain you will grow."
• Death By Chocolate, Sia

A maternity unit nursery was the last place Keiran expected himself to be at all. A long time ago, he had decided that maybe he didn't want children. He enjoyed teaching, but his life had changed so much since that strange time in his life way back when where trying to conceive a child had completely sucked the life out of him to the point he began to hate the idea of it. His relationship festered because of it, and ever since then, he had been a free spirit and never quite felt the urge to settle down and have children again. If it was all going to be that much trouble, he definitely didn't want it.

Now he was in Ireland, sitting by a clear newborn crib in a the maternity unit. He had no partner. He was a single and alone, and the only company he had in that small family room with lavender walls and diagrams of how to breastfeed was a tiny newborn baby girl looking back at him.

( Just because he hadn't wanted children of his own didn't mean he hadn't been willing to help someone else who did... )

Keiran O'Leary // Original Character

- "I have learned that there is more power in a good strong hug than in a thousand meaningful words."
- Ann Hood

vara där inom kort.

Isak glanced at the text from his brother, replied with a quick okej, then slipped his phone back into his pocket. He was sitting on the couch in his sister's living room, waiting for his brother to meet them so that they would be able to head over to the hospital to see their father together. None of the Cederström children dared go on his or her own; even if their father was quite possibly on his death bed, they were stronger as a cohesive unit rather than as individuals. They had all learned that at a very young age.

( Elina was elsewhere in the house, doing what Isak was unsure. His anxiety was starting to rise, evident in the rapid rhythmic bouncing of his leg and the inability to sit still for long periods of time. He stood from the couch and began pacing the length of the living room, weaving his way around the coffee table. )

Word Count | 1448

"I have learned that there is more power in a good strong hug than in a thousand meaningful words."

They're sitting on the patio of the restaurant at the hotel, having lunch and mimosas that it's probably too early for, and somehow the talk has turned to what got her to where she is today. To be honest she knows the 'somehow' is probably her. All of Shelby's life revolves around racing and therefore most of her conversations do as well. She doesn't exactly have a lot to talk about not to mention that her brain has replayed the last few laps at Sonoma over and over again since they happened.

( I think the biggest thing I learned is that I have to give up control. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
667 words

"True love doesn't happen right away; it's an ever-growing process. It develops after you've gone through many ups and downs, when you've suffered together, cried together, laughed together."

Thirty-six hours after winning her second Verizon IndyCar Series championship, Shelby Manning is sitting on a beach in Hawaii. She's traded in her fire suit and helmet for a two-piece bikini and a copy of some issue of Car & Driver she forgot to read when it came out two months ago. The only thing that's the same is the hand slipped into hers, and she looks over at Chris Alvarez who just smiles back at her and asks if she's having fun yet.

( Shelby still hasn't figured out how she feels about him yet. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
597 words

Ten plans you have for the future.

1. Win at Sonoma.

2. Win the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series championship. Yes, I know I've already done it, but I'll believe it when someone actually hands me the Astor Cup with my name on it.

3. Get Roger Penske to go crowdsurfing.

4. Go to Hawaii and spend an entire week on vacation, doing nothing that has anything to do with racing.

5. While in Hawaii, find someplace that serves funnel cake. Eat the funnel cake. Maybe more than one.

6. Spend more time with Chris that doesn't involve us trying to punch each other in the face. I hear Red Lobster is doing Endless Shrimp.

7. Count the number of third place trophies in my den. All billion of them.

8. Call Tobey at least once a week from now on.

9. Have another dinner party at the house. Because that's what I bought this house for. And because I'd like to overcome the embarrassment of the fact that I scorched the turkey last time. You know, there's a lot of food on this list.

10. Just appreciate how much success I've been having and remember as much of it as I can for the next time I think I'm not any good at this.

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC

"Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain."

Inside her head Shelby is positively screaming. She's going painfully slow; slow at least by IndyCar standards, which is still well over a hundred miles an hour. But she's being coached to take her foot off the gas as she nurses her car through the final ten laps at Watkins Glen, and it is in point of fact driving her insane. Her entire job is to go fast and especially on this day, in front of friends who haven't seen her in two years, she doesn't want to be coasting home.

( But that's exactly what she's doing. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
960 words

"You with the sad eyes,
Don't be discouraged.
Oh, I realize
Its hard to take courage
In a world full of people;
You can lose sight of it all,
And the darkness inside you
Can make you feel so small."
- "True Colors," Cyndi Lauper

Though Isak had taken this trip many, many times before, this particular journey felt like it carried the importance of the first time. After the sudden call from his mother, he scrambled to find himself a last-minute flight to return to Stockholm, despite having just returned from his summer holiday. Luckily there were always flights (as long as you were willing to pay). Once he secured one, he contacted his department chair and explained the situation as best he could, offering endless apologies about the inconvenience of his absence at the start of the new semester and school year, but promising to return in no more than two weeks' time. ( He had no way of knowing how long it would all take, of course, but after two weeks, he figured one of three things would happen: )

Word Count | 1331

Shelby makes it a point to drive for pleasure as much as she does for racing. She never wants to just confine her passion to her career. So with a break after the two races in six days that were Pocono and Texas, she pulls her Mercedes CLK Black out of her garage in Indianapolis and she goes for a drive.

( The final two races of the season are on the horizon. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
506 words

"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."
- Arnold Schwarzenegger

The call had come in the middle of the night, as they always seem to do. In a haze, Isak reached for the screaming device on his nightstand, squinting at the name that came up on the screen. It was his mother. Given that their communication was at a bare minimum while they were in the same city, it was even rarer for her to call at such a random hour while he was an ocean away. He could feel the pounding of his heart in his chest, could feel it echoing in his head.

After what felt like an eternity, he slid the bar across the screen to answer the call. Tentatively, he brought it to his ear.

( Hallå? )

Word Count | 886

As Shelby's watching them clean up in Victory Lane, she sees a face she didn't expect in the crowd. Chris Alvarez looks a lot different than she remembers him; he's cleaned up in a suit and tie and he's holding a bottle of champagne. And she's laughing because he looks better than she does after spending two hours driving a car in the heat and because under no circumstances should he actually be walking toward her.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, wondering why he decided to get a ticket and if he knows how overdressed he is in that suit.

"I heard you only drink champagne when you win," he replies, tipping the bottle toward her. "And you won, so, champagne?"

"I will actually." Shelby chuckles because he's right. She only opens a bottle when she's earned it and tonight would qualify. But it's normally someone on her team handing it to her, or at the least her father, not the fighter whom Peter recruited as her new sparring partner. She hardly knows Chris and yet he's making a point of coming here and making her a peace offering, which is why she adds, "You came all the way here for me why?"

"To take you out to dinner," he comments. "You should get changed. I made reservations for eight and I'll pick you up in the hotel lobby."

And then he hands her the bottle and he's walking away, she knows so that it's impossible for her to argue the point. Shelby can't believe the audaciousness of it and yet she can't help but laugh. She just calls after him:

"Wait, you almost punched me in the face yesterday and now you're asking me out?"

Chris doesn't even turn around. "Got your attention, didn't it?" he replies, and Shelby just turns and walks the other way toward the media center for her press conference, making a mental note to ask her trainer where he found this guy.

Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
350 words

"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."

Sunday

Shelby will always remember where she was. Maybe five feet from the garage, gear bag slung over one shoulder as she had just started to make the walk back to her car. She had just raced 300 laps at Iowa and she was tired, not to mention ready to get away from corn. But then Terry had walked over to her with a bewildered look on his face, and Terry shouldn't have had that look on his face after a fourth-place finish.

"Have you seen Shane?" he asked her. "He just disappeared. And he's not answering my text messages."

"What?" she replied, staring at him. Shane didn't just walk off the job. Even if he had to go take a meeting, he always told Terry where he was going. And he also always stayed to make sure the load-in went well. Shelby reached into the pocket of her jeans, fumbled for her phone, and tried calling him.

( The first time any of them saw him was when he showed up at the airport to catch the team flight back to Charlotte. He had no idea that they'd been debating whether or not to call the boss and report him missing. )

Shelby Manning
Need For Speed OC
952 words

"Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart."
- Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami

The images came in waves, as they are prone to do. The shattering of a glass, the raising of a voice, the shouting of words meant to devastate: each brought its own bit of information, the pieces coming together like a crudely cut puzzle.

Isak sat at a table on the sidewalk outside of a cafe, his heart suddenly racing and his forehead collecting sweat. His hands began to shake, fingers trembling, unable to maintain a steady grasp on anything they touched. His head vibrated, swirled, went too fast and too slow simultaneously. ( He recognized the early stages of a panic attack and, in a brief moment of lucidity, cursed himself for having it happen here - in public, with all these people around. )

Word Count | 588

"I am trying my hardest not to act how I feel."

They're officially into the second half of the IndyCar season now, and Shelby and Shane find themselves looking back on it wondering how it's so different from the one before. They hadn't changed anything from last year, when everything seemed to be firing on all cylinders; so why does this year feel like it's worlds away? There's more professional success, but there's also a new dynamic amongst the team, like they graduated to some other level where everything just isn't the same. That wasn't how this was supposed to work. Everything was supposed to be just like before. Not so new.

They glance at each other as they're standing out on the balcony of his hotel room in Texas after a long afternoon of qualifying and practices. She'll start sixth tomorrow, which is her lowest spot of the season but still nothing to be upset about considering the speed of the cars in front of her. As they always say it's the race that matters. That's not what bothers them. It's looking at one another in a way they never have before.

( A year ago they might have killed each other. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need for Speed OC
987 words

Ten things you can't live without

1. Being the meat in the sandwich
2. 3 peen for the price of 1
3. Chocolate Krispy Kreme
4. Romance and shit
5. King sized bed
6. Batman Snuggie
7. Red Bull
8. Glow in the dark condoms, that shit is hilarious in the dark
9. Hearing "I love you" from 2 hotties
10. Spooning

lee mckenna ( original character )

"So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light
'Cause oh that gave me such a fright
But I will hold as long as you like
Just promise me we'll be alright."

Where to start with today?

I thought I had it within my reach. I could taste that repeat victory. Driving up front for most of the first third of the race, slugging it out back and forth with Hinch - that was some of the most fun racing I've ever done and it felt good. Strong. Like I had the car to beat for the second year in a row.

( And then it all went horribly wrong. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need for Speed OC
614 words

"Everyone has challenges and lessons to learn - we wouldn't be who we are without them."

"Nine. Fucking nine. Are you kidding me?"

Shelby is angry as she stalks through the garage after the first day of Indianapolis 500 qualifying. She had made it into the Fast Nine that would compete for the pole position on Sunday, but as the last car in. There were eight drivers ahead of her on the scoring pylon and as the defending race winner riding a three-race win streak, she feels that was simply unacceptable. She wants to throw something, but there isn't anything to throw except her Oakley sunglasses and she needs those.

"Come on, Shelby." Shane is following behind her, both to try and calm her down and because he wanted to get to her before any TV cameras did and splashed her temper tantrum over the air. "Get a grip."

She laughs caustically at that, turning on her heel to face him complete with an accusatory finger. "We're better than ninth and you know it."

( I do know that. But I know this morning you fainted. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need for Speed OC
915 words

"Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun."

With everything that goes into being a Verizon IndyCar Series team, it's sometimes easy to forget why you compete in the first place: because you love it. Such is the case on Saturday night for the No. 2 Team Penske squad at Phoenix International Raceway. They've spent so much time, dating back to the preseason test day in February and who knows how many simulator runs before that, to get this evening right. It's been circled on their calendar since the 2016 schedule was announced, with a silent reminder: This is the race where we see what we're made of this year.

( If that is in the fact the case, they have nothing to worry about. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need for Speed OC
886 words

"A friend is what the heart needs all the time."

"Shane! Goddamnit!"

Shelby's laughing as she yells at him. She would never have expected to be laughing before. Even a year ago Shane Worthington was the biggest pain in her ass. He was difficult to work with and it was hard to stand him off the track. The two of them always seemed to have trouble speaking to each other without fighting, to the point where both of them got put in the corner. But now when she's yelling at him, she's doing it with a smile on her face.

( He's trying to keep a straight face of his own as he walks off with the bowl of Easter candy that he just swiped off the table in front of her. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need for Speed OC
645 words

"Tough times don't last, tough people do, remember?"

It all starts here. Six months where almost every weekend is a challenge of the human body and the human spirit. Pushing the limits of speed and of what you can physically take. Putting yourself up against the best that the world has to offer. Making choices that in a fraction of a second can mean the difference between winning, losing, and finishing in the wall. And that's just in the car.

( The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is the first event on the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need for Speed OC
1,220 words

"Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher." - Oprah Winfrey

A terrible thing happened the other day. I was doing a pre-test interview with a reporter who, over the course of the conversation, began to insinuate that the only reason I had an IndyCar seat was because of my father and then point-blank said that wasn't it true I wouldn't have gotten to where I am now if I wasn't a woman. Hearing both of the insults I've worked so hard to shoot down, I took two steps forward and would've hit him if Shane hadn't thrown an arm around my waist and held me back.

( But then a wonderful thing happened the other day. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need for Speed OC
500 words

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." - Albert Einstein

I would've done a little dance when I got out of the car if I had any moves.

To be fourth, to be among the top five fastest competitors in our first full test at Phoenix when I wasn't even sure I'd be any good on this track since I'd never driven it before, just blew my mind yesterday. All I wanted was to put up a solid number and I put up a great one. I climbed out and high-fived my strategist and hugged my engineer and generally acted like a geek for a good five minutes just feeling accomplished.

Little did I know the best was yet to come. Today I posted the single fastest time out of the entire field in our afternoon session, and the person behind me on the leaderboard? My old teammate. I spent so many months studying and being worried that I wouldn't know how to drive Phoenix and I just kicked ass. I'm so proud of everything that my entire team has been able to do to make this car as good as it's been this weekend.

And it's a confidence booster. Looking at these numbers I know I can feel good about myself when we come back here to race for real in a few months. I won't be worried about having that slow start and screwing up our season. That's going to mean a lot to me. You can have a great car and you've still got to have a great driver, and now I know I'm going to be okay. It's going to be a fun season.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got an evening test to run. Let's see if I can be number one twice today.

--
Shelby Manning
Need for Speed OC
290 words

Ten questions you're asking yourself

1. Why me?
2. Why does New York smell funny?
3. Why is clothes shopping so painful?
4. Am I really just dumb?
5. Can I figure out a way to fit?
6. Will I ever not hate being in a city?
7. Can you really die if you live on nothing but McDonalds?
8. Why do the fruit and veggies here taste like plastic?
9. Is this scared feeling ever going to stop?
10. Why is the legal system so fucked up?

# Finlay Bennett | Original Character

"You cast a spell on me, spell on me
You hit me like the sky fell on me, fell on me
And I decided you look well on me, well on me
So let's go somewhere no one else can see, you and me."

This friggin' song. This was the song that was playing over the PA before driver introductions at the Indianapolis 500, for whatever reason. And so every time I hear it, for a couple of seconds I find myself back in that moment.

There's no bigger race for me than the Indianapolis 500. I grew up watching it, not on television but at the track every year as my dad worked the rail. Obviously the first few years I was too young to remember but when I was five, still rolling around the house in my big blue Power Wheels, I turned to Dad and with a straight face told him I wanted to win the Indianapolis 500. I pretended that Ford Mustang was an IndyCar for years.

So much history is involved. Even if you push aside all the motor racing history, even in my own individual life this race is huge. I watched Sarah Fisher drive the Indy 500 not knowing that someday she would ask me to come drive for her. I cheered for Scott when he won in 2008 even though I was doing it from London, and for Ryan from a couch in New York in 2014. One of my teammates, Helio Castroneves, is a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner.

( And then there's me. )

--
Shelby Manning
Need for Speed OC
819 words