You Continue To Amaze Me!! This Is Bestie Right Here!

My mind is in shambles 😭

I Didn't Know Where Else To Go (Jake Seresin x Reader) Part 5 (Final)

*REUPLOAD*

Hi Angels! I'm back! Sadly, this is in fact the last part of my story. I do have an epilogue coming later this week however. Please go see this post to vote on my next fic.

Summary: Jake Seresin is the person you hate most in the world, until he's all you have left. (idk i'm so bad at these)

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Reader (for a very short period of time) Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Natasha "Phoenix" Trace (again briefly. not sure how much of this I'll write), Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Reader (eventually)

Warnings: fighting, mentions of blood and injuries, emotional trauma.

Word Count: 3105

No one moved an inch to stop the two, both out of sheer shock and curiosity of how it was going to play out. Bradley had recovered from the punch Jake threw, blood starting to drip from his nose and hit back. Jake stumbled back in surprise before it became a full blown fight. 

Fists were being thrown, your hand was over your mouth in shock. You weren’t expecting any of this. Bradley had Jake on the ground and was on top of him, getting in a few good hits to Jake’s face. 

“Stop, get off him!” You called out. The sound of your voice snapped Jake back into reality, the fight was flipped and suddenly Jake was on top. His face was cold and emotionless as he punched Bradley. At this point you were so scared of what could happen, you jumped into action. You rushed to pull Jake off of Bradley and caught Jake’s elbow to your face as he pulled back for another punch. 

You fell backward with an oof. This caused everyone else to snap out of their shock and trance and Coyote pulled Jake off Bradley. Bob helped you up as Fanboy grabbed Bradley. Your hand wiped at your bloody lip and you looked at Jake. Javy had let him go but his fists were still clenched. Mickey and Natasha had whisked Bradley out of the room and you sighed. Bob looked you over, you nodded at him to let him know you were okay.

Jake was shaking with rage. He wanted to kill Bradley, and he was damn close if he hadn’t been pulled off. How dare Bradley say those things about you after what he did to you. You. The fog in his brain cleared slightly. Jake turned around to find you. You were positioned so that Bob was blocking you while he checked you over.

Bob moved to the side to grab something and Jake’s face fell. He tried to recall what happened that could have given you a bloody lip. A sick feeling washed over him as he realized he had been so caught up in the moment that it was him who had hurt you. Jake’s feet moved before he realized they were moving.

A hand touched your cheek softly, a thumb brushing over your lip. You looked up at Jake. You gasped at the state of his face. There was already a bruise forming on his eye and cheek, blood was dripping out of his nose and the cut over his eyebrow looked rough. The look in Jake’s eyes was haunted.

“Jake, are you okay?” Your voice was shaky. “Let’s go get you cleaned up.” You took the hand that was on your face and pulled him to your office where you kept a first aid kit. Jake was tense and silent the whole way.

Jake sat in one of the chairs across from your desk, watching you closely. You licked your lips, tasting copper as you grabbed the kit and a bottle of water from your cabinet in the corner. Jake was inspecting his knuckles when you walked back over, they were cut and red, bruises were definitely going to form. He opened and closed his fists with a grimace as you set out the things you needed from the kit.

You stood between Jake’s legs, using the water bottle to wet some gauze, gently wiping at his hands. You inspected them, making sure nothing was broken and the cuts were superficial. His mind was racing with ways to apologize for hurting you. He felt like he was no better than Bradley at that moment.

Your hands moved to lift his chin so you could see his face. You carefully worked the gauze over his face, careful not to hurt him. Jake’s hands were on your hips, it felt like they were burning your skin. You were done cleaning his face but you didn’t want to admit it, you didn’t want him to move his hands.

“‘M sorry.” He finally spoke, meeting your eyes. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Jake’s voice was low and raspy, one of his hands leaving your waist to grab the gauze from your hand. Jake pulled you down to sit on his lap.

 You withheld a gasp as you balanced yourself on his thigh. Jake wiped at your mouth with the gauze before throwing it in the trash. You grabbed his hands and ran your fingers over his knuckles.

“It was an accident Jake.” A frown crossed your features. “But why did you start a fight with him? Do you know how much trouble you could get in? You could be kicked out of the Navy for this. And that’s if he doesn’t press charges. You could go to jail, Jake. I’m not worth all that.” You sighed, squeezing his hands. When you moved to get off his lap, he pulled you back down.

“Stop. Don’t say things like that.” Jake’s frown matched yours. “Darlin, he can't just talk to you like that. I had to defend your honor.” You giggled, putting your hand on his cheek. “I don’t know what happened, but when he said that to you I saw red. And then I hurt you, which honestly makes me no better than him.” His voice cracked.

You brought your face closer to his, making sure he was looking you in the eye. “Jake, you are so much better than he is. It was an accident. I swear I’m okay.” You reassured him, putting your forehead against his. Jake let go of your hands, putting one on your cheek and the other on your waist.

“I’m still sorry.” His thumb brushed across your lip. “You got hurt because of me.”

“Jake, stop. It’s okay.”

He slowly moved closer, his lips brushing yours. Your breath got caught in your throat and you put your hands on his chest, gripping his shirt. You felt his heart pounding under your palm, yours was beating just as fast. 

“Tell me to stop. If you don’t tell me to stop right now I’m going to kiss you.” Jake breathed. Your mind was consumed with a struggle. You wanted him to kiss you, no you needed him to kiss you. But there was so much holding you back. You had broken up with Bradley only the night before, up until last night, you and Jake hated each other. Now you were confused.

It took you everything in your power to pull away from him. You closed your eyes and sucked in a breath. Running your fingers through your hair, you opened your eyes again, searching his. Jake’s gaze was burning you from the inside out. He squeezed your hip before dropping his hands.

“Jake I-” he cut you off by standing up.

“Don’t worry about it.” He sniffed, clearing his throat. Jake’s jaw was set. He wanted to kiss you, wanted to be the kind of man who deserved you. Clearly you still only saw him as the asshole who you couldn’t stand. Honestly, Jake couldn’t remember ever feeling so embarrassed,

You sat on the edge of your desk, head in your hands. You sighed and looked toward Jake. He looked upset. It felt like you could see the walls that had slowly been crumbling being built back up.

“Just let me know when you’re ready to leave. I’ll make up the guest room for you. You can stay with me for a while.” Jake started to walk out of the room.

“Wait!” You called after him, standing from your desk. He turned around, raising his eyebrows. “Shut the door please.”

“Ashamed?” Jake shut the door behind him, leaning against it and crossing his arms. You took a few cautious steps closer to him before speaking.

“No.” You chucked dryly. “Everyone has heard enough of my business. I don’t need them hearing what I’m about to say.” You rubbed your hands together, looking at the floor. It took you a couple minutes before you could speak again. Jake’s eyes remained glued to you, fighting the urge to reach out and touch you.

“I want to kiss you. Maybe too much.” You felt your cheeks burning while you spoke. A burst of courage raced through you when you made eye contact with Jake. “Pulling away from you just now was so incredibly hard. But Jake, I just broke up with Bradley less than 24 hours ago. I’m still trying to figure this all out. My life is a mess. I’m a fucking mess.” Tears were flowing freely from your eyes. “You deserve better than that. Let me figure out where I need to go from here. Give me time to heal.”

“Come here.” Jake pushed himself off the door, walking toward you. He wrapped his arms around you tightly. “Tell me when you’re ready.” You nodded against his chest, looking up at him.

“I don’t expect you to wait for me, Jake. I don’t know when I’ll be ready. I don’t want to hold you back from happiness”

“You’re worth it.” Jake placed a kiss to your temple. You squeezed your eyes closed, sighing softly. You never wanted this moment to end. Unfortunately a knock on your office door cut it short. You pulled away from Jake, straightening yourself.

You cleared your throat, calling to the visitor to come in. It left you stunned when the door opened to reveal Bradley behind the door. Jake tensed next to you. You placed a hand on his bicep to calm him down. Bradley stepped in the room cautiously.

Your eyes went wide as you took in his face. He definitely got it worse than Jake. Both his eyes were starting to bruise, more were littering his cheeks and jaw. His lips had dried blood on them and his nose definitely looked a little crooked.

“Y/N, uh can I talk to you?” Bradley stuttered nervously. Jake stepped in front of you, blocking you from Bradley’s view.

“Not a chance in hell, Rooster.” Jake clenched his fists by his side, nearly unable to stop himself from hitting Bradley again. 

“I just need to apologize, Hangman. I swear that’s it.” Bradley’s voice was shaky, nearly begging. Jake started to speak again but you moved to stand in front of him, putting your hands on his chest.

“Jake, look at me.” He turned the glare directed at Bradley toward you and his face softened instantly. “Let him talk to me, it’s okay.”

Jake nodded. “Gotta get some work done anyway.” He walked out of the room, but not without bumping Bradley’s shoulder and shooting him a glare on the way out.

“Can I sit?” Bradley asked quietly. You nodded, gesturing to the chair Jake had previously occupied, sitting in the seat next to it. Bradley sat down, making sure to keep his distance. You grabbed an ice pack that you forgot to give Jake and handed it to Bradley.

“He got you pretty good.” You dryly joked as he put the ice pack up to his eye.

“I’d like to think I got a few good hits in.” He joked back. A silence sat between the two of you for a while. Bradley sighed, setting the ice pack down on his lap.

“I really messed up.” He sighed, shaking his head.

“Understatement of the century.” You muttered under your breath. A pained look crossed his features.

“I’m sorry. For hurting you. What happened, it was never supposed to be that way. I had a crush on Natasha when I first met her. I never had the balls to ask her out when you showed up. You took my breath away. I hadn’t seen her in years until we got called back to Top Gun. And when I saw her again it felt like something was unfinished. I thought what if? So we went for it.” You felt your heart breaking with every word he said.

“So you cheated on me because you thought you might be in love with my best friend. How long was this going on before I caught you?” You kept a blank look on your face and pulled your leg away from his touch.

“Since the day we got called back to Top Gun.” He whispered. “It started out just testing the waters. We didn’t start sleeping together until after you’d moved here with me.”

You scoffed. “I can’t believe this.”

“Baby, please. I still love you. I want to fix this between us.” You gave him a disgusted look, standing up and backing away from him. “Let’s work on us. I promise I’ll never hurt you like that again. What happened with Natasha is over. Love me again and I swear we can be happy. I can make you happy.” Bradley stood up, taking a step toward you. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

“I bought you this ring a few months back. I was going to propose when I got back from the mission but then things with Natasha started and I was confused.” Bradley got down on one knee and opened the box. You panicked, shaking your head.

“Bradley, no.” You sighed, shutting the box in his hand. “What the hell are you thinking?” A look of disappointment crossed his features as he stood, putting the box back in his pocket. “Seriously, using a proposal against me to try to get me back? That’s low Bradley.”

“I’m sorry.” Bradley sniffed, offering a smile.

“I know. But I think we both know it’s done. The damage is done. I can’t be with you anymore, Bradley. I think a piece of me will always have some love for you. But I’m not in love with you anymore. And I have to take some time for myself. I hope one day you and I can be friends.” You grabbed his hands and helped him stand. “Just give me time.”

Bradley nodded sadly, squeezing your hands. “So you and Jake huh?” You giggled, looking down at your feet. You shrugged your shoulders, redness tinted your cheeks.

“Something like that. Who knew he could be so nice?” You smiled widely at Bradley who returned your grin.

“You two together?”

“Nah. I need some time to heal first before I see where things go with him. I’m not ready to trust again.” Bradley’s smile faltered slightly at the allusion to what he had done but he quickly recovered.

“I can stay with Nat while we get the house thing figured out. It was my fault anyway. You shouldn’t have to suffer.” You shook your head.

“Jake offered to make up his guest room for me. I don’t want to make you stay somewhere else.” You furrowed your brows.

“Honestly, I don’t think I can live in the house after everything. It reminds me of you and what I did. I can’t wake up and face the remnants of you every day.” He sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

“Are you sure, Bradley? I don’t want to kick you out.” Bradley nodded.

"House is all yours. I’ll look at apartments and get my stuff out of your way.”

“Thank you.” You felt bad about it but you knew you’d need space to heal. You also wouldn't be able to decide what to do about Jake if you didn’t get out of his house. You’re already too tempted to kiss him as it is.

“Can I hug you?” He asked hopefully. You shook your head, pulling your hands away. 

“I’m not ready for that step yet. The wound is too fresh and you just asked me to marry you for God's sake. We can be friendly, Bradley but I can’t be friends right now.” Bradley looked sad as he took a step away.

“Yeah I get it.” He clasped his hands in front of him, looking at you. Bradley was confused about so much right now. One thing he was sure about however, is that he was still madly in love with you. Seeing you pull away from him, watching you start to fall for Jake, that killed him. His heart was breaking more and more. You were the love of his life and his best friend, you’d been there for so long he wasn’t convinced he’d really be able to survive without you.

But he loved you so much he knew he had to let you go. Maybe one day if things were right you’d come back to him, he told himself. Bradley knew deep down that wasn’t true. It hurt too much in that moment to believe anything else, so he chose to suffer silently in his fantasy world for a while.

“I’ve gotta get some work done. But thank you for letting me talk to you. Let me take tonight to grab some of my stuff and the house is yours.” He sent you a small smile before leaving. You sat at your desk and stared at the wall for a few minutes, mind racing. Bradley was your everything for a long time. You two were best friends and lovers. Hearing his laugh would make your day, a smile from him lit up the room. Being in his arms was the safest place you could think of.

Now you wanted to keep a safe distance. You could see a future where the two of you were amicable, maybe even friends. You knew you could forgive him. Even after all this, even after the audacity of him trying to propose to you to get you back, you knew you wouldn’t be able to stay mad at him forever. You just weren’t that kind of person. 

You thought about Natasha. Other than Bradley she was your best friend. You wondered why she, knowing you and Bradley loved each other, chose to do those things with him. You thought you could trust her. You wondered how the rest of the squad was taking it.

And then your mind settled on Jake. The more you thought about him, the more your heart raced and butterflies erupted in your stomach. He was a much better man than you thought. He should have turned you away the night before given your history. But maybe the incessant fighting the two of you did was something more. They say love and hate are two sides of the same coin.

Taglist

@piceous21 @tallrock35 @ellouisa17 @xoxabs88xox @bookaholics-stuff @dempy @halibshepherd @novagreen04 @popcrone818 @dreamlandcreations @enigmalynne @daisyhollyxox @abbersreads @abaker74 @igg5989 @emma8895eb @newlibrary @krismdavis

@littlewhiterose @cornishkat @smoothdogsgirl @lilylilyyyyyy @loveless-simp @sleeping-bunny-sensei @sexytholland @andiebau @zbeez-outlet @xcastawayherosx @witchybabel @katybby04 @callsign-mirage @xomrsalliej4787xo @maximoffmaxipad @secretsicanthideanymore

hp aesthetic → unforgivable curses

“Those three curses are known as the Unforgivable Curses. The use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban. That’s what you’re up against. That’s what I’ve got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice constant, never-ceasing vigilance.”

let’s stop kidding ourselves, we all know the true otp is Jedediah and Octavius from Night At the Museum 

they quote gay movies

they watch cat videos on youtube 

they take selfies

I’m pretty sure they actually became canon in NatM3? 

come on there’s no way you can’t ship them

I hope Jordan Connor had a good day

Thiam / Theo Reaken x Liam Dunbar engagement and wedding (with posts) AU (11/?)

Credits for the nearly kiss edit to owner (I have no idea where I downloaded it from. If you know please tell me and I give credits.

Could it be that I claimed the whole Thiam Social Media AU section? Cause I barely see anyone else doing them. :’D

Opinion?

My Thiam AU’s:

Thiam AU

Thiam AU (with posts)

Thiam AU (traveling)

Thiam AU (request: skaterbox x lacrosse)

Thiam AU (traveling to Mykonos (with posts))

Thiam AU (visiting Disney World)

Thiam AU

Thiam AU (two omega wolfs living in the woods)

Thiam AU (prom (with posts))

Thiam AU (family (houseman x lacrosse coach/teacher)

-

Thiam AU (parents (with posts))

Special: Teen! Leo Dunbar Reaken AU (with posts)

(Sorry for any english mistakes but I’m not a native speaker, but tell me if something makes no sense)

There are going to be more Thiam social media AU’s in the future.

REQUESTS ARE WELCOME!

Here are more fandom instagram accounts (including ALL TEEN WOLF CHARACTERS): http://fandomtrashwhore.tumblr.com/post/160333414273/fandom-instagram-aesthetics-aus

I CRIED

i'm literally begging rn 🤕 can you please PLEASE do reader with a family issues orr if you don't feel comfortable doing that you can do a reader who is not feel love at all? so she feels weird when lando loves her SO much like it's all confusing to her? (i know i'm literally begging but BUT if you feel weird or uncomfortable you don't have to do it at all 💖 just that's the situation i'm in rn 😜 but unfortunatelly i don't have a lando that loves me SO much 🤕)

if you do or don't do at all i'm still thankful 🙏🏻 i hope you have the bestest day EVERrRr!! ❤️❤️

pairing: lando norris x fem!reader warnings: none! just fluff (shocking for me i know LOL) word count: <500 words author's note: SO SORRY FOR THE LATE RESPONSE!!! and also sorry if this isn't exactly what you meant and that its short. just wrote some fluff while in between tasks at work so its short for that reason. ily and thank u for the message!!! ◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤

You’ve never been good at this part.

The safe part. The part after someone says I love you and expects you to say something back. 

You’re sitting on the couch, legs stretched. Wearing his hoodie. Lando’s across from you, one arm resting on the back of the cushion, while the other grazes your thigh. Fingers rubbing smooth circles into your skin. Always touching you.

“Y’know,” He says. Teasing. “Most people smile when being spoiled.”

“Spoiled?” You narrow your eyes.

“Mhm,” He nods. Lifting your hand and pressing a kiss to it. “Bring you snacks. Kiss you like its the only thing I wanna do…which it is. Let you steal my clothes.” He grins. “And you sit there like I have you on trial.”

You roll your eyes, a soft laugh. “Always so dramatic.”

“And you’re weird about being loved.” He shoots back. “Seriously though. It’s like it hurts you.”

You shove his shoulder, and he laughs. Catches your wrist and holds it to his chest.

“Don’t be mean.”

“I’m not.” He says. Soft eyes. “Just a little confused is all.”

Your breath catches.

He keeps pushing. “Y’never ask me for a thing. Even get all shy when I compliment you. Y’act like loving you is an inconvenience…”

“It’s not,” You whisper. A little tense.

“Then what is it, you muppet?”

You’re not sure how to answer. The words just never sounding right in your head. Too vulnerable. 

“I’m just not used to it..is all.” You shrug.

And Lando’s quiet. Contemplating. Absorbing your answer. Staring straight at you with those eyes. The ones that say my God, I fucking love you.

“And that’s not your fault…like at all” He pulls you closer. Hand still holding yours to his chest. His heartbeat fluttering. Solid. Warm. “Can I tell you somethin’?”

You hesitate. Nod.

“I love you.” Voice low but full of emotion. “And like not in the halfway let’s see how it goes way. I mean like…love you love you. Like I get excited to just hear your voice. Wanna tell you instantly whenever something good or bad happens. I mean…fuck, I saw someone trip over their bag the other day and thought oh wow, she’d probably laugh at that.”

You laugh, a small smile growing on your lips. Warmth in your chest.

“You’re in my head….like all the time. And it just feels…right. Perfect.” He reaches for you, cupping your jaw. Thumb brushing your skin. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to be perfect at this…I just need you. S’that okay?”

Your eyes sting a little. Just a tiny bit. Like tears are threatening to form. And you nod.

And he leans forward, kisses you. Then kisses your nose. Fingers still brushing your cheek.

“Good,” He mumbles. “Cause you’re kind of it for me.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THIS BEAUTY!! Not only is her writings phenomenal, but she is such a sweet and kind person. I hope 24 treats you so well💗💗💗

24 🥳

I turned another year older today, and while 23 was probably the hardest year of my life, I am incredibly grateful for all that it brought me. Never in a million years did I think I would be posting online, much less reaching 700 followers... Everyone who has read my work has genuinely been so kind and amazing, and I am so grateful for all of you! Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart!

A personal thank you to @onelonelybitch for literally being the first person to ever support my work and for being such a kind and caring friend. I quite literally do not know how I would do it without you! You are truly one of a kind, and I am so lucky to have met you! You are truly everything to me!💙💙

@k-k0129 you have shown me so much love in everything I do, and I am so grateful for you! You and your Bratz reactions are my favorite things to see on a post 😂

@callsign-mirage I have gotten to know you and interact with you both on and off this site, and you are genuinely one of the sweetest people I have ever come across! I am so grateful to you for reaching out to me and for your friendship!!!!!

@maybejj you have genuinely made my time on here so unbelievably enjoyable from your amazing stories to your kind words and support! I am so grateful to have crossed your path, and will continue to do so until you are sick of me😭😂 I am so obsessed with you!!!!!

@zyafics Thank you so much for making your literally crazy set of work that finally pushed me to share my own. You gave me a sense of bravery that I have never quite been able to capture, and every interaction with you is always so fucking sweet. You are so amazing, and I am so grateful to have found you!

And to every single person who has taken the time to read, like, share, or follow along with my stories, THANK YOU! I am not a very emotional or outgoing person, but you have genuinely made my life so much better!

Here's to 24 💙

Best binge read ever!

6 to 1 | lando norris (part 12)

pairing: lando norris x leclerc!reader part 12 and final part to the 6 to 1 series (read part 1 here)

it's the first race you attend with Lando, the first time tensions are high before the race can even start, the first time your fears turn into reality because of course, it can never be easy. or can it?

word count: 6.5k tags/warning: mention of the 2022 hungarian grand prix, a lot of anxiety, alluding to driver!injury i think thats it

The end of July brought you to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix. 

It was also the first time you attended a race weekend with the intention of showing up in the paddock with a driver other than Charles. 

You spent most of Friday and Saturday in the McLaren motorhome, but now it was the race. You weren’t going to hide behind the safety of the black and orange walls. You were going to be there, in the garage, to show your support for Lando. 

But you were not prepared for how extremely out of place you would feel.

You had never spent any time in any other team’s pit except for Pierre’s one time and even then it was because you lost a bet and had to wear Alpha Tauri merch for an entire weekend. You didn’t choose to be there.

You chose to show your support for Lando this weekend. 

He wanted you there, of course, but you also wanted to be there. 

You were standing in the booth at the rear of the garage when Lando approached you from the side, hand finding your back to give you a comforting touch before he reached for his balaclava. 

There were still a few minutes before the cars had to be wheeled out to their starting positions. Lando wasn’t in any hurry to get into the cockpit, nor did he like putting himself in a position where he felt rushed or uneasy.

You, on the other hand, felt uneasy. 

That wasn’t even the right word for it. You were stressed, anxious, paranoid, on edge, literally every single thing you shouldn’t be feeling before a race. 

Lando sensed it. Maybe it was the way you didn’t lean into his touch like you normally would. Or maybe he caught the way your smile was forced on his behalf, to make it seem like you were okay. Whatever it was, Lando knew you. In a very short period of time, he knew how to recognise what you were feeling.

“Talk to me,” he said quietly, discarding the white mask on top of the booth as he rested his arms on the surface. He clasped his hands together after dragging his fingers through his hair, but his worried eyes met yours. “You’re more scared about the race than I am.”

You were careful to keep your voice down. SkySports was standing just outside the garage with a camera and for some reason those mic’s picked up absolutely everything. 

“Scared’s not the word I would use,” you spoke through a heavy inhale. You wished Lando’s loving gaze was enough to calm your nerves, but he wasn’t the only driver on the grid who had an affect on your emotions.

Lando nodded, “Feels a bit odd not standing in the Ferrari garage, yeah?”

“It just feels wrong,” you admitted. And then your hand went to cover his, eyes going wide when you realised the strength of your words, “I do want to be here, really. It’s just weird, is all. Like I should be there to talk to Charles before he puts his helmet on and tell him good luck- not saying that it’s a pre race ritual but in a way, it sort of is?” You huffed out an exasperated breath, hoping that what you were saying was making sense. “I don’t know, I’m sorry. It’s just weird that I’m at a race and I’ve said two words to Charles. Hi and bye.”

Lando turned his hands over to connect them with yours, giving your fingers a squeeze. He glanced down at his balaclava and then up at the screen where F1TV was playing. When the image changed from a close up on Lewis to one of Charles standing in the back of the garage, in a nearly identical spot to where you stood in McLaren, you both noticed the way Charles’ normally calm demeanour was replaced with one that, again, was nearly identical to yours.

“You know, I never really thought you two looked alike,” Lando muttered, but in this moment you could have been twins. 

The agitation was clear on both of your faces. Eyes glossed over with guilt and uncertainty as neither of you knew what to say to the other but both finding your lack of presence in the garage to be way too noticeable and foreign for your own good.

Lando looked at you, nodding his head in the direction of the pit lane, “You should go there.”

“I want to be here,” you told him. You were certain about that. 

“You don’t need to stay there,” Lando reminded you. He took a quick look at the screen. “There’s still a few minutes before either of us have to get in the cars. I’m sure he’d appreciate you telling him good luck.”

That thought had crossed your mind, just stopping by and returning back to McLaren. But if you did that, how would Charles take it? Would he see it as a pity pop-in? Would he think that would be your version of an apology? Even though you had absolutely nothing to apologise for. You didn’t know what would go through his head, but you could count on him somehow turning it around and blaming your quick hello as the catalyst if he were to have a poor race.

Lando sensed your hesitation and instead of trying to convince you further to go and say something to your brother, he gave you the opportunity to look at it from a different perspective. 

“You know, maybe Charles is thinking the same thing?” He told you. “It’s probably just as weird for him knowing that you’re at the race but haven’t said anything. I’m not saying you have to apologise, you shouldn’t apologise, but-” he licked his lips, eyes darting up to the screen again. “If you’re the one who’s saying he shouldn’t bring his personal problems onto the track, don’t you think you should do the same?”

That thought hadn’t crossed your mind.

A sliver of a smile teased the corner of his lips. “You can be a supportive sister and still be mad at him. Just like you can be my girlfriend and his biggest fan. You’re not trapped in a box. None of us are.”

Your eyebrows raised, “Girlfriend? Did I miss-” you pointed at him and then around the general area. “-did I miss something? Did a grand gesture happen?”

Lando rolled his eyes, leaning forward to bump his elbow against your arm before he nodded towards the pit lane once more, “Go wish your brother good luck.”

You eventually gave in and nodded. Lando took the bright orange headset that rested around your neck and placed it on the booth, making sure to brush his thumb across your cheek as he did so. You agreed, no annoying acts of PDA in the paddock, but he couldn’t help but find any reason to touch you. 

“I’ll be right back,” you assured him and you grazed your hand across his back, another small but simple gesture to show that you also couldn’t keep your hands off him, before you used the rear doors to sneak out of the McLaren garage. 

There were anxious butterflies in your stomach when you pulled on the door handle to Ferrari. The same last-minute chaos was present in the garage like usual, but it didn’t take long for you to find Charles, standing next to his car, chatting with Xavi. 

Strangely enough, when he spotted you, it felt similarly wrong to be standing in that garage. Like you didn’t belong, and you had just experienced that same dilemma in McLaren. You hated that feeling, as though you didn’t belong anywhere. 

But Charles didn’t ignore you. He didn’t turn back to you and leave you with that sinking feeling in your chest. He excused himself from Xavi and walked towards you, fiddling with the racing gloves in his hands. 

“I just wanted to say good luck,” you blurted out, like ripping off a bandaid. You said it, now you could leave. And you started to, you stepped backwards, ready to head towards McLaren again. 

Charles stopped you.

“Thank you,” he nodded, smiling a little. “You’re ah- you’re at McLaren?”

It was your turn to nod, “Yeah it’s less chaotic over there, believe it or not. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” When the end of your sentence flowed into soft laughter, Charles joined in, rubbing his lips to possibly try and hide that he found your words humorous.

You hated this, the awkward small talk with your own brother. 

His demeanour shifted, his shoulders tensed as he inhaled a sharp breath. Whatever was on his mind, whatever he wanted to say, he had been sitting on it for a while. Maybe since you left dinner so abruptly. 

And yes, you wanted to clear the air with your brother, but now was not the time to do it. Not when he was minutes away from climbing into the car. You both learned your lesson last time. 

“I’ll see you after the race,” You told him, preventing him from opening the door to a new conversation. This was the moment when you had to separate your brother from the driver and right now, he was a driver. 

Charles nodded as someone handed him his racing helmet. You wished him good luck once more and shared a smile before you made your way back to the McLaren garage, feeling much lighter now.

Lando noticed it, he noticed the lack of tension in your features as he reached for his helmet that was left on the booth. He gave you a thumbs up from across the garage and you reciprocated it before cupping your hand around your mouth and calling out a quick ‘good luck’ to him as well.

You were certainly feeling better going into the race, but it didn’t take long for the nerves to return.

As you watched the first few laps, you suddenly remembered why you gave yourself the no dating drivers rule. You were anxious enough as it was with your, somewhat, strained relationship with Charles, but as his sister, you still hoped for his success.

And now you were watching with caution every time Lando made a move as well. Everytime he locked up into a corner, every time he went in too deep, everytime his race was at risk. 

You didn’t like the constant back and forth, wanting to keep up with what both Lando and Charles were doing at the same time, holding your breath for each of them, feeling twice the amount of stress build up to the point where you thought you needed to vomit.

It didn’t help when at lap six, there had already been a yellow flag brought out due to a minor incident involving Yuki, but now you were watching the lap 12 replay of Nyck de Vries spinning out into the barrier. At first, you thought he’d be able to reverse and get himself to the pits but when the red flags were called due to the damage to the front portion of his car and all the drivers started to return to the pits, you felt even more anxious.

There would have to be a restart. 

Turn 1 at the Hungaroring stressed you out enough. You remembered the 2021 grand prix here when nearly six cars had to retire from an accident that took place at that first corner on the first lap. You thought that the drivers were all safe this time when no big moves were made and everyone made it through that corner without any damage.

Now they had to do it all over again. Elbows were going to be up this time, the drivers’ were undoubtedly going to make some risky, or dumb, moves. 

The red flag brought all of the drivers out of their respective cars. Lando sent you a thumbs up from across the garage, but that was about all he could give you at this given time. His attention went towards the mini impromptu briefing in regards to how to go about the last three quarters of this race.

You tried to tell yourself that, as horrible as Nyck’s red flag was, maybe it was the one incident this race would have. How likely was it that something else would occur? 

The twisting knot in your stomach told you not to get your hopes up.

You were watching the broadcast for a bit, trying to pass the time and not think about what could go wrong when you felt a hand on your waist. 

“Be careful,” you said, eyes filled with worry as you turned towards Lando. 

“Be careful?” he repeated with a chuckle, “It’s just a restart, everything’s fine. Car’s fine, I’m good, I just want to race.”

But you couldn’t explain it. Deep in your gut you just knew there was room for mistakes, that something was going to go wrong on this restart. These drivers were eager to get back in their cars and keep fighting and that’s when their margin of error grew. 

“Just be careful,” you repeated, pressing your palm to the side of his face, thumb brushing over the skin of his cheek. Lando knew better than to make a joke at this moment, seeing how paranoid you were and he just nodded before he was ultimately called away. 

That horrible gut feeling only grew when the drivers got back in their cars. You watched, holding your breath as they lined up in the starting positions, ready for the safety car to take them on a formulation lap.

When they were finally back on the grid, your heart was racing. Lando was starting from seventh. Charles in fourth. The red lights lit up one by one and then they were off. 

Max got off beautifully, even you could admit that, but that was maybe the only positive thing to take away from this restart. 

George nicked the back of Carlos’ car and sent him spinning. Lewis’ reaction time was fast and he avoided the Ferrari but he couldn’t avoid Checo who had locked up ahead of him right before turn one. Somehow, in this chaos, Lando managed to swerve to the side and narrowly miss the collisions. 

The same couldn’t be said for Charles. 

There wasn’t much he could do when the unfortunate series of events caused Checo to spin and block Charles’ Ferrari, colliding into the red side pod and sending car number 16 into the air before ultimately flipping upside down onto the gravel.

You watched with that painful, sinking feeling as Charles slid into the barriers. Very reminiscent of Zhou’s crash in Silverstone the previous year, but now it was your brother who found himself in this situation. Upside down in the cockpit.

And you had no idea if he was okay. 

It wasn’t like you were wearing one of the Ferrari headsets and could listen to Xavi’s radio message, asking Charles to confirm he was okay. You were standing in the McLaren garage, hand over your mouth and had to wait like everyone else. 

This was the moment you were referring to that night in Montreal. The moment when your world stopped.

You had to grip onto the booth, feeling your legs start to weaken beneath you. You just needed to know he was okay. For the love of god why hadn’t they broadcasted anything yet? Why hadn’t they announced he was fine? Why haven’t the marshals pulled him out of the car? Why wasn’t Charles climbing out of the seat?

These were the slowest seconds of your life. 

Your lungs were failing you. Your heart was pounding out of your chest. Your eyes were glued to the screen and all you wanted was to scream for someone to tell you that he was fucking fine. 

As you watched the broadcast, a close up on your face appeared in a square on the side of the screen. You had no idea you were crying, or that there was even a camera on you until Jolyon Palmer’s fucking voice pointed it out.

“...Leclerc’s sister watches on like the rest of us from the McLaren garage- oh and it appears one of the McLarens is also in the gravel, is that Lando’s car? I believe it is, but he’s not- he avoided the collision, didn’t he-”

Alex Jacques interjected, “He’s getting out of the car! Lando Norris is sprinting across the gravel towards the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc-”

His voice became background noise as you watched the scene unfold. Lando, who got away relatively fine with very little or possibly no damage, could have continued the race but he had gotten out of his McLaren and was now bent down next to the open cockpit of Charles’ car. 

Lando lifted his head, waving the marshals over who had taken way too long to show up, in your opinion. Or maybe you just felt as though they were moving slowly because everything else was. 

You saw Lando reach in and pull the steering wheel from the car and then finally, the black glove belonging to Charles grabbed onto Lando’s hand, needing his assistance to be pulled out from behind the halo. 

There was a collective sigh of relief from the entire McLaren garage, probably from the entire paddock honestly. Even as the marshals showed up, Lando refused to step aside. Even when Charles stood up, Lando kept his hand on the Ferrari driver's back and used his other hand to point to the safety car that was pulling up. 

Charles pulled his helmet off, even though he was most definitely advised to keep it on for the time being. As the camera focused on his features, it was impossible to miss how shaken up he was from that crash. He wasn’t angry that everything out of his control caused him to retire from the race, he was scared. 

His life flashed before his eyes, you couldn’t blame him.

He said something to Lando, nodding his head slightly and the tension lines in his forehead seemed to reside, just for a moment. 

Lando patted his shoulder, happy to see that a fellow driver was walking away from this incident with minor injuries. He’d have to retire, they both would. The second that Lando made the decision to get out of the car, he forfeited his race. It was one of the rules brought on by the FIA, one that didn’t even cross his mind. 

All he cared about was making sure Charles was okay.

Lando didn’t need to join Charles in the safety car, but he did and Charles was probably thankful for it, that a familiar face would be with him as he was being transported to the medical centre. 

You ditched the orange headset and sprinted out of the garage. The medical centre was just on the other side of the garages and you were certain you looked a little insane as you ran as though you were competing in a marathon, but you didn’t care. 

There was security outside the medical centre, of course there was. The drivers needed their privacy as they were being checked over, but you didn’t expect to be denied entry. Charles was your brother. 

“Oh come on,” you scoffed, sounding a bit frantic as you gestured to the doors. “He’s my brother! I need to make sure he’s okay, that he’s-”

And then the door opened from the inside and a very dishevelled Lando, still in his drivers suit, was standing there. He had heard you, it was impossible to not hear you with the way you were making a scene. He told the guard you were fine to come in and reluctantly, he stepped aside.

As thankful as you were that Lando was there to vouch for you, your attention was solely on Charles. You didn’t take a second to thank Lando for getting out of the car, you barely even acknowledged him as you ran down the hall to the examining room.

Before you could open the door you took a peek through the small window and saw him sitting on the edge of the examining bed. He was given the chance to change out of his drivers suit and opted for a baggy Puma shirt and sweats. He sat still as the doctor checked him over, answering the questions with head nods or quiet ‘no’s’.

You told yourself you had to be patient. The last thing he or the doctor needed was you barging in. 

You leaned against the wall and forced yourself to slow down, to really process what hell just happened in such a short amount of time. Raising your hand to your cheeks, you finally wiped away the last bit of tears that had been stuck in the corner of your eyes.

“He’s okay.”

Looking down the hall you saw Lando making his way towards you. His intention was to give you a few minutes alone with Charles before joining you, but when you didn’t go inside the room and instead slumped yourself against the wall, Lando couldn’t just leave you.

Lando reached for your hand and gently tugged you into his chest, wrapping his arms around your body.

It was comforting and it was what you needed right now.

“He’s okay,” Lando repeated, hand moving to stroke your hair. “Everyone’s okay, he’s a little shaken up but he’ll be fine.”

Lando pulled back slightly and took hold of your jaw, titling your face up. He brushed his thumbs under your puffy eyes, forcing himself to smile in assurance despite knowing how traumatising this was, not just for Charles but for your entire family. 

Speaking of family, Arthur was the next Leclerc to run into the medical centre. Having been here this weekend as well for F2, he had seen it all as well. Not from the garage, he wasn’t there during the actual race, but he was still in the paddock and experienced the exact same feelings you had. 

Lando stepped aside, letting you embrace your brother, both of you taking comfort in knowing that Charles was going to be fine. 

“As-tu parlé à maman? Enzo?” Have you spoken to mom? Enzo? You asked, slowly feeling your trembling body start to settle itself. Enzo was somewhere in the paddock as well, usually he watched from the Ferrari garage but he was nowhere to be found now. 

Arthur glanced at Lando and then at you, “Enzo’s on the phone with maman. When he knew Charles was safe, he called her.”

“Good,” you nodded. Enzo was probably the best option to calm your mother down and assure her everything was fine. You were still struggling to come to your senses and Arthur seemed to be about as loss for words as you were. 

When the doctor stepped out of the room, she wasn’t at all surprised to see a whole family affair happening outside the doors. She simply told you he was all clear but needed to stay in the bed for the remainder of the afternoon just to monitor his symptoms.

All you needed was the go-ahead to see him and once you were given a thumbs up, you pushed past the doctor to tackle Charles back onto the hospital bed he was trying to sit up in. Arthur joined as well, arms going around both of your bodies as Charles patted you both, or at least tried to with his restricted movements. 

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Charles told you through a chuckle, “Je le promets, je vais bien.” I promise, I’m fine. 

“It was terrifying, mate,” Arthur said on your behalf when you both stepped back to give Charles some space to breathe. “Upside down across the gravel-” he shook his head, “You’re lucky, is what you are.”

Charles nodded, there was no denying how grateful he should be, being able to walk away with very minor injuries. 

“My radio disconnected, I tried letting Xavi know I was okay but nothing was going through.”

God maybe it was better you didn’t have a Ferrari headset on. If you had to listen to Xavi calling to Charles asking for a response and not getting anything back, you probably would have ran out to the track yourself. 

“Did the race start again? Who's still in?” Charles asked, of course he was concerned about the race. 

Neither you nor Arthur had an answer though.

“All I know is George somehow caused five drivers to retire, including himself,” Arthur said, and then he counted on his fingers. “You, him, Carlos, Lewis and Checo.”

“And Lando,” Charles added without missing a beat. His eyes went directly to you. You hadn’t said a word since you entered the room, but what was there to say? 

This was your biggest fear and it could have gone so much worse. You were too dumbfounded to hear that Charles was going to be walking away after this to even think about anything else.

And that included Lando. 

“Lando’s car is fine,” Arthur pointed out.

“FIA rules,” you said with a swallow. “If you get out of the car-"

"-you abandon your race," Charles finished, a sliver of guilt crossed his face. He didn’t ask for Lando to help him, nor was Lando even slightly involved. He took it upon himself to check on the Monegasque driver. 

“Is he out there?” Charles asked, glancing at the door.

Truthfully, you didn’t know if Lando had stayed. It wouldn’t have surprised you if he went back to the McLaren garage. But when you opened the door and saw him sitting out in the hall, foot tapping against the floor, you put your hand on his shoulder and encouraged him with a nod to follow you into Charles’ room.

Lando kept his hand connected with yours, or maybe you refused to release the grip you had on his fingers, but his attention went to Charles.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Lando said what everyone else had been thinking this whole time.

Charles could have nodded in response. He could have said ‘same’ or ‘thanks’ anything, really. One word would have sufficed. 

But Charles looked at Lando and asked, “Why’d you get out of your car?”

The question wasn’t malicious. He wasn’t by any means upset that Lando did what he did. It was more personal curiosity, why would another driver sacrifice his own race? Why would Lando, someone who could have continued on and had a pretty successful race following the multiple retirements, stop his car and climb out?

“I think the better question is, why didn’t anyone else?” Lando answered, squeezing your hand. “Yes, we’re drivers but at the end of the day we’re just people. If I had crashed like that and no one came to check on me, I’d question the integrity of the grid.” 

Lando looked at you and then looked between the Leclerc brothers. All of you were wondering the same thing.

Would Charles have stopped for Lando if the situation was reversed? 

You prayed they would never find themselves in that situation again, but it was a question you would all be thinking about. Charles, especially. 

Lando didn’t stop for your sake. Sure, you were most definitely on his mind when he saw the way Charles’ flipped onto the gravel, but his thought process was not ‘I need to check on him because I’m dating his sister.’ Lando, in the goodness of his own heart, knew what needed to be done. He knew how terrifying it would be for Charles to hang upside in the cockpit, alone, probably anticipating impact from another car. 

Lando didn’t care about the race. He cared about Charles. Just like he cared about you and Oscar and Carlos and every single person he ever interacted with, had even the briefest relationship with. Lando was a good guy. 

He didn’t need to prove that to anyone, but he did. 

And Charles finally saw that. He could separate the driver from his friend. He could see Lando as a rival on the track and at the end of the day, still respect him as the person you chose to go home to.

“I really am glad you’re okay,” Lando said, a smile curling up on his lips. “I should get back to McLaren though- let me know if you need anything? I’m sure we both have to fill out incident reports or some shit.”

They exchanged a laugh and Lando leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead before retreating out of the room. All of you waited until he was definitely out of earshot before Arthur was the one to break the silence, letting out the most exasperating breath ever as he gestured towards where Lando just stood.

“Are you still on your high horse or do you finally give them your blessing?” Arthur asked, earning a smile from you in response. 

Charles licked his lips, rolling his eyes in a very similar fashion to how you would, “They don’t need my blessing. They would have dated regardless.”

You nodded, agreeing with everything he had just said. Charles would not have been the one to separate you two. 

But it would certainly be nice to know he approved. It would be easier to breathe the next time you thought about inviting Lando to a family dinner. You didn’t want to have to fight with yourself when it came to choosing what garage to stand in during a race. You didn’t want there to be sides anymore.

As you stood there, waiting for Charles to say something that hinted towards him not having a problem with your relationship, it hit you that Charles was more stubborn than you gave him credit for. He would probably never give a verbal approval.

But his stare told a different story. The way he glanced at the door behind you. The realisation in his eyes when he thought about the way you leaned into Lando’s touch before he left the room. The look Charles gave you told you that he could see how happy that McLaren driver made you, that he knew there was no point in fighting it.

So he didn’t have to say anything, you knew. 

You stayed in that room for the rest of the afternoon, even though Arthur did tell you that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you went and found Lando. Charles didn’t even tense up when he suggested it. 

But you stayed seated next to Charles’ bed, Arthur on his other side as you watched the race restart for the third time. Enzo joined you not long after and he sat down next to you, nudging your side and asking where Lando was, as if it was odd that he wasn’t there.

“I’ll find him later,” you said, but later would turn out to be way after the race when you finally made it back to the hotel. 

Lando had texted you just before the race ending, asking if you were getting a ride back to the hotel with your brother. He also checked in on Charles, making sure he was still, in his words, ‘alive and nowhere closer to the drivers championship’. Charles rolled his eyes when he read that text over your shoulder.

Lando knew how important family was to you, even during the uncertain times. That’s why he wasn’t upset in the slightest that you spent the rest of the race with your brothers. He could separate you, the girl he was waiting to call his girlfriend, from the girl whose brother was a Formula 1 driver.

He knew what he was getting into when he looked at you differently all those weeks ago, he knew he’d have to share you, that this would only make all three of your lives a little more chaotic, but he still looked at you.

And god was he glad he did. 

You returned to the hotel and told Charles to call you if you needed anything before heading up the elevator to the room you and Lando were sharing for the weekend. As you looked into your purse to find your room key, something on the carpeted hotel floor caught your eye.

A white flower petal. Just one. 

And then another just a few feet ahead.

And then a dozen more that you didn’t pick them up, but you followed the wavy line of them all the way to the door to your suite, which had been propped open by a deadbolt lock preventing the door from shutting all the way.

You pushed it open only to see full daisies attached to their stems on the floor this time, also in a line that you followed down the hall and around the corner. You were starting to imagine what was waiting for you behind the bedroom door, but never in your wildest dreams would you have pictured this.

Lando standing at the edge of a bed, not in one of his own Quadrant t-shirts for a change but a form fitting black button down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and just enough of his chest showing that you had to remind yourself there was more to look at. 

On top of the bed was a box of pizza, but it was flipped open and it was mouthwatering. It wasn’t some random box he picked up at a shop on the way back to the hotel, this gourmet pizza looked like it cost a pretty penny. 

On the side table were two glasses, wine glasses of course, but next to an unopened bottle of Perrier because Lando didn’t drink wine but you both had no complaints about sparkling water. 

Most importantly, in his hand was a bouquet of daisies, beautifully wrapped in brown paper. 

And it finally clicked.

“I thought I’d redo our first date,” Lando said quietly as you walked towards him.

The pizza, the flowers, the sparkling water. Everything that was in attendance that first night he came to your place, unannounced and unwelcome but somehow it ended up being the most beautiful start of these whirlwind couple of months. 

“That wasn’t a date,” you teased as Lando handed you the bouquet. 

“Agree to disagree,” same words too. 

Lando snaked his arm around your back, hand spread across the thin fabric of your shirt as he pulled you against his chest. You draped an arm over his shoulders, careful not to drop the flowers as two very similar smirks grew on both of your faces. 

Lando stopped himself from kissing you, instead letting his lips hover over yours as he quieted his voice, “Do I really have to ask?”

“Yes.”

He squinted, something he did when his smile grew. You loved the lines around his eyes, the creases in his forehead when he was undeniably happy. It meant so much more knowing you were the reason for his bright features.

Lando took a breath before your first and last name passed through his lips. His hand moved further up your back and even though you knew what was happening, your heart was still racing, in the way you wanted it to this time. 

“Will you-” he paused, rolling his eyes at how naive this all sounded, but he carried on because he knew it was what you wanted. “Will you, please, be my girlfriend?”

Your eyebrows twitched, “Oh, you’re begging?”

Lando turned his head, “Okay, you know what, I take it back-”

Before he could finish the rest of that sentence you cupped the side of his face and pulled his lips to yours. Lando’s grip on your back pulled you tighter against his body as the daisies slipped from your hand and onto the edge of the bed. 

“Of course I’ll be your girlfriend,” you muttered against his lips, kissing him quickly once more. 

Lando was blushing at your response, but his grin shifted into yet another smirk. One with an ulterior motive, one that had you slightly cautious.

“Would now be a bad time to tell you I only checked on Charles because I knew it would move me up your driver ranking?”

You pulled back and stared up at him, jaw slack as he held his hand over his stomach and laughed at his own words.

“I’m kidding!” He assured you, blurting that out before you could really question his motives. “I promise, I’m kidding. I really did want to make sure he was okay."

“Well now I don’t believe you,” you scoffed, but you only said it to get under his skin in response. 

You could tell when Lando was being honest and you could tell when he was simply making a joke. Granted, maybe now was not an ideal time to make a joke, but him being able to make you smile, even a little bit, after witnessing something as traumatic as Charles’ crash, was what you needed. 

Lando being there to support you, to be the shoulder you needed, to be someone who only had your well being, and apparently your brothers’ wellbeing, in mind, was all you ever needed. 

“I don’t think you’ll ever surpass my own brother on the ranking,” you admitted with a sly grin as he twisted a strand of your hair around your finger, tilting your face upwards again as he listened to your final ranking. There was some truth to it. Charles would always be up there, but there were never any rules against ties. “But you can share the number on spot with him.”

Lando licked his lips, “What about number one in your heart?”

Your head dipped forehead against his chest as you laughed at his words, more specifically how quick he was to get them out, like he was waiting for a reason to use that line.

“That was so cheesy,” you said, still laughing. “Like, horribly cheesy. I-should-walk-out-of-this-room kind of cheesy.”

And you pretended to, taking a step towards the door, careful of the daisies at your feet. But Lando didn’t let you go anywhere. His grip on your hand tightened and he pulled you back to him, where you both knew you belonged.

“You loved it,” he teased, his smile only growing at your eye roll. 

“I did,” you admitted quietly with a reluctant sight. “I loved it.” You took a breath, looking at the set up he had created in your absence. “I love this, I love-” and then your eyes darted up to meet his again. 

Lando Norris. The driver turned friend turned something more. In such a short period of time, he became one of the most important people in your life. His teasing, his jokes, his stupid driver ranking plan. 

He was someone, that from day one, you should have known you were going to fall in love with. Since the day he decided to make it his mission to move up your list of favourite drivers.

But it was okay that you weren’t there yet, that you looked up at him and choked on that endearing phrase, shutting your mouth instead. Saying those three words took time, trust, effort. This was still so new.

Besides, after working his way up from sixth to, a tied, first, Lando needed a new mission now anyway. 

And getting you to fall in love with him seemed like the perfect one.

-----

six months later

landonorris

liked by carlossainz55, ynleclerc and 576,102 others

tagged: ynleclerc

landnorris happy 6 months to the girl who once said i was her sixth favourite driver

view all 16, 530 comments

ynleclerc i love u

charles_leclerc don't get too cocky mate you can easily drop back down the ranking

carlossainz55 remember when i was her second favourite?

pierregasly why is this the first i'm hearing about a driver ranking

ynleclerc because you were booted to last place landonorris just like the driver standings pierregasly 🖕🏼🖕🏼

danielricciardo i approve of this relationship

the end :')

thank u everyone for the support while this intended 6 part series turned in 12 parts ♡ i hope u all fell a little bit in love w lando norris bc i sure did - also make sure to check out my other work here (ps i cant wait to start a new fic hehe)

taglist: @moneymasnn@thotd-f1@masonspulisic @mcmuppet@f1-futurewag-16-3-4-63 @alilstressyandlotdepressy @themisric @happydazzz123 @moonxblossom @norrisleclercf1@scarlettisconfused@sbgal@e-lisa-bettan@harrysdimple05@ophcelia@alesainz@fandomxs1@majx00@sbgal@mehrmonga@themockingjayreader@f1mockingjay@topguncultleader@lclrnelliluvs@moonxblossom@dr3lover@andrewgarfields-girlfriend@tsarinablogs@noescapricho-essentimiento@f1mockingjay@xqueenslytherinxif i missed someone im so sorry

The Phantom Whisperer (JATP)

Chapter Three: You Can See Us

Summary: After seeing Julie perform with the boys. Maddie has a lot to think about.

Maddie knew that Julie was in something way better than she could have ever imagined. Maybe this could be the day. What if she could finally find a way to reconnect with Julie. Maddie knew she needed a lot of strength to bring herself in front of Julie after nearly a year of nothing between them. This brought to the position Maddie was in now.     

                In the hall near the gym, Maddie paced back and forth. After the performance, she blended in with the crowd to get out. Maddie was trying to wrap her head around the whole situation. How was she supposed to just walk up to Julie. What would she even say? “Oh, hey Julie! Sorry for disappearing, how did you end up with a ghost band?” No, there was no way to just come out and say that. Julie never even knew that Maddie could see spirits, and she wasn’t sure how to explain it all now. Closing her eyes and deciding to just hold off for the moment, Maddie shook her head. Nope, not today. So, she began to make her way back to class.

                Turning around the corner, Maddie came face to face with the three boys who were just on stage. Freezing in her place, Maddie held her breath. Their back was to her as they cheered together. Their excitement from playing moments ago showing through the way they jumped around. Luke, Alex, and Reggie too in their own World couldn’t see the girl standing a few feet away. Maddie got control of her feet again and started to back away slowly. Her shoes squeaked causing the boys to whip around. Three sets of eyes fell upon her mortified face.

                “You! You can see us!” Alex threw his finger up pointing at her. Maddie shook her head quickly as Luke and Reggie stepped closer. “I told you guys that she looked at us.” Alex quickly looked at the boys before turning back towards Maddie. They couldn’t believe that someone could finally see them outside of Julie, and a few moments ago when they were on stage.

                “No! I can’t,” Maddie screwed her eyes shut, knowing that responding confirmed it completely to the boys. They all scrambled trying to get closer as she threw her arms up stopping them. “I’m sorry, please just stay there.” Maddie let out a stressed sigh. She couldn’t so this right now. With all the Julie stuff, she wasn’t ready to jump into trying to figure out how to deal with three new ghosts who knew she could see them. Oh boy, she needed to talk to Willie.

                “How can you see us?” Luke jumped in first. He was still riding the high from earlier and couldn’t help but feel this day just kept getting better and better. So many questions flowing through his head that he couldn’t keep in. “How are you able to that? Do you see other ghosts? Did you see us perform? How is this possible.”

                See, this is why Maddie avoided letting other spirits know she could see them. All the questions and hope that they got always got trashed. She had no answers, and it always bad her feel worse. She knew nothing that could help them. So, it was better to steer clear.  Maddie looked at the boys seeing the exasperation in their eyes.                

                “I don’t know how I’m sorry.” Maddie looked down. The trio shared a look feeling confused. “Look I really need to get to class. I wish I knew more.” She quickly walked around them heading for class. Just as she was able to turn the corner, Julie walked into the hallway in front of the boys. They pushed it away for the moment to congratulate Julie. They would table the new information for now.

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                After school had finally ended Maddie hastily made her way to where she knew Willie hung out often. Looking around for the long-haired boy she couldn’t see him.

                “Woah! Look out Mads!” Willie road up beside her on his skateboard. His smile contagious as she smiled back. He took his helmet off and sat on the nearby bench. “How was school?”

                Maddie began to pace in front of him, “Willie, I saw these three boys and they know I can see them now! What am I supposed to do?? They’re friends with Julie, what am I going to do now. It was hard enough skating around her before, but of she finds out that I can see them then I’m going to be in trouble!” Maddie threw her arms up as she rambled on. Willie stood up putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her wild movements.       

                “Calm down!” He moved her to sit. “Okay first off, I might have actually met one of the boys I think.” His words causing Maddie to throw her head back. She let out a groan.    

                “What do you mean you might’ve met one of them?” This whole situation giving her a headache. People who walked by giving her a strange look not knowing she wasn’t talking to herself. Her bad day not letting her care as she gives them a glare that kept them walking. Today was just not her day.

                “Well, while you were in school, I ran into a guy, quite literally, and he might have mentioned that he played with Julie. Don’t worry! I played it cool. I haven’t met Julie so it’s not like I was completely lying to him.” Willie had heard you talk about the girl who used to be close to him, but never saw her himself. He just knew what you had confided in him about. Alex seemed like a cool person so he was sure that Maddie wouldn’t be too bad off having him see her. Willie hadn’t mentioned her at all during their conversation, but the stories lined up enough for him to know it was Alex and his friends Maddie saw.

                “Willie it’s just a lot all at once, I haven’t even been able to bring myself to face Julie. What if she’s mad at me, and now since I can see her bandmates, what if this causes a bigger problem?” Maddie looked at Willie. He could see the worry written on her face. He pulled her into a hug.

                “Hey, I’m sure that Julie would just be happy to have you back in her life.” He said as he rubbed her back. “Maybe, this could be the thing to bring you guys back together.” Willie tried to reason. Maddie knew that he could be right. She just needed to finally talk to Julie.

                “So…….you thought he was cute huh.” Maddie didn’t even have to see Willie’s face to know he was smiling. He laughed and shoved her shoulder away. “All I’m saying is that there’s worse ghosts to spend time with.” Her words were true, not too many of the ghosts around here were their age or had a cute smile like Alex.

                “I just met the guy, Mads! He’s still figuring it all out.” Willie knew that Maddie could read him like a book.

                “Yeah, and maybe, he could use a little help from a not so bad looking skater guy I know.” Maddie sent him a wink, feeling her mood already lifting. These boys could maybe be good for both of them. Willie shook his head standing back up.

                “You’re trouble.” He placed board down mounting it. Maddie waved him off and stood up as well. Grabbing her backpack from the ground, giving him a smile as she flung it over her shoulder.

                “I keep you feeling alive,” She gave him a funny look. As Maddie began to walk away, Willie shot her a look back, seeing the humor in her words. They said goodbye as Maddie felt a bit lighter having gotten a better outlook on the situation. All she knew was that many conversations needed to happen between her, Julie, and those boys.

Author's Note: This chapter is setting up a lot for the next one, so it'll be long one. Maybe we'll see some good moments of Maddie talking to Alex about a certain crush he has.