F1 One shots

Some promises get broken, others are kept forever (part 1) ~ Charles Leclerc

Charles Pov
"Promise me this is forever." Her shiny eyes looked up at me in the rain. "Forever. I promise." I hugged her tightly.

My heart ached at the memories. We were built on promises. Some got broken, some were kept. It still hurts. We drifted apart and that's mostly my fault. Whenever I got more succesfull in Formula 1, she drifted further away. Eventually I got too busy. We fought over it sometimes. Then the accident happened. I tried getting to her as fast as I could, but I wasn't at her side when she woke up. That was the last I saw of her. My friendship with Max also disappeared at that moment. Max and her were best friends and he was pissed at me for 'Breaking her heart'.

I never understood how I broke her heart. We were just friends. But then Lando came to me about Carlos. Carlos was my teammate now, but he didn't blame me. I remember the conversation like yesterday.

"How is Carlos holding up?" I smiled at the young driver. "He's okay, we get along well." I tried smiling. "What's wrong Charles, I know somethings up." I gave him a sad smile. "It's just- you know how me and her drifted apart right?" He gave me a nod. "Well... Max said something about that I broke her heart and I don't really understand. We were just friends and even if we were more, she had every opportunity to tell me. I told her about 3 times." He thought for a second before starting to talk.

"Charles, it's possible you meant way more to her then that. But even if you two were just friends, friends can break your heart too. I had it with Carlos. Carlos is my best friend. When he made the move to Ferrari I felt so betrayed and it broke my heart. But then we talked it out and we are even closer then before. Maybe that's what you should do. Talk."

'Friends can break your heart too...' it rings in my ears every day. Talking is not something I'm good at. Maybe I should start with Max. So that's what I was going to do. I found myself at the RedBull garage as he walked towards me with an angry expression. "What the hell do you think you're doing here Leclerc?!" I put my hand on his chest before he could shove me. "I just want to talk." The anger didn't disappear from his face, but he backed off. "Okay. Talk." Typical Max, always so straight forward.

"I want to know how she's doing. Max you have to understand. I never meant for us to drift apart. If I tell you why, will you keep your mouth shut? Cause I think if you knew the reason, you'd understand. And Max you are one of my only friends. And so is she." His face softened a little as he pulled me into his driver room. "Okay, what's happening Charles? Are you okay?" His face showed a hint of worry and I teared up a bit. "No, not really."

"Max, I- I went to see a doctor. Just to get some things checked out. I had some chest pains but I didn't actually expect anything to be wrong. They did some scans and it turns out my heart is losing function. It's not going that fast luckily, but they have to find a new heart or- well..." his eyes widened. He hugged me setting me down. "How long do you have?" I looked down. "With a bit of luck another 2 years... I have to stop racing. At least for a while. I don't want to stop. This year is my chance at the world title. So I am finishing this season and then going on leave."

He looked at me concerned. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean what if it makes it worse..." I smiled at him sadly. "Would you do anything different?" He chuckled. "No, you're right. Just be careful okay? And make sure to call her to tell her what's going on." He winked at me as I left the garage. More promises flooded my mind.

"Don't ever get sick again, I had to be all alone at school idiot." She punched my chest lightly. "I can't promise that, but I'll never leave you alone again, I promise." I chuckled.

"Promise to be careful?" I smiled at her concern before getting into the car. "Always."

"Let's never go to hospitals again." Tears were in her eyes as we exited the hospital.

"It's okay if you don't feel the same. I promise I'll love and wait for you." I softly kissed her head

Promises. Promises. Promises. Some were broken, but that last one always remained. I dialed her number. When it stopped ringing I whispered a soft "Hey." I heard her sigh from the other side. "What do you want Charles?" Her voice seemed so distant. So tired. "I just wanted to tell you that-" I looked at the ground. "Tell me what?" A hint of hope was shown in her voice. It made me break. I let out a sob. "Are you crying...? Charles what's wrong?" I tried keeping it in. "Can you please just fly here? I'll book you a ticket and everything else you need, I just really need to hug and see you right now."

"Charles, Max already texted me. I'm already on my way okay? Can you hold on a little longer? Just a few hours, then we will talk it out." I smiled through my tears. "Yeah, okay, see you in a few hours." I got into my car as the race was about to start. Before I sat down Max and I made eye contact. I mouthed 'Thank you.' to him as he gave me a nod.