Love and Rivalry {Female F1 driver}

Just friends

After having spent some time at the Red Bull garage, I decided to make my way back to Ferrari. I had promised Charles to be there and cheer him on, so I would. When I made it back, he and Carlos were both in their suits, speaking with their strategists. As I approached them, Charles noticed me and it was like his face lit up. 

"I didn't think you'd be here!" He hurried over to me. "You asked me to be here, you know? Want me to go, 'cause I ca-" I said teasingly, but he interrupted me mid-sentence by wrapping his arms around me. "No, I'm glad you're here!" I chuckled and hugged him back, giving him a pat on the back. "Good luck, Charles." I smiled as he pulled away to look at me. He was visibly very happy, which made me feel all sorts of things inside. I loved seeing him like this.

"With you here, nothing could go wrong." I felt blood rush to my face, but I just rolled my eyes to play it off. "You're too cheesy, Leclerc." I hit him lightly on the shoulder. "Come on, you love it, Carter." He said with a smirk before sending a wink my way. 

He then was handed his helmet, and it was time for him to get out on the grid and get ready. I gave him a smile and a thumbs-up as he sat down in his car, and then he was off with Carlos following right behind. 

Charles ended up in P4 in qualifying, when he came towards me on the grid, smiling brightly, carrying his helmet. "P4 baby!" He exclaimed and I returned his smile. "Well done!" I replied and he gave me a quick hug before he was handed a water bottle. "Must be my lucky charm," He said with a glint in his eye, making me laugh.

I was about to reply, but before I could, Lando caught my eye. He was running in our direction happily, yelling out in excitement. "YN! Guess who made P2!" He came skipping the last few meters to Charles and me. "Well done, Lan! Home races really are the best, aren't they?" He nodded in agreement before sharing congratulations with Charles, who by now seemed a bit mispleased for some reason.

"Well, you both did great, but now it's my turn, so I better get going," I spoke up, gaining back their attention. "I'll go get changed and find you before the race, yeah?" Charles spoke, making me frown. "Aren't you going home? You need to rest!" I protested but he just shook his head. "No way, not after what happened yesterday. I wouldn't be able to rest." 

I sighed and looked at him with a displeased look, even though I couldn't help but smile at the same time. "Fine." I just said and he celebrated with a small "yes!" before running back to his garage to change. "Mind if I stay too?" Lando spoke. I looked at him and he stared at me with pleading eyes. The kind of puppy eyes you couldn't possibly say no to, so I just rolled my eyes and nodded.

"If you really want, I can't really stop you, can I?" I chuckled and he shrugged, looking very pleased with my answer. "Guess not! C'mon, let's walk together!" He said in a cheerful voice, wrapping his arm around my shoulder while leading us towards the garages.

"You and Charles are quite the couple, huh?" He sounded teasing, but also in some ways curious? I rolled my eyes. "You saw the articles then?" I just asked and he nodded. "Not a fan?" He asked. "No." I saw a smile spread on his lips. "The media is always on about stuff like that, stuff that's not even important. When will they learn to just focus on the sport?" He said with a lighthearted sigh. "Never, I'm afraid," I responded with a chuckle.

"So... You and Charles. Not true then?" He stopped and looked at me as our ways were about to split. "We're just friends," I said and a silence spread between us. "Good." He spoke under his breath, "Good?" I raised my eyebrows. "Yeah, good." He spoke louder and gave me a wide smile before he left me there, completely dumbfounded. What exactly did he mean good? 

"Cart, C'mon, why are you just standing there?" I turned around and there was Isack, looking at me weirdly. "Sorry Ice, I was just lost in thought." I laughed a little embarrassed and then followed him into the garage to get ready.