Y/N was determined to beat him. She had qualified in second place right behind Lando Norris which seemed to be a recurring theme as she had only out-qualified him on three occasions during the F3 European Championship. With two races left, there were only 11 points between them and so Y/N had to out-perform him during the race if she wanted to close the gap.
"Hey lovely, good quali!" Lando walked past her with a wink. Y/N twirled around watching him as he entered his garage, but not before he turned one last time and lifted his hand to wave at her. Y/N was confused, lately Lando had been acting weird ... or well weirder than usual. He had begun to smile more at her (which shouldn't be a big deal, but this was a guy who use to barely bat at an eye at her) and he'd begun to make more of an effort to talk to her. Was it out of pity? Y/N was the only girl in the F3 European Championship and as a result she struggled to be taken seriously by the fans and media of racing, it didn't matter how many races she'd won, people just seemed to see her a girl who was incapable of driving.
It was later when Y/N was getting ready to leave the circuit that she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder, "'Ello 'ello," Lando said matching her pace. Y/N turned her head sideways slightly with a raised brow, the cameras surrounding the track exit were going crazy and Y/N cheeks felt warm as a blush spread out across them. He smiled at her, giving her shoulder a squeeze and sneaking a quick peck on her cheek. Y/N stared at him with furrowed eyebrows as she stopped in her tracks causing Lando to lurch forward before finding his balance beside her, "You can't be doing that!" She complained.
"Doing what?" He smirked cheekily.
"You can't go around acting like that! I already have so many people doubting my capabilities, I don't need people thinking that I'm just here to hook up with the other drivers." Lando's eyes widened as he watched Y/N storm off in the direction of the car park, most likely to return to the hotel. He looked left and right, watching the people around him before he broke out into a sprint and chased after her, he watched her hop into the back of one of the cars and caught the door before closed shut, joining her in the back seat. "Lando?"
"I don't doubt your capabilities."
"Ok ... great." She was most definitely confused. Lando moved closer to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to him. She lay her head on his shoulder and wrapped her own arms around his waist. It wasn't something that she thought she'd need, but Lando was a great hugger and right now, she wanted nothing more than a hug.
"Don't listen to what everyone else says. I say that you're great and I am always right." She felt him press a kiss to her hair and then they were off to the hotel.
**
Lights out. Y/N got a better start than Lando, allowing her to take the inside and come out in the lead. She checked her mirrors, eyeing the black car as it approached her. Regardless of their newfound friendship yesterday, today was race day and Y/N wanted to take the lead in the championship – there was no room for error.
Y/N: I'm losing grip, these tyres are knackered.
Team Radio: Box this lap. Norris has just boxed so push for distance.
Y/N pressed down on the throttle, slowly releasing it at the breaking zones and switching to the breaks, but as Y/N pressed her foot down on the break the car failed to do so. She felt like a passenger in her own car. The car flew onto the gravel, which helped reduced its speed, but regardless she braced herself for impact. Instinctively, she pulled her hands away from the steering wheel and crashed into the barrier.
Team Radio: Y/N, are you okay?
She heard the radio. Her sight was hazy momentarily as her eyes adjusted. Her mind was running with scenarios, unable to properly think because of a loud ringing drowning out in her ears.
Team Radio: Y/N, are you okay?
Y/N knew that she had to get out, but when she moved to grip onto the side of the car to lift herself out, a searing, hot pain shot up her leg. She felt her heart rate and breathing quicken, she was beginning to panic. I've just ruined my chances at the championship. Lando's team are probably rejoicing. I've practically gifted it to him. Her mind was racing, and she felt her eyes well up with tears as the reality set in. the pain in her leg occupied her thoughts and she couldn't seem to focus on anything else, until a hand appeared in front of her vision. She lifted her head up, lifting her visor, and found Lando leaning over her car.
"We'll get you out, okay. Don't panic." He whispered reassuringly. It was apparent that Y/N's crash had red flagged the race causing all the cars to return to the pits, but Lando had been working his way back through the field after pitting when it came through on his radio that Y/N had crashed. He had been quick to stop his car on the gravel and jump out to aid Y/N.
"My leg! My leg!" Y/N cried. Lando stroked the back of her hand as he whispered reassurances to her while siting on the bolide of her car. It wasn't long before the marshals and medics arrived to extract Y/N. Lando felt himself shiver as he listened to Y/N's cry out in pain, unable to do anything but hold her hand.
Lando travelled with Y/N to the hospital, per her request, though he wouldn't have let her go alone. She had a slight concussion, the doctor's told her it was a miracle that she didn't have a more severe concussion, but she did have a severe fracture in her leg that would take months to recover from. The only silver lining was that she was guaranteed to be second in the championship simply due to the large gap in the points between herself and the person in third place.
Lando continued to remain by her side (when he didn't have races) when she was transferred to a hospital closer to home. He cared for Y/N and thought of losing her scared him. Despite only being friends for a short period of time, Lando hadn't realised how much he would miss her at the races until she wasn't able to attend them and that made him miss her even more.
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