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.
When I returned to the garage from my driver's room in my suit, Lando, Charles and Max were all standing around and talking. Isack was at the other end of the garage, talking to his strategist, so I decided to join the boys instead, not wanting to interrupt Isack's work.
"Yn, great! We should talk over the strategy!" Max said, causing the other two to look at each other in confusion. "Max is gonna be my coach today." I explained and then they both looked at Max even more surprised. "You? Coach?" Lando laughed a bit. "You're just going to yell at her through the radio the whole time!" Charles joined in and Max hit both of them for laughing at him. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit myself.
Max and I proceeded to go over the strategy as well as some tips he gave me for the race. He really was a professional, and I felt very honoured to be coached by him one-on-one. Finally, it was time to get ready and get on track. I started almost at the very back of the grid because of my horrible practices, but I decided to get the very best out of it. Max handed me my helmet and Isack and I wished each other good luck before he entered his car. I glanced at Max, then at Charles and Lando. They were all giving me thumbs up and I smiled at them before I put on my helmet and entered my car as well.
The race went smoothly. Max kept talking me through it all, giving me advice on how to approve from lap to lap. I slowly, but steadily made my way to the front of the grid, passing by almost all the drivers on the way, until I was upfront in P4. Max informed me that there were only a few laps left, and to not jeopardise anything now, since starting in P4 would be a great start for tomorrow's race.
"That's it, YN. Arthur and Isack are right behind you, Isack with DRS." Max spoke over the radio. "Copy. Does he want to overtake?" I asked, referring to Isack who had been right behind me for quite a while. "Nope, keep up like that and the others won't be able to pass you."
"Got ya," I spoke and turned off the radio again, focusing on enjoying the last of the qualifications. Finally, a good race for both of us. Isack and I usually took turns on who had a good race and who had a bad one, so I was happy to finally share a good one with him.
The checkered flag was waved and I couldn't help but throw a fist in the air in excitement. Just as I did so, Isack joined on my left side, doing the same and we drove together, side by side to the garage.
I jumped out of the car and immediately hugged Isack, celebrating together. Max then joined us, helping me get off my helmet before he gave me a hug as well. "Well done! Great quali's, both of you!" He spoke, squeezing my shoulder while patting Isack on his back. I smiled brightly, as I had finally gotten back in the zone and wasn't distracted anymore. And there was only one person to thank. Charles.
I looked around, searching for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere. Instead, my eyes landed on Lando who was making his way over, alone. "Great race, YN!" He spoke in excitement and gave me a side hug. "Thanks, Lan." I smiled. My eyes were still searching for him, which Lando seemed to notice. "Um, Charles went to Arthur to congratulate him on the race..." My eyes landed back on Lando who was just staring at me.
"Ah, of course!" I chuckled a bit in embarrassment. "I should go get changed, I'm sweating like a pig." We both laughed and he nodded.
Charles's POV
Lando and I were standing in the same place as yesterday, watching Yn race. Lando seemed to be in an awfully good mood for some reason, so to break the silence, I decided to ask about it. "Happy with P2?" I assumed and he glanced at me. "Yeah, that too." He spoke cheerfully.
"What else then?" I asked and he clearly couldn't hold back from smiling even wider. "Nothing, I'm just happy, that's all." I chuckled a bit at the sight. "Bullshit. What happened, you look like you're in love or something, dude?" I joked, but his gaze turned to me, not changing at all. He didn't say anything, meaning, he didn't deny it.
"You're in love?!" I let out in surprise. "Shhh! Mate, you're yelling!" He laughed, but I just stood there looking puzzled. "Who?" I asked. But I already knew. There was no other explanation than it had to be her. Who else would he have suddenly fallen in love with out of nowhere?
"I'm not in love, okay? I just really like her company." He smiled to himself and I felt something inside me break. My chest physically hurt. "Carter?" I just asked, trying not to let it show that I wasn't pleased with his response. "Is it that obvious?" The lights in his eyes were the ones of a little kid at Christmas time. He seemed so genuine and happy. I just nodded and kept quiet for a while.
"You know, when I saw those articles this morning, I felt so insecure, mate. But I'm glad I asked her about it, so I could get the reassurance!" My eyes shot up at him, but he was just staring at the screen, not even noticing. "Reassurance?" He nodded. "Yeah, I asked her if anything was going on with you two, and she said you were just friends. Made me feel a whole lot better."
Almost instantly, I felt my heart drop to my stomach. She didn't lie, when she said that, but for some reason it made me feel so misplaced. I mean, I didn't like her or anything, she could do whatever she wanted. Why would I care? I mean, sure I cared about her, but only in a platonic way. She could date whoever she wanted to, even Lando! And he is a good guy too, so maybe she should... Or should she?