Drive to Survive [Lando Norris]

-37-

Pierre POV

His heart stopped. Everything froze. Everyone was back in their own garages. Everyone except one. Pierre's eyes darted over to the other side of the garage, his heart shattering at the sight of a AlphaTauri car that wasn't Willows. 

And then his eyes darted back to the large TV screen where pretty much everyone in the different garages sat in front of. No one barely said anything. The car was buried in the gravel, fire erupting from the back. And no movement from Willow. 

It was like his life flashed in front of him, which was ironic since he wasn't the one in a crash. But he couldn't help it. He only let out a small sigh of relief, when he saw her being lifted out of the car and she seemed to be somewhat capable of moving on her own. 

But that still didn't stop the wave of guilt and bad feelings that flushed over him when he saw her being driven away in an ambulance. And it definitely didn't help when he was being called back in the car again. It wasn't hard to notice the pressuring mood in the garage. It was after all where Willow belonged, and it was not an easy job to get back out there. 

"And for the second time today, it is lights out and away we go"

--

Lando POV

"Stay focused, Lando. 2 more laps" his radio engineer spoke, but it was hard to register the words. 

The only image that ran through his brain was Willow trapped in her burning car before she was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. It felt like his own body was on fire, all he wanted was to go to the hospital and make sure that she was alright. She might have gotten out of the car alive, but she nearly fainted and her whole body looked numb and the image had burned itself on the inside of his brain. 

Ending the race was truly a better feeling and Lando had never rushed out of the car quicker than this. The interviews was brief, most of the reporters asked about the crash, but Lando could barely hold it together. 

"Alright mate, we're done for today. You can head out" Lando's trainer, Jon, said. He too had a worried expression on his face, but he surely hid it better than Lando. 

Lando didn't even reply, he just grabbed his stuff and rushed out of the motorhome, knowing exactly where to go. The AlphaTauri motorhome was, thankfully, close to McLaren and though it might have looked a bit stupid for a McLaren driver to rush in there, Lando knew what he had to do. 

"Excuse me, is Pierre done with his interviews yet?" Lando asked the nearest AlphaTauri member. 

"Lando?" but the guy never got to reply, before Lando heard the familiar voice of his friend. 

He snapped around and was met with the same worried expression that was plastered on Lando's face. 

"Oh thank God, you haven't left yet." Lando breathed and Pierre pulled the pair to the side, allowing them a bit more privacy. 

"What are you doing here?" Pierre asked confused. 

"Look, I'm driving to the hospital now, wanna come?" Lando asked, deciding not to tell Pierre that he knew about his and Willows fight. That wasn't exactly relevant now. 

"Yeah I was gonna head over there now uh, I'll join you" Pierre nodded and it only took a few minutes before both drivers rushed out of the paddock. 

--

Willow POV

It was like no matter how much water Willow had already consumed, her throat still felt itchy, like she had eaten a cigarette. Her head was hurting, but the feeling in her body was slowly returning. That didn't stop her whole body from feeling sore though, and even though she was laying comfortable in a hospital bed, she didn't feel comfortable at all. The painkillers had about zero effects. 

And now she was all alone in a way too quite room, the only noise coming from a machine next to her bed in the form of small beeps. She was bored, but she was also extremely scared and angry. She still wasn't sure what had happened exactly, but she knew that she had been lucky. She didn't have any major injuries, but she was still mad. Mad that she had ruined one of her biggest chances of impression Red Bull and get a good result. Instead, she ended up in a hospital. Not ideal at all. 

Her thoughts was interrupted when the door was opened and two familiar faces starred right back at her. She catched herself trying to sit up more straight, trying to look better, trying not to look like someone who's in a lot of pain and afraid to speak to one of them. 

"Hey" Lando was the first one to break the silence, quickly noticing that the tension was so thick you could cut through it with a knife. 

"Hi" Willow spoke in a low tone, suddenly not knowing where to look. 

Lando looked between the two drivers and even though he just wanted to talk to Willow and spend time with her, he knew that something else had to be done first. 

"Alright this is too painful to witness. You guys need to talk, I'll be out in the waiting room when you're finished" he spoke and before Pierre or Willow could protest, he had already left the room. 

Willow could feel Pierre's eyes on her, but she couldn't bring herself to look back at him. 

"I'm glad, you're okay" Pierre finally broke the deafening silence, causing Willow to finally snap her eyes towards him. 

"Yeah..." she hated this. Pierre used to be one the only people, she could actually talk to and feel safe around. "Gosh, this sucks" she whispered. 

"Willie-"

"Pierre-"

"Oh no, you go first" Willow was quick to say, making Pierre let out a sigh before he took a few steps closer sitting at the end of her bed. 

"Willie... I'm sorry. I was unfair, I-" he paused for a moment taking in a deep breath, "I was just hurt because we always tell each other important things, but I understand why you didn't tell me. I get it, okay?" he spoke, and now a new feeling washed over Willow as her eyes softened. 

"No, I'm sorry, Pierre. I wanted to tell you the moment Christian talked to me, but I didn't know how, and it just got out of hand, I guess" she explained. "I'm sorry" she added. 

A short silence followed as Pierre grabbed her hand. "Does this mean our fight is over? Because I really miss you and you scared the shit out of me today" he spoke causing a small chuckle to escape Willows lips. 

"I missed you too, Pierre. And I'm sorry for scaring you." she smiled and the pair shared a hug. 

"I'll go get Lando now. I'll see you later, Willie" Pierre grinned and left the room.