L O C K -U P | c. leclerc

16| The Lord and the Nightmare

C. Leclerc

I was getting so worried. Even Pierre and Max wouldn't touch their drinks. They felt guilty and I felt guilty too. The look on Artemis' eyes when she saw me kissing Alexandra was enough to fill me with guilt for the rest of my life.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," Pierre tried to reassure me, "You and I both know that Lando has superpowers when it comes to comforting people. I swear that kid has more maturity than all of us combined hidden behind his gaming obsession."

I just nodded. I had confidence in Lando but Artemis wasn't like most people. She had built this impenetrable wall all her life, protecting herself from getting hurt again like how her father hurt her.

My chest felt a massive wash of relief when I saw Artemis and Lando walk into the bar at the hotel. She looked calmer now and by the looks of it, her and Lando were friendly.

"Told you, Lando can work his magic," Pierre teased and Max immediately scolded him, "Shut up Pierre. I swear, even at our funerals, you'll still find a way to make it unserious."

I didn't have time to scold Pierre as well because Artemis was already walking towards me. She looked at me with sincerity and that was enough to ease me because at least she didn't look like she was going to murder me.

She offered her hand and that surprised me. Lando gave me a look so I took it and I smiled. Why was I even hesitating? I wanted to hold her hand. I got up from the booth and walked with her.

"Let's talk in my room...away from prying eyes," she softly said and I nodded. I knew it was a dig at Max and Pierre but I tried my best to suppress my laughter.

There was something different about Artemis, it felt like there was a lot of weight that had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt relaxed in the way she held my hand and walked with me to her room.

God, this woman can take me anywhere and I wouldn't complain.

Finally when she closed the door behind me and we were alone. I couldn't even speak because she immediately hugged me.

"Artemis, woah, woah, woah-," I exclaimed as the weight of her suddenly hugging me made us crash into the thankfully plush carpet. She laughed and I couldn't help but laugh.

Was she happy? Is she happy because she's with me. Not even once she let go of me and just kept giggling in my arms. I laughed because her laugh was infectious. It was light, it was childish, it was real.

"What is happening here?," I asked and she just smiled and said, "I'm finally being honest about how I feel, and it feels so damn good!"

She squealed. Oh my god, who is she? I laughed and said, "Did Lando put you on drugs or something?"

"No, what the hell, Lando's too good for that," she joked, "Pierre is more likely to do that."

"You know what, you're not wrong," I said with a laugh but still, we were on the floor, giggling like idiots. I don't even know why but I just couldn't help but smile and laugh around her when she's being like this.

"Hey, but seriously what changed?," I asked and she just looked at me, the dead eyes forever gone. "Lando taught me that it was okay to be honest with my feelings and that I needed to apologise and fix my relationships so I can have a steady hand on my goal," she answered and even I was taken aback by whatever wisdom left Lando's mouth.

"So...I'm sensing that you're supposed to tell me something?," I said, pressing further. Sometimes, I'd wish she'd just screamed at the top of her lungs that she liked me just as much as I liked her...but that's wishful thinking and teetering on delusional.

"I want to thank you for looking out for me, I was such a mess at that after party and honestly, I've grown pretty fond of you...it's almost painful having to deny that I don't like your company," she admitted and fuck, my heart was bursting at her words. She made my heart race more than it did on the track. I was more scared of her answers than crashing on a race.

Still I kept quiet. I let her talk because I wanted to listen. I wanted to hear all her thoughts and all that she had to say. Mostly because I was dying to know what was going on in her head.

"I don't regret showing who I really was to you at Bahrain, even if I was drunk," she continued to say, "And honestly, you'd been patient with me since then. Thank you, and honestly it's a breath of relief because even when I didn't know...you were already lifting burdens off of me."

Artemis let go of me and turned to look at me, still lying down on the floor. This prompted me to do the same and my heart beat faster with how close we were, our noses were just breaths apart.

I couldn't help but cup her face with my hand and she leaned into my touch, her eyes closing as if she was remembering the moment. God, she's so beautiful. How could anyone not want her?

"Artemis I-."

"No, please, let me tell you, how big your heart is. Your heart is special, it really is," she said, putting her hand on top of mine that held her face, "To look at someone like me, endure all the things I said, and still care for me. It takes a very patient person who must've gone so much more than I have."

A tear escaped from my eyes. As much as she wanted to paint that she had difficulty understanding people, she understood me. "Hey, why are you crying?," she asked and I just smiled as she wiped away my tears with her hand.

"Because you get me, it's hard to admit that my father's death and Jules' death has impacted my life forever but it has," I explained, remembering how my father used to attend my races and how Jules would be at my karting races when I was so young.

"They were my cornerstones Artemis," I said, choking a sob as more tears escaped me, "No matter how much I say that I keep moving forward, a piece of me was left behind when they both passed away."

Artemis immediately hugged me as I cried, I just cried into her shoulder to no abandon. It wasn't easy talking about my father and Jules but she understood how I felt. "I know what you mean, my grandfather, he was my cornerstone too," she said as she stroked my hair while I cried.

Hesitantly, she let me go and pressed her forehead against mine, "You and I, we're going to fight for that championship Leclerc. You hear me?"

It wasn't the answer I was looking for. I wish she'd just kiss me but I knew at the end of the day, we were teammates.

"This time, we are fighting for each other, we fight to win...together," she said and my heart swelled with pride, a feeling I hadn't felt in a long time as a driver for Ferrari.

"And I...," she tried to speak again but she was at a loss of words. She was looking at me with so much emotion that our bodies just seemed to respond to it. Her eyes bore into mine as we both pulled each other closer, our lips were so close that I swear I felt something magnetic pulling me to her.

But she moved first.

Artemis made the first move.

She kissed me.

She fucking kissed me and my head was spinning. When she tried to pull away, I held her tighter and said, "Don't you fucking dare. I've been waiting to kiss you since Bahrain."

She laughed but that wouldn't last long because I kissed her again and dear god, I was never going to get sick of kissing her.