Formula one sickfics/oneshots

Heartbeat

People: Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz

Ages: Lando Norris (19), Carlos Sainz (24)

AN: It's a little short, but I had this idea all of a sudden, so I decided to just write it

- POV Lando -

I was discussing race strategies with Will and Jose when I heard a loud bang from outside the garage and I wondered what was going on. Then, people started screaming, yelling and running. Someone yelled: "he's got a gun!", and my heart almost stopped beating, panic overtaking my body and overwhelming all my senses, so much so that I was unable to move, glued to my spot in the garage. Jon, who was seemingly a little more level-headed, pulled me with him by the arm, leading me to the backrooms.

Then, the shooter entered the garage. A bandana covered most of his face, only his blue eyes visible, looking around the room and then he started shooting. Everyone ran in one and I got trampled over in all of the mayhem, losing the safe haven that was Jon's hand. I knew I was hopeless. I was about to get shot and there was nothing I could do about it. Everyone had left, but I was so frozen in place that I was the only one in the garage anymore. The man's eyes had a terrifying look of anger in them, and then a loud bang before everything went pitch black.

~

I woke up to a heavy weight constricting my chest and making me unable to breathe. My heart felt like it was beating a million miles an hour, feeling like a ticking time bomb. I sat up and immediately started looking for any injuries on my body, feeling confused when I found none. It felt like I was literally dying, so I must be severely injured without my knowledge. I felt myself getting lightheaded from the lack of oxygen and my ears started ringing loudly.

But then...warmth enveloped my and the ringing sound was drowned out by the sound of a rapid heartbeat. I felt a strong grip around me and vaguely registered a familiar scent. Even though I couldn't place who it was that was embracing me, I felt incredibly safe in their arms. Through my tears, I only saw a blur of this person's face, who apparently had black hair. "Lando, hey, it's okay", a voice spoke, the heavy Spanish accent unmistakable. I fisted his shirt in my hands and squeezed it tightly, Carlos's heartbeat soothing me a little bit. "Lando, can you hear me?", he asked, and I nodded to that.

A loud sob was heard as I let everything out. "How bad is it?", I asked him immediately. "How bad is what, Lando?". The confusion in Carlos's voice angered me, because how could he possibly not understand? "The injuries". "Lando, what are you talking about? You're fine. You're not injured", Carlos spoke, his confusion now even more obvious. "For fucks sake Carlos! Just tell me how bad it is instead of avoiding the topic. Stop lying to me! Am I going to live? Will I still be able to drive?". By now, I was almost demanding answers.

"Lando, what do you think happened?". "I was shot", I sobbed out. "Shot? Lando, you had a nightmare, that's all. It's not real. Nothing can hurt you. You're safe with me". I felt the tension fading slowly as I realized none of this had really happened. Rather, my brain had decided to come up with this and scare the life out of me. "Breathe", my teammate now instructed, grabbing a hold of my hand. I took a few deep breaths in order to calm down properly, but there was still a feeling I couldn't shake. I felt incredibly on-edge, like something bad was about to happen to me.

Then, in an effort to comfort me, Carlos grabbed both my arms, holding a steady grip on my upper arms. This immediately made me think of the way Jon had pulled me away from the shooter and how panic-ridden my body had been in that moment, knowing that no matter how hard Jon tried, this was going to be my end. I pushed Carlos's hands away from my arms, trying to keep calm and avoid slipping back into that state of panic and helplessness.

"Hey, it's alright. Everything's alright. I'm not going to let anything happen to you", Carlos assured me, now pulling me back into his chest, the sound of his heart filling my ears once again. It had a strange, calming effect on me. "That's good. Just keep breathing", he told me now. "Thank you, Carlos,", I stammered out, embracing my best-friend. "No problem, mon Amigo. I'm always here". His words created a sense of calm in my mind and made me able to relax. Carlos guided us back down onto the soft mattress and after a little while, I finally fell back asleep, this time without any haunting nightmares.

Why our brain does these things to us, I'll never understand. But what's most important is that with Carlos by my side, I'm stronger than anything it could ever do to me.