down bad | c. leclerc

TWENTY TWO

as the next morning came up, kennedy was filled with anxiety.

it was the first race she was going to since monza, and it was the first time she would be seeing any of her friends in months.

she couldn't sleep the night before, spending most of it tossing and turning. everytime she had closed her eyes she thought of charles, which had made her not want to go even more.

when eight thirty had rolled around, josie knocked on kennedy's door before opening it to see the girl sitting in bed, dark circles dragging underneith her eyes.

"good morning kens, we have coffee out here when you're ready. james just landed and he's meeting us at lewis' jet." josie said, sitting on the end of kennedy's bed.

the blonde just nodded, exhaustion racking her body.

josie offered the girl a smile before standing back up and heading back out of her room.

kennedy yawned before getting out of bed, heading to her bathroom where she got ready and put on some sweatpants and a hoodie.

she met josie and lewis in the kitchen, dragging her bag behind her.

"ready?" josie asked the two, lewis nodding in agreement while kennedy yawned.

the trio made their way to an uber waiting for them, heading to the airport.

"kennedy!" james called as his daughter stepped out of the car first, followed by josie and lewis.

the blonde smiled and rushed over to give her dad a hug, followed by josie as lewis helped the driver get everyones bags out.

"i missed you sweetheart." james said as he hugged his daughter.

"missed you too dad." she mumbled before james let her go to hug josie.

the brunette laughed as he let go, taking her hand and examining the ring on her finger.

"now that is a ring!" he exclaimed as josie laughed.

"i know! and here's lewis." she said, motioning to the driver who was joining them.

"nice to meet you sir." lewis said, shaking james' hand.

the businessman smiled brightly, clasping lewis' hand in his.

the group made their way onto the private jet, lewis and james talking the whole time.

kennedy watched her dad with a smile, happy he was there with them.

soon, they were taking off, and kennedy had gone to the bathroom to put on a sheet mask, hoping to rehydrate her face from all the exhaustion.

when she came out, she immediately fell asleep in her chair.

james, josie, and lewis all looked at her, peacefully sleeping.

"so, this charles guy, is he good for her?" jame asked the couple, both nodding.

"yes sir, he treats her with the utmost respect, at least when they're actually talking to each other." lewis said, chuckling at the end.

james just smiled, looking back at his sleeping daughter, "well, i'm excited to meet him. as well as max!"

and with that, the three spent the next seven hours getting to know each other.

kennedy woke up when the plane was landing, feeling a lot better from when she had woken up that morning.

"okay, so should we go out for dinner tonight?" josie asked as they were getting off the plane.

kennedy groaned, "god, i'm not going to be able to sleep tonight. fuck." she said, making james shoot her a look.

"language kennedy." he warned and she grinned.

"oh, i missed you dad."

the father daughter duo loaded into a car while josie and lewis got into the car mercedes had provided the driver with.

"so kenny," james started as he drove behind the couple, "how are you doing? really?"

kennedy sighed, "i'm okay. i'm absolutely going to kill leclerc this weekend, but other than that i'm okay." she told him.

james just laughed, "just don't get caught honey."

kennedy smiled before looking out the window, watching the sun shine behind all the tall buildings.

the two followed the couple to the hotel, all parking and getting bags out of cars.

lewis and josie had their own room, james having his own room, and kennedy having hers as well.

soon, everyone made their ways to their rooms, agreeing to meet up for dinner in an hour.

kennedy closed her door and laid down on the bed, her eyes wide open, thinking.

what if i see him here? well obviously you'll see him here kennedy, he's a damn driver. she thought to herself before shaking her head and beginning to unpack.

the hour passed quickly, much to kennedy disappointment.

she quickly put on a sleek black dress and put her hair into a low bun, touching up her makeup as there was a knock on the door.

she opened the door to see her dad and she smiled.

"hey dad, give me a second, let me grab my bag." she said, turning and rushing to get her black hermes bag.

she turned and her dad gave her a smile, "you look just like your mom kens, you make me so proud." he said and the blonde teared up.

"thank you dad, now let's go before i cry and ruin my makeup." she said, taking his arm and leading him down to the lobby where josie and lewis were waiting.

"kens!" josie called, drawing kennedy attention but also a driver across the room.

charles turned to see the blonde he hadn't stopped thinking about walking towards her friends with an older man.

"kennedy." he whispered, making carlos look at his teammate.

"what?" he asked and then turned to where charles was looking.

"she's here." he muttered and carlos hit him on the back.

"what are you waiting for? go talk to her!" carlos exclaimed with a laugh, making the group turn towards the sound of his laugh.

charles and kennedy made eye contact but both looked away quickly.

"carlos!" charles whispered harshly, "what am i supposed to say? hey rhodes, i'm halfway to being in love with you and can't get you out of my head! oh, and i'm sorry for ignoring you, i was just screwing around with my ex who i kept calling her your name."

carlos looked at his friend with wide eyes before focusing his attention on something behind him.

"um, charles?" carlos asked and the driver sighed before looking at the man.

"what?"

carlos just nodded behind him and he turned to see josie and the man kennedy was with.

"half way in love with my daughter huh?"

•

little disclaimer, my math was not mathing with time zones so like womp womp but whatever!

anyways bri (and now meg) hope yall enjoy!

love you!

m