( GLADLY BEYOND ─ XVIII. ) ♡ ˚.*ೃ ─ TEARS DRY ON THEIR OWN
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Hungover karting on New Year's Day was just about as good of an idea as it sounded. Anne-Laure woke up more hungover than she ever had been in her life, and in worse ways. Dehydrated, blurry vision, with a searing headache. When she told Franco, he just chuckled a little and asked her what she expected to happen. However, she also woke up feeling lighter than she had in a long time. A little embarrassed, she supposed the drugs helped with that. And still, facing herself for the first time in months came with more benefits than consequences. She felt like she could finally breathe with the understanding that the only one demanding the weight of the world from her was herself, and more things mattered than just the future. Because the past mattered too. Maybe even more.
They were the only people at the go-kart track, unsurprisingly. Franco rented two, but Anne-Laure felt too ill for a while. He dealt with her with more patience than she probably deserved. He zipped up her suit for her, held out her gloves for her to stick her hand in and tightened the velcro around her wrist, and even told her to look at the ceiling and buckled her helmet beneath her chin.
"You are too nice to me," she said offhandedly.
Franco just shrugged while he buckled his own helmet. Beneath the open visor, his eyes were scrunched in a smile. She wanted to take a picture and immortalize that forever.
Anne-Laure lowered herself down to the curb, wrapping her arms over her knees. "What are we doing?" she asked.
"Karting."
"No, I know that. I mean what are we doing? This thing with us. Are we dating?"
He pondered this for a moment. "I don't know. What do you think?"
