Best friends to PR - lando Norris

Italy

We landed in Florence about 3 hours ago and we have arrived at my Grandparents house. I'm pulling my suitcase out of our hire car when Pops appears and pulls me into the biggest hug "piccolo we have missed you so much!" Pops has called me Piccolo for as long as I can remember "I've missed you both as well Pops!" He insists on taking my suitcase into the house and when I walk in all of the memories from my childhood come rushing back. I used to spend every summer holiday from school here and sometimes depending on racing Lando would come as well. As I enter the kitchen I see my Nonna making bread "Hello Nonna" I call as I enter. She smiles at me "Molly it's been far too long" she hugs my carefully due to her floury hands. It feels good to be here.

We spend the first week catching up with my grandparents. It's been so lovely seeing them but my parents want to go and see more of Italy in our second week here. The weather is mild for winter but it's still getting colder by the day. Me and Lands have got into a routine of FaceTiming every evening before bed and it's helped with how much I miss him. They do say distance makes the heart grow fonder. We are driving to Verona stopping off in Bologna on the way. Dad really wants to see the Senna statue at Imola so we are making a detour to do that. We pack our things and say our goodbyes.

There are two racing tracks on our drive to Verona, Mugello and Imola, F1 hasn't raced at Imola for years and Mugello is more of a Ferrari testing track. We drive for about 2 hours with traffic and arrive in Bologna and check into our air BnB for the next 2 nights. I send Lando a message just to update him on our trip

Hey just arrived in Bologna, going to Imola tomorrow to see Senna. I hope you are having a good day and I can't wait to speak to you later

I hit send and follow my parents out into the streets of the city. It's absolutely stunning, I take some photos and once we are back at the apartment I decide to post one on my Instagram

@MollylanesF1 after spending a beautiful week with my Nonna and Pops we have arrived in Bologna - first stop on our little road trip to Verona. How stunning is this place?!

@alexalbon beyond jealous! Have the best time!
@landonorris wish I was with you! Can't wait for you to be home 😘
          @mollylanesF1 it's not long to go now 💕
@georgerussell looks amazing! Don't have too much fun without us
@user101 oh my gosh Charles is in Bologna
         @user102 do you think they will meet up?
@maxverstappen look at you exploring even more of the world!

I read through my comments and feel a little bit of panic about Charles being here but I brush it off! Lando's comment made my heart all fuzzy, I adore the fact he is proud of his feelings for me and doesn't hide how he speaks to me.

We head off to Imola the next morning after grabbing breakfast at a cute cafe about 5 doors down from our apartment here. I send Lando a quick message letting him know I miss him. I know dad is excited as Senna is his idol. We pull up at the race track and I feel an odd sense of calm as we walk around the track - dad booked a guided tour. So much Ferrari stuff around reminds me of Charles. We make our way to the statue and I take some pictures to post later on. I spot a familiar silhouette standing near the statue. My heart sinks when I realise it's Charles, I decide to be oblivious as I don't want to talk to him but my father has other ideas "Charles! Long time!" He walks over and gives him a manly hug. "Hello Mr Lanes good to see you again" he responds as he eyes search the area for me. Once he spots me his expression falls as I decide to stay with my mum who gets that I don't want to talk to him. I hear a voice "who is this Charles" Charlotte asks walking over to them "oh this is Molly's dad Steve, Steve this is my girlfriend Charlotte" hearing him use the official term makes me cry and I walk away back to the entrance of the track. I get my phone out to call Lando when I hear footsteps behind me, I assume it's my mum so wait for her to talk but it isn't her "Mol? Can you stop? We need to talk" I freeze as I realise it's him "we have nothing to talk about" he grabs my arm to spin me around "I'm sorry that you had to find out here, I was going to call you, I felt I owed you that" I roll my eyes "I found out on Instagram Charles I'm not stupid" he looks down at his feet "she was there for me when you left and I don't think my feelings for her ever truly went away" I nod my head "I understand that Charles you don't need to explain anything" his eyes meet mine "I've got the impression you and Lando are something? The boys always get defensive about it if I bring it up" I shrug "nothing serious as I need my time to get my head around it all" he grabs my hand "I am stupid Mol everyone thinks so but I want you to be happy and I think that you  will be with Lando. Don't worry what people think in the end it will be worth it" I'm surprised at his words "thanks Charles, I'm happy for you I really am!" He smiles at me "I'm glad we can still work on being friends, I do miss you" I can't listen to this "have a great winter break, see you on track in March!" He hugs me  and turns to walk back to Charlotte.

We are back in the car on our journey back to the city for our final night here before finishing with drive to Verona. "I'm sorry Molly, I didn't really think about it before I said hello" I smile at my dad "don't worry about it! We are still friends" he smiles sadly at me "spoken to Lando today?" I can't help the smile that crosses my face "yeah, we are going to FaceTime later" he smiles at me "I'm glad you have both finally acknowledged your feelings and are doing something with them! We all knew you would end up together" I roll my eyes "sure dad!"

Once we arrive at the hotel I post a picture I took today, even with seeing Charles I enjoyed our trip to Imola. There is a feeling when stood by the statue of serenity it's truly spiritual.

@MollylanesF1 #sempresenna

I kept the caption simple as spending time there made me feel grateful for what I have in my life. It's too short to waste and I know now that once I'm home I'm telling Lando that I'm ready.

I'm cuddled up in bed waiting for Lando's call and once I see it flash up on my phone I'm quick to answer "Hey Lands!" He smiles at me "Mols, you okay?" He asks I take a deep breath "Charles was at Imola today with Charlotte. It was okay and we ended up having a good talk" he looks at me worried so I continue "I don't want to wait any longer, I know that you are the person for me and I don't want to waste more time figuring this out" his face was confused before he smiles at me "I'm so glad you think that, not having you properly has been killing me. I want to show the world just how lucky I am!" He says making me smile "we can discuss it when we get home but I love you Lands" his whole face lights up "I love you even more Mols" we chat for a bit longer before I'm too tired to continue.

The last few days in Verona have flown by and it's time to fly home for Christmas. Being in Italy almost made me forget it's only a week before Christmas Day. I adore Christmas it's the best day of the year! I checked with my parents that we are spending it with Lando's family like normal and they confirmed so that's made me really happy. I send Lando a message as I get on the plane letting him know what time we should be back as he is picking me up from the airport. Mum takes my hand for take off but no one calms me down as much as a lando on flights. We land at Heathrow 3 hours later and I'm desperate to get through security and customs and find Lando, he messaged me to let me know he is here and I will find him quite easily which seems sus but here we are!

It takes ages to get through security but finally we are walking into the arrivals hall. I walk through with my parents scanning through all the people til I see a sign above a neon green Rossi hat and I know that's him, especially as the sign says WAITING FOR THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. My heart races as I push through the crowd and throw myself into his arms. I feel super emotional but I'm also possibly the happiest I have ever been. He holds onto me tightly and mutters into my hair "I've missed you so much Mols" and if I didn't know before I definitely know now that this boy has my whole heart.

We say goodbye to my parents and head towards my car. Lando insists on taking my bags and I'm not complaining. We drive home catching up on the last two weeks and I find out he has been streaming more than he originally let on. It feels great to be home with him and I really do know what I want now. Once we arrive at the house I grab his wrist and stop him "can we talk?" He looks worriedly at me "always, let's go sit in the living room" we walk in together and I'm feeling nervous. We sit on the sofa together and he waits for me to start "the last two weeks have made me realise my feelings for you and the fact they are no one else's business but our own. I love you Lands more than I ever thought possible and I don't want to wait to be with you when I know you are all I want" he grins at me and pulls me into a hug "well then Molly Lanes would you like to officially be mine?" He questions and I nod my head feeling unable to speak words.