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Lando Norris was not a playboy.
Playboys fall in and out of love pretty quickly, and Lando Norris had been in love with the same person since he was 13. So no, he was not a playboy.
Sure, he had a few flings here and there, but he was just waiting for the right time to start a serious relationship. And the right time meant getting over someone he had been trying to get over all his life.
"Mate, being famous must be so fun. You don't have to be funny or put in a fuckload of effort to bag a girl. You can get anyone you want. I'm so jealous of you."
Max, his best friend, was scrolling through Lando's Instagram, getting jealous of the attention Lando was receiving in the comments.
"You have a girlfriend." Lando pointed out.
"And I'm funny and cute. being famous and rich are not my only qualities"
"Yeah yeah whatever you say. But my point still stands. Being famous and rich makes your life easy."
Lando wasn't sure about that. He wished Max was right—that being famous could get him everything, get him anyone he wanted. But that wasn't true.
What good was the love and attention of people he had no interest in when all he ever wanted was to be loved by one person? And he was—to an extent—but not in the way he wanted to be loved by him.
He looked down at his phone again. The two blue check marks blinked at him.
Left on seen. Not even a dry response. Great.
He had no right to feel sad. This was what he deserved for acting like a prick to him. For months.
This was what he wanted, no? To avoid him until he got over him. To punish him for something he was unaware of. He wanted to stay focused on his championship fight and needed to avoid all kinds of distractions. And Carlos and his stupid relationship with his girlfriend were a big, big distraction.
They had started off as PR. She was someone he had a fling with after his breakup with his ex (Lando was painfully subjected to this information by Carlos), but they were spotted together, and everyone assumed they were a couple. And for some stupid reason that Lando would never understand, Carlos decided to go along with the rumors.
He told Lando his PR team at Ferrari asked him (ordered him) to get a girlfriend, as having one-night stands did not suit his old-money racing royalty image (Lando knew his family was not thrilled either). And so, he decided to start a mutually beneficial PR relationship with his current girlfriend.
It was better than stringing someone along and making commitments he couldn't fulfill.
Lando didn't get it. Who cared about his stupid old-money image? Being in Ferrari must be suffocating.
But he wasn't complaining. Better watching him in a PR relationship than a real one. He could work with that.
But it didn't look like a PR relationship anymore. They looked so in love. She was with him all the time. Even when he was with his friends, she was around. Their New Year pictures had almost sent him into a panic attack.
Being in love sucks. Big time.
And then there was Charles. Stupid Charles.
He had hated him since the day Carlos announced his Ferrari contract. Hated him since the day he called Carlos his future teammate in front of Lando. On live.
Fuck him and his stupid team for stealing his Carlos and then throwing him away to a backmarker.
He had hated him more than usual last year.
He and Carlos had gotten a bit too close for his liking. Carlos was acting like a lovesick puppy around him, and it was driving lando crazy.
"They are fucking." He could still hear Max (his bestfriend) speaking the most disgusting and cursed three words into existence. Lando had looked at him in horror, and it had taken everything in his power not to punch him in the face. Max had the audacity to laugh and tell him it was a joke.
Joke.
The joke was etched into his soul and tormenting him like a vengeful spirit. To this day.
After all these years of pining for him, assuming he was straight, he lost him to another man? And not just any man. But to Charles Leclerc.
He had been so anxious he had decided to confess, had gathered his courage, and asked him out for lunch.
They had decided to meet at their usual spot. The small, cozy burger place that served the best burgers in Monaco, according to Carlos. Lando loved that place. It reminded him of everything nice. Of Carlos.
"What did it do?" Lando looked up at Carlos, confused.
Huh?
"What did the burger do? Why are you two having a stare-off?" Only then had he realized that he had yet to take a bite out of his burger and was just staring at it.
"I'm thinking about all the calories this thing is going to give me."
"Hey now, now, don't insult the greatest food in the world like this. Don't call it a thing. It has a name." He actually sounded offended. Lando rolled his eyes. Fond.
"So? What did you want to tell me?" Carlos took another big bite out of his burger and asked Lando with his mouth stuffed full.
Usually, Lando would have told him how disgusting it was despite being endeared deep down. But at that moment, all he could do was stare blankly at Carlos. Feet going cold.
He couldn't do it. He couldn't. Couldn't.
And so he didn't.
"Nothing. I wanted to see you and cooked up a lie." It was half-truth, half-lie.
"Awww, little Lando missed me? You should have just told me. You don't have to make up excuses to meet me, you know?" He had said in his annoying high-pitched tone, reaching out to ruffle Lando's hair. Lando patted his hand away. "Don't make it gay." And that had made carlos cackle.
Idiot.
---
On New Year, he made a promise to himself.
He would win both championships. He would give it his all. He would stay focused and avoid distractions. He would not let his emotions get the better of him like last year. He would be selfish if needed. No more papaya bullshit.
He would also get over Carlos. He would find a PR relationship for himself and fake it until he made it, just like Carlos had.
Look at how happy he and his girlfriend looked on their stupid little New Year vacation.
He would do everything in his power to get over him. And the best way to get over someone was to not be around them.
Out of sight, out of mind.
It had worked for some time. He was focused on his championship and had tried his best to avoid Carlos. He kept himself busy with the car and surrounded himself with anyone but Carlos.
Even Charles and he were getting along lately. They had no other beef now that their common object of interest was no longer in the picture.
Lando wouldn't lie, the petty part of him was ecstatic watching Carlos not giving a fuck about Charles. He could tell Charles missed Carlos. He caught him watching Carlos with something akin to longing many times.
Lando knew that look.
But Leclerc was too arrogant to make the first move. And Carlos, who had acted like a lovesick puppy around him in the past, despite his stupid tantrums, did not seem to care anymore.
Lando loved it.
Hah! Fun.
Carlos missed Lando, though. He kept trying to start conversations with him, invited him to hangouts, and was always texting him.
Lando enjoyed it. He wouldn't lie. He enjoyed the attention, liked that Carlos was so bothered by Lando keeping his distance. He somehow expected Carlos to confront him at some point. But it never happened.
What he did not expect, however, was for Carlos to return the favor.
His mother had sent him the interview clip. It was all over the internet.
His parents loved Carlos, especially his mom. She had called him her son-in-law jokingly and had told Lando that if he ever decided to date a boy, it must be Carlos. That she would disown him if he showed up with Max on her doorstep. She had said this right to Max's face. Max was not thrilled. but Lando liked her thought process. He liked it a lot.
As expected, she was heartbroken over what Carlos had said.
Lando had to lie and reassure her that everything was fine between the two of them. That they had decided not to name-drop each other in interviews. They wanted to keep their friendship private.
The excuse sounded ridiculous even to his own ears, so understandably, his mum was not convinced, but she let him off the hook.
He deserved this. He knew he deserved this. It was the result of his own actions, but not being mentioned in Carlos' close circle still felt like a punch to his gut. The consequences of his own actions did not feel good at all.
The thought of Carlos not giving a fuck about him made him want to throw up. Who told him this was a good idea? Ignoring him did not make him get over him at all, and frankly, nothing ever would. He had loved him since he was 13. He should have gotten over him by now if it was that easy.
He wanted Carlos in his life, even if it meant watching him fall in love with someone else and get married one day. He could live with that. It was less scary than Carlos not being in his life at all. At least he held some part of his heart, even if it was platonic.
After cursing himself for hours, he gathered the courage to text Carlos and asked if he was free tomorrow.
"No."
Ouch.
---
He was in pain
It was his turn to be ignored.
It took everything in his power not to cry right then and there whenever Carlos passed him without sparing him a glance. He felt like an asshole for doing this to Carlos. Now that the tables had turned, he realized just how much it sucked.
He felt braver over text.
"Want to play paddle?"
"No."
"We’re having a celebratory dinner at my place. Mum and Dad asked me to invite you. Do you want to join?"
"No. I have plans."
"Up for a golf match?"
"No."
"Look at this video, hahaha. He sounds just like you."
No response.
"Good luck for tomorrow."
No response.
"Buenas noches 😴"
No response.
He scrolled through their conversation and wallowed in self-pity.
This wasn’t cutting it. He needed to talk to him in person. If only Carlos would stop treating him like a piece of furniture every time Lando felt brave enough to join his group during the drivers' parade.
They were off to Hungary soon—one last GP before the summer break. He needed to act quickly, or he'd spend the entire break moping instead of enjoying his time off.
---
On Thursday, he went to play paddle with Verstappen. This was their little tradition before every race. Usually, there were four of them, but today it was just him and Max.
He regretted going.
The first thing he saw upon entering the court was him. With Leclerc.
They were sitting on a bench, sweaty, clearly having finished a round of paddle. Carlos was wiping the sweat off his face with the towel around his neck, looking at Charles, eyes twinkling. Charles was telling him something, practically glowing.
Oh, so the egotistical asshole had finally made his move.
Lando hated him. He hated him so much.
"Oh hey, Carlos! Charles!" Max waved at them.
They both looked up, the smile on Carlos' face fading as his eyes locked with Lando’s.
Lando felt his eyes sting.
"It’s good that you two are here. Let’s have a match! I’ll definitely beat you this time, Carlos!" Max added enthusiastically, oblivious to the sudden awkward silence around him.
"You’re late. We were just heading out. Maybe next time," Carlos forced a smile as they both stood up and prepared to leave.
"Oh. Okay. See you later, then," Max said, moving on to unpack his bag.
"Later," Charles waved, walking past Lando. Carlos was right on his heels.
With a sudden burst of courage, Lando grabbed Carlos' arm before he could move past him.
Carlos looked down at him, surprise evident in his eyes.
"Where are you going?" The possessive edge in Lando’s voice shocked even him. Carlos stared at him blankly, clearly not expecting Lando to confront him in front of everyone.
"We’re going out to have dinner. Any problem?"
Before Carlos could say anything, Charles spoke. Lando looked at him.
"I was asking Carlos." He didn’t bother hiding the annoyance in his voice.
"Woah, woah, calm down. I was just answering your question."
"I wasn’t asking you anything. I was talking to Carlos." He smiled sweetly and looked up at Carlos again.
"You didn’t pick up my call. I have something important to tell you." He was still holding onto Carlos' arm. Tightly. For dear life.
"I was busy," Carlos said, freeing his arm from Lando’s grasp.
"Well then, when are you free? Tell me, I’ll talk to you then." Lando still wasn’t giving up.
"I’ll text you when I am, Lando. I have to go now. Bye, Max." Carlos waved at Max, who was still unpacking his stuff, oblivious to the dramatic set of events that had just unfolded around him.
Max passed him a smile. "Bye, mate."
Lando stood there, watching Carlos’ retreating back, feeling angry and humiliated.
He lost.