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formula1neverleft · 2 years
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Felipe Drugovich - Is There Somewhere
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Pairing: Felipe Drugovich x female!reader (+ Clément Novalak x bff!reader) 
Warnings: none really, fluff, swearing 
Words: 3.6k 
Song rec: loosely based on Is there somewhere by Halsey
Author’s note: this took me so long bc I decided to play around with a different pov only to come to the conclusion that I hate it but at that point I’d already written most of it so decided to post it anyway 🤠 Gonna be writing more for Felipe so any other ideas are welcome!! Not proofread. Feedback very much appreciated!! Enjoy xx 
//
“Felipe” 
 It rolled off your tongue like you were made to say his name. Even with just that one word, Felipe knew what you wanted to say, your gaze switching between his eyes and his lips a few times. You were so close to him that Felipe was sure he’d remember every single freckle that adorned your beautiful face. 
He let his hand wander up slowly, caressing your cheek before both of you started leaning in… 
 THUD 
 A loud knock pulled Felipe right out of the dream he was having, making him shoot up in a panic. He ran his hands over his face and sighed as he tried to shake the image of you from his mind. 
Seven nights. 
This was the seventh consecutive night where you’d ended up in his dreams one way or the other. No matter how hard he tried, Felipe just couldn’t shake you. 
Whoever was at his hotel room door at this hour was growing impatient, the knocks increasing in frequency and intensity before he even had the chance to get out of bed. 
Felipe had a feeling he knew exactly who would be on the other side of the door. 
 “Felipe, mate! Pretty please open the door for your teammate?” 
 The stark contrast between hearing his name from Clem’s mouth after hearing it whispered softly by you in his dream made Felipe pauze, letting his forehead drop against the door as he took a deep breath. 
 When he finally opened the door, Clement all but fell into the room, stumbling slightly before regaining his balance. 
 “Jeez, what took you so long??” he sighed dramatically, slurring his words. 
 “Mate, you're drunk, go to your own room” Felipe answered, but he could tell from the determined look on Clem’s face that getting him out of here would be near impossible. 
 “Actually, I’m not going anywhere until we…have a little talk” Clem said as he nonchalantly plopped down on the edge of the hotel bed, patting the space next to him. The mischievous look in his eyes made Felipe’s skin crawl. 
He loved Clem like a brother, but nothing good had ever come from that look. 
 “You do know that we can talk during the day, like normal people do, right?” 
 “Oh but what would be the fun in that?” Clem replied mockingly. 
 Felipe considered his options for a few seconds, but quickly came to the conclusion that once Clem got something in that head of his, he wasn’t going to stop until got what he wanted. So he reluctantly shuffled over to the bed and sat down next to him. 
 “Marcus and I have decided that we need to stage an intervention” Clem crossed his arms in determination as the words left his mouth, “We can’t let this go on any longer” 
 “Mate, what are you talking about?” 
 “You’ve been skipping every night out with us for months now…and don’t give me the ol’ I need to focus on racing excuse, because you even stayed in after Barcelona. I mean, what kind of psycho wins the sprint and the feature race and then spends his night alone in his bloody hotel room?!” Clem was gesticulating dramatically, partly because of the alcohol, partly because it’s Clem.  
 Felipe sighed. He knew it would be about this. The boys had expressed their grievances about Barcelona for weeks on end. In the beginning of the year it was easy to come up with excuses, because it was his third year in f2 and it was now or never for him. 
Then he started winning, and now his friends are wondering why he can’t have one night of fun in between all the work. Felipe didn’t have to wonder why, he already knew the answer. It was you. 
 From the exact moment Clem wandered into the MP garage with you by his side, Felipe was in awe of you. 
Beautiful, soft-spoken, but you could make everyone in the room laugh with just a single comment. 
At first, Felipe feared you might have been there with Clement as his girlfriend, but when Clem introduced you those worries were luckily tossed to the side. You were childhood best friends, more like a sister to Clem if anything. You’d decided to follow him around a bit during your gap year, wanting to see the world and acting as MP’s free social media person, camera always present around your neck. 
Felipe initially thought his little crush would dissipate soon, until the Jeddah race when you’d come up to him while he was preparing to get in the car. 
 “Good luck out there today” you’d said with a soft smile, “I think it’s gonna go your way today” 
 “How do you know?” he had asked timidly. You just raised your shoulders nonchalantly, “just…feels like you deserve it” shooting him one last knowing look before turning on your heels and out of the garage. 
 Despite only having met you a few days ago, he felt a strange connection between the two of you, something he’d never felt before.
He won that race, and you had subsequently taken up residence in his brain. He thought about you in the car, during the debriefs, and now in his sleep too. He couldn’t escape you, even though he’d been trying hard enough. 
Since Jeddah, Felipe had done everything in his power to keep himself in check. This was his year. His championship to lose. If he allowed himself to get distracted and fail, he would never forgive himself. 
So he kept his distance from you, not allowing himself to get further than the friendly conversations in the paddock. When he knew you would go out with the boys, he stayed in, sure that the way he felt when you were around would only be intensified in a casual setting with some alcohol involved. He was doing the right thing, keeping both of you safe. You were none the wiser and he couldn’t get hurt. 
 “Hello?? Earth to Felipe” Clem was shaking him by the shoulder lightly, the look on his face a mix of disbelief and worry, “see, this is exactly what I mean, you keep disappearing, mate, and I don’t just mean physically” 
 “Clem, it’s just the championship getting to me, it’s..a lot of pressure” Felipe ran a hand through his curls, feeling just as disheveled as he probably looked after just being woken up at four in the morning,  “I don’t want to mess it up. I can’t afford to.” 
 Clem nodded, looking defeated as he pushed himself off the bed with a sigh. He seemed to have somewhat sobered up as his own fatigue caught up with him, but Felipe could tell that this discussion was far from over. 
 Right before he got to the door, Clement stopped in his tracks, seemingly debating with himself before throwing one last comment Felipe’s way. 
 “She thinks you hate her, you know” he sounded uncharacteristically serious for once. 
 Felipe perked up at once, not needing a name to know exactly who Clem was talking about . What? 
 “I’m not an expert, but I do know you, and I’m pretty fucking sure that is not the case. So just…sort your shit out. Please.”  
 Felipe sat frozen in place on the bed as the door fell shut behind Clem. 
 You thought he hated you? 
Even just the idea of it sounded so ridiculous, especially after he’d been dreaming about you less than ten minutes ago. 
Sure, he wanted to keep you at a safe distance, far enough so that his judgment wouldn’t be clouded, but this was not how far he wanted to push it. 
No, this wasn’t right, and he needed to fix it. 
Felipe paced around the room for a moment, fighting the urge to somehow find your room and explain himself. Ultimately, he decided against an impromptu confession at this hour of the night and forced himself to get back in bed. 
He made a silent promise to himself to handle the situation differently next race weekend. Maybe he could even be friends with you. Maybe. 
 When sleep finally found him again, he dreamt of you. 
 // 
 The next race weekend came and went in the blink of an eye. For an outsider, it looked like Zandvoort was shaping up to be the best weekend of Felipe’s life. It was, to an extent. 
P1 in the feature race made it so he was almost sure of the title next week in Monza. 
Despite all this, Clem’s comment still lay heavy on Felipe’s shoulders. He was determined to make you realize he wanted to be friends, which was made exponentially more difficult by the fact that he didn’t want to be friends with you at all. Not just friends, that is. 
 As Felipe entered the MP driver room, drenched in champagne from the podium celebrations, Clem was already inside, scrolling away on his phone. He’d crashed out of the race at one of the restarts so he had already changed out of his suit.  
 “Congrats again, big man. That title is as good as yours” 
 Felipe thanked him, but despite Clem’s words he couldn’t shake the feeling that Clem had been distant ever since last sunday. There wasn’t a doubt in Felipe’s mind that Clem was sincerely happy for him, but clearly the discussion had affected him as well. 
 “So, where’s the party tonight?” Felipe asked as he unzipped his suit, tying it around his waist. If he wanted to make things right, tonight was the night to do it. 
 Clem looked like he’d just seen a ghost, but his signature smile followed suit. He all but jumped from his chair and slapped an arm around Felipe. 
 “Yes boy, that’s more like it! You’re buying the first round tonight”
 After Clem’s initial excitement had somewhat dimmed, he suddenly sported the same serious look he’d had in the hotel room. 
 “Y/N’s coming too, just so you know” he said. 
 Felipe nodded, “yeah, I figured she would”, he stared down at his feet. 
 “You know she’s like a sister to me, so just…don’t hurt her” Clem spoke, a hand landing on Felipe's shoulder and giving it a squeeze. 
 “I don’t..that’s literally the opposite of what I want to do. I don’t know why I’m making it so difficult” 
 “I think you got it bad for her, mate. I get it, that can be scary. Just try not to muck it all up, yeah?” 
 If somebody had told Felipe at the beginning of the year that Clem would be giving him girl advice, he would have laughed in their face, but here he was. The prospect of getting to see you in a few hours made Felipe’s chest tighten. You had been in the paddock less and less over the last couple of months, and now Felipe could see he was the reason behind your absence. 
He hoped that in a week's time, the title would be his, but more importantly, that he’d see your face when he looked down from the podium. 
 // 
 The club that Marcus and Clem had chosen was about on par with Felipe’s expectations. A dim blue light illuminated the space, people already standing in line at the bar, credit cards in hand, because it was clear you needed a good amount of alcohol to dance to the so-called music blaring from the speakers. 
Felipe was more nervous than he’d been before the race, more nervous than he’d been the entire season to be fair. His lack of partying experience made him feel out of place and fidgety as their friend group packed into the club and around one of the small tables near the bar. 
Clem hadn’t forgotten about Felipe’s promise to buy the first round, and clearly he had taken it upon himself to spread the word. After a few whoops and hollers from the boys, Felipe conceded and shuffled through the crowd towards the bar. 
He was just about to turn around and call one of the boys over to help him carry the drinks when he caught sight of you.  
You were standing at the bar, sharing a friendly conversation with a girl he recognized as Liam’s girlfriend while the bartender handed you your drinks. 
Felipe stood frozen, all plans of how he would approach you straight out the window as he took you in. You never failed to take his breath away. The excessive noise of the music and the people around him seemed to blur into the distance as he focused solely on you. 
While sipping your drink, you suddenly broke out into laughter at something the girl with you had said, reaching out to touch her arm as you doubled over. 
Felipe found himself strangely jealous of her, because he would give anything to be the one that made you laugh like that. He was sure that just the feeling of your hand on his arm would single-handedly ruin his ploy to be just friends with you. With you, he would always want more. He couldn’t trust himself. 
 He was torn out of his haze as he suddenly made eye contact with the girl in front of you. Before he could register what was happening, she leaned forward to whisper something in your ear, causing you to turn and face his direction. 
Felipe immediately shifted his gaze down towards his feet, coughing awkwardly before turning his attention back to the drinks on the bar. He wanted to slap himself for chickening out at the first sight of you, but he didn’t feel ready to face you just yet. 
Unluckily for him, you didn’t have the same idea. 
 “What is your problem?” 
 Felipe almost dropped one of the glasses he was trying desperately to fit into his arms as you appeared next to him. He spun around to face you, mind racing as he tried to remember a single word of the speech he’d rehearsed in his head all night. You didn’t look angry, just confused as your eyes bore into his, refusing to back down before he gave you an explanation for his less than normal behavior. Before he had a chance to respond, Clem appeared from between the crowd. 
 “Mate, if I’d known it was gonna take you so long I would have had more shots at the pre’s-” Clem stopped his rant directed at Felipe as he took in the scene in front of him. He quickly pieced together that he’d walked in on something he’s not supposed to be a part of, the tension palpable between his two best friends. 
 “Okay, uh, don’t mind me. I’ll just uh- carry the drinks for you, let you two get back to…”, he gestured between the two of you, “whatever this is” he flashed his signature cheeky smile before shuffling away, cleary ready to tell Marcus all about exactly why the drinks were taking so long. 
 Felipe took a deep breath, closing his eyes and attempting to collect his thoughts. The last thing he wanted to do was dig himself an even deeper hole just because he was nervous to talk to you. When he opened them, you were still staring at him, your expression softer, hopeful for an explanation.
 “Do you want to go somewhere and talk?” he asked timidly. 
 You looked taken aback by his question, but answered quickly nonetheless. 
 “Yeah, I’d like that” 
 Felipe nodded, springing into action as he pushed his way through the crowd. You followed suit but struggled to keep up with him. When Felipe noticed, he extended his hand out to you. You looked at his outstretched hand for a second, but before Felipe had even registered the implications of his offer, your warm hand enveloped his as you shuffled closer to him, allowing him to guide you swiftly towards the exit of the club. 
 He had been right, earlier, when he thought that one touch of your hand would be enough for him to crumble underneath his feelings for you. The feeling of your intertwined hands made his stomach flutter, and Felipe couldn’t bring himself to let go even after he was greeted by the cool breeze as he stepped out of the club with you in tow. 
 The silence felt heavy as Felipe continued to guide you along the street, your hand in his indicating the many words left unsaid between you and him. It was only a few minutes before you reached the beach. Finally letting your hand drop from his, Felipe stood at the edge of the sand, contemplating his next move. You decided for him, leaning down to quickly rid yourself of your shoes before jumping into the sand and walking towards the water, Felipe following your example. 
 “Y/n, I..” Felipe wanted to say so much that he didn’t even know where to start. 
 “You are really confusing, you know?” you spoke up, facing him head on, hair blowing slightly in the wind, “I never know where I stand with you. Sometimes you act like I'm invisible, other times I catch you staring at me like…” you struggled to find the right words. 
 “Like what?” 
 “Like the way you’re staring right now!” you finally replied, “I don’t know what you want from me”
Felipe understood how strange his behavior must look from your point of view. He needed to come clean about everything if he wanted to keep you in his life. 
 “I’m just overwhelmed by you. When we met at the beginning of the season I thought I could just shake it off, but then in Jeddah..you were in my head after that” 
 Your expression softens as he speaks, clearly remembering the moment before the race when you’d gone to wish him luck. Perhaps you’d felt it too, the connection between you that had been occupying Felipe’s every thought since. He could only hope so. 
“but at the same time I was finally winning, feeling like I had a real shot at the title this year. It was my last chance, my third year…my parents already are giving up so much to give me this opportunity” , Felipe hated how his accent became more prominent whenever he was nervous. It’s the reason he hates doing interviews, but this might be even worse. 
 “Truth is I was scared” he admitted, “scared of getting hurt, scared that I would mess something up with you or with the racing..so I took the easy way out and just did nothing” 
 You frowned slightly as you listened to him speak, and Felipe hated that he was the reason for your worried expression. 
 “but I dream of you. All I do is dream of you” 
 He instantly felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders at his confession.  
“You deserve to know, and I’m sorry for treating you the way I did” 
 He stared at you expectantly, waiting for you to say something, but you didn’t. His words had clearly rattled you, and for once it was you who was at a loss for words, the only sound breaking the silence being the waves breaking a few meters away. 
 “Y/n..please say something” Felipe pleaded softly. 
 He’d expected you to be angry, to say you need time. Maybe, if he was really lucky,  you might agree to try and be friends again. What he didn’t expect is for you to respond by kissing him. 
 You took him by surprise by leaning in and planting a gentle kiss on his lips. You lingered there as your eyes opened, whispering softly as you realized what you’d done “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t of jus-” Felipe cut you off by rejoining your lips, all gentleness now gone as his hands cradled your face while you kissed. Your arms found their way to his waist, knuckled whitening from grabbing onto his shirt. 
He’d dreamt about this moment so many times, but even the best of dreams couldn’t compare to having you in real life. 
You were lost in eachother as the kiss deepened, tongues working together like you’d kissed each other a thousand times before. 
When your lips parted Felipe let his forehead rest against yours, not ready to give up having you so close to him just yet. He could stay in this moment forever if he could. 
 “One of us should probably say something” you whispered, a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. 
 “So I take it this means you forgive me right?” he asks as he reluctantly lets you take a step back.
 “Hmm, I don’t know, I’ll think about it” you replied sarcastically. 
 “Oh, very funny” Felipe reaches out to tousle your hair in response to your teasing. 
You joked and chatted with each other as you made your way back towards the club. If Felipe had his way, he would be alone with you, talking and kissing all night to make up for lost time, but he realized it was best to take things slow. 
 Once back inside, Clem immediately spotted you together. He looked a mess, hair sticking to his forehead and shirt almost completely unbuttoned for some reason, the night's drinks having their desired effect. Felipe gave you a joking look as Clem made a beeline towards the pair of you. 
 “There you guys are; I swear I was this close to calling the fu-” he stopped his tirade as his eyes landed on your intertwined hands. A knowing smile appeared on his face as he stepped closer to pat Felipe on the back. 
 “Bloody knew you had it in you mate”, before turning away in an attempt to locate the boys. 
“Oi, Marcus, you owe me fifty bucks, mate!!” he said, pointing towards his two friends. 
Felipe rolled his eyes, giving your hand a little squeeze. 
 He was sure that when he went to sleep that night, he would dream of you again. 
Only this time, waking up would be even better. 
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