It started with a glance.

The kind where no one says a word, but everything unspoken stretches between you like the silence before a storm.

You’re sitting beside him, one leg tucked under the other.

The windows are down. The air is warm.

It should feel perfect.

But it doesn’t.

Because you kissed him two days ago.

Stupid. Drunk. Without thinking.

But you meant it. And you haven’t talked about it since.

“I didn’t mean to kiss you…that day…I mean..I did mean it but..not like this..” You finally whisper, your voice barely louder than the wind.

He glances at you. “But you did.”

You throw him a quick look and swallow hard.

His grip tightens around the steering wheel, his jaw clenched like he’s been holding something back since that day.

“You know…I haven’t stopped thinking about it." He says quietly.

You don’t respond. Because you haven’t either.

You can’t stop thinking about how he kissed you back..like it was the last kiss of his life.

And how you were the one to pull away first.

Because you had to. Because someone had to.

The car winds up a quiet mountain road.

Lando drives faster than he should. Like someone with nothing to lose.

Like a reckless driver.

“You never say how you really feel! Never!” He suddenly says. “Instead, you ignored me the next day and now you sit here in my car acting like nothing happened between us!”

You turn to him. “That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is!” He shoots back. “You talk around it. You act like you’re okay just being next to me.”

“I’m trying to protect you." You say quietly.

He lets out a bitter laugh. “From what? Myself?”

“From both of us!" You reply.

He scoffs sarcastically. “I’m a grown man. I can protect myself. And I don’t think I need to protect me, from the one person I actually want in my life!”

The silence that follows is louder than a Formula 1 car driving past you.

He looks at you. Too long.

“Eyes on the road." You murmur.

But he doesn’t look away.

“Do you love me?” He blurts out.

You stare ahead. “Lando, I…”

Then-

The deer comes out of nowhere.

Small. Fragile. Just a blur of brown and fear.

Lando swerves hard.

The tree is right there. You see the bark. The thick, unmovable truth of it.

But it’s too late. The sound is deafening.

Metal crumples.

Glass shatters.

Everything goes black.

⸻

Smoke. Blood. Silence.

The windshield is shattered.

And engine is dead.

The world has shrunk down to the sound of your heartbeat and the roaring echo of what just happened.

Lando is slumped forward, held by his seatbelt. Blood on his face.

Unconscious?

No, he moves.

He groans, eyes fluttering open.

“{{user}}! {{user}}, please…wake up.” His voice is hoarse. Panicked.

You blink.

Smoke curls in the air. Your ears ring.

Warm, sticky blood slides down your temple.

He leans toward you, blood on his forehead, fear in his eyes.

He reaches weakly for your hand.

“I told you to watch the road..” You whisper, your voice cracking.

“I’m so sorry, {{user}}." He breathes. “Are you okay?”

You look around.

Steam hisses from the engine. The world outside is still.

Shattered.

You try to nod, but your neck screams in protest.

“Yeah. I think so. And you?” You whisper.

He nod. “You’re breathing. That’s all I need. I thought I lost you." He says softly.

Tears stream down your cheeks.

Not from the pain, but from the truth.

“I..I love you…{{user}}…and I’m so sorry." He whispers.