FIVE

"I've got no brakes, I can't stop! I can't- Kimi, look after my girl. Baby, I'm sorr-"

Larissa Cohen jolted awake with a scream leaving her throat, heavy breaths and pants being the only other sound in room as sweat lined her forehead. 

The booming sound of her father's car hitting the wall was ringing in her ears, the fireball that engulfed him and his beloved Ferrari still warmed her skin from her proximity from the flames.

She had seen the fear in her father's eyes as his best friends desperately tried to put the fire out and get him out of the car. She had screamed for her father, her dad, her papa, and he had turned to where she was.

She had seen the look in his eyes.

Fear.

Guilt.

Acceptance.

He didn't want to leave her, his little girl. But he didn't have a choice and she knew that. She knew that he had entrusted his best friends to look after her, to raise her because he couldn't. His best friends, Kimi Raikonnen, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher.

Michael used to organise play dates between his son and his late best friends daughter when they were younger. He had wanted to be there when they both made it to Formula 3, then Formula two and eventually Formula 1, however a skiing accident had ruined his dreams and left him as a shell of the man that he once was.

So, it was down to her uncles to raise her, and since her mother was barely around, and never at her races, they did their absolute best to ensure that their niece was happy and successful as it was what their best friend would have wanted.

"Lis, hey, hey, it's okay. I'm here." Zahra slipped in to her best friends hotel room, having secretly asked the receptionist for a spare key card as soon as they checked in. Her hotel room was next door so she had heard the scream and immediately rushed to help.

Zahra immediately noticed the far away look in her best friends dark brown eyes and sidled up to her, pulling her best friend into her side. She knew about the nightmares, the ones that had regular occurred since the Brazilian lost her father. Her mother was never around to help her with the nightmares that she suffered with, which usually meant that the innocent child that Larissa was, had to cry herself to sleep or to not sleep at all.

It was how she had met Zahra, after all.

She had been having nightmares, and hadn't slept the night before a race in formula 3, which had caused a severely sleep deprived Larissa to spin out on the track and crash into the wall next to the stands at a hundred miles per hour. It was a miracle that she had survived.

Zahra had been in the stands, since she had been dragged to the race by her then boyfriend even though she didn't know anything about racing at the time, and was at eye level to the injured Cohen girl. Until the marshals and paramedics arrived at the crash sight, Zahra had been talking to her to keep her conscious, through the barrier.

Zahra still remembered very clearly, the day that she had been dragged to another race, and immediately had been invited to the garage where Larissa had immediately hugged her and acted as if she was her friend. From then on, Zahra swore to always be by her side and Larissa did the same.

Zahra's boyfriend had not been happy at all that he had been ditched at the race by his girlfriend, but then again, he was her ex for a reason.

"I keep seeing the look in his eyes, Z." Zahra was dragged out of her thoughts by the first words leaving her best friends lips since she had awoken from her nightmare.

"Hey, shhhh, it's okay." Zahra soothed, running her fingers through her best friends damp hair to comfort her. "Shall I call uncle Nando? Or Seb? Or Kimi?"

"No." Larissa sobbed quietly, the sound breaking Zahra's heart in to millions of pieces.

"I want my dad."

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"Hello, this is Sara Cohen, I can't come to the phone right now, leave a message after the beep."

Larissa sighed deeply as she sat with a coffee in hand, waiting for some of her friends. She never did pick up and she doubted that her mother would even listen to the voicemail. But, she tried anyway.

"Hi, mom. I, um- I just wanted to tell you that first race went well. I finished 13th. Zahra said that you were in São Paulo, and I was hoping that you could come to my next race. Uh, that's it really, um- bye mom. I love you."

Larissa ended the voicemail before she rested her head on the table in the small cafe that she was waiting in. She hadn't even heard someone sit down opposite her until they spoke, making her jump in fright.

"Hey, Lissy." Laughter echoed around her as she groaned, her heart beating rapidly from the scare.

"Hey, Lando. Hey George. Hey Alex." Larissa shook her head with a small sigh, seeing three of her friends from Formula two smiling at her.

"You okay? You look rough." George Russell frowned, seeing his friend looking like a zombie. He had seen her race and it was great, so to see her looking like she was, he was worried.

"I'm okay, I just didn't sleep well." Larissa forced a smile. She didn't want them to worry about her.

"You sure?" Alex Albon frowned. Larissa nodded. "I'll get you another drink, a double espresso will probably help most.'

"Thanks, Al." Alex nodded with a smile before standing up to get her a stronger caffeinated drink.

"Your race was awesome by the way! The way you overtook Charles was so good!" Lando Norris beamed, fangirling slightly, which was what he always did when ever she raced.

"Thanks Lando." Larissa laughed, turning to George as the pair rolled their eyes at their friends attitude.

"Charles told us that he discovered that you were his idols daughter. How did that go?" George questioned with a smile filled with intrigue.

"He ran away." Larissa laughed, as the others joined in. Alex soon rejoined with a two double espressos in hand, placing them both down in front of his friend.

"The entire time you were in formula 3 and formula 2 together, you never once spoke, and now, once you do, he runs away once he finds out that his idol is your dad?" Alex spoke, as Larissa nodded.

"Typical Charles." Lando teased with a large grin.

"Hey! Mate, you can't talk!" Alex and George yelled, nudging the Norris boy.

"Yeah, when you found out who my dad was, you fainted!" Larissa pointed accusingly as the boy, whose cheeks immediately turned pink.

"Yeah, but I- I." Lando stuttered. "I got back up and didn't run away!"

"Still fainted." The three sung as Lando's face became red from embarrassment.

"Anthoine took the news best, didn't he?" Alex and George immediately nodded.

When Larissa's friend, Anthoine Hubert, had discovered that the girl that he was friends with was the daughter of the five time world drivers championship winner, Luiz Cohen, he had just shrugged with a smile and acted if everything was normal.

At least he hadn't run away, or fainted.

"Well, actually, that would be Mick-" Lando was cut off by loud laughter.

"I grew up with Mick, Lando."

"Oh." Lando erupted into laughter himself.

Now he understood why he didn't look at all shocked when he had told the German.

He was such an idiot.

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"Mon Cherie!"

Pierre Gasly's face lit up as his team mate walked in to the Toro Rosso garage. She seemed be holding some type of... dog toy?

"Come on Roscoe, come on boy!" Larissa jogged up to her team mate, a British bulldog running behind her, trying to catch up to the girl.

"Hey, docinho. I told Lewis that whilst he was in a meeting, that I would walk Roscoe. Valterri has Coco, but I'm pretty sure he's fallen asleep." Larissa smiled, gently kissing her team mates cheek as he did the same to her.

"Ah, hello Roscoe." Pierre smiled at the dog, who seemed to like the French man. "I wanted to speak to you about something."

Larissa nodded, motioning towards her driver trailer. "Come on, I'll let Roscoe play whilst you tell me whatever I need to know."

Roscoe was soon playing with a tennis ball just outside of the trailer, not going too far so that his babysitter could still see him.

"I wanted to talk to you about Charles." Pierre admitted with a small sigh. "He is angry with me because I did not tell him that you were the daughter of Luiz Cohen."

"Seriously?" Pierre nodded his head. Charles was his best friend, and he could not believe that he was angry at him for something which he, himself had only realised because of Daniel Ricciardo.

"Damn. He does realise that he raced with me for years and never spoken to me, right? He could've just asked." Larissa huffed in annoyance.

Pierre wanted to reply, but a knock on her trailer door interrupted him. She pulled open the door to reveal a shy looking boy.

"Hi..." Charles Leclerc smiled awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck. He noticed the hostile look on the girls face and hesitated, before breathing a sigh of relief as she side stepped, allowing him in to the trailer.

Charles seemed surprised to see his best friend with the girl, but he still offered his friend a smile.

"I, uh, wanted to apologise to you for running away." Charles started, seeing Roscoe sitting by her feet, staring at him protectively.

"I do not care about you running away." Larissa shook her head. "I don't care about any of that. I could not give a fuck. What I care about, is that you are angry with your best friend."

Both boys looked at her in surprise, their eyebrows raised and mouths ajar. The boys exchanged a look, understanding passing between their eyes.

"Zahra is my best friend, I would only ever be angry with her for something that was super important, and I would only be angry with her for a short period of time because I love her too much to be mad at her. So, you have to sort yourselves out, because I'm returning Roscoe."

The two boys watched as the girl walked away with Roscoe by her side, before they turned to each other.

They had a lot to talk about.

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"Hey Lewis, I have arrived to return your beloved dog before he becomes too attached and doesn't want to leave me."

Larissa Cohen entered the Mercedes garage, seeing Lewis talking to the team principal, Toto Wolff.

"That would never happen and you know it, kid." Lewis winked at her, ruffling her hair as she sidled under his arm as he draped it around her shoulders.

"We all know that it can and will happen." Larissa shook her hand dismissively before turning to the tall man in front of her. "Toto Wolff, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Larissa Cohen."

Toto Wolff admired the five foot two girl, liking her confidence and bravery. Not many people would have the confidence to walk up to the Mercedes team principal and introduce themselves without being spoken to.

But then again, not everyone was the daughter of Luiz Cohen.

"Nice to meet you, Larissa. It is a pleasure to meet you too, I liked the overtake on Leclerc at Melbourne." Toto smiled at her, shaking the hand that she had extended to him.

"I learnt that from my father, what can I say, I'm a future World Champion." Larissa shrugged her shoulders, a smug feeling growing within her at the sight of Toto's smile widening.

She could feel Lewis' eyes burning into the side of her face and she knew that he was surprised that she was acting so confident around a man that would usually make people shrivel up in fear.

"Maybe, but surely not with Red Bull's backup team." Toto nodded his head.

"True, but you'll just have to sign me to find out, won't you?" The Brazilian rose an eyebrow as both men's faces lit up with a large smile.

"Oh, she's good." Toto turned to Lewis, the pair smiling at each other before they both turned back to her, a proud look in their eyes.

"Of course I'm good. I'm Larissa Cohen." The Brazilian smirked as she knew that her confidence had paid off, before she handed over the dog to Lewis and walked out of the Mercedes garage.

She was officially in the running for a world championship winning seat next season.

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