chapter six
"the discovery"
[flashback, 2017-2018]

author's note: hi, this is a series of timestamps about how Leslie found out about her cancer and how Leslie and Lando met. Enjoy!

side note: I had no clue about what Max Fewtrell's are called so his mother is named Nicole.

[25th of November, 2017]

"Dad I'm telling you, this is not good."

"Don't you just have a bladder infection?"

Leslie was concerned. For a week now, she had to go to the toilet every hour, and when she did, it hurt so much to even pee a little. It seemed to be a bladder infection.

"I don't know? Do I have to see our GP?"

"If you want to. You could also sit it out for a few days, bladder infections should only last a couple of days. But you can still call to make an appointment if you want to be a hundred percent sure."

"Alright, then that's what I'll do."

And so Leslie called her doctor to make an appointment. Even if she only had a UTI it would probably be smarter to visit her doctor. Weren't you supposed to go on antibiotics for UTIs anyways? She made an appointment for later that day because a spot had come free on the GP's schedule.

The consultation went great and every symptom led back to them belonging to an UTI indeed. But for everything to be sure, she left a urine sample which was to be tested in the laboratorium. A few days later the house phone rang and Michael picked up. A concerned look appeared on his face when the doctor explained that Leslie was going to need a follow up appointment in a hospital, because they found something else in her tests but couldn't exactly find out what.

[16th of December, 2017, 14:18h]

"Leslie, we have some bad news for you. Your tissue sample results came back and they showed a tumor in your abdominal area. They are confirming our concerns from the CT-scan. We found out you have ovarian cancer."

The life of the sixteen year old girl fell apart at that moment. She had ovarian cancer? At her age? It was something nobody would have expected.

"Are you sure?" she asked. She didn't know what to do, what to say or what to feel other than overwhelmed by the news. I mean, she expected some kind of bad news. She wouldn't have been called back for a tissue sample test after a CT-scan if it was all good. But still the tiniest sliver of hope had made her think that it could just be a malfunction after all.

The doctor nodded, David Haynes is what he was called. "Yes we are 100 percent sure, and if we are bringing back your first symptoms for the 'UTI', it could have been obvious back then. Abdominal swelling and bloating, loss of appetite, fatigue, the frequent need to pee and if so, with pain are all symptoms of ovarian cancer," he listed while showing her the tablet with the results, "I'm sorry." It was Leslie's turn to nod. "I will explain what our recommended procedure for you is, but we will have to wait for your mom to arrive at the hospital so both of your parents can hear everything. You are still a minor, so whatever the choice will be, your parents have to agree."

And so it was decided. The three decided to go for the recommended procedure which would include chemotherapy. The cancer was at stage 1 for now, meaning that it was only limited to the ovaries, but it was going to spread out to the fallopian tubes soon too to become stage 2. In the best case the chemotherapy would slow down the spread and eventually die the tumor out. In the worst case, her ovaries would have to be removed.

[16th of December, 2017, 15:00h]

Leslie texted Max's mom on the way home, asking if he was home because he hadn't replied to any of her texts or calls so when she got a heads up from his mother, she asked her father to change course and head over to Max's house.

When they knocked on the door Max's mother opened up and Leslie stormed inside without even saying 'hi', which wasn't something she'd normally do. Michael decided to tag along with his daughter and catch up with Nicole as they were friends so he could talk about everything that just happened, and Nicole would probably have some questions herself after getting such worrying texts from Leslie. Leslie was like another of her kids to her.

Max didn't hear the stomping up the stairs as he was too focussed on playing his game with one of his best friends Lando Norris. They knew each other from racing and while Max was racing in Formula Renault, Lando was a rising superstar who would start the new season in Formula 3. They tried to hang out as much as their busy schedules and traveling distance would allow them to. And when they met up they did what they loved most: playing video games. So instead of being able to hear the creaking stairs, they could only hear their own competitive yelling towards the screen.

But then the door flung open and the boys shot up from their chairs in shock. They were met with the blonde girl with tear stained cheeks. Lando was confused, who was this? Though his question was partially answered quickly after.

"Oh my god, Leslie. What happened to you? Do you want to go somewhere else?" Max rushed himself over to Leslie to embrace her in a hug. However he stopped in his tracks when three words were dropped. Leslie hadn't even noticed Lando yet, nor would she have cared. "I have cancer." The words came out in more of a whisper but both boys heard.

"What?" Max struggled to say, he was shocked. What the fuck? Lando gasped and it was only then that Leslie noticed his blue eyes and gaping mouth. Was this the friend Max always told her about?

"I don't even know what to do Max. Am I going to make it to the end of the year?" It was pure and honest fear what Leslie was feeling. She was so unsure of everything right now.

"Hey, hey. Calm down. Of course you will make it to the end of this year. You will beat it. Come, give me a hug." The two hugged each other tightly while Leslie buried her face in her friend's chest. Max carefully walked them out of his room so he wouldn't overwhelm both of his friends even more. They headed over to Sam's room, he wasn't home right now anyway, and sat down on his bed. The blonde explained everything from the moment she first started feeling unwell until today's hospital visit and the whole journey she was about to make. Her chemo would start December 28th, so she could still celebrate Christmas without feeling even more sick.

Lando was left in Max's room, wondering what had just happened. This seemingly unfamiliar girl ran into them playing games only for him to realize that this was Leslie, Max's girl best friend. They grew up together. He remembered all of the stories Max told him, but only when the two left for a little more privacy. She seemed like a lovely girl so he found it sad to meet her at such an unfortunate time.

[17th of December, 2017, 12:00h]

A day later Leslie headed over to the Fewtrells again, this time to meet Lando properly and play some games with them, instead of walking in on them while crying. The Bristol Boy was sleeping at Max's for a couple of days, as they didn't see each other that often anymore, as far as she understood from their stories. Yesterday's news still hadn't sunk in, but she tried to feel a bit better and accept the fact that she was sick. Nobody dared to drop a word on her illness.

[25th of December, 2017, 09:29h]

Lando Norris - iMessage

Merry Christmas Leslie🎄

Happy Christmas to you too Lando!🎄

You were up early

Yeah, was headed to the
stables to help my sister out

Ahw, she rides?

Yes! She is a showjumper

Aah so cool, my sister rides too

Love to hear it. How have you
been holding up? Doing some
fun Christmas stuff?

I'm alright. More nervous for
Thursday. Everybody is pitying me
now, I hate it. We went to this little
Christmas market the other day,
but other than that, not really

I'm so sorry you have to feel
that way...

No, don't feel sorry. I don't want
you to pity me too lol

Tell me about your Christmas.
Anything planned?

Okay if you say so :)

Well we (my sisters, brother
and me) went to the stables
this morning to help Flo (riding
sister) out. And now we are
just preparing the food and the
house for dinner already. My
grandparents are flying in from
Belgium for Christmas so I'm
looking forward to that

I love that for you! Have fun
these days Lando☺️

And thank you for treating me
normally the last couple of days.
And I can't say sorry too many times
for our meeting, it should have been
a better first meeting

Thank you Leslie, I hope you
can enjoy these days a little
despite everything.

And of course. I like that about
you, not wanting others to pity
you and acting like you're dying
already. You've got a whole life
ahead of you. Never hesitate to
call or text me and Max

💓

[1st of January, 2018, 00:00h]

Lando Norris - iMessage

Happy New year Lando. To
being a rookie f3 champion!

Happy New year Leslie, to a
speedy recovery and our friendship!

[24th of January, 2018, 16:39h]

Leslie had just had her second round of chemotherapy and was sent off home again. This time when she arrived, Lando was waiting for her at her doorstep. Over the last month they had become good friends and Max and the two of them were texting 24/7. Really so much, that their parents had to take their phones away sometimes because they were too much of a distraction to the teens.

"Lando!" The blonde exclaimed! She wanted to run towards him, but felt too weak. Lando walked over to her and embraced her carefully. Though she might not want to appear sick, he wanted to make sure he wouldn't hurt her in any way.

"I didn't expect to see you today. Sorry I look awful." The curly haired knew that she was referring to her hair loss. Big strands started falling out since a week ago, and though Leslie knew this was coming, she felt awful about it.

"Nooo, silly. You look beautiful." Leslie knew that they were friendly, but Lando telling her she looked beautiful despite feeling the complete opposite made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. She blushed slightly and thanked him.

Michael and his girlfriend Amira were inside already but were peeking at the two teens from the kitchen window. They so saw it coming that these two would fall in love soon enough.

[14th of February, 2018, 11:57h]

Lando Norris - iMessage

Happy valentines!

Happy valentines to you too?

Are you home today?

And if yes, do you want to
meet up? I have to tell you
something

I am home in Birmingham today.
But if you want to talk about what
I think you want to talk about wait
for tomorrow. Asking on Valentines
is so cringe and I also don't believe
in it. Also, I'll be in Luton at my
mom's tomorrow so that's closer.

Wow, ouch!

This feels like rejection

Meet me tomorrow, at Camden
Market, 14:00?

And Camden isn't cringe?

Shut it loser, I won't come

Okay, okay, date is set

So it's a date?

It's a date.

[15th of February, 2018, 16:07]

And as expected, Lando asked Leslie to be his girlfriend. Of course she said yes. The last two weeks, all that she could think about was him. How his eyes sparkled every time they were together, with or without Max, facetime or in real life. And she could say the same about her eyes too. She might be and feel sick, but when his name was mentioned, her heavy heart felt a little lighter.

The last two weeks her hair also fell out more and more, so she had decided to shave it all off. She was wearing a beanie to cover up, also because it was chilly outside, but she got stares from many people around them. Lando sneaked his arm around her shoulder and pulled her away from the crowd. He made her feel protected. They ended up having dinner in a little cafe diner in Camden, what later would become their favorite spot to go. It became their spot. He promised her to go to as many hospital appointments as he could outside of his own schedule. He started racing again soon, but he would surely fit her in his agenda.

[15th of March,2018, 13:21]

This day was supposed to be round 5 out of 6 of chemo, but what nobody wanted to hear was told today. Lando met up with Maisie en Leslie and headed over to the hospital. But when they thought Leslie was going to get her chemotherapy, Dr. Haynes had other news. The medication wasn't resulting in what the doctors first expected them to do. The stage two cancer was now fully spreading to the fallopian tubes so they saw no other option than to remove both the ovaries and the fallopian tubes. An urgent surgery was needed, so instead of going to oncology she was brought to the operation room. And so a new journey started. She needed to complete her 6 weeks of chemo, but after that Leslie should be cancer free. Of course she had to come in for regular check-ups. But with the bad news came a little bit of a rosier future. But after all, she had her family, Max and her Lando by her side to support her all the way through.