🇧🇪 17.07.2026 | F1 Grand Prix of Belgium: Practice 1
Stavelot, Belgique. 17th July, 2026. PIASTRI Oscar (aus), McLaren F1 Team MCL40, portrait during the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix 2026, 10th round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship from July 17 to 19, 2026 on the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, in Stavelot, Belgium - Photo Eric Alonso/DPPI Credit: DPPI Media/Alamy Live News
I’m the breakup anon, and thank you for even entertaining my request <3 You can just write the soon-to-be ex as “she” if you want and write from Arch’s POV. Or even Arch telling reader about it if reader is a close/best friend? But anything that works for you as the writer is fine with me!
it’s up! you can read it here. i’m so sorry it took me so long to get to your ask and i hope it’s okay that i wrote it in 2nd person!
in which arch’s relationship drove a wedge between you two, and you try your best to be the friend he needs.
wc: 2k
requested: yes
dragonfruitprincess’ notes: this request has been in my inbox for so longggg i’m so sorry :c i hope i was able to do your request justice anon i’m a little rusty. this one took me a while to finish (clearly) but i got some inspiration to lock in tn so i decided to finish this one up. hope u enjoy! as always my inbox is open let’s talk
warnings: alcohol consumption, toxic relationship dynamics, a lot of this is toxic imo
You were overwhelmed with joy as your apartment grew more and more crowded with the people you loved. It was your birthday, your favorite day of the year, and you were so grateful to have so many people turn up to celebrate you. You reapplied your lip gloss and blew a kiss to yourself in the mirror before heading into the living room, where the heart of the party was.
You felt like you were smiling from ear to ear as you greeted the guests who had just arrived. As you gave one of your friends a hug, you heard a loud knock at the door. You went to answer it, giggling as your roommate stood on the couch and rounded your friends up to take shots.
You opened the door to see all of Arch’s roommates.
Arch was nowhere to be seen.
One of his roommates spoke up before they could notice your deflated shoulders.
“Happy birthday! We brought beer,” he outstretched the case to you as if it were a peace offering. You plastered a smile onto your face and let them enter.
The last one of Arch’s roommates to enter must have noticed your disappointed demeanor, because he looked at you when he saw that no one else was paying attention and muttered under his breath, “Kiara.”
You let out a soft sigh and nodded, trying your best to be understanding.
Ever since Arch started dating Kiara, it’s like he slowly began to fizzle out of your life. You understood why some distance was necessary. It’s not exactly a good thing when your boyfriend is close with his girl best friend, especially when the girl best friend in question definitely had feelings for him. However, you hadn’t expected radio silence. When you invited him to your birthday party, you made sure to invite Kiara too. You’d had faith that they would turn up, but they must have had better things to do.
You missed him. And you still liked him.
You did your best to shake it off and distract yourself. You were determined to not let this affect your special night. Your lips curled up into a genuine smile as one of your favorite songs came on, and your friend beckoned you over with open arms and a drunken call of your name.
Once the party had ended, you said goodbye to the last batch of guests and tucked in a friend who was far too drunk to make it home by themselves.
You were happily humming to yourself as you washed your face and recalled your favorite moments from the night. Your phone suddenly buzzed, and you checked the message after drying off. Your stomach twisted when you saw that Arch finally texted you.
Happy birthday. Sorry I couldn’t make it.
You couldn’t help but smile at the sad GIF he sent after the initial text. You were quick to respond.
Thanks. You missed the party of a lifetime.
You found yourself chewing your lip in anticipation as the thought bubble to indicate that he was typing appeared.
I know. I heard James threw up in your sink.
You found yourself itching to ask him what could’ve been more important than attending his friend’s birthday party. So important that he chose to skip it despite all of his roommates showing up. You softly sighed as you realized you didn’t feel any anger towards him. You were happy to at least be texting him. Even text messages from him were scarce these days. You decided to give a simple response instead of prying.
Ugh. Don’t remind me.
He responded with several laughing emojis, and you let the conversation die there. You retreated to your bed with a thoughtful huff. You drifted off to sleep that night thinking of him, wondering if you’ll ever get your friend back.
About a week later, you were bundled up on the couch watching your comfort show. You had the apartment to yourself, so you decided to have a peaceful self-care night since the unit was so quiet, which included unlimited snacks and time spent in front of the TV. You were in the middle of stuffing a chip into your mouth when you heard a knock at the door. You furrowed your brows. You weren’t expecting anyone. You set your bowl down on the coffee table and tiptoed to the front door as quietly as possible.
You grew even more confused when you peered through the peephole to see Arch standing in the hallway. You didn’t hesitate to open the door.
“Hey,” you breathed out as you took in his appearance. His distress was palpable. You went from being confused to downright concerned. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Arch let out a heavy sigh and nodded, noticeably trying to compose himself, “can I come in?”
You immediately stepped aside, welcoming him into the apartment that was supposed to be all yours for the night. You didn’t mind though. Had it been anyone other than Arch that interrupted your solo night in, you would’ve been a little annoyed.
“So what’s up?” You asked casually as you led him over to the couch, offering him your forgotten bowl of chips. He politely declined, and you gestured for him to sit. He was clearly upset about something.
“I just need to talk to someone,” he sighed again, hands moving to fidget with your throw blanket, as if he needed something to distract himself.
“Well you came to the right place,” you offered him a soft smile, trying to lighten his mood. It didn’t work. “Does Kiara know you’re here?”
Arch almost winced at that. Maybe it was the wrong thing to ask, but you couldn’t help your curiosity.
“Nah,” he sunk back into the sofa, staring up at the ceiling, “that’s kinda what I wanted to talk about.”
Your stomach churned at the thought of how angry she’d be if she found out Arch came to you with his relationship troubles, but you pushed that thought aside. You wanted to be there for him, even if his relationship with Kiara was the last thing you wanted to think about. You didn’t say anything. You just stared at him and waited for him to continue.
“I don’t know if I can do this anymore,” he roughly ran his hands over his face, muffling his words.
“Do what?” You asked out of pure concern.
“This… thing with Kiara,” he let his arms fall to his sides. You frowned at the sight of him looking so exasperated and lost. “It’s exhausting. I can’t keep living like this.”
“Like what?” You pressed for him to elaborate. He wouldn’t look at you, his gaze was fixed on the ceiling, jaw clenched harder than you’d ever seen before. You stopped yourself from reaching out to hold his hand.
“Like I need permission to do anything.”
You could feel your heart skip a beat as he finally met your gaze. He didn’t allow a response from you before he continued speaking.
“Do you know how hard I tried to make it to your birthday party? You know I wouldn’t have missed it for anything, but then Kiara started yelling, and then she started crying, and… fuck. The same thing happened tonight.”
You softened with every word he spoke. It was impossible to not notice the distance he’d put between you for the sake of his relationship, but the driving force had been greater than you imagined. You opened your mouth to say something, but no words came out. You slowly shook your head in shock.
He huffed and pressed his head back into the couch cushion, his demeanor softening. It broke your heart to see him so defeated. “I just… I don’t know if I should give up on us.”
You hoped he didn’t notice the way you froze up.
He sat up as he continued speaking, “I mean, this is all coming from a place of love, right? I know she loves me. She’s just… scared, and wants to keep us together.”
“Arch…” you said his name slowly and shook your head. This dynamic seemed anything but healthy, and your feelings for him aside, it hurt to see your friend in such emotional turmoil over something that was supposed to uplift him.
You watched him deflate as he absorbed your unspoken words. He knew he couldn’t keep allowing this, but something inside him just wouldn’t let him pull away.
He softly said your name. “What do I do?”
Leave her. Be with me instead.
You almost felt disgusted with yourself. He was trusting you with his feelings, his personal issues, and you had to stop yourself from steering him in your direction. You were being selfish.
You bit your lip to contain the words you really wanted to say to him. As much as you wanted it, you knew it would be wrong on a multitude of levels. You couldn’t do that to Arch, especially not when he was in a state like this.
You took a long moment to respond, making sure you didn’t say the wrong thing. You gently placed your hand over his where it rested on the couch. You could feel your heart beating out of your chest.
“I can’t tell you what to do,” you began softly, “but I can tell this is hurting you, and it doesn’t seem healthy, Arch. You have to do what’s best for yourself, what makes you happy,” you gently squeezed his hand before asking, “are you happy?”
Arch paused, eyes fixed on the coffee table before shaking his head. “No,” he started, “I’m not.”
“Then why stay?” You whispered as you scooted closer to him. “There are a ton of other girls out there who would die for a chance to treat you right.”
Like me.
As Arch looked over at you and chuckled, you could feel yourself becoming overwhelmed with nerves. You had to force yourself to continue speaking, to act like the grounding presence he needed, despite how much it pained you to restrain the true feelings you had been harboring for years now.
“I know it’s hard to walk away, but you aren’t being loved the way you deserve, Arch.”
And you deserve everything, Arch. Let me give it to you.
You cut yourself off with a sigh, stopping yourself from revealing those words that threatened to pour out of your mouth. You met his gaze, which had seemingly gotten heavier, and continued.
“Sometimes you have to be selfish.”
Something in the air had shifted once you said those words, but you couldn’t decipher what it was. Arch slowly nodded as he processed everything you’d told him, and you couldn’t help but be nervous to hear his decision.
Ultimately, he didn’t tell you what he was thinking, but he pulled you into a bone-crushing hug that you couldn’t help but melt into.
“Thank you,” he muttered into your hair, “you’re the most amazing friend I could ever ask for.”
Hearing that godforsaken word made your heart shatter. But it was to be expected. You pulled away and tried to give him the happiest smile you could offer, but traces of your heartbreak lingered in your expression. Arch didn’t stay for long after that.
In the following days, you didn’t hear much from him. You had no idea what he was doing or what decision he’d made for his relationship. You were dying to just text him and ask, but you couldn’t help but worry that you revealed too much that night on your couch.
He’d come to you for help, and all you could think about was yourself.
You were sitting on your couch, anxious despite all your attempts at a distraction, when you heard yet another knock at your door. You let out a heavy sigh and got up to open it.
Your heart sank when you opened it to see Arch, but when he hastily cupped your cheeks and pulled you into a bruising kiss, you could feel all your worries slip away.
this is so nice thank you so much!!! i’m soso happy people have enjoyed it because i genuinely had so much fun writing it (even tho i had finals i def should’ve been studying for instead)
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