Misery | Charles Leclerc [Abandoned]

𝙵𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗.

A/N Before you read the chapter a little clarification:

I have chosen to keep the chapter as it would have been. Mainly because it is important for the rest of the story. With this I do not wish to disregard the situation in Emilia-Romagna and I hope everyone of you is okay. This chapter takes place on the Saturday as it would have been if the GP could have been held. In the story the weather conditions would be normal May weather in italy.

***

The paddock was still not a place Fayen felt comfortable. All the people running around, multiple members from different teams, photographers, journalists, drivers and their teams, trying to pull off a good weekend. Especially now with the new format for the qualifying.

The tier restriction has all the teams in a frenzy that can be felt in all the corners of the paddock. Friday was especially busy with teams trying to test the different tiers as much as they can. It was the most entertaining training day that Fayen had ever witnessed. That was not only due to the extra push from all the drivers and their teams, but also the fact she had been spending the day with Grace hanging out in the paddock lounge and entertaining each other, because Lando had been busy all day and Pierre hadn't even known that Fayen would be coming so he hadn't cleared his schedule.

Fayen had wanted to surprise her brother and had asked Grace and Lando not to tell him she would be attending the Grand Prix. When she sneaked up to him talking to Esteban in the hospitality he almost got a heart attack. You would think a man with such reflexes could keep standing when someone jumps on his back. Apparently not, because Pierre had fallen to the ground with Fayen laughing on his back.

The four of them had eaten dinner together yesterday, but with qualifying on today's calendar the girls were left to their own devices once more. Not that Fayen was complaining. She smiled up at Grace who was telling her about an almost failed campaign while they were sipping wine in the sun sitting on the terrace of the paddock club. Around them all sorts of guests gathered, but they had found a quiet corner where they could avoid the people who wanted to be seen by everyone.

"But well, everything worked out in the end," Grace ends her last rant and Fayen just grins, shaking her head.

"You should get more picky on the brands you work with. You don't have to take everything your manager offers you."

Grace sighs before drinking the last of her wine. "Maybe, but I like doing what I do and you know I'm not the best at saying no."

Fayen looks back at her friend, lifting her sunglasses of her eyes so she can give Grace a look. "Not the best?" She asks with a pulled brow.

Grace rolls her eyes before reacting. "Okay rephrase, I am not good at saying no. Better?" Fayen makes an approving sound and resumes her previous position, sunglasses on her nose and head turned to the sun, with a little content sigh.

She is more relaxed than she had been expecting to be. After she got back in Paris last week and Grace had sent her all the information for Imola Fayen had felt her throat tightening for no clear reason at the thought of hanging around the paddock for another weekend.

Maybe her consciousness was acting up. She had been dodging the Grand Prix's for most of her life with the excuse that she didn't want to be seen as Pierre Gasly's sister, to the great disappointment of her brother. And now she had attended more races in one season than the last five combined, because her friend had wanted her to. A feeling of guilt had come over Fayen as she sat at home getting her affairs in order before leaving for Italy.

She had decided that she would attend more from now on when Pierre asked. People already started to recognize her through her own line of work and that didn't matter much. She had made a name for herself and that name happened to be Gasly as well. She had googled it out of sheer curiosity and articles over Pierre only mentioned her as family of his and her profession. It wasn't as if she would be in the public eye much for being a driver's sister anyway when there were girlfriends around that were way more interesting for the camera's to follow.