Redemption {Charles Leclerc}

8

When you and Seb arrive at the track, there are already lots of people around. Once in the Ferrari garage, you greet Britta with a hug and Seb's main team members with a small wave before you make some small talk with Seb's race engineer Riccardo. 

You've known these people for four years now and they've made you feel comfortable in the garage right from the beginning. Not everyone is aware of everything you and Seb have been through over the last couple of years. Only the people in the team closest to Seb know about your parents. But the thing is, they never treated you differently after hearing what happened and that's what you like about being in this place.

Lots of people tend to feel sorry and pitiful when they hear about your story and you absolutely hate it. You understand where those people are coming from but you just want to be treated normal like any other person. That's why you tend not to tell anyone anything these days. 

Two hours have already passed when it's time to eat lunch in the motorhome. Seb, Britta and you make your way into the lunch room and you immediately scan the room to see if Charles is there. 

He isn't. 

You're not sure if you feel relieved or disappointed. A little bit of both probably. 

You put some food on your plate just the way everyone else does and you join your brother and Britta at a table. They're busy discussing all the activities of today, the ones before and after the race. You're not really interested in hearing about all that so instead you just grab your book from your bag and start reading. 

You're reading Wuthering Heights. It's an absolute classic and it's truly the best book ever in your opinion. No matter how many times you've read it already, you keep falling in love with it over and over again. You loved the story right from the beginning but reading it multiple times made you analyze the story in a much more in-depth way. It's really interesting to think about the choices Emily Brontë made as a writer and to explore why she made those choices and how they were perceived during that period of time. Right now you're at the part where Heathcliff returns just six months after Catherine and Edgar married one another. 

"Hey Soph. Sophia. Earth to Sophia," Seb says while he nudges your side. 

You look up annoyed as he should know better than to disturb you when you're reading. 

"What!?" you hiss annoyed as you look at him. 

Seb moves his eyes to indicate that there's someone standing in front of you. 

You move your head to look where he's looking and almost choke on your tongue. 

Oh shit. It's Charles. 

Oh god, you're being so rude. What should you say?

Charles beats you to it as he chuckles. 

"Hi Soap. Nice to see you today. What were you so caught up in?" he asks. 

You smile shyly, your eyes full of embarrassment. 

"Oh.. Uhh... Hi Charles. Oh... Uhh... Just this book." 

You hear someone gasp on your side which is ofcourse your annoying brother. 

"Just this book? Am I hearing that right? Sophia Vettel calling Wuthering Heights 'just this book'? Wait Sophia... is that really you?" Seb says while he jokingly touches your arm to see if you're real. 

You slap his hand away and laugh. 

"Oh shut up Seb," you say while you hear Charles and Britta laugh on your other side. 

Sebastian smirks widely and you angrily glare at him. You're definitely going to make him pay later for embarrassing you like this. 

You look up to Charles who smiles at you apologetically. 

"Well... I'll let you read in peace. Maybe I'll see you around?" he half says, half asks. 

You nod in silence, not knowing what to say anymore. 

"Good luck in the race Seb," Charles says while Seb says the same to him. 

Charles turns around to find himself and his trainer another table but not before giving you one last smile and a small wave. You smile and wave back before turning your attention to Seb and Britta again who are trying hard not to burst into laughter. 

"What!?" you whisper loudly, annoyed by their childish behaviour. 

They both can't hold it in anymore and start to laugh uncontrollably while you try to keep your red head straight. 

"Oh it's nothing sis. But please, you need to learn how to flirt because this just isn't making you look good," Seb says while he continues to laugh. 

You gasp. 

Flirting? You weren't trying to flirt. 

Were you really acting that embarrassing? 

Oh god. Of fucking course you were. 

You're Sophia Vettel. You always manage to embarrass yourself. 

"And did he just call you Soap? Does he even realize what that means in English?" Seb continues as he and Britta start to laugh even louder. 

You roll your eyes at both of them and let them have their laughter for a few seconds before you speak up. 

"Okay okay. You can stop laughing now. It's not funny anymore," you say while you try hard not to burst into laughter yourself. 

You actually like how Charles pronounces your name. It's unique and it's cute.

Not that you'll ever tell them about that. 

Their grins slowly disappear from their faces as Britta speaks up. 

"Well, it's not like you can help it. Not being a good flirter is one hundred percent a family flaw. You're just as bad as Seb," she says while smirking. 

Seb throws his hands up in defense and gasps. 

"I can't believe you just said that Britta. I thought you were on my side here? And also, if my flirting is so bad then how did I end up with Holly?" he asks rhetorically while crossing his arms. 

Britta rolls her eyes and looks at you. 

"Yeah, that's a mystery none of us have been able to resolve yet," you say while smirking at Seb.  

He laughs loudly before he stands up and leaves the table without saying another word. Both you and Britta shake your heads once again because of his stupidity and then follow his example. You all need to prepare for the race that's in two hours, particularly Sebastian ofcourse. 

You neatly place your empty plate and used cutlery on the counter which earns you a smile from the bartender. You smile back and walk to the exit of the motorhome but you can't stop yourself from turning around to take a look at Charles one more time. 

He's happily eating and smiling with some of his crew members and you can't help but admire his smile. He's so cute when he's happy. 

"Sophia! Stop gawking," you hear Seb scream from outside the motorhome which immediately makes you run outside to where Seb and Britta are standing. 

You give Seb an angry glare once again and he and Britta laugh before they turn around and walk towards the garage. 

Shit. You're caught once again. 

You really can't stop embarrassing yourself these days.  

Seb's voice was loud but you still have a tiny bit of hope that Charles hasn't heard him. 

But ofcourse, as you walk by the window of the motorhome to follow Seb and Britta, his playful smirk tells you otherwise.