Emily should be used to it by now, but she still feels like a fraud as she steps into the private plane. The boys in front of her seem perfectly at ease, making themselves comfortable in the expensive beige leather seats. She lags behind them, dragging her suitcase with her, careful not to put too much strain on her ankle一even though, with the exercices she'd done with Andrea, it feels like the accident never even happened.
"Here, let me," Pierre offers as he notices her struggling and lifts the suitcase to put it in the overhead bin. "Jeez, Emily, what did you pack? Bricks?"
She lifts an eyebrow as he winces. "All those hours in a gym, and you complain about a suitcase, what a shame," she teases.
"Hey! At least, I'm helping, contrary to some people," he says, glaring at Charles who's already sitting on the left of the plane.
Charles smiles apologetically at her and she sits opposite him. She would've chosen another seat, but Pierre's already claimed the one in front of Max.
"Be nice to her, or I'll leave you here," Max threatens jokingly.
Except for Pierre, Lando and Luisa, no one knows yet about Charles and her current... predicament, and she'd like to keep it that way until she can figure out what she wants to do.
"Thank you, Maxie!"
"Stop calling me that," he growls but she knows he's all bark and no bite.
The Redbull pilot is nice enough to let her and Charles travel with him at Pierre's request, but still, she knows the trip will test her limits. It's good practice before they arrive at the circuit, though, where there will be cameras and thousands of fans. Charles and her haven't decided yet whether they'll make a public announcement about their break-up or not, and despite having thought about it for hours, she still can't make up her mind about it. On one hand, telling everyone would be easier and they wouldn't have to walk on eggshells around each other and play pretend around their friends. On the other hand, she doesn't want to deal with the tons of hate messages she'll undoubtedly receive on her social media as soon as the news breaks out. Charles's fans are supportive, but also fiercely protective of him, and some have quite the opinion about her. It wouldn't normally faze her, but she doesn't have Charles to protect and reassure her anymore. He won't be the one to defend her or be the shoulder she'll cry on when she'll inevitably stumble on vicious comments.
She's grateful for the long trip from Nice to Azerbaïdjan. She hasn't seen Pierre since she's been in the hospital and she's been looking forward to a much-needed heart-to-heart with him. As soon as Max puts on his headphones, and Charles opens up a book, she motions to her best friend and he follows her towards the back of the plane, where they'll have some privacy to catch up.
"So, on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you want me to throw Charles off the plane right now?"
She pretends to think about it for a second, even though her lips curl into a smile. "A solid 4."
"How has it been, staying at his place?"
"So far, so good. We haven't killed each other yet." Pierre laughs and she gets serious. "I mean, it's tough sometimes but I think I needed it, you know? I had so many questions, and it's been nice to finally have some answers, even if I don't like them."
"Promise me you'll be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt again." Pierre shoves her shoulder with his as she gets lost in thoughts. "What are you gonna do next?"
"I don't know," she sighs. "There are still a lot of things we need to talk about. For now, I'm just taking it step by step, and see where that leads me."
