Your way to the top

chapter six

I drive trough the finish. 
"P4 Ava", Samuel says but I say nothing. The race was pretty shitty for me to be honest. It started out great but then Max took me out in the first corner causing me to fall back to P16 or something. I'm so fucking angry at him right now. I fought my way back up but unfortunately it wasn't enough.
"What the fuck Max", I say as I walk up to him.
"I did nothing wrong", he says and puts his hands up in defend.
"Oh you know what you did wrong", I say and start laughing.
"What? So it's my fault that you were in my way?", he asks and starts smirking at kind of laughing at me.
"You piece of shit", I shout and push him. I hear a few gasps around us. "You know it wasn't my fault"
I walk away towards my driving room. As I close the door tears start to form in my eyes. My own teammate. 
"Ava. Please let us in", I hear Lando say.
I open the door and fall into his arms sobbing.
He walks inside and closes the door behind him before he hugs me tight. 
"I could've gotten my first podium today and he did that? Why?", I ask through tears.
"Ava you drove fantastically today alright? I have no clue why he did that. Maybe he already knew he was going to loose", he says and smiles at me. His comment causes me to smile too.
Suddenly the door opens.
"I came here as fast as I could", Charles says out of breath.
I smile and walk over to him and give him a hug.
"That little bitch", Charles says and I laugh a little.
"Come on you got voted driver off the day. You have to show yourself for some interviews", Charles says and cups my face with his hands. "You can do it. Come on"
I nod and take off my fireproof shirt, so that I'm only wearing a crop top. I put on my cap and take a deep breath before I walk outside.
"So Ava what do you think about the race today?", a woman asks me.
"Well, I think I had a pretty good result after my beloved teammate crashed into me causing me to drop to P16. It was a rough race but I think I coped good after everything", I say and smile.
"We saw the video where you pushed Max. Do you think it was on purpose?"
I pause for a second. "Maybe it was maybe it wasn't. I don't know and I'm not going to comment on that just now"
She asks me a few more questions before I walk back into the garage again. 
"Do you think he did it on purpose?", Samuel asks me.
"Oh he sure did", I say and chuckle. 
"What makes you so sure?"
"He knew I was going to make that move. And addiontionally, there was plenty of space for him to overtake me and Charles but instead he crashed into me"
"Sounds plausible", he says and shruggs his shoulders.
"Ava", my mother shouts and I see her walking inside with Val on her arm and my dad and Mason walking behind her.
"I knew you wouldn't just give up this easily", my dad says and gives me a hug.
"He did that on purpose right?", my mother asks.
"Of course he did. He's Max Verstappen", I say and roll my eyes.
"I'm sorry", Mason says and gives me a hug.
"Don't be", I say and hug him back.
Charles and Lando come too and join our little conversation.
"We should go out tonight", Lando says.
"I can't. Valeria", I say and point towards her.
"No, no, no. Ava you should go out with them. Your dad and I are going to watch her tonight.", my mother says.
"Are you sure? When are you flying tomorrow?"
"In the evening don't worry", she says and smiles at me.
"Come on Ava", Charles says and grinns at me.
"Yeah listen to the handsome man", my mom says.
"Mom", I say and blush a little. "Okay, okay. I'll come and join you"
"Awesome. I'll text you time and adress. Do you want to come join us", Lando asks Mason.
"Of course. I would love too", he says and smiles at me. 
I see Charles slightly rolling his eyes out of the corner of my eye. This is going to be fun tonight.
I drive back with Charles and my parents since they need some things for Val for tonight. I pack them a bag and then they leave. Val doesn't want to leave at first and starts crying.
"Maybe I shouldn't go tonight", I say as she cries in my arms.
"No you are going. You haven't been out in what feels like forever. You're almost twenty-one Ava.", she says.
"Yeah but what twenty-year-old has a almost three year old daughter?", I say sarcastically.
"And? Who cares Ava? Start living your life to the fullest", she says and smiles. 
"Maybe you're right", I say and smile at her too.
"Your mother is always right", my dad says and laughs.
Eventually Val stops crying and leaves with my parents. I take a shower and put on some makeup. I'm just finishing up some last touches on it when I hear a knock at the door.
"Hello Ava. I'm ready to take you out", Charles says.
"Well I'm not quite ready, so you have to wait for a few minutes. Come inside", I say and open the door further, for him to entry. He smiles at me and then enters and takes a seat on my bed. I walk into the bathroom and close the door behind me. I'm just putting on my dress when I hear a knock at the door.
"On it", he shouts and I hear him opening the door. I finish putting on my dress and put on some earrings. I open the door to see Mason and Charles talking to eachother.
"Mason. What are you doing here?", I ask him.
"I wanted to pick you up for the party", he says and smiles.
"Well I'm already here to do that no?", Charles says.
"I didn't know you would come sorry. Charles told me he would pick me up and I agreed.", I say awkwardly. They both exchange some annoyed looks.
"Since I am already here, you could just both drive with me", Mason says.
"That's a great idea Mason. Is that okay with you Charles?", I ask him.
"Sure", he says and smiles at me. I can see that he's faking though.
I put on my high heels and take my purse. 
"You look really good tonight Ava", Charles whispers into my ear as he walks past me towards the door. I smile at him blushing a little. I close the door behind me as I walk outside and we make our way towards the garage. We walk towards Masons car and I want to get inside the back when Mason says: "No get inside the front. I'm sure Charles won't mind"
"Really?", I ask Charles.
"Yes sure.", he says and smiles at me. 
I sit down in the passenger seat and put on the seatbelt. 
"You look beautiful tonight", Mason says and gives me a cheeky smile.
"Thank you", I say and smile. I can feel the tension between these two. It's almost eating me up. For my luck, Lando chose a party that is fifteen minutes away from the hotel. This is going to be fun, I think to myself while looking out of the window.
We arrive there and walk inside. The party is huge. Music is blasting really loud and a lot of people are dancing on the dancing floor.
"They're over there", Charles says and starts walking. I and Mason follow him to a private area. I spot Lando, Pierre, Mick and Carlos already sitting there. They introduce us to Mick and then we get our first round of shots. We're having lots of fun when a handsome young man comes up to our table. He stops next to me and says: "Can I have a dance?"
I look him up and down before saying: "Sure" with a grin on my face. While he takes ny hand and pulls me towards the dancing floor I look back at Lando who shows me two thumbs up.
I bite my lip and laugh before I turn around again. The man and I dance together really close. We laugh and have lots of fun. He puts his hands on my hips and our faces come closer. At one point I'm sure he wants to kiss me. He moves in but I put my finger on his mouth and say: "Please. I'm not this easy to get" and smirk before walking off again. 
"Wait. How can I find you?", he asks me and I shrug my shoulders before I leave the dance floor and sit down in the lounge again.
"That looked hot", Lando says.
"What?", I ask.
"The way you two danced. Did he want to kiss you?", he asks.
"Yes he did but I stopped him. I'm not that easy to get", I say and smirk before taking another shot.
"Where's Pierre and Charles?", I ask.
"Charles and Pierre are dancing with some girls over there", Carlos says and laughs.
The girls are all over Charles.
"Ava you were dancing with this guy too", Lando says and laughs.
"What? I didn't say anything", I say.
"Your jaw is clenched. I know you", he says and looks at me serious.
"I don't care", I say and lean back.
"If you care so much, why won't you just ask him to dance with you? Are you afraid?", Carlos asks.
"Bitch, I am definitely not", I say and get up. I walk over to Charles and tap his shoulder.
He looks surprised and not happy to see me.
"Can I have the next dance?"
"Where's your guy?", he asks rudely.
"He's not here. Do you want to dance or not?", I ask him.
"No", he says and this one girl laughs at me.
"Well, I'm going to aks Mason then if he wants to dance with me", I say and smirk.
"Are you deaf? He said no. Leave", a girl says as Charles wants to say somthing.
"What did you say?", I ask her.
"You heard me. Bitch", she says and puts her hands on him again. I look at him and he looks massively overstrained by the situation.
"Who you callin bitch here?", I ask her and start laughing.
"You heard me. Leave. Search some ugly girls over there", she says.
"Shut your god damn mouth or I'm going to rip these ugly extensions out all by myself. Clear?", I ask her. The people around us already made a circle.
She slaps me across the face.
"You bitch", I say and laugh and put a finger on my bleeding lip. I laugh one last time before I punch her across the face. She falls to the ground and looks at me shocked.
"Are you really letting her do that?", she asks Charles. Charles just laughs and puts a hand on my waist.
"I think you should leave", he says and the girl almost starts crying.
"Get. Your. Hands. Off of me", I say to Charles in an angry voice.
"What?", he asks as his smile fades.
"I said: Hands off of me.", I say and look at him seriously. He takes his hand away from me and asks: "Why?"
"Because I'm mad at you", I say and walk away. He follows me and says: "What did I do?"
"You didn't want to dance with me and you were rude. Plus, you let that girl talk to me like that. Fuck you Charles".
"What happend? Are you bleeding?", Lando asks as he sees me coming.
"Yeah I am", I say and laugh.
"Shit and your hand too. What did you do Ava?", he asks me.
"A girl thought she could talk to me like she's better than me", I say and move my fingers. I only now notice how much my hand is hurting.
"I'll get some ice", Mason says and leaves. I sit down next to Lando.
"Sit somewhere else", I say as Charles wants to sit down next to me.
"But Ava I-", he says but stops as I look at him really angry.
Mason comes back with the ice and sits next to me. He gives me the ice and puts it on my hand and lip. I flinch. As I look up again Charles storms off.
"Shit", Carlos says and runs after him.
I tell Mick, Lando and Mason what happend. 
"He was probably jealous like you", Lando says.
"Don't even try to defend this asshole", I say.
They all stay silent before Mason asks me: "Do you maybe want to dance with me?"
"I can't belive you", I say and shake my head.
"Where are you going?", Lando ask me.
"To the bathroom", I say and walk off. I step inside and take a look at me in the mirror. My lipstick is smeared at the left corner of my mouth and my hair is a little tousled. I fix everything up before I step outside where I see Charles waiting for me.
"I'm sorry Ava", he says but I walk past him.
"Come on please", he says and I stop.
"Why were you so mean to me?", I ask him with a loud voice.
"I don't know", he says and I roll my eyes. I start to walk away again but he takes my hand and spins me around.
"I was jealous okay?"
I start smiling a little.
"Are you laughing at me?", he asks me and starts smiling too.
"A little bit", I say and start fully laughing.
"Can I make it up to you with a dance?", he asks.
"Later. I first need some shots", I say and smirk before we walk back together. We both sit down and order some drinks. At some point we're all hella drunk. Mostly me and Lando because we're the lightest. 
"Let's dance", I say to Charles and take his hand.
"I want to DJ", Lando shouts and runns off. We all watch him as he makes friends with the dj and starts djing on the stage. I take Charles' hand and pull him towards the front of the dacne floor. We start dancing like crazy and have a great night. Mick, Pierre, Carlos and Mason join too and we all have a great evening together. Mason drives me and Charles back since he didn't drink for the last few hours and is practically sober. Charles and I are sitting in the back almost asleep. He falls onto my shoulder and falls asleep. As we arrive at the hotel Mason asks if he should take me up to my room but I say no and walk up with Charles. 
"Can I crash at yours tonight?", he asks as we stand in front of my room.
"Sure", I say and open the door. I go to the bathroom and change my clothes into something more comfortable. I take off my makeup and then lay into my bed. Charles is just standing there looking at me wierdly.
"Come on", I say and point to the bed. He gets in on the other side and pulls the cover over him. 
"Can I ask you something?", he asks me.
"Sure", I say half asleep.
"What do you find hot on men?", he asks me.
"What do you mean?", I ask him.
"Like tattoos or things like that"
"Tattoos. Definitely. They're really hot. But like not a huge one. I mean these minimalistic ones", I say. "Why do you ask?"
"I don't know. I was just wondering"
"I'm really sorry Ava", he says suddenly.
"I'm not mad Charles okay?", I say.
"I know but I feel guilty. I was just overwhelmed by the situation"
"I know Charlie. I'm not mad it's not a problem", I say.
"Okay then. Good night Ava. Oh and thanks that I can sleep here", he says.
"No problem. Good night Charlie", I say and smile before I close my eyes and fall asleep.