annihilation (Charles Leclerc)

twenty

"You didn't think I actually did drugs did you?" I asked my maman who was sat across the table from me.

"No, no I was surprised!" She admitted, today was the Sunday after my birthday and my family had come over for lunch.

"So they've still put you on a race ban?" My papa asked, they only knew this information because Lorenzo had told them.

My family and the Leclercs have been close since I was three or four, Charles and I would race each other every day and by nature our families got closer, it wasn't unusual to go home and one of the boys was just there or I'd end up at their house.

They were essentially my second family.

"Yeah so I'm not racing anymore this season, we still have to see about next season." I told them, I didn't want to even admit it because it made the situation feel more real.

"They aren't stupid, they'll take you back next season. In the mean time you have lots of time to practice racing." My maman suggested, my brother Hugo nodded in agreement.

It was saddening to see how positive they were trying to be but how desperate they really were for me to be racing again, "Yeah, I'm hopeful they'll have me back in 2024, Lorenzo and I are working on it."

Papa smiled, "Yes he told us that you'd taken him back as your manager again, it's great news Mon Cherie."

"Yes, and Pascale has asked us over for dinner on May 22nd, so if you can try and come that would be great." My maman mentioned, the date being a month today made me laugh.

My mother was always so organised "I will clear my calendar and I will be there, all of the Leclerc boys came to my birthday last night actually."

"Where was my invite?" Elodie asked, she was scoffing down her pancakes besides me. I always had a good supply of pancakes or waffles as that was all she ate when she'd turn up at my house.

"Oh no did it get lost in the post?" I asked her laughing a little as she scrunched up her nose and shook her head, my sister looked like my mother, the same colour light hair and brown eyes.

"I heard you had Fernando Alonso here and I wasn't alerted??" My papa asked, my dad was always a die hard Fernando fan and who wasn't?

I laughed, "He came by to drop off a present and claimed he'd ruin the vibe and that I didn't want an old man at my party, despite how much I begged him to stay."

All of a sudden my door bell was ringing, I apologised to my family and told them to continue their meals before hurrying over to the front door in my pyjamas still, in moments like this I wish I had a peephole.

"Hello?" I spoke, peeping my head around and opening the door widely so that I could see who it was.

"Caught you at a bad time?" Charles beamed, his eyes glanced over my fluffy pjs and the food around my mouth, reminding me to wipe it with my sleeve.

It's what happens when Elodie tries to feed you.

I shook my head, "Not at all, are you okay?"

He brought out a box in front of him, opening the lid to show a massive cake, an exact replica of the one Kika and Pierre had gotten me that Arthur had accidentally ruined, "Oh you didn't have to get a cake, honestly it's all good."

"I did, Arthur felt really bad and I felt bad he'd stained your carpet." Charles mentioned, he'd attempted to get the stain out for hours last night until I told him to just give it up, he tried everything but it wasn't coming out.

"You're very sweet all of a sudden, you know that?"

"I think many people would say I was sweet." He cockily remarked, rolling my eyes I simply replied "Well I'm the only person that matters."

He nodded, handing the box over to me, "That you are."

"You know if you keep being nice to me I'm going to think you actually like me." I know how much Lorenzo had to beg him to hang out with me, even though he was the one who took my seat, he was the one who who's drink I drank, he wasn't sure about hanging out with me based on what his fans would think.

He asked in a serious voice, "Who says I don't like you? I've confessed my thoughts, Kikas I told you that I still loved you."

"You were drunk then." I countered.

"Well in that case Quinn, I still love you just as much as I always have." He remarked, standing on my porch in his hoody and jeans.

I tilted my head to the side, "You don't know me enough to love me anymore."

"I know that you love having your hair touched and stroked, but for some reason you never admit to needing that, and that you hate having it up." He began, all through childhood I had short hair until recently where I decided a change would be good.

"How the fuck.."

"Because I know you," he says softly and firmly "I've spent the last year trying to unlearn you and I've failed miserably."

"Oh Charles." I smiled at him hopelessly.

"I've been going crazy without you for the past year, ask anyone." He admitted, but I knew that when I joined F1 initially and he started to throw around insults, I knew he wasn't okay.

That wasn't him, just me.

I nodded, "I know. But the time apart was good for me actually, I needed to take a look at life and to take a look at myself, just me, I needed to know how to be alone. Without you."

We had always been inseparable, throughout school when I had no one I always had Charles. He was always there.

"And can you?" He asked, his eyes wide as if I'd turn him away from my life for another year.

"Yeah," I nodded looking down at the cake and no longer maintaining the eye contact "But I don't want to be alone anymore, I think I want to be with you."

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Twitter:
Carlossainz: how do you make important decisions?

➡️quinncarter: think of what Charles would do and then do the opposite

➡️charlesleclerc: you think about me?

➡️pierregasly: 🙄
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