Romeo and Juliet || Carlos Sainz

The storm

"So? What's on your mind? Carlos is fine, so there must be something else going on" Y/n felt that Charles had read her soul and sighed.
"Since when do you know me so well?" she hinted a smile.
"Since I saw you crying going out of the Red Bull box... and since I've been your best friend." Y/n became serious again and told him about what had happened in the Red Bull pits with her father and Max's message.

"You have to talk to Max" Y/n rolled her eyes, she had no intention of seeing Max again and Charles' advice did not sit well with her. "I know you don't want to, but you have to end this once and for all. You don't have to become best friends, not least because that seat is already taken" they both smiled, then Charles turned serious again. "The point is that you need to close that chapter and move on. For yourself, for Carlos, for the two of you, whatever it is between the two of you"

The last sentence sounded different from the others, it had a more serious, almost mocking tone to it and Y/n felt judged. Then she looked at Charles and his eyes were fixed on her, those blue eyes looked at her intensely, as if they wanted to peer into her thoughts, to understand what Y/n's real feelings were at least.
"What do you mean?" asked Y/n, she was feeling very exposed by now.
"I'm talking about the team radio, Y/n" the answer came almost out of breath, as if Charles had been waiting to talk about it since he had heard it uttered during the race.
"Why does everyone keep talking about this team radio? What team radio?" y/n was getting annoyed, no one was speaking clearly to her and she remembered practically nothing from the collision between Max and Carlos. Charles looked at her a bit astonished, he certainly didn't expect y/n to have forgotten she had said those important words, but she kept staring at him, waiting for some kind of explanation, at least from her best friend.
"Well, you said you love Carlos while his car was on fire" those words pounced on y/n and imrpovvisely brought back her memory of everything that had happened a few hours before. Everything became clearer to her and she remembered the moment when she had said those words, she blushed.
"I...well I...this is awkward" an embarrassed smile broke out on her face, she wanted to disappear. "But then who heard that?" her hands were shaking.
"Pretty much anyone who was plugged in to watch the race" now Charles was also greatly embarrassed.
"Oh no!" y/n covered her face with her hands and leaned towards the table. She thought of the reporters, the commentators, the team members, her father, Carlos's father. Everyone had heard her, everyone had heard those words, everyone except Carlos...maybe it was a good thing, given the point of agreement they had reached in those months. Good thing at least Carlos hadn't heard it, it was necessary to make sure that he never found out.
"It's okay, Y/n. Nothing happened," Charles didn't quite know how to act. "Everyone will have forgotten about it by now, don't worry!" He didn't believe what he was saying either, but he was so used to hearing about love scandals in his account that he was now taking it philosophically.

Y/n looked up, she was all red and looked into Charles' face who laughed affectionately."Don't laugh!" said Y/n burst out laughing in turn. "I said I love you to someone live on the world's air...and this someone didn't even hear it!" they both burst into thunderous laughter and for a while the thought of Max drifted from Y/n's mind.

 As soon as they got up from the table, however, Charles brought her back down to earth. As they arrived in front of the lift doors, Charles urged her to go to Max's to wrap things up and, not without inebriated snorts, Y/n took her leave of Charles, who went up to his room, while Y/n walked out of the hotel to Max's. She walked for a while and on the way thought and rethought about what Max would say to her, not knowing what to expect. On the way, however, a thunder rumbled loudly and it rained soon after, catching Y/n unprepared. Immediately she took off running and arrived at Max's hotel completely soaked.

I'm in the lobby of your hotel

Y/n sent a message to Max, shivering from the cold.
Go up to the sixth floor, the receptionists know who you are.