sparks fly | m.verstappen

eighteen

XVIII. Broken Bracelet

JAPAN: September 2023

FP3 & Qualifying: After the day filled with excitement, Angel did not expect visitors at her hotel room. She was planning on resting for that evening. Still a bit jet lagged but then someone appeared on her door, well a lot of them.

Oscar found himself going to her hotel room, he was seen by Lando who was with Carlos and Charles and the three joined him. As the elevator opened, there was Daniel and Max who found out where they were going, so they joined the youngest driver to her room.

When she opened the door, she was expecting only Clara who told her she couldn't sleep but then there were the drivers. And when the said expected guest arrived, she was also stunned at the number of people in her friend's room.

"I didn't know this was a party." Clara said as she sat down next to Oscar on the floor. Angel sighed, "I didn't know they were coming."

Lando grinned, "Aww. Did we ruin girls' night?" he teased as he laughed. Clara scoffed and threw a pillow at him, hitting him the face. "I don't like your girlfriend Daniel." he said making the pair blush.

Angel smiled, "So it's official then?" she asked. Clara huffed and crossed her arms, "Yes. That was why I came to talk to you about it." she admitted, her cheeks becoming more red.

Daniel gasped dramatically, "Don't tell me you're thinking twice about it Lara." Clara rolled her eyes and moved to sit next to him, she kissed his cheeks, "No. But I had to tell someone other than Max." she said.

Max snickered, "I would have known eventually." He said with a smirk. "Anyway! Other than Daniel and Clara, congrats by the way." Lando said as he turned to Angel and smiled.

"Anything spicy that happened when you went home?" he asked. Angel and Oscar shared a look. Of course, Oscar knew all about her thoughts with her father's reaction to Max but she didn't really quite knew what it meant.

"Oh! There is! Arthur never tells me anything." Charles said as his smile turned into a frown. Oscar smirked, "Because you tell Carlos and then he tells Lando and it reaches Daniel and then Max and then the whole paddock knows." he said and the others can't help but agree, the Australian was right.

"Anyway, you don't have to tell us if you don't feel like it." Clara said and Angel smiled at this. But she knew she had to talk about it, they were all becoming closer (outside of work now.)

"Actually, it involves Max." she said as she turned to the Dutch driver. His eyes widened in shock as Carlos laughed, "Is it meet the parents time?" he joked.

Angel shared a laugh with the rest of their friends as she grabbed his hand, "Actually it's more of as if my father knows you. I don't know..." she muttered.

Max furrowed his eyebrows, "You know what, when you and my dad met earlier, it seemed he knew you too." he admitted. The two looked so deep in thought that Clara started to worry.

She knew how Jos Verstappen was, and if he recognized the girl it was either a good or bad thing. She just hoped it was a good thing, for the sake of her best friend.

"Maybe..." Daniel trailed making them look at him, "They knew each other. Like, hasn't your father been sponsoring drivers since Jos' time in F1?" he asked.

Angel hummed, acknowledging the idea. "Maybe, but we'll deal with that later on. What we need to talk about is Max's birthday." she said with an excited smile.

Everyone cheered as Max chuckled. He shook his head, "I don't even know if I'll celebrate-" "Yes you will!" Angel and Clara cut him off.

Charles laughed, "Seems like your girls have everything planned for you mate." he said as Max smiled gratefully at the two. In all honesty, he was getting old for birthday parties, he just wanted to get some dinner with friends and maybe a few drinks in.

As the night continued on, Angel excused herself to use the bathroom. Every one was starting to finish up conversations as there was race day tomorrow.

But then the Filipina walked back to the sitting area, a deep frown on her face. "Oh no, what happened Ate Ange?" Oscar asked worried. Everyone turned to her, she sighed and sat next to Max, her shoulders slumped, "Nothing big just, my bracelet broke." she said sadly.

Everyone shared looks as Max's jaw dropped. He knew she loved the bracelet but not to an extent like this. He knew she adored it, wore it everyday, but not to a point where it would make her this emotional.

"Broke? How?" Clara asked as she sent a look to Daniel who was smirking at Max. Though Angel never noticed as her eyes and attention were purely on the bracelet that was now in her palm.

"It snapped and now its unravelling." she muttered as she tied the ends in hopes it could be saved. "Did you ever find out who gave it to you?" Carlos asked.

Angel sighed and looked up towards them, she shook her head, "No. It didn't have a note or anything." she muttered as she struggled to put it on her.

Max moved closer to her and helped her. She sighed as the driver tied it around her wrist. "You never know, you might get a new one." he said. She chuckled, "Yeah. Maybe." she said as she thanked him for 'fixing' it for now.

It didn't end for the group to disperse, race day was tomorrow and it was important for the drivers to get some sleep. Angel was saying good bye to Clara, the girls giggling as the boys waited for them to finish.

Oscar nudged Max who was staring at the now tied bracelet around Angel's wrist. "You know, there's some pretty cool yarn around here in Suzuka." he whispered.

The Dutch driver looked at him in shock but the younger Australian just smirked and shrugged his shoulders, "Don't worry your secret is safe with me."