Rivals - Charles Leclerc

Gala Gambles and Spilled Champagne

Chapter 3

Ava's POV

Ever since the announcement, my life flipped into pure chaos. Not in the bad way you might think, but kind of more like a whirlwind of chaos. Cameras followed me almost everywhere I went, and in turn, drew wards of fans who wanted a picture with me.

With so many people taking my picture my face ended up being on almost every news station you could imagine. I was definitely not used to seeing my picture anywhere near a public newspaper so it was a lot to get used to.

As the start of the season got closer and closer, the anticipation that everyone else was feeling was reaching a boiling point. I trained almost every day with Max in the Red Bull headquarters, and we got along just fine but what I was most nervous about was meeting the other drivers for the first time.

To mark the start of the season, formula 1 decided to throw a sort of gala in Monaco, where most of the drivers and staff live, to kick off the season where every team was invited to attend. This meant that the gala would be my first chance to socialize with everyone.

My friend and roommate Marisa was convinced that this was going to be the event of the century for me. So, it was safe to say that she was treating this like it was the most important day in the universe. She had spent weeks picking out our perfect outfits, and planning what we were going to wear.

I would be lying if I wasn't intimidated by that idea of being in a room full of my competitors, but it was going to be inevitable that I would have to socialize with them at least a little bit. But Marisa's grand idea that I would be finding my 'soul-mate' in a bunch of other drives... absolutely not. But despite what I thought, Marisa had done what seemed to me mountains of work to ensure that I would have the best night of my life.

After what seemed like an eternity, the day of the gala arrived. I was woken up by the sound of an air horn going off right next to my head. The splitting sound of it made me jump out of my bed as I looked at Marisa standing next to me.

"YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!" I exclaimed, chucking one of my pillows in her direction. Which she of course caught with ease.

"We gotta start getting ready, we are losing precious time here," she said, tapping her watch as she threw my pillow back at me.

I let out a groan as I turned to my side, not wanting to leave my bed in the slightest. As I turned to face the window next to my bed, I quickly noticed that it was still dark outside, practically looking like it was the middle of the night.

"Girl, it is the middle of the night, why the hell are we up so early?!" I exclaim, concerned that she woke me up for no good reason. But instead, she just laughed at me.

"Sweetheart, we got a lot of work to do," she said with an evil smile, her pointer finger tracing a circle as she implied all the work she was going to have me go through to get ready. She was up to something, and boy was I scared.

"I'm going to regret taking you as my date tonight, aren't I?" I asked in a somewhat joking tone, as she let out a giggle.

"You have no idea" she replied, yanking the blankets off my bed. "Now get up, and get your ass in the shower," she said as she walked out of the room.

I crossed my arms, sinking back into my bed as I pouted like a child. I knew that this was going to be a long day, but I had no idea just how long it would be. And at this rate, we are already doomed.

After what felt like hours of grooming, styling, being poked and prodded, I was finally ready. As I looked at myself in the mirror, I admired the dress that Marisa had picked out for me. The dress had a silky soft pink material covering it, with delicate ruffles to transition its bodice to the skirt. The straps rested perfectly on the sides of my shoulders, adding a delicateness that made the dress appear almost dreamlike. The way that it hugged my body made it appear that the dress was made for me. Honestly, it looked amazing. The dress itself wasn't too much, yet was fancy enough that it fit the occasion perfectly. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect gown.