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It had now been a couple of days since Gina nearly killed her newfound best friend by making her choke on her water and it was safe to say Chanel never wanted to leave. Mick had taken her hiking, shopping and even to the beach to make it feel a little bit more like home, and Chanel had absolutely fallen for the country.
So instead of leaving for the Amalfi Coast like they originally planned, they cancelled their tickets and decided to stay in Geneva for a little while longer. It was coming to the end of their first week off and Chanel felt unusually tired when she woke up, even though she'd had her 8 hours of sleep.
It had become a common occurrence for her to wake up to Mick's arms wrapped around her, the girl somehow managing to slip away every morning before he woke up and spent the whole day apologising to her for things he couldn't control.
Today was no different, she shuffled out of bed and got herself dressed in his bathroom whilst he stirred from his sleep and got some motivation to get out of bed. Her eyes lingered on his back muscles again when she walked out of the bathroom, a hot flush of blood pouring into her cheeks when he caught her stare.
He teasingly smiled at her as she rolled her eyes, sitting down on the end of his bed with a comb in her hand. She separated her hair down the middle without a mirror and started to do her usual braids, Mick watching her in awe.
"How can you do that so well?" Mick asks as her fingers move through her hair, twisting and overlapping the strands.
"Plenty of practice." She beams, tying her first braid up at the end before doing the other side.
Once she'd finished, she followed Mick downstairs into the kitchen where everyone else was already waiting to start breakfast, Gina patting the seat beside her for Chanel to take. Chanel took it with a smile, much to Mick's dismay, discussing the crazy dream Gina had that involved lots of animals and a boat, quite like Noah's arc.
"I hope you two don't have anything planned for today, your father is throwing a party tonight." Corinna looks at Mick, his lips curling up into a smile before he looks at Chanel. Too enthralled in Gina's full-on-crazy dream she hadn't heard Corinna say anything, so Mick just nodded at his mother as an answer for them both.
After helping Corinna clean up the kitchen, Chanel joined Mick and Gina in the back garden where they were sunbathing themselves in the glorious heat. Angie was quick to leave Mick's side the second the Monegasque sat down on one of the sun loungers, Mick frowning whilst his sister laughed at the way his dog had just ditched him.
The family and Chanel spent the whole day sunbathing and eating summer fruits that reminded Chanel of home, telling stories from their childhood and laughing at each other's wacky experiences.
At some point the dogs ended up in the pool and so did Mick, courtesy of Chanel and Gina who pushed him in when he was trying to get Angie out. The look on his face was shocked at how cold the water was compared to the warmth of the air and the way the two girls were ganging up on him.
Neither of them realised Michael sneaking up behind them, the older Schumacher giving both a light push on the back which caused them both to stumble into the water. Chanel came back up first, gasping for air at just how cold the water truly was whilst Mick and Michael laughed at their demise.
Michael held his hand out for Chanel as she swam to the edge, expecting to help her out but instead he went headfirst into the water as well. Gina laughed loudly with Chanel, both girls unable to control the fits of giggles whilst Mick and Michael started to splash them with water.
Corinna walking out of the house halted their antics, her hands holding a tray full of drinks whilst she looked down at the pool with furrowed eyebrows. Setting them down on the side, she made her way over to the pool and jumped in to join in with the antics.
Laughter resonated in the back garden, the dogs swimming around carefree and unbothered by the five human beings acting like idiots. Chanel felt so happy she could cry, it was like the last few years of her life hadn't happened and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.
After spending what felt like hours in the pool messing around, everyone decided it was time to go inside and get ready for Michael's party tonight. Before Chanel could even think about going to Mick's room to get ready, Gina dragged her across the hallway and into her room instead.
"I'll get your stuff, you're mine for tonight." Gina winks at the young Monegasque before disappearing to get Chanel's things.
When Gina came back her room ended up turning into a fashion show, with Chanel being shown all the dresses the oldest Schumacher sibling owned. Finally setting on a pale pink one for her friend, Chanel rummaged through all of her own things to pluck out the dresses she'd brought in the event she would go clubbing.
Gina immediately told her to wear the red one, taking away the other two and shoving them back in her suitcase without any arguments. Hair and makeup came next, and soon enough, they were all dolled up and ready to go. Corinna had joined them whilst they were doing their hair to give them an extra pair of hands, smiling at the two girls when they were finally done.
"I have to say, Chanel, you're the best looking Leclerc of the four of you." Gina beams, nudging the brunette as they walked downstairs. In the hour it took the girls to get dressed the house had started to fill with all of Michael's friends from town, a few family members and a few of Mick and Gina's childhood friends.
There was one girl in particular who immediately gave Chanel the cold shoulder, not acknowledging her presence when she walked over with Gina as the Schumacher introduced her to everyone. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Chanel excused herself from the group of girls to find Mick instead, knowing she'd feel a lot more comfortable with him.
Finding Mick wasn't as easy as intended as it seemed a lot of Michael's friends were tall, blonde and had a similar haircut to his. She was about to give up when she heard his laugh coming from outside, squeezing past a few people who were crowding the back door to get to him.
"Hey, you finally finished getting ready." Michael grinned as he saw her, watching his son turn his head to look at her. Mick's eyes had practically turned into hearts at the sight of her, the red dress possibly the most perfect thing she had ever been seen in.
"It's nice to see you again Chanel." Sebastian Vettel grins from beside Michael, his wife Hannah sitting on the other side of him. Chanel waves at him as she sits down beside Mick, crossing one of her legs over the other whilst joining the conversation they were having.
The night was now in full swing with people singing along to the music and drinking their thoughts away at the biggest bash of the year. Gina had become increasingly more upset that Chanel had left her until she reappeared with Mick by her side, giggling as the alcohol ran through her system.
The girl who ignored her before was now staring at her like she wanted to end her life, Mick's arm was placed over her shoulder to keep her at arms' distance. This girl had known Mick for years and was completely in love with him, but it seemed the blonde only had eyes for his teammate.
The glare she was giving Chanel got so intense that her eyes started to hurt, heart dropping in her stomach as she watched Mick lean down to whisper in her ear before they waked away. She followed them with Gina, hoping they weren't getting up to anything she didn't want to see whilst she was there.
"Where's Mick?"
"He's sitting with Chanel on the balcony, Kyra. What's this newfound obsession with him?" Gina furrows her eyebrows at her friend, watching her storm away rather than answer the question.
Chanel sat across from Mick on the settee, Sebastian sitting beside her whilst Hanna sat beside Mick. They were having a game of blackjack, Seb and Chanel vs Hanna and Mick, a game that Seb and Chanel were both very good at.
Of course Mick and Hanna lost, Mick's bottom lip sticking out as he pouted at what he called an 'unfair advantage' given the other team already knew how to play. Seb and Chanel were both beaming with glee, high-fiving each other and clinking their drinks together before taking their victory sips.
Finishing off her drink, Hanna took Chanel away from the two German boys to get another, leaving Seb and Mick alone to chat. Mick looked like he was dying to say something, Sebastian could just tell with the way the clogs in his brain were turning.
"Alright Mick, what's on your mind?" Seb asks, placing his drink down on the table. Mick stayed quiet, looking down at his hands whilst his mentor attempted to read the thoughts in his brain.
"You like her don't you?"
"So so much and it's killing me. I can't jeopardise her career all because of some silly crush, she has it so much worse than anyone else on the grid." Mick sighs.
"Look, Mick, have a crush on her all you want, do what you want about it, but never forget what the media is going to say if they find out about you both. They'll tear her reputation to shreds and as much as I'd love to see you guys together, be careful." Seb comments, reminding him how sexist F1 commentators and critics can be.
"I know, I know about all of that. I just... I don't think the feeling is ever gonna go."
"Then do something about it, but make sure you protect and defend her from every bad comment that's going to come her way. She's a sweet kid, I've watched her cry over something Charles has said to her before, she's very vulnerable and prone to critique." Sebastian responds, both German's going quiet when the girls come back.
This time Hanna sits beside her husband and smiles, letting Chanel take her place beside Mick as she handed him another bottle of beer. He thanked her with a kind smile, settling into another conversation about racing and the last two rounds of the season with Seb and Hanna.
Chanel beamed when she heard one of her favourite songs playing inside, placing her fruity cocktail down on the table before walking into the house. Mick followed, leaving Seb and Hanna to laugh at their antics whilst they were alone outside.
Mick found her in the crowd of sweaty bodies dancing with Gina, singing along to the lyrics together and dancing like it was their last night on earth. Gina spotted her brother and winked at him, disappearing in the crowd to dance with someone else whilst Chanel looked at Mick with a grin.
As if it were a replay of what happened in Spa, Chanel wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck and shut her eyes for a moment whilst she enjoyed the music, Mick's hands resting on her hips. The silk material of her dress beneath his fingertips felt like heaven to him, her fingers lightly grazing the short, freshly-cut hair at the back of his neck.
Gina kept a close eye on them, wanting more than ever for them to kiss one another and spill all of their feelings to one another. Mick let his forehead rest against hers as the music blared through the speakers, eyes locked with one another as if the rest of the world didn't exist.
His breath hitched in his throat as she brushed her nose against his softly, one of her fingers slipping down the sharpness of his jaw and to his chin where she held it softly. Just as their lips brushed together Chanel felt herself being pulled away from him just like she did in Spa, but this time it wasn't her brother, it was the girl from earlier on.
She barely had time to register what was going on until she felt alcohol dripping down her face and soaking into her hair, eyes tightly shut as she tried to imagine nothing had just happened. Gina scoffed and immediately dragged the Monegasque away from the scene, listening to her brother scold their childhood friends for being rude.
"Are you okay?" Gina asks, turning the shower on in the bathroom so Chanel could clean herself up. Chanel nods, grimacing at the hair sticking to her skin and the coldness of her dress now it was soaked with whatever Kyra was drinking.
"Gi, is she okay?" Mick asks softly, not wanting to barge in.
Gina responded for her, leaving the bathroom to let her shower in peace whilst she sourced some pyjamas for her. Mick handed her one of his shirts whilst Gina went through Chanel's suitcase to find some shorts, placing them on the bathroom counter without actually looking inside the bathroom.
"I have too much hair." Chanel admits when she finally reappeared, Gina and Mick sitting in Gina's room on the bed.
"Did you manage to get it all out?" Gina asks with concern.
"Yeah it's all gone, my dress is ruined though, all the sequins are stuck together. Was she drinking super glue or something?"
Gina laughed at her joke and watched her pat her hair dry, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her mirror to part her hair down the middle. Mick simply admired her, trying to hide the happy smile he had on his face because she was wearing his shirt, and she looked good in it too.
"I'm sorry about Kyra, she's like madly in love with Mick."
"I don't blame her, but I don't think it's nice to throw drinks on people." Chanel hums, not realising what she'd said.
Gina looked at her brother and winked, nudging him slightly before leaving the two in her room to go get a drink. Before Mick could even say anything, before he could even fathom getting his feelings out in the open, her phone started to ring beside her.
And she picked up.
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