shameless promo of my charles book that i kinda finished :) please go check it out. it's called arezoo :) (pssstttt the main girl is iranian diversity win!)
btw, this is how i imagine leilani with lighter hair and blue green eyes :) and this is her outfit for the race ! she is meant to be our size 16 queen !!!
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[1533 words]
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'what was that?' charles asked as she got her handbag for the race from her room that she was sharing with ingrid. their mother would be joining them later with lorenzo. ingrid had gone to the gym, and said she would go with leilani's parents which left the room to her.
'what was what?' leilani pretended to be clueless to the elephant in the room. she fiddled around with the contents of her bag, and bit her lip as she eyed the unopened pack of cigarettes sitting innocently at the bottom.
'mick.' her brother, unaware of what leilani was currently considering, continued on. leilani turned around with an unimpressed look on her face, conveniently chucking the cigarettes in a drawer of the room.
she would not be turning to that today. she had such a good streak.
'what about him?' she hummed nonchalantly, facing the mirror while charles leaned against the wall, watching as she applied sunscreen and readjusted her clothes. some jeans and a white crop top and a blue shirt on top. it looked casual enough, and would keep her cool.
'you're being annoying.' charles whined, knocking the sunglasses off her head with a flick of his fingers.
her eyes turned to him sharply, narrowing at his words.
'oh really? what was that with lena?' leilani bit her tongue. she didn't mean to bring her up. she had promised lena that she wouldn't talk about her to charles if they happened to reconcile.
charles made a face that indicated that leilani had checkmated him. lena dabiri was an iranian friend of theirs, who charles had dated and then ceremonially dumped. leilani was really close to her, and anxious about them dating and consequently the effect it would have on her if they ever broke up. she had found out from lena later on. her fears were confirmed when lena, heartbroken, distanced herself from leilani following her brothers actions. she lost a potential sister in law, and a friend in one go. it's something she'll always be mad at charles about.
'that's low, lani.' charles breathed out with a look that reminded her of the boundaries he had set out for her, without mentioning them of course. he hated talking about her.
it was silent, and she gestured for him 'what are you two arguing about again?' arthur interjected, placing his arms around his taller and shorter sibling. they looked like triplets in the moment, and the thought lingered of leilani's mind far too heavily.
'nothing.' leilani said while charles threw a look at arthur, telepathically informing him of what the topic of discussion before his entrance was.
'ahh.' arthur let out a sound realisation before turning his eyes to his older sister with a smirk far too smug plastered on his face. he nudged her shoulder, and she responded with a 'piss off arthur.'
'where's your friend lani?' arthur asked, which led to leilani slapping his arm in rebuke.
'she's like, 5 years older than you?' leilani reasoned with him, to which charles replied with a nod as if backing her point.
arthur waved it off, 'like that would stop me!'
'and she's taken.' it wasn't a whole truth, but ingrid was going on dates with this guy from work.
arthur's face scrunched up. 'awh, any chance they going to break up soon?'
'arthur!'
he waved his hands in surrender. 'sorry sorry, i just wanted to know if i had a shot.'
'we'll discuss all of arthur's failed talking stages later, mia is blowing up my phone. we need to get going.' charles directed the conversation away from their talks, and to the day ahead. he had a good chance of winning today, and he was excited to do it for leilani's first race.
they left the room to enter the lift at the end of the hallway, and leilani couldn't help but think of the possibility of meeting mick again. this morning had left her stomach in flutters, and it was a feeling that she liked.
she shook her head, and told herself that she was here for her family, not to look for messy relationships that she only just freed herself from.
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charles was p4, having missed out on the podium while his spanish teammate won his first ever grand prix. leilani thought she would be more upset for her brother for missing out on the podium, but she was thankful that he had made it out unscathed. the horror crash at the opening lap had shaken her far too much.
charles had pulled her and ingrid along for the podium celebrations, where the trio watched his teammate lifting the first place trophy. it was a celebration for team ferrari, and the adrenaline from the day had begun to vain.
'that was scary. how do you and arthur do this for a living?' leilani whispered to her brother, who pulled his arm around her shoulder. she was shorter than all her brothers, and they used that to their full advantage. ingrid rested her elbow on her friend, adding to the joke.
charles shook his head, and pulled her cap off her head and into the air as the champagne started pouring.
the trio laughed and eventually made their way to the garages where the debrief would begin and they could eventually retire from the race weekend.
'you guys stay here, okay?' he referred to the hospitality before looking down at his phone. 'maman, enzo and arthur are on their way.' they nodded her head and looked for a place to sit, when she heard the disgruntled voice of a man and a woman. they were laughing too secretively for anyone's comfort. leilani took a deep breath, assuring herself that they were not laughing at her and she had no business being insecure here. ingrid's phone rang, and suddenly got up, giving leilani an apologising look.
'i'm sorry, i have to take this. you sure you'll be okay?'
'i'm 23 years old.' she deadpanned, earning an eye roll from her friend who countered with a 'i'll be back.'
she was seated outside the ferrari hospitality, with a slight headache forming. she tapped her leg. maybe she shouldn't have been so cocky about being left alone.
'a little fat for charles, don't you think?' she heard the snicker of the woman, before she saw her face. she busied herself on her phone, telling herself that she wouldn't be letting some random person ruin her otherwise good day. besides, it wasn't anything she hadn't heard before. so what if someone was calling her fat?
'the other girl was prettier. much more his type.' other girl? did they mean ingrid?
'i saw this one with his family all weekend. she was sticking to his brothers too. you think she's counting on her chances with them too?' the man added, unhelpfully, which raised her temperature and flared her aching head more. the woman laughed at the man's commentary, and leilani willed herself to not turn around and start a cat fight.
'leilani! hey!' she was blinking away the headache, and continually going through her weather app, wishing she had brought the pack of cigarettes with her when a swiss accent caught her attention. she instantly looked up to find the intent eyes of mick schumacher looking at her expectantly.
'mick.' she said, with relief in her voice. she was glad someone else was here to occupy her in conversation so she wouldn't have to hear the pair talk about her when she was right there. she had matured enough to not let these comments get to her, but the insinuation that she was dating her brothers made her want to vomit.
'are you okay?' he asked sincerely in french, taking the seat previously occupied by ingrid.
'i'm fine.just waiting for my brothers.' she said it semi loudly and in english, so she could make it clear, but without catching too much attention. her brothers had initiated her into the ferrari garage, introducing the long lost leclerc sister. 'how are you? you must be tired?' the former continued in french, almost urging him to do the same. he raised an eyebrow at her antics.
'yeah, i am.' he sighed, leaning back against his chair. 'but you are quite the sight for sore eyes, which makes it better.' he winked, causing her face to heat up. just now someone was ridiculing her appearance, and now a man was glorifying it. she couldn't understand the dichotomy of the mind.
she remembered the response her brothers had given her this morning, and it didn't seem like they minded the instant connection she had with the german driver.
she cleared her throat.
'schumacher, are you flirting with me?'
'and if i am, leclerc?'
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THIS CHAPTER TOOK ME ALLLL FREAKING DAY AND IT WAS NEVER ENDING AND NOW I WANT TO SLEEP GOOD NIGHT.
love you all,
author.
anyways happy reading