Charles
The next whole week is a boring routine. We sit in my house in Monaco. We talk on the phone almost all day every day, or meet live with our teams, getting along on new contracts that must be carefully worked out to bring us back and we are getting closer to the end, then we go to training, and in the evenings we watch TV series and go to bed. Daniel and Max still don't speak to each other. Pierre has decided to pour over the team and talk to us normally, just like the other drivers. Slowly, things are moving in the right direction. My mother even invited us to dinner tomorrow to get to know Max better, which made the boy panic since yesterday when he found out, as if he was going to get married to me.
"Daniel is calling." I say while Max is driving the car as we go to meet our team directors.
For the past three days, Ricciardo has been calling and texting me and Max once every day, but I ignore these notifications with a pain in my heart, because my boyfriend asked me to do so and I don't want to get in between them. The Red Bull driver even wanted to block a friend, but I convinced him not to do it. In fact, I don't know if they're still friends, Max thinks not, and when I ask what they're fighting about, he doesn't tell me it's because of me, because he doesn't know that I know the truth. We haven't heard from his father since the video leaked, but our families write or call non-stop, inviting us to visit in our spare time. It's nice that they're worried, but at times I can see that Max is sick of it, because I know perfectly well that he doesn't like to be so attacked by someone's presence.
"Reject, or preferably block it." He says, without even glancing at me.
"Max..."
"Charles, I beg you. Don't start this topic, because I don't want to say something I'll regret, because I don't want to argue with you." He glances at me and smiles gently. I nod, dismissing the call. I put the phone aside, leaning back in my chair.
"Pierre wants us to go with him and a few other drivers to this club he managed to get tickets to." I remind myself, so I immediately share this with Max. My friend will kill me if we don't come, so I decide to bypass the fact that the few drivers include Hamilton and Ricciardo. I'd rather Max kill me on the spot than Pierre in my house.
"You can't go alone, saying I'm unwell?"
"Definitely not, but I can drive the car." I suggest, to which he reluctantly agrees with a nod. I don't need alcohol, so I can easily take care of everyone, and I know Max could use loosening up at least for a day, because he and Red Bull are working a lot harder than me and Ferrari. And I don't surprise them, after all, Max is a key driver, they want him back as soon as possible. Well, and silently in my head I pray that he and Daniel will reconcile. And both do badly to one and the other with this argument. Both are dim and humorless. I know from Pierre that Daniel was even crying yesterday, scolding himself for the way he treated me and Max.
After a while we are there and get out of the car, walking quickly, that is, almost running to the office, because of course we are late. Without knocking, I enter first and curse in my mind this habit I learned from Max. Definitely too much time together. Our directors look at us without surprise, because for a week we've always been at least a minute late.
"I thought to myself that since you are with Charles and have become decidedly calmer, you will learn punctuality from him, and as part of that calmness we have not one, but two drivers who are late and don't knock on the door." Says an amused Horner.
"Can we get this over with relatively quickly? I'm going to go drink vodka." says Max suddenly, and all three of us look at him in shock. "Well what? Honesty is key." He shrugs his shoulders, sitting down at his desk.
We spend the next few hours writing statements on our Instagrams. We've already signed a lot of confidentiality agreements, and at times I'm already lost as to whether telling Max that I'm going to a meeting is also breaking the rules or not. But it's all to accompany the posts, too, so that fans can see that neither of us is giving the other information about the team's plans. Preliminarily, we are prepared for anything. Fortunately, our sponsors, with whom we also had meetings, decided to stay, which makes it a lot easier for us. Additionally, FiA is no longer taking such a bad approach and I think we'll both be back on track in a month. Or at least Max is, because Christian is fighting a paddock war for him.
"Sign new contracts." Frederic says suddenly. Both of us are surprised to look at the contracts he gives us. In them is a contract to Ferrari and Red Bull until the same year as the previous contract, but the difference is that in this one there is a designated start for the next race, which is a week away.
"Seriously?" I ask confused.
"The FiA says that after the insertion of our and your statements, which we will publish shortly, nothing stands in the way of your return." Christian smiles, watching as Max, without waiting for us to finish talking, signs his contract and gives it back to the Red Bull director. "I'm hoping for first place next week." He says to his driver, who nods with a smile.
I, too, sign the agreement and hand over for Frederic, rising from my chair. Official statements on the matter appear on the Instagrams of Ferrari, Red Bull, myself and Max at the same time. We all say goodbye, not hiding our happiness, and leave the office in a much better mood, because it means we don't have to suffer any more for love.
Statement.
I won't apologize, because you can't apologize for love. Besides, I don't feel guilty about anything, because I'm not the one who decided to take the footage from the cameras and make it public.
A week ago, a video of the two drivers was added to the Internet. There was me and Max. And while I believe that everyone should inform about their relationship on their own time or keep it to themselves, it happened and fans should find out the truth from us, not from rumors that are not the truth. For that it is true that I love him and we are in a relationship. Lots of signatures on various confidentiality agreements, new contracts, suspensions, a week taken from my life and still problems for loving, according to some, the wrong person. In my opinion, Max is a wonderful and valuable man who taught me many important things, and I am glad to have him next to me in these difficult moments for us.
To all who are with us, I thank you and want to inform you that I will appear at the next race, and all problems have been resolved today with the last signature in the contract.
Charles Leclerc
"Are we going straight to the club? It's late." Max remarks as we get into the car.
"We can, but you are leading. I'll be right back." I explain, glancing at my phone and seeing a missed call from Pierre, so I enter the conversation.
From: Pierre
I have a plan not to be rejected. I take Daniel for thirty minutes. In the meantime, Max needs to drink something, but not so much that he can't remember anything. Then I'll be back with Daniel, who will also drink something on the way, and let's pray it won't be too bad.
To: Pierre
I'm in. We'll be there in a minute.
I turn off the phone and after a few minutes we are there. We get out of the car and go to the lodge, where Lando, Carlos, Yuki, Checo, Lewis and Oscar are sitting on the couch. We've assembled a good team, there's nothing to say. We greet everyone, and to my surprise, Max greets Hamilton normally, and they even exchange a few words before they both go to the bar for alcohol.
"Did Max get switched?" asks Lando.
"I wonder, too." I say frankly, sitting down next to him.
We spend the next few minutes drinking. I have juice, and the others, except Oscar have alcohol. Max along with Lewis drink the fastest, because before everyone finishes drinking one shot, they finish the fourth, which of course ends badly, because they both end up tipsy. Max moves closer to me and with a smile places a kiss on my cheek.
"Calm down." I laugh, pulling away.
Before he has time to respond, Pierre and Daniel return. My friend winks at me, and Ricciardo, in the same state as Max, sits down across from him and they look at each other in silence, causing the other to fall silent as well, waiting for the situation to develop.
"I'm so sorry Max!" suddenly Daniel shouts and starts crying. "And you Charles! I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to act like that!"
"I'm not angry." I say with a smile, putting my hand on Max's thigh.
"Don't cry, just go get some vodka, because it's gone." Verstappen rolls his eyes, and Ricciardo runs to the bar with a wide smile, almost falling over several times on the way.
"You mean there's an agreement?" he asks, returning with the bottle. He sits down next to Max, moving both him and me toward poor Lando.
"You're crushing me!" he shouts indignantly, and suddenly Carlos grabs him around the waist and plants him in his lap.
Oscar is the only one who seems unfazed by this. Shocked instead of a glass, Yuki grabs the citric acid in the glass and drinks it, thinking it's vodka. Pierre rolls his eyes and falls to the floor with Checo, as the drunk Red Bull driver catches himself when he loses his balance. Daniel and Max start laughing, I don't know what at, and Hamilton and I look on in silence at what's going on here. Lando hides his face in his hands, and Carlos laughs, looking at him.
"Pour it guys, because it's impossible to drink it sober." Lewis says and we all look at Daniel and Max.
"The booze has run out." mumbles Ricciardo seriously.
"When she's done, you were just there to get the whole bottle." I furrow my eyebrows.
"You should have not stared at them but drank with us." A drunken Max shrugs his shoulders, and I smile as I see them glance at each other again, saying something to each other wordlessly and laughing while looking at Lando.
"Don't tell anyone, spuds!" shouts Norris suddenly, as the guys next to me continue to stare at him.
"But I'm not saying anything, are you Max?"
"Neither did I."
I parry with laughter as the heartbroken McLaren driver looks reproachfully at a smiling Carlos. How much did I miss, trying to put my life back together? Massacre...
Suddenly the party is in full swing. I focus on talking to Lando and Carlos as they tell me how it happened, and I can't believe it when they say that Carlos asked Lando on a date the same day I became Max's boyfriend. Later they started dating, and now they're not officially together, but things are moving in that direction, and when I look at them, I'm happy because I can see that they're happy with each other. Oscar talks to Yuki, and Pierre argues with Lewis. All in all, Lewis apologizes for I don't know what to Pierre, and the latter yells at him, cutting into his every sentence.
"Where are Max and Daniel?" asks Oscar suddenly, and everyone looks at the empty spot on the couch.
"Fuck." I say at the same moment with my friend and everyone gets up in a flash leaving the couch. We start looking all over the club for these two, drunken friends. The two of them, and on top of that, completely drunk is not a good plan.
Suddenly, I stop in front of the toilet entrance with Pierre, and we look at Daniel, who is sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, with Max leaning over him, swaying left and right every now and then.
"Are you better?" my boyfriend asks.
"Mhm." Daniel slides his back down the wall slowly to the floor.
"Do you still want to drink?" he points to the nearly empty bottle of vodka he holds in his hand.
"Mhm."
"Are you going to throw up, man?"
"Mhm." Daniel is now lying on the floor with his eyes closed.
"Yes. No. Fuck you. Fuck off. Concrete answer!" Max straightens up, wiping his hands in the air until he suddenly staggers and catches the wall at the last moment before he falls.
Suddenly we walk over to him, and Pierre looks at Daniel while I catch Max around the waist to keep him from tipping over. He glances at me with a smile, then simultaneously with me shifts his gaze to Ricciardo.
"And to him what?" asks my friend, who is also a little drunk.
"He's asleep." Max shrugs his shoulders.
"On the floor?" he croaks, leaning over Daniel and waving his hand in front of his face.
"Fuck no, on the ceiling." replies the Red Bull driver, moving away from me, but when he staggers again and I catch him, he stands politely beside me.
It's going to be a long night...
"Max, don't hang onto me or I'll fall." I say as he lies almost on my shoulders. "Max, please." I add, and the boy mumbles something under his breath, rising. He goes to Daniel, and his bottle falls to the floor and shatters, causing Ricciardo to wake up in fright.
"Max! I killed him!" he shouts, standing up panicked.
"Now what!" says my concerned boyfriend.
"When the police arrive, tell them I threw myself into the water!" he says.
"But they're going to search the fucking water!"
"It's the fucking sharks that ate me!" Daniel starts to zip up his sweatshirt, which doesn't have a zipper because it's worn over the head
"I don't know if there are sharks here." Max crosses his arms over his chest, beginning to wonder.
"You... I don't know either." he stops getting dressed in a hurry and they both begin to think if there might be sharks in the water, i.e. the puddle next to them.
Drink a moment the other drivers join us, followed by Pierre, and after an argument, we persuade the guys to get into my car. Of course, we spend the next half hour arguing between them about who gets to sit up front. Lewis and Carlos help me hold them so they don't fall, while Lando stands by with the keys. The others drove off in cabs.
"But that's my friend!" yells Verstappen's friend.
"But he's my boyfriend!"
"And I was at his house!" shouts Daniel, enjoying his argument.
"And I was in him!" shouts Max, at which I shake out my eyes and instantly shove my boyfriend into the front passenger seat, and he looks contentedly at Daniel, who has taken offense.
"That's the end of it." I say embarrassed.
Lando tries not to laugh, and Lewis rolls his eyes, looking at Daniel. Now Carlos forcefully pushes Ricciardo into the car and closes the door, tiredly approaching Lando.
"The cab has already arrived, good luck Charles." says Lewis and the three of them walk away, leaving me alone with the two of them. I took the urge to reconcile them through alcohol then now I'm going to get stung. Great.
Of course, with my luck something must have happened. Because of their chanting, I missed the red light and drove through, and the police were following me, so I end up pulling over to the side of the road, turning off the radio, which causes Max and Daniel to yell at me. I open my window, smiling in the direction of the policeman.
"Red light ticket." He says right away.
"Double and give to the next person." Cut in Daniel, leaning forward, and Max nods at him.
"Excuse me?"
"And that's a red flag." says Max.
"No, don't listen." I say, measuring the boys, who pay no attention to me, with a furtive glance.
"Listen, we don't want to buy anything from the Arabians." says Daniel.
"Dude, it's not Halloween!" mumbles Max. "And we didn't order a cab, you got the address wrong!" he adds suddenly. I don't know what Halloween has to do with a cab, but I feel like killing him so he won't speak again. I have to shine my eyes for them.
"I'm about to arrest you for challenging an officer."
"And who is challenging whom? Go Charles! We're going to win this race!" shouts Daniel, hitting my seat from behind.
"Okay, there will be a bigger fine." says the policeman, upset by the conversations of these two idiots. I sigh resignedly, nodding my head. I want to get this over with.
"Charles, we're not..."
I put my hand over Max's mouth, cutting off his statement. Offended, he turns toward the window, and Daniel, seeing this, also takes offense at me and moves to the other side, now sitting behind Max and also turns toward the glass. I pay the fine and nervously walk back to my house, because I don't have the strength to argue with Daniel to get him to his house. No more alcohol plus these two.