₊˚❀.ೃ࿔*:･
"It's one of the best Grand Prix's ever," Chiara spoke as we both got out of the car, our badges on our necks as we walked through security.
"So I've heard," I yawned, covering my mouth in the process.
I didn't get much sleep last night, due to Chiaras harsh typing and the crunching of two sour cream and onion chips.
"Last year I watched it on a boat, it was nice but, I like the paddock more to be fair," she shrugged as she looked my way, stopping and grabbing my arm. "Why are you so slow?" She began pulling me alongside her.
I yawned again, "maybe because someone kept me up all night with the hammering of the keyboard."
Chiara rolled her eyes, "please, you can literally sleep on a construction site and not complain."
I groaned as we walked towards the paddocks, everyone seemingly already there. I mean, it was 30 minutes before the first practice.
"Ooh there's George Russell, just gonna chat with him real quick," chiara said as she patted my arm, leaving me by myself. In the middle of the paddock areas.
I turned around, trying to look for the bright red building, unaware of the fact that it was actually right infront of me.
Get it together Vivian.
I walked inside of the paddock, my badge at bay.
I was minding my own business 'til I got a pat on my shoulder, turning around immediately.
The relatively young looking man gave me a smile, "you must be Vivian."
I furrowed my brows, he was wearing a Ferrari suit, he had brunette hair and was extremely tall, he also had a British accent.
"I'm Oliver," he smiled, handing his hand out so I could shake it.
I shook his hand and gave him a smile, "nice to meet you Oliver."
"You too," he started, "are you looking for Arthur? I think he's outside?" He began pointing to the direction in which Arthur was in.
I shook my head, "No, just wanted to come inside," I laughed, causing him to smile again.
"You're shorter than I expected," he added randomly, making me tilt my head with a smile.
"Oh?" I said, "I mean I'm average? 5'5 is a good height, no?"
Oliver sheepishly smiled. "Guess I'm just tall then." He laughed, making me laugh aswell.
"Vivian!" I heard the o' so familiar, annoying voice from behind me, causing me to turn around.
"Arthur!" I looked at him as he made his way to Oliver and I.
Arthur gave Oliver a 'bro hug', he then flicked his finger on the side of my head, earning a flinch from me.
I then slapped the back of his exposed neck, causing Arthur to shriek on contact. "Don't do that!" He silently whispered as people began to look over.
"Karma," I replied with a shrug, a smile on my face. Oliver also smiling.
"You guys fight like siblings."
"Pfft," arthur grabbed me and Oliver's back, guiding us to, what I assume is the Ferrari garage.
"Where's charles?" I asked as I looked up at him.
"Preparing for the practice?" Arthur said as if it was an obvious answer. I mean it kind of was but, he could be somewhere else.
"Are-," arthur spoke, then he grew silent.
I furrowed my eyebrows, "hmm?" I hummed.
"Nothing."
₊˚❀.ೃ࿔*:･
FP1 went relatively well. There were no issues, no crashes, it was a very smooth practice session.
Chiara was right across from us, sitting next to Kelly Piquet in the Red Bull garage, chatting away.
Arthur, Oliver, and I were sitting down at the Ferrari garage, standing up as the practice came to an end, the two cars entering the garage.
The three of us paused, waiting for the two drivers to come out. A sweaty Charles Leclerc jumped out of the car, removing his helmet, then his balaclava, then the ear plugs. A huge smile on his face, causing my stomach to do backflips at the sight, a small smile sneakily forming as we made eye contact.
He jogged over to us, all excited and happy. His flushed cheeks and his wet hair prominent.
Charles leaned over to me, pulling me into a tight hug, the sweet smell of his cologne and a bit of his post-practice sweat filling my sense of smell.
"Tres bien, Charles," I moved my lips towards his ear so he could hear it, my heart jittering, choosing to ignore it.
"Merci, Vivian," he whispered in my ear as we both let go of each other. The beating of my heart now intensified, causing me to hear it in my ears.
Arthur and Charles hugged each other, and so did Oliver and Charles.
"If you guys can pull off a good strategy, I'd expect a P1," Arthur commented as he looked over to his brother.
"Yeah, let's just hope it goes well." Charles laughed, a hint of obscurity behind his words.
"Just don't let them repeat 2022," Oliver laughed, causing Arthur to laugh aswell.
Charles' laugh on the other hand was a bit uneasy, I could see the worry building up in his eyes.
On instinct, I placed a reassuring, but gentle grip on his arm, "relax, don't worry," I gave him a warm smile.
Charles looked over at me, then my hand, then back at me, a small smile making its way onto his lips.
The words 'Thank You', being mouthed, causing me to let go.
Charles' POV
She let go of my arm, the feeling still lingering.
I didn't want her to let go. I wanted her to hold onto me, her touch was grounding.
I didn't realize this before, not until now, not until yesterday.
"No!" She giggled as she smacked my hand from the batter. "You'll get salmonella!" She warned, still smiling.
"So what?" I laughed in protest, "it tastes better raw."
Vivian rolled her eyes, a habit I've been catching her doing for as long as I've known her. "You'll get sick, idiot."
I gave her a smile as I dug my finger onto the batter, almost putting it inside of my mouth.
Vivian grabbed my hand once more, and wiped it away with her pointer finger, now on hers. "I told you no!"
I looked into her big brown eyes, still smiling. "So?"
"So?" She mimicked, "you're supposed to listen to me?" She huffed, now starting to get a bit annoyed. Her pointer finger pointing towards the air.
"Awh, adorable, tu tiens à moi." I playfully said as I chuckled lightly.
"Of course I care about you Charles," she looked down then looked back up at me, "you're my friend."
Those words didn't sit right with me. I just, didn't like them. It didn't feel right.
"Merci," I said lowly, still smiling as she was smiling back at me.
Our eyes now interlocked, as I started to lean in, Vivian's mouth agape. I looked over at her soft lips, then her eyes, then back at her lips, and then...
"Leclerc!" She yelled as I licked the batter off of her finger, wiping it off on my grey shirt.
I began laughing as I started running away, her chasing after me, trying to wipe off the excess saliva off of her finger.
"You're so disgusting!"
I wanted to kiss her. I realize that now.
I wanted to kiss Vivian Lumière.
She let go as if it was nothing. Her attention diverted to Arthur as he began talking, but I wasn't paying attention. I was still looking at her.
"Allons-y?" Arthur patted my arm, making me divert my attention to him.
"Quoi?" I asked, not knowing what was going on.
"Lunch?" He answered, cocking a brow as if it was obvious.
"Oh," I looked over at Vivian, her eyebrows also furrowed, I then looked at Arthur, waiting for me to move. "Let's go."
₊˚❀.ೃ࿔*:･
Vivian's POV
We spoke too soon. FP2 was a disaster in a nutshell.
Carlos Sainz crashed into the barriers, which ultimately caused a yellow flag. The cars front wing was completely destroyed, repairs were in order so the car could, hopefully, be ready by tomorrow.
The tension in the garage was unbearable, so Arthur and I decided to leave and walk around.
"Did you see the TikTok?" Arthur spoke as his hands were in his pockets, looking down at me.
I nodded, "'it won't go viral my ass,'" I laughed, Arthur also laughing at my joke.
"How was I supposed to know my first ever video, on a random account that I created the morning of, would get over two million likes?" He stated with a smile, obviously happy it went viral.
I shrugged, "I don't really care anymore to be honest. I kinda wanna do it again."
Arthur stopped walking, causing me to give him a confused look as i turned around.
"Let's do it."
"Really?"
He nodded.
"Okay," I sighed, "but I'm choosing the song."
₊˚❀.ೃ࿔*:･
Yes.
We recorded a TikTok inside numerous paddocks to 'I can see you' by Taylor swift.
Yes, it was embarrassing, but God, was it fun.
Arthur and I both laughed at the clip of me kissing his cheek, the verse 'Then we kiss and you know I won't ever tell' in the background.
"Okay, I'm very tempted to keep this between us now," he laughed as I laughed in agreement.
"Oh wait," he spoke, "how about during the 'jacket' part, we get a jacket that has my last name on it? Because you know, it's better?" He suggested as I thought about it.
I nodded, "sure but, do you have one?"
He shook his head, "I can get Charles' jacket, it's upstairs," he stood up, "give me a minute."
A few moments later, Arthur came back down with a t-shirt.
"Didn't you say a jacket?" I asked him.
"There weren't any," he said as he sat back down, "here." He handed me the shirt as I unfolded it, revealing the name 'Leclerc' and the number '16' on the back.
"Okay," I sighed, "let's do this."
₊˚❀.ೃ࿔*:･
It was the next day.
I skipped FP3 with Arthur, both of us too tired to even head to the garage as we laid in Charles driver room, mindlessly scrolling through our phones, and occasionally showing each other funny videos.
Then I got a text from my older brother.
Adam🫣❤️
Adam🫣❤️
When are you coming back home?
Mama's missing you
Plus Omar and I are coming the second week of June
Just wanted to let u know since you're busy hanging out with f1 drivers..
Viviii👎❤️
That was so back handed
I'll come whenever you guys want me to come
I can book tickets second week of June yeah
YAYY FAMILY REUINION
Adam🫣❤️
Mhm
Then we'll have an intervention
Are you dating the younger or older one?
Viviii👎❤️
Oh my God pls shoot me
I'm not dating any of them
Ever
Never
Ever
Adam🫣❤️
Anjad ? (Really?)
Cause the posts on insta, the tiktoks I've been seeing on my fyp, bro even twitter got you man
Viviii👎❤️
They're just low lifers
Arthur is literally like you and omar
Charles is just
Charles
Adam🫣❤️
Mensonges
Viviii👎❤️
😐
"Did you know that crème brûlée is mainly made out of eggs?
I subconsciously face palmed when Arthur had said that.
"Je suis ami avec un idiot," I groaned.
₊˚❀.ೃ࿔*:･
He qualified P2. It was amazing news to others, bad news to Charles.
It would be hard to get P1, in tomorrow's race. Especially since Max Verstappen qualified in P1. Nonetheless, there was still hope.
What I had noticed about Charles is that, he puts too much pressure on himself. He always strives to be the best. To be better than everyone, and anyone else.
He wants to be the greatest, and for good reason.
He wants to make them proud.
"Arthur," I grabbed Arthur by his shirt, pulling him to the side.
"Oui?" He looked at me with confused eyes.
I bit my lip in thought, "you're brother is-
"Stressing?" He finished the sentence for me.
I nodded.
Arthur smiled as he chuckled, "I know Vivian, this always happens." He started, "don't worry though, he forgets about it after a couple of hours."
I furrowed my eyebrows, "are you sure?"
"Trust me, I know my brother."
₊˚❀.ೃ࿔*:･
Race Day
1:24 am
The vibration of my phone caused me to wake up, letting out a groan as I checked who it was. The name a bit blurry as my vision adjusted to the lighting. Then I noticed the name "Charles", on my screen. Immediately waking me up.
Why was he calling me? Why is he still up? Is he okay?
I answered the call as I stood up, walking to the bathroom so that I didn't wake Chiara up.
"Charles?" I spoke, waiting for his reply as I bit my lip.
"I can't sleep." He blurted, his tone filled with worry.
I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror as I began talking to him, "are you okay?"
I heard a sigh from the other line, "yes im-" another sigh, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called."
"No-no." I protested, reassuring him that it's fine.
He sighed again, this time out of frustration. Charles cursed under his breath as he spoke once again, "I just realized I woke you up," the shuffling of bedsheets being heard, "I'm sorry, goodnight."
"No, Charles." I protested once more, "I'm awake now. What's going on?"
It took him a while to answer, until he finally did. "I just," his voice cracked a bit as he cleared his throat, "I just, I'm- I'm so tired."
I furrowed my eyebrows, "Charles," my voice conveying compassion.
"It's just that," he paused, "I'm under so much pressure to preform well." He paused again, "it's so inconsistent- one race we are on pole, the next we are in p5 or p6, and it's just back and forth. Which I don't really care but it's still annoying. And then today, especially today, here, my home race, it's just so- overwhelming." He blurted.
I nodded in understanding, "I'm so sorry-
"No, don't feel sorry. Please. I don't want you to feel sorry for me." He began whispering now. "Don't feel sorry for me Vivian."
"Okay," I said quietly, "then what do you want me to feel?"
There was a pause on the line. The only thing I could hear was his breathing.
"Good night, Vivian."
₊˚❀.ೃ࿔*:･
a/n
NOT EDITED SO DONT MIND THE SPELLING MISTAKES AS OF RN
thoughts??
yall imma go sleep rn (ik it's early but im so freaking tired)
lolziesss !!!!!
Don't forget to vote and comment !!❤️❤️