Hopelessly Devoted ☆ Pierre Gasly

VI

THE PAST

It was a sunny day in France, one to remember. It was the last race day of the F4 championship for Pierre. Being at the Paul Ricard Circuit felt special and exciting for Pierre; he asked his friends to be there. And they were there. Pierre didn't know Juliette well, not yet, but over the past few weeks, he created some kind of friendship together with her. Having Anthoine, Sara, and his own parents around him were cool, but when he asked Juliette to be there and said yes, she made everything even better.

While Pierre was preparing for his last race, Anthoine, Sara and Juliette were chilling at the grandstand.

"So I was gonna asked you if you ever visited a race before. Stupid question," Anthoine said and showed a sarcastic smile. "How was Monza?"

"Anthoine, that was F1, this is something else," Juliette seriously said and showed the same smile. "But it was cool, just like the food they had at the hotel."

Sara began to laugh. "'Juliette, what was the best thing at Monza?' 'Uh, yeah, the race was alright, but the food...oh my god, amazing'," she dramatically said. "Jules, that is Monza. You have been in the same place as many legends."

"Yes," Juliette replied. "I know, but I'm here for Pierre, and the food in Italy is delicious."

"You are something else," Anthoine laughed.

A laugh rolled over Juliette's lips. "What? Alright, you want to know how Monza was? It was amazing. The battle between Schumacher and Hamilton, brilliant. The crash of Liuzzi, not so nice. Vettel's win, go champ. The sounds of the engines, holy fuck. And I met Hamilton, he's so kind and amazing." Juliette was excited and had so much energy.

"This looks more like it," Sara said, satisfied.

"How did you meet Hamilton?" Anthoine asked, interested.

Juliette cheekily smiled. "Looks," she teased. "No, I accidentally bumped into him because I'm clumsy."

"Goals."

A proud smile curved on Juliette's lips. "Oh, Sara. Your game is next Saturday, right?" Sara nodded. "And your last race the Sunday after that?" Juliette looked at Anthoine, who also nodded. "Alright, cool. Just checking, before I plan my workouts on those days. Anyway, have you ever been to a race before?" She looked at Anthoine.

"Is that even a question?" Sara stirred. "That man is always talking about the races he visited," she said and pointed at Anthoine. "And together with Pierre... Say goodbye to your life."

Anthoine's face straightened. "You really need to find some happiness, Sara, jeez," he replied, annoyed. "But yes, I've visited quite some races. Highlights of my life." A bright smile grew on his face. "And, of course, a few races of Pierre and other friends."

Sara and Anthoine had a discussion about the races. It was just how their friendship was: teasing around and try to annoy each other. Juliette thought it was quite funny to listen to it, it was just like an entertainment show.

Just when Anthoine raised his hand to pad Juliette on her shoulder, she flinched and leaned away from him. A scared look flushed over her face. Her heartbeat started to rise, and her eyes closed.

"Are you alright?" Anthoine asked worriedly.

Sara parted her lips and looked concerned at Juliette; it looked like she was trying to protect herself from something...from Anthoine.

Juliette looked at Anthoine and then at Sara. "Yeah, why?" A fake smile grew on her face, and she straightened her back. An anxious feeling entered her body when she saw the two worried looks on Anthoine and Sara's face. "Anyway, shall we go? Wishing Pierre luck before the race starts?" Juliette got up and walked away without getting an answer.

Her face straightened, and she chewed on the inside of her cheek, why did I do this? She snapped all of her knuckles and stretched her fingers afterwards. Juliette shook the feeling away with her head and walked towards Pierre.

"Are you ready?" Juliette asked when she found Pierre at the paddock.

His head shot up, and a smile grew on his face when he saw Juliette. "Always. Are you having fun?"

She nodded. "Always," she replied, and an amusing smile rested on her face.

Pierre and Juliette laughed.

"I can't wait to see you race," Juliette admitted. "Starting from pole... That's just brilliant."

"Don't cheer too soon, it all can escalate in a blink of an eye," Pierre said. "But yes, starting from pole is just amazing. It is a good start at the beginning of the last race."

Sara and Anthoine joined Juliette and Pierre and talked about the race, possible predictions and some strategies. It felt slightly awkward due to the situation of a few minutes ago. Juliette didn't know how to behave, although she tried to ever it up. She wasn't the only one, Sara didn't know how to make this less awkward. Perhaps Juliette's reaction was just a reflex, but she acted weird afterwards.

"I have to go," Pierre mentioned after a few minutes. "Will see you after the race."

Anthoine and Sara gave Pierre a hug and told him some good luck sentences. Juliette didn't really know what to do, so she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She pressed her lips into a thin line and looked around. She was impressed by how much the race looked like an actual F1 race, there were so many similarities.

"Good luck," Juliette said when Pierre looked at her. "You can race them all out," she continued and gave him a short hug. "Enjoy it."

"Merci, Julie," Pierre replied. "I will do my best."

She was shaking her head. "Don't do your best, be the best." She gave him a wink.

Pierre said bye to his friend and family and walked away with his team. He had a good feeling about the race; the whole weekend was going excellent.

"Julie, do you mind filming around? I would like to record this moment," Sara asked Juliette when they walked back to the grandstand.

"No, no. Go ahead." Juliette ran her hand through her hair, and her eyes fell on the filming camera Sara was holding. This was the first time she noticed Sara had a camera with her.

Sara started to film right away. "This is Juliette, the newest asset in our group," she amusingly said and filmed Juliette, who was looking semi offended, but in a funny way. "Say hi, Julie!"

"Bonjour," Juliette widely smiled and winked.

"Perfect," Sara smirked.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry for my baby face," Juliette apologised.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Shut it," she said and started filming her own documentary.

Anthoine and Juliette were walking together. "Lulu, can I..." He looked at Juliette. "Can I call you Lulu?" He shared a questionable look.

Juliette looked confused at him. "Yeah, sure," she mumbled. "Go ahead."

"Anyway, I don't want to sound rude, but can I borrow one euro? I'm thirsty, and I forgot to bring some money. I'll give it back on Monday, I promise," Anthoine asked hopefully.

A smile curved on Juliette's lips. "One euro, Anthoine. Don't worry about it," she said and gave him two euros. "Can you get me a bottle of water as well, please?"

"Of course, thanks, Lulu! I will be right back. Save me a good spot!"