Not My Sister - Charles Leclerc

Chapter 16

The start was difficult. The explaining part was even worse. Clarisse carefully explained to Lando about the situation with Charles.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure with my feelings, Lando." she said, shoulders slumped down.

Lando was surprised but also not at the same time. He somewhat did see this coming and tried his best to keep his head down. He threw her his best smile calmly.

Oh, Clarisse... Only if you know.

"I'm not the love expert, never been." he started, chuckling. "But by looking at how you talked about him and cared about him, I can tell," that you like Charles.

"Is it really that obvious?" she groaned and leaned back against the bench.

He turned towards her and took her hands into his in a gentle gesture. His rough thumbs rubbing circles on the back of her palms. "Take your time to think this through with yourself. You should know yourself better than anyone else. Just-"

He gulped before continuing, "Just remember I'm always here whenever you need anything. I'll be honored to help a friend like you more than anything." Lando swallowed hard.

"Oh, thank you, Lando," she threw her arms and hugged him tight. She doesn't deserve him.

After she pulled out from the hug, she bit her lips worriedly. Guilt washed over her. She kind of had an idea that Lando might have feelings for her, though she's not sure. Sharing her story like this to him, especially about another guy, not to mention before a practice for the upcoming grand prix... Ugh, she didn't think that was a good idea.

"I'm sorry if it's troubling you..." she mumbled silently but still loud enough for Lando to hear.

"What? This? No, not at all," he assured her. "I'm glad you trusted me with this story of yours," he smiled again.

Clarisse sighed once again and looked at his face, silently thanking him again. Lando looked at her one last time and hastily planted a kiss on one side of her cheek.

Shit. I shouldn't have done that. He thought. But this is probably gonna be the first and last time I do it.

There was a faint blush on her cheek as she looked away, trying to hide her smile. "Sorry, did I make it awkward for you?" he asked her out of panic. "No!" she hurriedly replied. "Thank you so much Lando, for understanding." she said sincerely and patted his strong shoulders.

He glanced a second at her small hand on his shoulder and returned the smile. Perhaps in another lifetime.

With that, they walked towards the garage since Lando had to prepare for the practice session.

----

Clarisse spent the entire day in the McLaren garage and because of the fatigue, she fell asleep on the silent corner of the garage, not minding the loud engine and the busy noises from the pit stop. Lando's manager was kind enough to put on some noise cancelling headphones on her so she could sleep a little peacefully.

In the end, she had successfully become a moral support for both McLaren drivers that day, Carlos and Lando. The two did an amazing job at the practice. They had some ice cream before the day ended and eventually said their goodbyes, not before promising to see each other again tomorrow.

"I expect you in the garage tomorrow, Ms. Lavigne," Carlos winked playfully at her.

Charles didn't come home that night. After the tiring practice and a busy schedule ahead, he decided to stay at the hotel since it's closer to the circuit rather than the house.

"I'm not coming home tonight," said the brief text that he sent to Clarisse. She didn't answer him though and went straight to the house by herself via taxi. Though tiring, she had a fun time with McLaren today. A day well spent.

The next morning arrived in a blink of an eye. The third practice was taking place this afternoon and the qualifying will follow some time afterwards. Clarisse decided to go to a nearby cafe first, a ten minutes walk from the paddock.

The smell of freshly baked bread entered her nose. Pleasant. "Yes, good morning," she smiled at the barista in front of her. "Can I get a black coffee and sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich, please?"

The young barista nodded at her, "Is it for here or to-go?"

"To-go, please." Clarisse pulled out her wallet, ready to pay before someone suddenly cut in front of her, sliding their card towards the cashier.

"Actually, make it for here. Thank you," the voice said. The barista looked confused but accepted the card anyway. Charles turned his face towards Clarisse and sipped from his coffee mug, smiling. He had his black Richard Mille watch on his wrist and his sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose.

She expected to see familiar faces there but not Charles'. "Whatever you say," she rolled her eyes.

He motioned her to follow him towards his table at the corner of the cafe. Being seated near the big glass window made half of her body burned with the morning sunrise. She could feel the heat instantly but she didn't mind.

Charles already had his breakfast but taking his time to finish his coffee while watching Clarisse eat right in front of him. "Let me know if you want anything else," he took another sip.

Why is he being very sweet suddenly? What's gotten into him.

"Why didn't you have your breakfast in the hotel instead?" Clarisse asked.

He shrugged, "I got bored being in that building. So I decided to leave early and remembered I haven't had my breakfast yet so here I am."

Okay, that makes sense. Remembering her date with Lando the other day, Charles suddenly had the urge to speak up. "It's on me. You can call it a date if you like," he played with his eyebrows a little bit.

"What the heck." she said flatly and put her utensils on the table. "Hey, I'm joking..." he paused. "But not really."

Clarisse tilted her head. What the heck is wrong with Charles. Perhaps he was...

"Are you excited for the race?"

"What! Well, of course! Why did you even have to ask that? I'm absolutely looking forward to it since it's a home race," he said happily and pushed his sunglasses up to his head. She could see how those eyes of his sparkled with excitement when he said that.

"I'm aiming for the podium." he grinned confidently then put down his sunglasses again to make himself look a bit cooler. "And I'm going to give it to you."

Clarisse chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Sure, sure, sure. I believe you," she sassily said. 

-----

A/N:

Oh god I feel so sorry for Lando. Perhaps I'm going to write another fic about him to make amends of my cruelty in this chapter lmao. I hope you enjoy this one! Have a great day