Hopelessly Devoted ☆ Pierre Gasly

XXVII

It was Monday, the day after the race in Spa. Teams just arrived in the Italian city, the equipment almost arrived, and drivers flew over. The race in Spa was tough... However, Charles Leclerc's win was something beautiful; he won for Anthoine.

Pierre was walking around in Monza, emptying his head. The weekend was so intense that he nearly wanted to skip this weekend. He barely had any energy left, he was emotionally tired, and this was just the beginning of all of it. He looked around; the weather was beautiful, which made it obvious that many people were sitting or walking around in the park. The evening fell, people were dining outside.

His eyes fell on a young woman who was sitting on a bench. She was staring in front of her, taking a sip from her hydro flask every now and then. It was noticeable she was lost, but more like an I-don't-know-what-to-do lost.

It was Juliette.

Pierre walked over to her, he was in need to be with her. They shared so many things, and they had so much in common. Juliette was one of the few people Pierre actually wanted to have around him these days. "Hey," he greeted her. Juliette looked up, she looked tired. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"No, go ahead," Juliette replied and gave him a weak smile.

He sat down. "How are you?"

Juliette shrugged. "I have felt better before," she breathed. "You?"

"Yeah, same," Pierre replied. "Did you work yesterday?"

"Yup," she answered. "Against all the orders and rules." Juliette looked at him. "I couldn't stand on the side and watch everything happen."

"Rebellious, Jules," he playfully smirked.

A soft smile curved on her lips. "My apologies." She took a sip from the hydro flask. "Do you want a sip? It's red wine," she offered and handed Pierre the flask. He looked at her and frowned. "Gosh, it makes me sound like an alcoholic. I'm not an alcoholic, I just needed some wine. And I don't know if you can drink alcohol in public here."

"No need to explain yourself, I would do the same," he replied and grabbed the flask. He took a sip and tasted it critical before taking another sip. "It's good wine."

"I know, right. The cheapest I could find. Italy never fails to impress me." Juliette took a deep breath. "You had a good race yesterday. I'm proud of you you raced...."

A weak smile curved on Pierre's lips, but it disappears quickly. "Thanks... I guess."

"You got demoted from Red Bull to Toro Rosso, lost your best friend, and you still did it," Juliette continued. "If you want me to slow down Hamilton's car, I will do it," she seriously said. "Because you deserve so much more, Pierre."

It made Pierre wonder how much alcohol Juliette already had drunk, it was a surprise to him how much she was blurting without thinking about it. "You can't do that... I really appreciate it, but you can't do that."

"Watch me." Juliette ran her hand through her hair. "Well, no, I can't do it. Toto will fire me straight away" She looked back at him. "But if I need to do it, just let me know."

It was silent between the two. For some reason, it felt comfortable, it wasn't weird, despite their past.

"I honestly thought you would be smoking now..." Pierre softly admitted. "You always smoked when you were stressed." He took a big sip of the wine. If he was honest, he needed something stronger.

Juliette shook her head. "I quit smoking six years ago," she shared. "Just like the rest of the stuff. It's nasty, and I just..."

"No offence, but good," he smirked and offered the wine to Juliette. "Do you have something stronger? Are the stores open?"