𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚂𝚊𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜

Chapter-52

A/n: ANOTHER UPDATE! I didn't want to leave you guys on such a sad note😊 I'm working on the last chapter's final draft and hopefully I'll be done with this story really soon! Thank you so so so much for tuning in every week to read Summertime Sadness 🤎

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My week in Los Angeles was coming to an end, Hollywood had been kind to me. After rushing out of the theatre, I made it a point to get in touch with as many of the guests I could so that I could get their thoughts on the movie.

Most of them applauded the skill I showed in direction as well as screenplay considering this was my first movie, the younger audience playfully teased me saying they hated me for making them ugly cry on a perfectly good Sunday afternoon. As evil as it sounds, it made me happy. It meant to me that I had successfully conveyed exactly what I wanted to; pain.

I thanked Vanessa for the opportunity she gave me, for the time and resources she poured into this and promised to get back home and campaign for the movie just as hard. In fact Katsumi already had some talk show and radio interviews lined up for promotion. We'd discuss more once I got back.

I was done packing my bags for the most part and just making sure I didn't leave anything behind when my phone buzzed. I checked it to find a notification from Yuki, unexpected but I was happy nonetheless.

Yuki: Guess what I'm watching on my flight👀

You: Does it happen to be the only shipped out digital copy of a movie?

Yuki: Yeah! Directed AND written by the person that created my favourite show

You: tell me what your thoughts are after you're done watching it okay? I really hoped to see you at the premiere in Tokyo :/

Yuki: WE WERE IN THE US AT THE SAME TIME AND YOU DIDNT VISIT ME

You: I'M IN CALIFORNIA AND YOURE IN TEXAS! PLUS YOU HAD A CAR TO DRIVE TODAY SIR

Yuki: when is your flight?

You: it's early morning tomorrow

Yuki: I'm getting on a flight to LA right now.

You: don't be so irrational! Finish the season, come back home and we'll hang out!

Yuki: no I'm being very rational. I do NOT want to be around my teammate. I want a break I'm leaving for Mexico only in a few days anyway.

You: LA is pretty fun! There's a lot of places to eat and catch up with people. But like what happened with Pierre? I thought you were inseparable!

Yuki: at some point it just gets boring to see him. See you in three hours bye bye!

You: have a safe trip and call me once you land, I'll come get you!

This slow Sunday had just gotten a whole lot fun now, I looked for places where we could catch up over a nice dinner and made calls to make sure they would be able to accommodate on such short notice. After about three hours, Yuki was here and ready to give me a life update and tell me what he had been up to.

"How have you been? It's been a while!" He beamed.

"I've survived. How are you doing?" I asked.

"There's so much I don't know where to start." Yuki shook his head.

The host led us to our table, we took our seats, placed our order and Yuki started his life updates. He was almost done with his sports management degree, he'd spent more time travelling and exploring Italy by himself and that he missed home terribly.

"What have you been up to? I don't even see you in the paddock that often."

"You know why I don't come to the paddock anymore. And I've been good! Extremely busy with the movie and show. Now all of a sudden I'm absolutely free. I have nothing to do." I laughed.

"I don't know what happened between you and Charles but you're my friend. You're supposed to come cheer for me when you can! There's no escaping the paddock!"

"I'll come when I have the courage to face him and not be completely flustered."

"Or we can smuggle you in and out. He won't even know." Yuki teased me.

I laughed along, he really wanted me to come watch him race. Yuki was starting to feel like family now, a brother that didn't get on my nerves but provided a sense of comfort when I was in unfamiliar places. He was telling me about the plans he was making with Kenji. The two of them had gotten much closer than I thought, and it was nice. I wondered if he'd ever met Baba. He would definitely become the third child of our family.

"What do you want to do now?" I asked him after we spent the whole dinner talking.

"Talk some more! Let's walk around this cool place I read about." He said.

After much back and forth over the bill I managed to pay and we headed to wherever Yuki wanted us to visit. After a drive of a few minutes we were here, he parked the car and we walked through the neighbourhood. I soon realised it was a japan-town.

"Little Tokyo!" Yuki beamed. "We'll definitely find good Mochi here."

It felt oddly comforting, to watch so many lanterns decorate the pathways, to be able to ask people where we could find Mochi and be led to a shop by kind strangers with big smiles on their face. A couple of young people noticed Yuki and looked at him in awe, whispering to themselves to make sure they were all seeing things correctly.

Once Yuki had a little bun in his hand, he was more than happy to start walking and talking. Some of those young people I'd spotted earlier approached him for photos. A girl asked him who I was, instead of just stopping at the usual "a friend" he bored them by giving them an entire rundown of what I had made so far. Also throwing in some movie promo, it would be out the following Friday, go watch it okay?

We walked around observing the eateries and shops, the murals that decorated walls that would otherwise be mundane. The silence didn't feel awkward, but it was a dead giveaway that he had something on his mind and wasn't sure how to bring it up.

"How do you feel about Charles now? There's something about him I want to tell you." He started.

"No bitter feelings. I just feel like we didn't end things properly. All our maturity flew out of the window the first time we fought." I sighed.

"How do you feel about, his ex girlfriend?"

"Charlotte? We're okay. We talk sometimes." I said.

"No the one before."

"Giada?"

"Yes her."

"She's also someone I didn't get to end things nicely with." I pushed around the pebble that had found its way in my path.

"Well, they're seeing each other again, they haven't said anything officially but Pierre was telling me about it." He said.

"Oh." In this moment I didn't feel anything. It felt like a natural progression of things, they were both familiar to each other, they'd been with each other through ups and downs. They were the perfect pair; neither to alike, nor too different.

"He says she was in the paddock this weekend, they requested photographers not to publish any photos."

"I see."

"I know it's very weird but I just wanted to tell you all of it. I don't know how any of it started or ended but what I know I can do is look out for you." He smiled.

"If only you were my brother and not Kenji."

"Ken is pretty cool I don't know why you both give each other such a hard time." He shook his head.

"Well, the whole point of being siblings is that you get to say vile things but still love each other."