𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒, charles leclerc

chapter eight

the set of back to back races in the 2019 f1 calendar had finally come to an end. a week off between silverstone and hockenheim meant a much needed break for the drivers, principals, and mechanics.

pierre and juliet were home in rouen for a very special occasion. an engagement celebration for pierre's best friend anthoine hubert and his soon-to-be fiancée julie layoux, who juliet had known from school.

juliet sat by the pool at the gasly family home as she needed some alone time before the party. after being around thousands of people over the last few race weekends, this was sure to lift her spirits. she hadn't seen her brother all day—something she secretly was enjoying very much.

as she sunbathed on her stomach, reading her book, she heard her name being shouted from inside the house. she leaned up on her elbows and shot her gaze at the door, watching as her beloved brother ran out in his swimsuit.

"if you jump in and splash me, you're fucking dead," she scoffed sarcastically at his presence. "lucky for me, nobody'll be here to see it."

"think again, julie," pierre replied, confusing juliet. "mate, she's out here!" he yelled into the house. juliet fully sat up on her knees, waiting for whoever was over to come outside. her eyes widened as a shirtless charles leclerc ran out, bandana in hair and sunglasses on. she felt nervous, like she was a teenager all over again.

"bonjour juliet," charles grinned and juliet tried to hide her blush. "oh, hi charles."

"charles is staying here until we go back to germany," pierre shifted his gaze from the weird interaction the two were having straight to his sister. "we're carpooling him to 'thoine's party."

juliet nodded and left the two boys to do their thing. charles and pierre flipped into the pool and stood at the edge, drinking beer and talking. throughout their conversation, charles tried to unnoticeably take looks at juliet. he couldn't stop staring at her.

"how is giada?" pierre asked to break charles out of one of his many trances. giada. charles' ex-girlfriend. "i think she is okay, i haven't spoken to her since the break up. i don't think she was particularly mad at me or anything."

"nice," pierre nodded and took a sip of his beer. "any new pretty girls?" when charles and pierre saw each other on race weekends, they never had the time to talk about this stuff. that's why they had stayed such good friends over the years; they always tended to sway away from race talk whenever they weren't at the track.

"non...i think i'm going to focus on racing for the next while. no girl will want to follow me around like giada did...that's just stupid." charles explained. it was true. whenever a girl got involved with an f1 driver, it was like she was committing herself to attending half the calendar and travelling to race tracks for 22 weekends in the year. nobody could function normally in that schedule.

"unless you find someone who already does," pierre smirked, "let's get you an engineer. or a driver's sister." charles' eyes widened. he knew that pierre wasn't suggesting juliet, but the fact that he made that suggestion made him feel...hope?

charles let out a quiet chuckle and quickly changed the subject.

———

juliet swiped her lip gloss applicator across her lips when she saw a notification pop up on her phone. a text from anthoine; she said yes! the girl grabbed her purse and shoes and bolted down the hallway, slamming open pierre's door. "she said yes! let's get going!" juliet held her phone up in the air.

"okay, okay..." pierre calmed her down, but was screaming inside, "you look nice, julie."

"thanks," she smiled, "where's charles? i should tell him the news!"

pierre directed her to an empty bedroom and juliet pranced over, knocking on the door she assumed the monégasque was behind. "entrez!" she heard his thick french accent say and she twisted the door open, grinning as she held up her phone.

"julie said yes! es-tu prêt?" she exclaimed, before taking a look at him. he stood in front of the mirror, wearing tight black joggers, white sneakers, and a white dress shirt that he was having trouble fixing on his body.

juliet approached him, "as-tu besoin d'aide?". he nodded and she got closer, grabbing the two sides of his open shirt and buttoning it up. her breathing hitched as he towered over her, looking at her head as she moved her hands up the shirt.

"did you hear what i told you? julie said yes!" she reiterated her first comment to distract herself from their proximity. "oh, bien, i'm so happy for them," charles replied.

juliet clasped all the buttons and finished the ones up near the neck. she left a few undone, knowing that it would look best. she let go of him and stepped back, taking a look to make sure everything was right. "there you go, très beau," she said, making him grin at the thought of her thinking he was handsome.

"you too," charles mumbled out, and juliet caught it. her heart spun and began racing. he thought she was pretty. she looked down at her casual satin blue skirt and white cropped tank. when she looked back up at charles, she saw his gaze on her body. flattery swarmed her brain.

"allez!" pierre shouted and snapped the two out of their mini-moment. they ran out of the bedroom and downstairs, rushing out to pierre's aston martin and zooming off to julie and anthoine's party.

— notes!
my 11 years of basic
level french is really
paying off thank you
canadian education system

if any of you ever need a
translation, just comment on
the word and i'll reply with
it in english!