ferrari was fuming. juliet sat in charles' driver room on her laptop waiting for him, and even from there she could hear the utter outrage coming out of the debriefing room. the race had been...one for the books for ferrari. and not in a good way. sebastian and charles had started the race lined up in p1 and 2 on the grid. as soon as the lights went out, sebastian started early and got a poor start, making him vulnerable for an immediate pass by the mercedes. charles got bumped down to second, and then max arrived.
going into turn 2, max was already aiming at charles and ready to pass him. he attempted an overtake, and charles wasn't going to let it happen. he understeered in an attempt to defend, and turned right into max, causing a collision. his front wing and mirror were damaged, but they both continued driving.
charles had to pit very early and was already off to an awful start. after originally deeming the collision as unnecessary to investigate, another collision later into the race caused them to re-open the investigation on charles and max's incident. charles had been making his way back through the pack and thought the incident was dealt with, but the fia said they'd deal with it after the race.
the scuderia continued on with the race with no clue of what penalty charles could be given. it was pure stupidity and chaos. juliet could hear on the radio his frustration and hopelessness every time xavi gave him an order.
charles simply did the best he could to get far up in the standings to claim at least some points, even with the stupid penalty.
a few more loud muffles followed until juliet heard doors open and footsteps down the hallway, believing that the debrief was over. she heard loud footsteps approaching the driver room, and a light knock on the door.
juliet stood up and opened the door, revealing charles who looked very stressed. "you don't need to knock to come into your own room," she smiled, trying to lighten the mood.
"sorry," he mumbled, walking in and sitting on his training bed. his head fell into his hands and he just sat in silence for a few seconds. juliet turned her chair around to face him, giving him the time to himself but showing him she was there.
he soon pulled his head up, and he couldn't help but smile the moment he saw juliet's face. "you okay?" juliet muttered, smiling too.
"yeah," he sighed.
"it's just one race. it doesn't...diminish your value or anything, charles."
charles' expression changed to one of acceptance. he looked relieved that juliet seemed to be the only person who believed in him. and to him, that was the only opinion that mattered.
"c'mon, cheer up mon amore, i'm about to meet your family."
——
after the catastrophe that was the afternoon, charles had finally collected himself and was ready for the night. it was his birthday dinner, for fuck's sake.
juliet sat in the hotel bathroom finishing her makeup, but also freaking out. yeah, she'd met his family before. but now she was his girlfriend.
she walked out of the bathroom and found charles sitting on the edge of the bed, ready to leave. "une seconde," she muttered and slipped on her shoes.
they left the hotel and walked downstairs, going to the valet and waiting for charles' car. "what's wrong?" charles could see juliet tensing up with every minute that passed.
"i'm scared," juliet mumbled, "what if they all hate me?"
"juliet..." he grabbed her hand and rubbed it gently, "that's impossible. they're related to me, and i love you, so that won't happen."
she pecked him on the lips as the valet pulled up with charles' car.
a short drive to a local restaurant was a moment of calm and ease for juliet. she sat in the car, listening to music and just breathing. this was going to be okay.
when charles parked the car, she could already see the leclerc's inside the restaurant. she kicked open her car door and stepped out, grabbing her purse and charles' arm.
they slowly walked into the restaurant and juliet couldn't help but take deep fucking breaths.
"joyeux anniversaire!" the leclerc family stood up as charles and juliet approached the table.
"merci, merci," charles thanked them. "you guys have met juliet, right? pierre's sister?"
charles' mother walked over to greet her son and juliet, "yes, i believe so."
"she's my girlfriend now," he wrapped his arm around juliet, then ushered her into a free seat beside him.
"oh that's wonderful!"
juliet smiled and settled in her seat, hanging her purse on her chair. charles quickly filed in beside her, laying his arm on the top of the chair behind her head.
"bonjour," juliet looked to arthur and lorenzo, charles' brothers.
"bonjour," they both smiled back.
——
"y'know, that wasn't as bad as i thought!" juliet giggled in the car as she and charles drove back to the hotel.
"i told you. they loved you, i'm sure of it," he smiled back at her.
"hopefully," she sighed. the car was silent for the rest of the drive, music blasting through the radio as per juliet's monthly playlist.
they pulled into the hotel parking lot and charles handed the key to the valet. juliet stepped out of the car and grabbed charles' hand, walking into the lobby and eventually back upstairs.
pierre, however, stood outside of the hotel, leaning against the wall smoking a cigar. he saw the ferrari pull into the parking lot, and knew it was charles'.
but then he saw juliet get out with him.
— notes!
dun, dun, DUN!
my sanity welcomes
itself back to this story
after the shitshow that was
january 2023 🫠
YOU ARE READING
𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒, charles leclerc
Romance𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 what happens when juliet gasly follows her goes her brother to work? > book one of the harryswebs f1 series!! ( real life x social media ) ( charles leclerc x fem oc )
