then you flashed your green eyes at me || Charles Leclerc

chapter twenty-three

No one stopped her at two drinks.

She had gotten a third, and probably a fourth one even.

She was dancing with someone she didn't even know the name of.

She was shaking her hips at some song she didn't know the lyrics to.

She was enjoying Charles' gaze on her as he watched from afar.

She was waiting for him to apologize for his behavior, but at that point she didn't care enough to stop dancing and confront him.

That was, until he walked out on the terrace, with a drink still in his hands.

At that point, she didn't want to dance anymore. Why? She wasn't sure. Her mind was a bit foggy, and she felt like something was missing. She tossed the stranger's hand from her body as she stumbled through the crowd to get to the bathroom.

Everything was spinning, and her vision felt in slow motion.

She grabbed the sink to get a hold of herself. Some girl next to her asked if she was okay, and she answered automatically that she was fine. The girl left without further questions.

She looked at her face, scanning it. It looked puffy.

She pushed herself away from the sink and went back to the loud music, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. As if she had been covering her ears for too long.

She pushed through the crowd to get to the terrace, hoping to get some fresh air before her social battery could completely shut down.

The outside space was shaped as a sort of L. There was a bigger part right in front of the sea, that gave immediate access to the club; then there was a smaller space behind the corner, that had a view on a small grove. She started walking in that direction, stopping right before turning the corner because she heard people talking.

She was about to turn around, when she recognized the voices to be Carlos' and Charles'.

Was it wrong to overhear someone's conversation? Yes, it was. Did she care? Not after four drinks. So she stood there, leaning on the wall and trying to get something out of their conversation.

"I see how you look at her, Charles" Carlos was saying.

"Let's hear it, how would I look at her?" he said annoyed.

"Like you're in love with her!"

Charles seemed in love? With who? Her heart skipped a beat.

"Come on, as if!" he said, exasperated. "Listen, I stopped talking to her as you asked me. I stopped texting her because you like her and want to be the one to do so. Okay, done. Now, please, let me live!"

Stopped talking? Were they talking about her?

"Don't act like I forced you to do those things" Carlos said angrily.

"You did mate! You said to choose between my friendship with you and her. And I did. But now you're being an asshole and I'm reconsidering everything"

"You really would go back to your 'friendship' with her? You hated each other!"

"We did! Now...we don't. Not like before at least. Listen mate, I miss talking to her. If you want me to keep going with this act, you gotta give me some decent reasons. And the fact that you like her doesn't count, cause you talked it out and are friends again thanks to me. If I wanted something different I wouldn't have helped" he sighed. Carlos stayed silent.

So that's why he had been acting so weird, it wasn't something she had done. She felt relieved.

"She's gonna fall for you and you're gonna fall for her if you keep talking" Carlos said after a long silence. Charles scoffed.

"That's not happening, I assure you"

"That's the same thing she said to the idea of you two becoming friends. And now look what's happening here!"

"Mate, sincerely, fuck off. I wanna go back to talking to her. She's helped me more in these past few weeks than anyone else in the past few years. I'm not letting that go"

"This is wrong"

"How could something that makes you feel good be wrong?!"

"I'm telling you, you shouldn't talk to her again"

She had heard enough. Before Charles could say anything else, she walked around the corner, causing them to turn their heads towards her. She was feeling tipsy, the fresh air had helped clear her mind a bit.

"That's it" she said drawling her words. "You keep doing this Carlos. Why do you want to control my life? And the falling in love thing. First of all, it's none of your business. Second of all, it's not like it's going to happen. Third of all, it's not like I'll ever fall in love with you!" she said.

Carlos looked like he wanted to say something, but she interrupted him. "That came out harsher than it should've. But it's true. I've known you for too long and I'll always see you as my friend, nothing more. Don't take it personally, but that's just it. You need to move on and find someone who's willing to spend the rest of her life with you, cause you deserve it. And you gotta stop trying to control my life, cause it's getting exhausting" she said, using her hands to emphasize her words. She suddenly brought a hand to her stomach. "I think I'm gonna vomit" she said. And a few seconds later, not seeing the worried faces on the two guys in front of her, she giggled and said "Nope, all good"

"You're drunk, you don't mean what you're saying" he tried.

"Hell yes I do. Listen, I love you mate, but just as a friend. That's it. Eso es todo. C'est tout. È così e basta. Dat is het. Now let me talk to my new friend before he abandons me because I'm too annoying" she said, trying to stand still.

"I'm getting used to it" Charles giggled.

"We'll be friends if you want to be friends" she told Carlos. "But if you want more, you gotta wait for the feelings to go away, I'm sorry" she concluded.

He nodded, moving his gaze between the two of them. Then picked up his glass from the table near by. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get drunk and forget about this for a few hours" he said, walking back in.

They looked at his back while he walked away, then at each other when he disappeared behind the corner.

"So I'm your new friend now?" he giggled. She shrugged.

"I mean, if you want to"

"I think I do"

"Then we're friends" she smiled.

They looked at each other in the eyes before bursting out laughing. She smiled as she saw his eyes light up, despite of the little light there was around them. And she blushed at the sight of his dimples forming on his cheeks.

"Do you want to get out of here?" she asked suddenly. He looked at her surprised.

"Where do you wanna go?" he asked.

"I know just the place" she smiled.