Midnight, The Stars & You

17.

a/n: I'm SO sorry I haven't updated! I had a lot of personal stuff going on and for awhile I wasn't sure if I liked my writing in this story anymore so I was kinda conflicted! I'm gonna try to keep up with it again! Thank you guys so much! :) I hope you all are doing well!

Summer 2010
Monaco

After an eventful day at the beach, Ginny made sure to take a hot shower back at the Leclerc house. The tiny sand granules made their way down the drain. She shampoo'd and conditioned her hair twice because of the salt water. But even then, she knew her hair would be frizzier than normal, with strands sticking out at every end. She got out of the shower and made a beeline to the guest room where her clothes were laid out.

The sun was slowly starting to set against the horizon. Ginny could feel the twilight air creeping into the house. She felt goosebumps on her skin as she dropped her towel and slipped into a pair of pajama shorts and an oversized gray tee shirt. Ginny's wet hair trickled onto the thin fabric and created two big stains on her chest. Just as always, she thought she looked like a poodle. Her shoulders slumped.

Ginny jumped at the sound of someone knocking on her door. She whirled around, but paused for a moment, wondering who it could be.

"It's me!" Charles sounded from the other side.

Ginny let go of the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. She grabbed the golden knob and twisted until Charles was in view. He was also fresh out of the shower with damp hair against his forehead. His cheeks were red from the heat. The whites of his eyes were cascaded with streaky red lines — most likely from getting soap in them. Nonetheless, he looked so dreamy.

"Hi Charles." Ginny felt shy all of a sudden. Maybe it was because of today... all the times he stood up for her and reminded her that she wasn't some pathetic little kid. She flushed pink at the thought of Charles liking her in the same way she liked him. Could that even be a thing? His words echoed in her ears. "Well at least I can say I have a girlfriend."

Charles pressed his shoulder against the doorway, crossing his arms in the process. He flipped some of his hair to the side, pelting Ginny with a few beads of water. She giggled and shoved him in the chest. He was grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Chloe's locked herself in her room and won't come out... I think because of whatever her and Max talked about on their walk at the beach. Pierre is doing God-knows-what. My brothers are with your brother in the basement playing Mario Kart. So I was wondering if you'd wanna watch a movie with me."

"Sure!" Ginny nodded excitedly. She always loved watching movies because she could escape from whatever her current reality was. And she loved watching movies even more with her crush. "Do you think we should check on your sister though?"

"I tried." Charles shook his head. "She yelled at me to go away. I think she just wants some time alone."

"What do you think happened with her and Max?" Ginny grabbed her fuzzy blanket before walking into the hallway with Charles. The two of them always walked with their shoulders touching. They were doing that now. Ginny felt safe with Charles beside her, like he was her own personal forcefield of light and joy.

He cocked his head to the side like he was deeply thinking about the matter. "Je ne sais pas. They were gone for like thirty minutes and when Chloe did show back up... Max was gone."

"Probably because he had to catch up with his dad." Ginny raised a brow at Charles, who blushed lightly.

"I did my best to keep Mr. Verstappen preoccupied. But he is a helicopter dad. I could only do so much." Charles nudged her in the arm.