We never go out of style | Charles Leclerc x reader

Home, sweet home... almost

Y/N - your name

y/h/c - your hair colour

Feel free to skip this chapter I guess?? It's just a little introduction

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Despite enjoying being a student of the New York University, [Y/n] was more than happy when the plane she was on finally touched down in Nice. It was a bit funny to her how she lived in Italy, but the more convinient option was landing in Nice instead of at the Genoa Airport. The road from GOA would take almost 2 hours, meanwhile from Nice it was only a few miutes over 1 hour.

After getting her suitcase, [Y/n] went to the exit and looked around, hoping to see her friend, Skylar.  The girls became friends in high school when [Y/n] was quite lonely after falling out with her long time friend, Charles. She hasn't spoken to Charles since they were 14 years old.

[Y/n] assumed that when a girl and a boy are childhood bestfriends, their frienship would either inevitably morph into a teen romance or dissolve into oblivion. [Y/n] never blamed Charles, it became a bit difficult to hang out. She understood he had his career going on and things got even worse when [Y/n] moved away with her family.

Nowadays the girl didn't really keep up with his career, she knew he was a race driver in Formula 1, but she didn't watch it. Charles was just a distant memory in [Y/n]'s head and so was she in his. It's not like she was depressed because of that, no hard feelings about it, but she still did sometimes wonder where would their relationship be now if they kept in touch.

"Hey," Skylar weaved at [Y/n], "here!"

The [y/h/c]haired girl noticed her friend in the huge crowd and immediately ran to give her a tight hug. Well, as much as she was able to run through all this crowd with her suitcase.

"Long time no see! New York is so boring without you by my side."

"We totally have to make up for this whole year of only texing and facetiming."

Skylar gave [Y/n] a huge smile with an idea popping up in her head. "I was actually thinking, maybe you'd like to stay at my place for a few days? Maybe a week?"

[Y/n] didn't hesitate. Skylar moved to Nice a few months ago, so [Y/n] hasn't had a chance to bond over exploring the city with her. They haven't seen each other since the last summer, because [Y/n] was busy with university stuff even during the spring break. 

Contrary to [Y/n]'s fear, this friendship did pass this test of being away from each other for such a long time.

"I'd love to," equally big smile appeared on her face, "let me just call my dad and tell him I'll be home a few days later, alright?"

The girls got into Skylar's car, where [Y/n] could give her family a quick call so that they wouldn't worry too much. 

"So..." Skylar said as soon as her friend finished the call, "how's America? How's uni? Any cute guys on the radar?"

"America isn't as fun as it seems, uni is great, but I'm looking forward to graduating and no, I'm not seeing anyone," [Y/n] answered. "You'd be the first person to find out if I was interested in anybody."

That wasn't a lie. [Y/n] preferred to focus on her eduaction right now, because boys come and go, but knowledge is for life. Of course if something was going to happen naturally, [Y/n] would go with it and obviously let her friend know, but she didn't necessarily look for a romantic interest. 

Maybe the girl was spending too much time with her nose in the books and she just didn't have time for meeting people, but that was alright for her. Her plan was to graduate and come back home for good, so what if she met some American boy, fell in love with him and he wouldn't agree to move to Europe for her? She didn't need problems like this.

"There's no one as good as our boys, am I right?" Skylar laughed.

"Sure," [Y/n] giggled, "our boys definitely have a knack for global awareness. I mean, can you believe I had to clarify to someone that European countries are indeed individual nations, not states akin to those in the US?"

"No way! Please tell me it was someone random on the street and not one of other students."

"I'd have to lie..."

The girls shared a laughter that gradually faded into a comfortable silence. Still grinning, Skylar stole a quick glance at her friend.

"You've always been a 'love will find its way' kind of person," she remarked with a playful nudge.

"Yeah," [Y/n] nodded. "Is it wrong? I mean, it might be a bit difficult for me to find a suitable partner, but I don't mind waiting. My mom always told me not to chase or force love." 

"Be careful then. Love has its way of finding us when we least expect it.

With a shared laugh, the conversation shifted to lighter topics, but [Y/n] couldn't shake off the underlying truth—her heart was guarded, shielded by ambitions and a determination to secure her future. For now, the pages of her textbooks held more allure than any fleeting romance.

∘•········ʚ ♡ ɞ ········•∘

Skylar's aparment was small, but alright for two girls. There was only one bedroom, so she offered the bed to [Y/n], emphasizing her friend's comfort and need for proper rest. However, [Y/n] politely declined the offer, insisting on taking the sofa instead.

"Really, it's fine," [Y/n] assured Skylar with a gentle smile. "The sofa looks quite comfortable, and it's only for a few days. I don't want to inconvenience you." It seemed like the night would pass peacefully.

Not on sleeping though. The two friends had to catch up with everything they didn't talk about in the texts and video calls.

"There's something I wanted to ask you about," Skylar said. "You're free on Sunday, right?"

"Obviously," [Y/n] chuckled, "I'm spending it with you, no? Or are you trying to say you'll be busy and I should find some activities to do on my own? Because that's fine by me."

"Well, you had a productive year at uni, so I thought maybe you'll want to chill out together at the race in Monaco?"

"The race? The Formula 1 race in Monaco?"

"Yeah! Do you like this idea? Think of it as a breather."

[Y/n] hesitated for a moment, her smile faltering as an internal struggle began to brew. "Monaco sounds amazing, really. But, um, I'm not sure if it's the best time for me to go."

Skylar's expression changed, a hint of concern in her eyes. "Is everything okay? I thought you'd be thrilled about this. It was supposed to be a fun and distracting weekend. But hey, if it feels like a bit much, we can plan something else. No biggie."

[Y/n] didn't ever really mention to Skylar that Charles Leclerc, a Formula 1 driver in the Scuderia Ferrari team,"prince" of Monaco, Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc, was once her best friend. She felt like there wasn't a need for saying that.

But honestly, why would he even notice her? There was no way he would. There was no way they would in any means meet, he will be in the car and [Y/n] will be in the audience.

And even if he somewhat caught a glimpse of her, he wouldn't recognize her. She wasn't famous and the last time they saw each other was many years ago, now they were adults.

"No, no, you're right. It'll be fun and distracting. I would love to go! We just gotta choose which team to cheer for."

"I say Ferrari," Skylar giggled, "they're devilishly handsome."

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Okay, that's it, the first chapter of my first Charles Leclerc fanfic. There's no Charles action in this chapter, because I wanted to make it an introduction to the story, kind of draw the background of the main character and not make it too long.

Can't wait to post chapter 2 with all the Charles action happening, but until then have a nice day/evening/night <3