Say It's Me ☾ Charles Leclerc

37 | A step backwards

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Clinton Kane - Fix It To Break It:
'Am I just fixing it, just to break it? Am I just hanging in, just so we can drown like the love we thought we found? Now, we're hoping that we don't just hit the ground'

Charles woke up when he felt the sun shining on his body through the blinds. He opened his eyes slowly and the corners of his mouth immediately curled upwards when he remembered the evening he had with Noelle last night. He slowly turned around and he was so happy to see that she was still peacefully asleep next to him. Their date had been an absolute dream and Charles was so glad that everything had turned out the way it did. The picnic he ordered from a local boulangerie was lovely, the weather was perfect and the sunset was even more beautiful than it usually was.

After a few hours, the two of them made their way back to his car, where Charles had asked her if she wanted to stay over at his house. His flight to Azerbaijan was leaving today and he wanted to spend some more precious time with her. It was the first time they slept in the same bed without doing anything else and it was wonderful to be able to just hold her in his arms. Without making too much noise, Charles pulled the duvet off his body and stepped out of bed. He looked at Noelle one more time, a small smile appearing when he admired her beautiful face. He grabbed his phone before he walked downstairs towards the kitchen where he took out some eggs and bacon from his fridge to make breakfast for the pair of them.

While the food was frying in the pan, Charles lifted his phone, looking at a few notifications he had received throughout the night and early morning. After sending a few text messages to Carlos about their flight later this afternoon, he opened Instagram. His eyebrows raised when he saw the enormous amount of new followers he received overnight and although it wasn't as unusual for him to see his social media accounts grow anymore, these numbers were something different. Charles was looking through some of the photos that his friends posted since he last checked the app when his phone suddenly rang. "Hello?" He answered while he turned the bacon over in the pan. "Good morning Charles, it's Mia. I'm sorry to bother you this early but there has been a bit of a situation going on".

Charles furrowed his brows while he listened to his PR manager and he immediately knew something bad was happening. "Some photos of you and your friend have been leaked to the press late last night and the story is quite concerning". Mia sounded stressed and it immediately made Charles' heart rate go up. "A story has been sold to the press that you staged a paparazzi to follow you two on your date last night. They say you are supposedly gay and hiding that by starting a fake relationship with her". Mia's voice lowered when she neared the end of the sentence. He didn't know what to say, he was absolutely blown away by this news. "I'm sorry, Charles". A big sigh left his lips before he finally spoke up. "Well, it's not true. Noelle and I were actually on our first date and I didn't even know someone followed us. And I'm definitely not gay". 

There was a slight bit of anger noticeable in his voice and even though Charles knew Mia wasn't the one that was implying this, she was the only person he could speak to about this now. "I know, we're doing everything we can to handle this situation. I just wanted to let you know what was going on". Charles nodded, even though his PR manager wouldn't be able to see him. "Thank you, Mia. I need to talk to Noelle about it before she sees it online. I'll speak to you later, bye". He said before he put down his phone and leaned over the counter with his head in his hands. Charles sighed deeply, but quickly stood up straight when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. "Good morning, mon ange". He said when he walked over to Noelle and planted a loving kiss on her forehead.

"Hmm, good morning". Noelle hummed while she had her arms wrapped around his waist and her head buried in his chest. "It smells delicious in here". Charles laced their fingers together and pulled her further into the kitchen. He grabbed some plates to give Noelle her breakfast and she thanked him softly when he placed it before her on the counter. They ate in silence and while he could tell that Noelle was just enjoying her food, Charles was trying to find the right time to tell her about what was going on. After a few minutes, he grabbed their empty plates to put them in the dishwasher and when he turned to face the blonde girl again, he finally dared to speak up. "Ehm, I don't really know how to explain this, but my PR manager Mia called me earlier and there has been a bit of an issue".