Say It's Me ☾ Charles Leclerc

41 | Prioritizing you

♪
Mahogany Lox - Loving You:
'The kinda love that never fades. I could just stare at you for days and not a minute goes to waste, baby. When I'm wrapped in your embrace'

"Thank you.." Noelle whispered as her fingers moved through Charles' hair. The pair of them had been laying in bed all morning, watching some Netflix on her laptop and dozing in and out of sleep while cuddling up to each other. Charles moved his head to look at her when he suddenly heard her voice, confusion was written all over his face as they had been quiet for most of the time. "What for?" He said with his eyebrows furrowed. He turned his body and wrapped his arm firmer around Noelle's upper body. "For sticking up for us this weekend". The blonde girl said, her eyes falling down for a second when she remembered how hard that must have been for him. Charles didn't speak. All he did was place his index finger under her chin, guiding her face upwards to make her look at him again and when she did so, Noelle noticed all the confusion had been replaced by the most gorgeous smile.

Charles leaned in slowly and placed his lips on hers lovingly. "I was not going to let anyone speak badly about you like that. I don't care what they say about me, but I want everyone to know how incredible you are". He finally answered, his lips still brushing over Noelle's as he spoke. "I love you". Her voice came out like a whisper and a small smile formed on her face when she remembered the previous night when they confessed their love for each other. "I love you too, princesse". He answered as she cuddled her way up to his chest. It was surreal to think they could just say it to each other now, as Noelle had been thinking about this for the past few weeks, trying to keep it in as she was scared he wouldn't feel the same way.

Last night, she realised she had always loved Charles. Maybe not in the same way as she did right now, but he had always been so important to her. His friendship had gotten her through so many bad times; fights with her parents, heartbreak when her crush didn't like her back, the evenings home alone when her parents went on yet another trip. Noelle knew she could always count on Charles. He had proven that to her countless times. Even when her presence in his life started to complicate his own, like they saw last week, he prioritized her. And he had always been the one to stand up for her. When she was bullied in school, he was the one to put the bullies in their place. When one of her teachers had gotten angry because she didn't have her permission slip for a field trip signed by her parents, he had told them why making sure she could come anyway.

Noelle felt a lump form in her throat at the thought of her parents. They hadn't reached out to her in months now. She wanted nothing more than for them to see that she was happy, for them to realize that her perfect guy had been in their lives all along, but they clearly weren't interested. The sensation of Charles' fingertips that ran up her spine made her relax a little and take a deep breath. She didn't need them. All she needed was right here and for the first time in her life, Noelle truly believed that. Charles was her rock, the one person she could always rely on and she dearly hoped she could be the same for him now that they had found their way to each other.

What Noelle didn't realize, was that Charles had never doubted his love for her. Ever since he realized he was falling deeply for her when he was a teenager, he had done everything he could to protect her. It hurt him that they had to spend some time apart when his racing picked up, but he was here now and he would do everything he could to make it up to her. There was no way Charles was ever going to let her go again. She was the one and only girl he had imagined ever being with since he was little and the one he had promised himself to look after, no matter what. And in his mind, she did the same for him. Noelle had always been there for him when he first started karting, supporting him from the sidelines with Sophie and his family. Her e-mails and messages were what kept him going when he was driving in kart competitions across the world and the thought of seeing her again was what made him excited to go back home.