aeipathy

prologue

AEIPATHY
noun: an enduring and consuming passion
P R O L O G U E

There aren't many words you can use to describe a friendship between Olivia Chatrier and Max Verstappen, but passionate can fit the criteria. Hell, passionate makes their friendship what it is. Two hot-headed teens driving fast cars, those two could get into an argument in the middle of the track if they could. They were pretty close once, but Olivia could only thank her father for separating her from him because she was about to rip that arrogant smirk he carried ever so often. They once got into a screaming match right outside of the track, people looking at them with aghast expressions, probably wondering how that much voice can come from a pair of ten year olds. She was, however, a year younger than Max, born in 1998, while Max was born in 1997. That didn't stop her from kicking his ass on track and if the circumstances called, off track too.
Yet, that all changed when Olivia left France to move to Netherlands. Suddenly, Max had a friend. A good one at that. His dad never said anything because he was little and he lived close to the border of Belgium and Netherlands, he was practically more there anyways. Her mother probably remembers an 11 year old Max getting off the bus each Saturday. If he had to study, he'd bring his books with him. If he couldn't do something, Olivia could.
They were both at the infamous Red Bull Academy but Max got his seat in the pinnacle of the motorsport before Olivia. She was mad, to say at least. Not at Max, at the people who ran the sport. She showed the same amount of talent and will and motivation to win as Max, leveling his results too but Max got his seat before she did. Granted, he was first at Toro Rosso before moving to Red Bull, but still, it pained Olivia because the reasons were quite obvious.
Olivia joined Toro Rosso in 2018, fighting for each point fair and square and when Daniel Ricciardo announced his departure from Red Bull, it came off as a shock to everyone except for people who were really close to him. Olivia viewed Daniel as an older brother or as he jokingly called himself, the funny uncle. He would always try to make her laugh and whenever he could, he'd come over to watch Breaking Bad. Everything was easier when Olivia moved to Monaco by the end of 2017.
She still remembers Christmas that year. She had just moved in and her best friend's birthday was coming up, only 2 days after Christmas. She was hoping she'd spend it in the company of her parents and brother, who was only 2 years older than her.
"What do you mean you are spending Christmas in London with Marc?"
"Your brother just bought his house and invited us over to spend Christmas there" her mom said, causing Olivia to huff over the phone.
"Anne's birthday is on 27th. How do you expect me to- "
"You don't have to come. You don't even do anything right ever, do you?" her mother's harsh voice rang out and Olivia's eyes filled with tears.
Saying that Olivia doesn't have a good relationship with her mother would be an understatement. She was always so negative and toxic, she couldn't remember getting one compliment from her. She'd usually yell at her to clean her room, whether it's messy or clean, to study, even though her grades were always fine, or just yell at her to vent. It was sad, because she has been doing it for as long as Olivia could remember. Her father was usually there, but was always incredibly emotionally distant, only being involved in Olivia's career. So to say it was sad would also be an understatement. But she got so used to spending Christmas with her family that she didn't know what to do.
"Mom, I want to, but- "
"There is always a but with you, isn't there? Go on. Do whatever you want. Your father and I don't care. Marc said to invite you but we knew you'd always find something more important" she was almost hissing at Olivia and at this point, she could feel tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Mom..." she just sighed, her voice cracking.
"Are you crying? Of course you are, you've always been such a baby. Learn how to spend Christmas by yourself now. We'll take a selfie and send it to you. Now bye, your father and I are catching a flight" she said and hung up before Olivia could say anything. She put the phone down and let out a cry, sliding against the wall, sobbing uncontrollably. Why does it have to hurt so much? She clutched at her chest as she tried to catch her breath, the words of her mother ringing in her ear like a bad song.
After a few minutes of trying to control her breathing, she got up and slowly started decorating her newly bought Christmas tree. Her apartment had a great view of the center of Monte Carlo but at this point, she'd probably feel the same If she was staring at a blank, white wall. As she started spreading the fairy lights over her tree, carding it through the branches to look more pretty, her doorbell rang. She frowned and got up, wiping her hands off her hoodie before opening the door.
"Max?" she let out, her voice clearly expressing her confusion as her brows raised at the Dutch.
"Hey Liv" he smiled and she wanted to cry. He hadn't even come to see her when she moved in, they almost completely lost all contact when he got a seat in Formula 1 and now, he shows up at her door at 11 pm.
"What are you doing?" she asked, crossing her arms, her voice breaking and she wiped her face quickly in case there were any tear streaks left.
"I came by to bring the present. I haven't seen you since you moved in, I was with my dad most of the time since the break started" he said and lifted his hand up, waving the bag
"You could've done it any other day" she huffed, leaning against the doorframe.
"Am I interrupting something?" he asked, suddenly a bit concerned
"No, just...it's Christmas Eve, don't you have somewhere to be?" she asked
"Not really. I also brought food from a Chinese place down the street, that is if you still like Chinese?" he asked and she chuckled
"You really want to spend the Christmas Eve with me? We haven't seen each other since 2015" she said
"I know and it is completely my mistake. But I truly do. I haven't spent much time with you and I really miss it. Like, really. So, want company?" he asked, lifting the bag of Chinese food with a smile.
"You have no idea how much" she pushed herself off her door frame and into his arms, feeling his bags collide behind her back as he wrapped his arms around her frame "I'm in the middle of decorating my Christmas tree though"
"We'll finish it together" he said with a smile, walking in and taking his shoes off
"I don't have any Christmassy food"
"We can make some cookies" Max said, his smile growing at the thought of food and Olivia smiled, shaking her head.
"Yeah. Yeah, we can" she closed the door and walked into her living room with Max, who was already near the tree
"Check the present" he said and she smiled, taking the bag and seeing two boxes, one bigger than the other. She took the big one first and unwrapped it, seeing a book of the healthiest recipes. She lifted it up and smiled "You'll need it now that we're both in F1"
"You're right" she put it down and took the smaller one, inspecting it and looking at him "And this?"
"A Christmas present"
"Max, I haven't got anything for you!"
"Well, you didn't know I was coming and I had a plan to visit you so, open it" he smiled and she shook her head. She opened the box and saw the Pandora sign, gasping slightly
"Max..."
"Go on" he smiled as he sat down next to her. She opened the box and saw a beautiful, silver necklace with a dark blue butterfly pendant. It must've cost a fortune
"Max, I can't take this" she said and he shook his head
"Consider it a welcome to F1 present. Red Bull colors" he chuckled before getting serious "Consider it an apology gift too. I acted like I forgot I was at your house every weekend as a kid, like you didn't help me with my chemistry tests and like we didn't race our bikes like maniacs every Saturday at 7:1- "
"7:15 pm" she finished and smiled "Thank you Max" she said and he smiled
"Come on now" he got up and approached the tree "Let's finish this bad boy. What's his name? Jim?"