Below Deck || C. Leclerc

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The past

Liliana wrapped the blanket tightly around her shoulders when she finally managed to put her phone against her second pillow. It kept falling on its screen, but now she could lie in a comfortable position without holding the phone. The clock ticked two o'clock in the night. Liliana couldn't sleep. Nevertheless, it was weekend, so no stress about waking up early. She was watching some videos from her old favourite YouTubers like Casey Neistat, How To Cook That and Tina Yung.

Suddenly, a sound came out of the living room. Liliana paused her video and her heartbeat began to rise. Who is ringing the bell in the middle of the night? That person would still be outside of the building, but still. She didn't move a centimetre. Someone was here for her. An intruder? A murderer? She was alone after all.

A loud gasp left her mouth when a message came through on her phone. Liliana looked at her phone and saw the text from Charles, asking if she was awake since he was standing in front of her apartment building. "Jesus," Liliana whispered and closed her eyes.

Charles fucking Leclerc.

She threw the blanket away and got up, not even bothering to send him a message back. She left her bedroom and walked to the hall, pressing the button to open the door downstairs. This was ridiculous. Liliana opened the door and waited next to it while leaning against the wall. She crossed her arms and yawned.

"Âllo?" The door opened more.

"What are you doing?" Liliana asked and straightened her face.

Charles looked at her and raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"So you think ringing the bell is normal at two in the morning?" She stepped away, letting Charles in. She closed the door and locked it again. "I thought you were an intruder, a kidnapper, a murderer."

Charles turned around and stopped walking. He placed his hands on his hips and looked down, processing the words. A shy and embarrassing chuckle left his mouth. "I have not thought about it like that. You are right. I'm sorry," he said and looked at her again.

"You better have a good excuse, dude," Liliana breathed and put on the lights in the living room.

"I couldn't sleep and I saw that you were online on Snapchat."

She sat down on the sofa and looked at him. He was wearing a yellow hoodie and bright blue sweats. She parted her lips, but closed her mouth again. "Right, I see. You look like a minion, though," she mumbled.

A laugh rolled over Charles' lips. "What?"

"Kevin 2.0," Liliana amusingly smiled. "But... Why didn't you call me then?"

He sat down next to her. "I don't know, actually," he shrugged. "I forgot. But the big question is: why are you awake?"

"I couldn't sleep, overthinking, you know. I was watching some YouTube stuff," she said and shrugged, getting up again. Liliana put on another light and went to the kitchen area. "Do you want to drink something? Now you're here."

"Yes, that would be wonderful," he said and followed her to the kitchen area. "But why were you overthinking?"

"I don't know. Sometimes you just think too much about unnecessary bullshit." She grabbed two glasses. "Juice, water, alcohol?"

"Juice." Charles' eyes fell on a printed recipe on the kitchen counter. He grabbed it and read it. "Chocolate chip cookies," he said. "Oh là là."

Liliana looked at him. "Yup, I was craving chocolate chip cookies, but I don't have time to make them," she said and handed over the glass.