Pole position // Charles Leclerc

5

Mias POV:
I threw my phone into my purse before Daniel really did drag me down the stairs, and met them in the kitchen, shaking my head in disapproval when they both sighed a sigh of relief, complaining about how long I took.

'I was packing my stuff!' I argued, grabbing my brothers keys from the side and heading to the garage.

'You should've done that last week!'

'I didn't know I had the job.' I said, in a duh tone, unlocking the car and climbing into the drivers seat.

'I'm absolutely not letting you drive my car again, not after last time.' Daniel warned, holding his hands out and waiting for me to give the keys back.

'I'll be careful.' I pouted.

He eyed me carefully for a few seconds, before rolling his eyes, walking around to the passenger side door and climbing in.

'Remember, there are rules on the road. Do not be driving as if you're playing GTA.' He warned.

'He was in my way.' I grumbled.

'It was a red light!' He exclaimed.

Lando was driving his own car, purely because he'd promised not to drink, knowing he'd end up being a designated driver at the end of the night. He flashed to let me out, clearly nervous that I was driving Daniels brand new Porsche 918 Spyder.

'Ok, Mia, careful on this corner.' Daniel said, anxiously.

'Danny, this isn't f1 and you're not speaking to me through the radio. I'm okay.' I laughed.

'You just scare the shit out of me.' He chuckled.

'You're the one who spends his life speeding around dangerous tracks.' I responded.

'I've made it out alive so far.' He teased.

My face dropped and he knew that he'd said the wrong thing. We drove in silence to the venue, and I parked next to Lando, sitting in the car and waiting for Daniel to inevitably apologise. He always apologised first.

'Mia, you know I'm careful for you.' He said, softly.

'I know. I just hate the thought of you getting hurt, it keeps me up at night.' I said, flashing him a reassuring smile.

'Nothing bad will ever happen to me.' He whispered.

'Uncle Wayne said the same thing.'

His entire demeanour changed.

Our uncle, our fathers brother was also an f1 racer. He was so close to winning a championship when he fatally crashed in Singapore.

Both me and Daniel were there. We both saw it. They say he died on the spot and didn't feel any pain, but I thought otherwise. Maybe it was self sabotage, or maybe it was a gut feeling, but I knew he was in pain before he passed. I didn't want the same for my brother.

I didn't give Daniel a chance to say anything else. I didn't want him to feel guilty at all, and so I decided to squash it, getting out of the car and heading towards Lando.

'You ready to party like your life depends on it?' He asked, taking my brothers keys from me, as I had no pockets and my purse was full.

'Don't I always?' I smiled.

'I won't be happy if I have to drag you to the car tonight.' He warned.

'Maybe I won't be coming home with you two at all.' I joked.

His face dropped.

'Not funny. Remember the tight leash Daniel has you on, don't forget about it.'

'Shots?' I smiled.

'I'm not drinking.' He said, waving his car keys infront of me.

'Doesn't mean Mia can't do shots, does it Lando?' Charles asked, his presence making the air heavy.

I held my breath as he came up behind me, his body extremely close to mine as he leant over to shake the hand of my friend.

'I'm gonna go and speak to Lewis. Back in a few.' Lando smiled, pointing two warning fingers at me before walking away to find his friend.

'Can I get you a drink?' Charles asked, placing his hand on the small of my back, guiding me towards the bar.

'I'll have whatever you're having.' I shrugged.

He raised his eyebrows at me, amused, as he ordered two whiskeys. My stomach began to turn. I didn't like whiskey, what on earth was I thinking.

'You don't like it, do you?' He asked, still watching me cautiously.

I took the glass from his hand, tilting my head back and pouring the drink down my throat, trying my hardest not to react.

'That was, awful,' i coughed, covering my mouth and putting the glass down, collecting myself.

Charles chuckled, taking a singular sip from his own glass, the veins in his hand tensing as he did so.

'You look beautiful tonight.' He said, lowly, loud enough for me to hear. 

'Thank you.' I smiled, my heart giddying started his words.

'Now, tell me what you really want to drink, and then maybe we can get this party going.'

'A vodka lemonade, please.' I smiled sheepishly, suddenly nervous in this man's presence.

He smiled, leaning over the bar and tapping on it lightly, letting the bartender know what I'd like to drink.

I slid him my whiskey which I had absolutely no intention in finishing, watching as his lips touched the glass in the same place mine did, and it was as if he'd done it on purpose.

'Tell me something fun about you.' He pushed, grabbing my barstool by the edges and pulling me closer so that we could hear eachother over the music.

'I don't have much to tell.' I shrugged.

'Oh come on, a girl like you must have loads of secrets.' He pushed.

I bit down on my lip before taking his bait.

'I used to figure skate when I was little.' I shouted over the music.

'In Australia?' He chuckled.

'We lived right next to the only rink in our city. I'd go all the time and I was quite good. I stopped at the age of 16 though, when Danny started to get into his racing.'

'Is that why you stopped?' He asked.

'I love my mum but she didn't think my skating career had as much as potential as Danny's driving one. She was right, of course. Look at him now.' I smiled, looking over at my brother.

'Youdve been just as successful.' He argued.

'It's a hard sport, you don't know that.' I responded.

'You dont strike me as someone to settle for second place, I'm sure youdve survived.'