Apex | Charles Leclerc

Chapter 70

I don't know if we're moving fast here sooo 🤷🏻‍♀️ There will be a lot of fluff with some drama on the side hehe we have one last drama event that's going to happen 👀

Keep an eye out for some typos!

Enjoy!

*****

May 15, 2028 - England

"This feels like a crime." Max mumbled when he got into the car after Gabby, the two of them occupying the backseat. Charles and I visited Brackley and oddly enough, Max was also scheduled to visit their factory in Milton Keynes.

What I didn't expect was to see my best friend coming with us on the flight going here.

"We both know Christian has a Mercedes car." Charles snickered as he drove away from the Red Bull factory. The four of us were planning to have dinner at a restaurant in Buckingham since it was the midpoint of Charles and Max's respective flats.

"Yes, but he obviously doesn't drive it. We'd lose half of our sponsors if he did."

I turned around to smile at Max before raising an eyebrow at Gabby, my left hand holding Charles' phone because he showed me something before the two got inside the car. "Is there something you'd like to share?" I asked her, my tone teasing. Gabby shifted in her seat while Max grinned like a child who just scored his first F1 race tickets.

"You look lovely today?" Gabby smiled awkwardly, fingers fidgeting with the strap of her camera.

I hummed as she continued to squirm before showing them the post from one of the fan accounts that Charles was following. "There's a charming set of pictures of you two that's currently trending on Twitter." I said, passing the phone to Gabby before turning to Max. "I hope you know how many hearts you broke today." I joked and the Dutch man couldn't help but laugh as he shook his head.

Max leaned towards Gabby to take a look at the pictures, eyes bright with mischief. The photo was of the two of them in Monaco. I don't exactly know when it was taken since Gabby has visited a lot of times this year to check in on me and most likely to see Max. There were a lot of pictures, the two of them lining up in front of the food trucks that were near the port. It would've been harmless if it weren't for the last one.

Gabby was smiling, eyes cast down as the two of them joked around with one another. Max, however, looked like a lovesick puppy. He had both of his hands holding Gabby's cheeks as he grinned at her, their faces only inches apart. If anyone else thought they were just friends after seeing that picture, they must be blind.

"I'm surprised you're not mad that I didn't tell you first." Gabby said, passing me back Charles' phone before she pushed Max away, rolling her eyes at him.

"Because I knew this was inevitable. I thought you guys were just going to take things slow until you were both prepared, but you took the term slow burn to another level."

"What?"

"What does that mean?"

Charles and Max asked at the same time and Gabby and I spent the entire car ride explaining it to them.

When we arrived at the restaurant, it only took one look between me and Charles for him to understand that I wanted to talk to Gabby alone. He gave me a light kiss on my forehead before grabbing Max's arm and pulling him inside.

Before I could even open my mouth, Gabby was already rambling and pacing in front of him. "Max Verstappen is probably the most stubborn person I have ever met. Apart from you, of course." She added and I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling as I leaned against the wall of the restaurant, crossing my arms over my chest as my best friend lost it. "He's so persistent. Sometimes, I think he's a dog who just keeps following me around and would only stop when I give him something in return. He's all sunshine and flowers every time he sees me and I don't know if that's a good thing because who's that happy all the time?"