apocalypse | charles leclerc ✓

chapter 9 | whatever people say

«Filled in the hole in the road, we were speaking in code, stuck in fantasy mode.»

---

Charles did not really know Aurora. He viewed her more of a ghost than a person he could talk to or ask questions — in regards to Sloane, that was —, which would've been helpful whenever things got complicated with his girlfriend. All in all, he couldn't actually complain, the girl was nice and polite whenever they had to interact over Ferrari concerns. She'd been working closer with Carlos, lately at least, and he knew this because Sloane asked him to please try not to cause her a panic attack if he ever found himself closer to her.

The petition had come as a result of him wishing Aurora a happy birthday about two months ago, after one of those team meetings with Silvia and the rest of the team. Only knowing the date from Sloane herself who spent the whole weekend celebrating with Aurora. He assumed she'd told her about this slip of his and really, the message was evident ever since then. He wouldn't bother her with personal matters. But she had to allow him to be on her good side. In the same way Vivianne had done it.

And maybe if she understood her job wouldn't be threatened simply for existing in the same time and space as him, things could be smoother between them. At the end of the day, they both had something in common: Sloane.

Surely they could work something around that.

"Hi, Aurora." This one jolted in surprise at the mention of her name. She'd been too engrossed in sharing the information on her phone with Carlos to take notice of Charles wandering closer to the pair. His teammate met his gaze first, a second later he looked at her. "How are you?"

Aurora blinked, first giving him a quick glance, and then back to Carlos. She was processing the situation. "Hi, Charles. I'm alright, thank you for asking." She locked her phone and slipped it back into her pocket. "How are you?"

"I'm great, actually." There was a joke on the tip of his tongue about his girlfriend coming around later, because if she didn't feel so panicked with the relationship they could banter, but it bordered the personal line and he didn't want to cause her an anxious episode. Sloane would murder him. "What were you guys up to?"

She exchanged a glance with Carlos before focusing back on him. "We were going through some questions for an interview." Her finger pointed at Carlos. This one nodded in confirmation. She was clearly more comfortable with the Spaniard.

Probably because out of the two, Carlos wasn't the one romantically involved with her best friend. "Anything for me?" He asked, eyebrows raised to appear friendlier.

It seemed like the question wasn't listed in the scripted sentences they could share with each other. "Not from me, but you should consult with your side of the team." She was so...professional and serious, he thought.

"Good then, thank you."

There was no verbal reply from her, just a quick nod before her attention drifted back to Carlos. He observed their interaction. "I'll send you the questions, review them and if you have any inquiries, let me know. Okay?"

It would remain a mystery for him how Sloane and Aurora, two girls who were opposite to one another, had managed to build the friendship they had. Sloane was so extroverted and Aurora so introverted. Maybe a balance between them existed. Like they equilibrated each other's energy one way or another. Something like that.

Carlos smiled and bobbed his head in agreement. "Yeah, I'll annoy you if anything comes up. Thank you, Aurora."

"Okay," Her gaze flickered from Carlos to him several times. Then she decided to take a breath. "I'll see you both around. Have a–have a good race." Her hands motioned randomly in the air while simultaneously taking two steps back to leave their space.