When the first female F1 driver is announced, no one expects her to get on so badly with Ferrari golden boy Charles Leclerc, but do they really hate each other as much as it seems?
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With pre season done, we had a few weeks until the first race where us drivers would knuckle down for training and the team would try to sort out their cars. Turned out Mclaren had a lot they needed to do, but I was sure the team would get it done.
After a week at my home in England, Lando had invited me to stay with him at his place in Monaco for a week and then fly with him to Bahrain. I happily accepted but it meant that Rue would have to get to Bahrain on her own which I felt a bit bad about.
Me and Lando would train together: we went on runs around town (early in the morning to avoid paps or fans) and to the gym together. Lando also had a gaming set up we took turns using. Although it was just a game, I found it useful to help me familiarise myslelf with the Bahrain track.
On the last day I woke up early to go on a run and after getting ready, knocked on Landos door to see if he was ready.
"Go away" Lando moaned from inside the room. "I feel like crap. Please let me sleep in"
"Alright" I replied "I hope you feel better soon". It didn't surprise me Lando felt like crap. We had gone out to a bar last night and Lando had got wasted. As the designated driver of that night I had nothing to drink so was feeling great.
I decided to run to the gym that was 2k away and I could do a work out there. It was so early that I was sure no one else would be there. I got to the gym in good time and walked in sweating from my run slightly. Like I guessed, no one was there. Wait. No. There was someone there, currently on the treadmill in the back corner. Despite being only able to see their back profile, I immediately knew who it was - Charles Leclerc. I wanted to scream. Why did he have to be here?!
I decided to ignore him and went over to the bicep curl machine. I put my headphones in and put on my playlist before starting my sets. After completing them, I look up to notice Charles was off the machine. I turned and saw him standing near me, watching me like he always seemed to be doing. I ignored him and got off the machine, taking a swig from my water bottle. As I got off and started to walk to a new machine, Charles immediately replaced me at the curl machine and started to do my weights, making them look like childs play.
He was doing this on purpose! I thought. What a cocky prick.
He saw me watching him and smirked at me. I refused to give him the satisfaction of a reaction and turned away as he changed the weights so they were much heavier. I clenched my fists and grabbed a bar with weights. I started doing some hip thrusts, before going to squats. I didn't allow myself to check what Charles was doing, I kept telling myself I didn't care about him. As I came up from a squat, one of my airpods was plucked out of my ear.
"What are you listening to?" Charles said into my ear. I dropped the bar in shock and took a few steps away in shock.
"You prick" I yelled at him "I could've hurt myself"
"But you didn't. I wouldn't let that happen" He replied. I grabbed my airpod out of his hand, our fingertips brushing. A line of goosebumps ran down my arm at the touch. I ignored them.
"If you couldn't notice -which you clearly didn't- I'm in the middle of a workout so could you leave me alone" I said angrily to him.
"Easier said than done" He said so quietly I almost didn't hear him. "I wanted to know what you were listening to" he said this bit louder and clearly.
"Why do you care?"
"Just curious,"
"Im just listening to my gym playlist but the song on right now is Perfect Places by Lorde" I said simply. I was still a bit baffled about why he cared but I was too tired from the work out to play his mind games with him.
"Haven't heard of it" He said. I shrugged, unsure what to say.
"Okay, well I'm going to get back to my workout now. Please don't do that again you nearly gave me a heart attack"
"Let me check your form" he replied bluntly.
"The heck?!" I cried "I'm a F1 driver for fucks sake, a professional athlete. I'm pretty certain my form is fine". I wanted to punch him in the face.
"Then you won't mind if I watch," The punching him in the face felt like such a good option. He seemed adament to watch me, so I just put my airpod in and got back to my workout. Even with the music blasting into my ears and my back to him, I could feel his presence and watchful stare.
After I completed my set and put the bar down, I turned to find he was gone. He wasn't even in the gym anymore. He must've left at some point during my set. I put my head in my hands and let out a deep sigh. What the hell was going on? Charles had left me so confused. One thing was for certain though, I hated him. Deeply hated him.
I hope you guys are enjoying so far. I know I say this after every chapter but make sure to comment your thoughts and vote for the story! Love you all xx
