then you flashed your green eyes at me || Charles Leclerc

chapter twenty-nine

Alya walked in the room to find other tulips on her bed. She sighed as she put them in the sink, with a bit of water.

She didn't want to throw them away, but she couldn't receive anymore flowers. She didn't know where to put them.

She walked to what she knew was Charles room and knocked on the door. When the door opened, she found herself in front of Alex.

"Hi! How are you?" she asked brightly. Alya looked at her.

"I'm good, thanks. How are you?" she smiled.

"I'm good! Come in, please" she said. "Charles is in the shower right now but you can wait for him on the bed or the couch or wherever" she smiled.

"No it's okay" Alla smiled back. "It's nothing important, I can tell him another time. I'll see you around?" she asked rhetorically.

"Of course! We could catch up on the paddock? I wouldn't know where to go"

"Sure" she said, before walking back to her room. Why was she so nice? It was almost infuriating.

She let herself fall on the bed, groaning. She scrolled through tiktok, trying to kill the time that separated her from dinner and from bedtime.

Bored, she texted Max to know if he was there yet, getting no answer. She sighed, rolling on the bed.

Someone knocked on her door as she picked up her book, and she walked to see who it was.

"Hi" Charles said, his fist still raised. "Alex said you were looking for me? I was surprised, I thought you were ignoring me and I'm happy you came by I wanted to get back to you as soon as possible and"

"Stop sending me flowers" she interrupted him. His face fell.

"What?"

"Stop sending tulips or whatever. Please" she said. She tried to close the door, but he put his foot in the middle to stop her. "Fuck your damn reflexes" she sighed.

"Why are you being like this?" he asked. "If it's because I didn't tell you about Alex I'm sorry, okay? I already apologized a hundred times."

"That's not what it is." she said, closing her eyes.

"Then what is it? I thought everything was good!"

"It was"

"Then what happened?"

"Nothing happened"

"Well I'm sorry to break it to you, but something has to have happened. Or you wouldn't be acting like this."

"If I say nothing happened, then nothing happened."

"Too bad, I don't believe you"

"Well, that sounds like a you problem"

"Lya please don't shut me out" he said. "I want to be your friend, let me"

"I don't want to be your friend" she said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, shocked.

"It means that you should stay away from me" she inhaled sharply, as he removed the foot from the door.

"You won't even try to give me an explanation? You think that's right? That you can just tell me to stay away and I will obey as a dog?" he asked.

"Please Charles. I need you to stay away from me" she said.

"And I need you not to."

"I can't"

"Why? Did I do something?"

"You didn't do anything"

"Is it Alex? Do you not like her?"

"It's not Alex"

"Then what?"

"Don't make it harder than it already is"

"How can it be hard?" he asked, his eyes watery. "You're not saying anything!"

"It's me. I can't have you here, near me and be okay with it. Please Charles" she said, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"You're crying"

"Yeah, no shit sherlock"

"Why are you crying?"

"Stop asking questions, please, just go" she said.

Instead, he stepped closer and hugged her. He didn't say anything, he just held her. A sob escaped her lips, and he hugged her tighter.

"I will leave" he said. "Only if you give me an explanation. If you do, I'll leave and I won't come back unless you ask me to"

"You promise?" she cried.

"I promise" he said. She pushed away from the hug, wiping her tears away. Then she pushed him away from the door enough to close it immediately after saying it. She inhaled sharply, trying not to break.

"I'm falling for you, Charles. But I want you to be happy and that will only happen if you're far from me. So please, don't make this any harder and go to Alex and get what you deserve. Win races, win championships. But please, I don't want to ruin your happiness" she said.

When she closed the door, she slide against to the floor, rating her head on her knees as she sobbed.

On the other side, Charles stood for a long time, eyes fixed on the door.

He fell for her a long time before, and he never actually told her. And now that he knew she felt the same as him, he couldn't do anything but walk away.

He liked Alex, he really did. But she wasn't Alya.

And now he couldn't tell her. He could only stare at the closed door, hoping for it to get opened. Hoping for her to change her mind.

Fuck his chivalrous traits. Why would he promise he would've left before getting any explanation?

Right there, right then, staring at the closed door in front of him, he decided he wouldn't give up. Even if it was going to take a long time, he would've been hers. And she would've been his.

In the meanwhile, he would've tried to be happy as she wanted him to be. Even if it meant faking it.

He wanted to be everything she wanted him to be.

So he would've tried.

He only walked away when he heard Alya's footsteps get away from the door, not looking back.

If he did, he would've seen that the door was slightly opened. And that he could've walked in and hugged her once more.

Instead, she walked in his room, smiling at Alex as she asked if he was okay.