Game On || C.L.16

4.6

Arriving at the Nice airport would've been a lot nicer if it hadn't leaked that Charles and I were both on the same plane to the city. For Charles it wasn't uncommon to fly to the city, as it was the closest airport to his hometown. For me it was less common, especially as I was supposed to be in Paris, where my team is training as hard as possible to battle for the championship.

Arriving at the luggage belts was horrendous already. People from different flights waiting for us. Everyone seemed to have gathered at our designated belt, many of them wanting autographs or pictures. In all honesty, I wasn't feeling up for it, but I couldn't bring myself to turn their requests down. So while Charles first went to the security guards of the airport to inform them of the situation, I already started taking pictures.

A wave of relieve came over my body when I noticed the belt started moving, our suitcases one of the first ones on the belt. "I'm sorry everyone, but we really need to leave." Charles announced, handing me my suitcase while grabbing his own one.

Not everyone seemed pleased that we were leaving already, people very demanding when it came to having their pictures taking. Luckily for us, the security guard noticed the situation at hand, walking us out through the arrivals hall where Arthur was waiting for us.

"Hi," I said softly, unsure how Arthur would respond to me. I had send him away as well after all. "Thank you for picking us up."

I could feel Charles' arm sneaking around me, his arm holding me as close as possible. "It's okay." Arthur says coldly.

"I want to apologise to you too." I say as we're making our way to his car. "I shouldn't have snapped the way I did. I should've accepted that all of you were trying to help me. I'm sorry for getting angry and not accepting your help."

"It's fine." Arthur mutters, it's clearly not fine at all. I decide to leave it be after all, getting into the backseat of the car. I look at Charles' stupidity as he climbs into the backseat of the car as well. I comment that he should go sit with Arthur in the front, but he's not taking that as an answer, and deciding that I need his comfort a lot more than he needs him to be in the front.

The drive to Monaco went by much faster than I had anticipated. The surroundings becoming more familiar as we near Charles' apartment. "Thanks A." Charles says, retrieving our suitcases from the back of the car before walking up to the entrance of the apartment building. I say a quick goodbye to Arthur, who mumbles an incoherent answer.

Numbly, I follow Charles into his apartment. I hadn't expected that my meltdown, relapse or whatever you want to call it, had affected Arthur this much. I feel extremely sorry for that, and I don't think I could ever make up for that.

"Do you need some more sleep?" Charles wonders as we set the suitcases into the bedroom. "I can tell you're exhausted."

"I would like that, but-"

"No buts. I know you are craving to do a work out, but hear me out. We'll rest a bit, you can take a nap. We'll go on a run, and after that we'll have dinner at my mom's house." Charles suggest in a tone that I know doesn't really leave room for negotiating. I'm too tired to do anyway, so I just nod in acceptance.

Charles is the one who wakes me up from my nap, a three hour nap apparently. I wanted to get angry at him that he let me sleep for that long, but I guess my body needed that amount of rest. I smiled at the thought of Charles agreeing on going on a run after my nap, so I quickly got dressed in my work out clothes. Walking out to the living room, where Charles went after waking me up.

"Here, eat this." He says handing me a plate with a few pancakes. "They're protein pancakes. I know you haven't been eating well these past weeks. You need protein if you're coming on a run with me."