Sober || Lestappen

hotel room

Max's Pov

"What do you mean I have to share a hotel room? AND WITH A RANDOM DRIVER? WHAT KIND OF A BONDING GAME IS THIS? Christian we are not kids , I know that there's tension between the teams but you can't do us like that. I want personal space. What do you mean it's going to last for all the season , I can't understand that decision. Do something to fix this.." I screamed at the phone as I was walking to the airport entrance.

Well okay let me give you some context first.

There are a lot of tensions between the teams in F1, which is pretty normal because we are competing against each other. What is not normal though is the fact that we have to share a hotel room with another driver which is not our teammate in order to get over all our anger. We are not 5 y.o. we don't need to be friends with everyone if we don't want to. Anyways, I have to fly to America because of the Austin GP in Texas.

To be brutally honest, I hate long flights because even if I have things to keep me busy I end up feeling trapped in the airplane, if that makes sense. The boarding was kinda fast and I just decided to sleep in order to get some rest since I got up early today. After countless hours, okay maybe I am a lil bit dramatic but after a lot of sleeping/finding creative activities today while on a plane hours , we finally landed.

I should have asked Christian about my roommate because I have no clue who is it. I got in the car that the contract provides me with and I set the hotel's location on the GPS. That's such a nice car I thought to myself and followed the instructions. When I got there I parked it at the garage, quickly grabbed my stuff and walked to the entrance. I approached a beautiful lady at the reception desk. She gave me my room key and told me that my roommate is not here yet.

Great, I thought to myself, time for me to relax in order to prevent an upcoming fight. I unpacked most of my things and hopped in the shower. Cold showers are so relaxing especially after long flights. I remained shirtless, after all I was on my own. I grabbed a book from my backpack and sat on my bed. I was getting really into the story but suddenly I heard some sounds coming from the door.The door opened and I saw the last person I'd like to share a room with.

Charles Leclerc

He walked inside the room, left his things on the floor and quickly jumped on the bed. "So are we roomates?.." I asked him as I placed the book beside me. "I suppose so , Binotto informed me about it late, gosh I am so tired.." I heard him saying. "Yeah Christian, as well , who even came up with that idea, it's so childish. We are adults.." I said and quickly stood up to go get a t-shirt. Fuck , I thought to myself, he saw me half naked. I mean there are plenty shirtless pics of mine that he can stare at, on the internet. But it's so much different in real life.

"I actually liked the idea of the roommate thing.." I heard him saying "it brings me back to when I was younger , I used to go to a summer camp with my brother.." he added and brushed his hair a little. I couldn't help but notice the bittersweet smile which was formed onto his lips. " I never really had roommates , my dad wouldn't let me participate in activities like your summer camp" I murmured. "That's unfortunate, I have the best memories from there.." he said and sat on his bed. I heard him gasp "is everything okay.." I asked as I was putting my t-shirt on.

"Yeah I am so tired from the flight and that was a gasp of comfort. I feel like I'll slump at this point.." I heard him saying as he yawned. "Do you think that the roommate thing will be easy.." I asked turning to him. "Well it depends, if we set some rules or boundaries, we won't really be bothered by each other's presence.." he said. "What are your boundaries then.." I said as I sat back on my bed. "Maybe not going through each other's personal lives if we are not welcomed, not sabotaging the other when it comes to schedules. Respecting the sleep programs, and yeah stuff like that.." he said and got up, starting to unpack his things.

"Okay then, they sound good to me , but oh please no Charles I don't wanna see your boxers.." I said and jokingly turned around pretending to be embarrassed. "Well too bad then , you'll have to get used to them, we are spending a season together.." I heard him saying "Some things never change Charles.." I confidently replied. "And a poet, damn Max Verstappen is so talented.." he said. "I can sense the sarcasm.." I immediately replied. "It is what it is.." he said and shrugged.

Some minutes of awkward silence past but I saw him picking out some clothes. "What are you doing.." I asked. Wait what why did I even ask that. Damn at least I have some empathy left inside me. "I am going to take a shower. Sadly I can't bring you with me because you'll be disrespecting a boundary that we set earlier. Will you miss me that much..?" He replied and winked at me "Ah fuck you Charles, I was just curious.." I said sticking my tongue out mocking him.

"Whatever.." He murmured and walked to the bathroom. I lay down at my bed and stared at the ceiling. Life is complicated when you are an F1 driver. From my point of view, I feel so lonely. Everybody claims that they know me but I don't even feel like I don't know anything about me. Who's Max and what is he doing that is so special that he has so many fans. I am just driving a car. A fast car. But still. There are so many things that I never did as a child.

I always wanted to experience having a big group of friends, parties, after school clubs. Teen romance perhaps. Doing all these things normal teenagers do, and they get to talk about them to their kids. I feel like I'll be a boring parent. Okay Max you are overthinking again. I need to relax. I heard the bathroom door opening and Charles came back shirtless. "Using my own spell against me..?" I asked and he just laughed.

"Now it's fair.." he said. "Charles, I have a question.." I managed to say. He sat on his bed and looked at me as if I said something suspicious "Do you ever feel empty..? Like as an F1 driver like me. Do you ever like you never got to experience things that teenagers do.." I said and I could see some pain in his expression. "I mean yes, it's also related to other factors.." his voice tone changed. I felt bad. What do we do when we make some people remember things that they shouldn't. Come on Max think of something smart.

I got up and walked to his bed sitting beside him. I just patted his shoulder a little, in a comforting way. He looked up with a bittersweet smile. "I am sorry for making you remember things that you would rather not remember. I was just overthinking when I was alone.." I said. His smile made me feel guilty. Why do I feel guilty about Charles Leclerc's emotions. Max get your shit together. "You didn't know Max, it's fine.." he said "You know that you can actually talk to me about what's on your mind, if you ever feel like it. We are roommates after all.." I added.

He nodded and grabbed his phone from his nightstand. I decided to go back to my bed. He put his airpods on. Okay he has a thing for privacy. I heard him talking and I looked up at him. Did he just call someone babe. Damn. What am I doing he said respect each other's privacy but now I feel like a Karen. I waited for him to hang up. "Do you wanna order something to eat, it's dinner time.." I asked him. "Well sure, I mean I have missed eating sushi.." he said

"Sushi it is then, I like sushi as well.." I said. After some time we ended up eating in front of the suite's TV watching all these American trashy reality shows. Damn the drama in this country is real. I'll have a long day tomorrow and I am sure that so does Charles. "It's getting late.." I pointed out. "Oh yes Max you are past your bedtime. Should I inform Horner about that.." he said. "I mean at least I'll get proper qualifying stats tomorrow.." I said.

His expression changed "You are right , I have to beat a world champion. Goodnight Max.." he said and ran to his bed turning the lights off. I turned on the torch setting from my phone. "You are such a drama queen do you know that.." I said. I put my phone on the nightstand beside my bed and managed to get underneath the sheets. They have comfortable beds here at least.

Hello everyone, new story let's go! Do you think that Charles is okay with his new roommate?