spirit | c.l.

2. familiar

***

December 2021 - Monaco

Living in Monaco for most of her life, it wasn't hard to see familiar faces while just running errands. She was visiting Monaco for Christmas. It was Antoinette's first time back since the pandemic. She could barely get a break in the last few years, her demand increasing at an alarming rate. Monaco was her place to unwind, it was home. Well, it was sometimes.

Monaco is a busy place, though gorgeous. People recognized her left and right, but thankfully most of them let her have her privacy. All Antoinette has been looking for lately was some freedom, some space away from the life she lived. On a cloudy day (her favorite type of day), she went for a long walk to get groceries.

She became accustomed to the amount of sportscars that drove around Monaco, she even owned a few. But as she approached the market, her eyes set on a certain Ferrari 488 Pista Spider. "That's a sexy paint job." Antoinette thought, eyes glazing over the Monaco flag in contrast to the black sports car.

The curious girl subconsciously walked towards it, trying to figure out if she knew the driver or not. There was just something so familiar about it. Before she could get too close, the car door opened. Only then did she notice the amount of cameras surrounding her and the Ferrari. Out came a smiling Monegasque, who offered everyone a wave.

She tilted her head, trying to rack her brain for who he could be. He seemed so familiar, it was on the tip of her tongue. Just as she was about to come to his name, a few people appeared in front of her. Antoinette came out of her little bubble and offered them a small smile. Walking through the market became challenging in the next few minutes. More and more people wanted to get a picture of or with her.

"Antoinette, is it true you're starring in a movie next year?" She heard someone ask, which she only replied to with a wink.

Another person yelled, "Did you sleep with the director to get that part, or did your mother?" To that she visibly froze.

Antoinette was always welcoming towards the paparazzi, it was something she grew up with. She was media-trained by her parents. Between her and Julien, she was the reporters' favorite while Julien had a habit of flirting with the women who asked for pictures. But at that moment, throwing away the reputation she built up seemed like an option.

She frowned at the man, getting ready to make an unpleasant retort to his accusation. Just as she opened her mouth, an arm wrapped itself around her shoulder. "Bonjour, Mademoiselle Castelli." A gentle voice said in a whisper, so close to her ear. She looked up and saw the same man from the Pista Spider.

"You're the guy with the sexy car," Antoinette mumbled as he pulled her away from the crowd. She offered the paparazzi one last smile before turning her back to them, "Thank you, sir."

The man laughed, "Est-ce que ça va, mademoiselle?" (Are you okay?) He asked, to which Antoinette nodded, "I never thought I'd be talking to a Castelli." He said with a small sigh of what seemed to be content.

Antoinette let out a small exhale, "It's de Clermont-Castelli. Hyphenated, monsieur." She corrected him playfully, "I've been meaning to ask for your name. Je crois t'avoir déjà vu quelque part." (I think I've seen you somewhere.)

The man chuckled as he extended his hand towards her, "My name is Charles Leclerc. If you watch Formula One, I think I'd be familiar." Charles said, making Antoinette's mouth form an 'o'.

She snapped her finger, "That's why! You're the Ferrari driver, no? Alongside Vettel in 2019." She pointed her finger at him, now remembering where she saw those dashing green eyes. It had been a while since she caught up with Formula One, aside from whatever her father shared with her and what she would come across online.

A sheepish grin appeared on his face as he scratched the back of his neck, "I'm honored you know of me, mademoiselle." She shook her head at that, "Oh, please don't regard me too highly. My father is Italian, it's embarrassing I couldn't put a name to your face at first glance." Antoinette joked.

Charles chuckled, "Monaco praises the de Clermont-Castelli name, mademoiselle. It's only natural if I do the same,"

Antoinette shook her head with a smile. Her eyes wandered over his features, his nose, the facial hair growing on his jaw, and the small blush appearing on his face when he noticed how she stared. "Bellissima." Antoinette said suddenly, causing Charles to tilt his head, "You're wearing a shirt from Bellissima. My mother helped design it." She told him, making him nod with excitement.

"My mother got it for me as a welcome-home gift a few days ago." He explained to her, "She is a huge fan of your mother."

Suddenly, his head turned as he heard his name being called, "I'll be right there, mon amour." Charles said to the girl, subtly pointing at Antoinette. The girl's eyes widened and Antoinette giggled. She came towards the two, "Miss de Clermont-Castelli you are even more gorgeous in person."

Antoinette smiled at the girl, "You're gorgeous yourself." She said to her. "My name is Charlotte Sine." The girl said.

"Aw, Cha and Cha. That's cute." Antoinette pointed out, putting their names together, "Well, I'll let you two have your fun. I need to run my errands." She said, waving goodbye to the couple.

Antoinette shared the story with her family at the dinner table. Her father spat out the pasta she had made for them as he looked at her with betrayal written all over his face, "You saw Charles Leclerc without me?" He asked, sounding as if his parents had gone to Disney Land without him.

"Papa, I just ran into him. He helped me deal with the paparazzi. Plus, you've met him a million times with the number of races you attend in a year," Antoinette said, not looking up at her father.

"I haven't been to a race since our latest collection dropped." He sighed into his hand, now picking at the pasta on his plate. Her mother slapped his hand, "Stop playing with your food, mon amour."

"Tu as trahi papa," (You betrayed papa.) Julien whispered to her jokingly, making her roll her eyes.

Antoinette nudged at his rib, "Tais-toi, idiot." (Shut up.)

After the incident, she started paying more attention to Formula One. She would sometimes skip partying with her co-workers after a photoshoot to watch a race and keep an eye out for number 16. In 2022, she made it known she was rooting for Ferrari on Instagram when she reposted the Scuderia's post, captioning it with red and yellow hearts.

That wasn't the last time she saw Charles. After the market, she would sometimes run into him when she was in the same country as he and the other drivers were in. However, due to her schedule, she never got to watch him race in person.

"Watching the cars go round and round again?" Her makeup artist often asked her.

*

A/N: they have history ;) edit: i completely forgot about that one law in monaco regarding paparazzi oops

♡ noelle