Julianna Dumont, a world-famous singer, takes interest in a crowd member (Charles Leclerc) at one of her concerts. What happens when their lives cross, and the vastly different worlds of a performer and professional racer intermix?
Started: 21.03.24...
If you want to know what "ATIWD" would sound like, I've made a playlist of the songs I used on youtube, you're gonna have to screenshot it and copy and paste it from there though :( I'll have it linked in my profile however.
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♫ i love you - Billie Eilish
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JULIANNA'S POV
It's been a week since I last saw Charles, but it feels like much longer, even though we've been chatting nonstop over messages, and video calling whenever he's free. The Japanese grand prix is coming up, and I had to go back to Paris for work, which was unfortunate, but I don't get paid to watch races.
I laid on my bedroom floor, legs in the air, swinging freely while I tried brainstorming lyrics for my upcoming album titled 'A Thing I Would Do', or ATIWD for short. Clara and Gianna are scattered across my room too, with Gianna eating whatever snacks she could find and Clara on the floor with me, actually trying to help. I stare at the laptop in front of me with a blank document titled 'False God'— the album's fourth song— staring right back at me.
"But we might just get away with this, I want you on my lips?" I start singing and typing it out, before deleting the second clause. "No, that doesn't flow,"
"How about... 'religion's in your lips' instead?" Clara adds, and my eyes brighten.
"Yes, Oh my God," I say excitedly. "That sounds so good! Clara you're a genius,"
"There's a reason why I have song writing credits on so many of your songs, after all," she chuckles, which is true.
"You aren't a linguistics major for nothing," I counter.
The rest of the chorus comes quickly after Clara's lyric, and we end up with 'We might just get away with it, religion's in your lips, even if it's a false God, we'll still worship this (love)— we might just get away with it, the alter is my hip, even if it's a false God. We'll still worship this love, we'll still worship this love, we'll still worship this love.'
"Clara, oh my God, you're too good. I love you,"
"Love you more, boo," I reply, sending her a joking kiss.
"Wait so," Gianna says. "What songs do you have currently?"
"We're done with 'Thinkin Bout You', 'Coward', halfway done with both 'Kollage' and 'False God', and 'I didn't change my number', so we have 5 left to start," I explain to Gianna, who has not been invested at all these past 4 hours.
"Which ones are about Charles," she snickers.
"Stop it," I shoot her a playful glare. "But on the real..." I sit up and grab my laptop to show her the album in order.
There's a screen that has a vague outline of the album's final layout on it, including the album cover. I turn the laptop to face Gianna.
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"Here," I start again. "The first 6 songs, except False God, kinda, are about Charles. I wrote that one years ago. I mean— I wrote Must Be Love two years ago too, but I'm deciding now that it's about him. Kollage I wrote a while ago about a situationship I had," I pause so as to give her some time to process.
"And the rest?" She asks.
"I Didn't Change My Number is about that old friend group—"
"Ugh," I hear Clara jeer, making me chuckle.
"— and the last two I wrote about... about Cy," I say the last part softly.
"Oh, Arsène," Gianna whispers his real name out, unknowingly clutching her chest. "You're really ready to release music about him?"
"I am," I say. "It's been 8 years since he died. His favourite number,"
"God, I miss him so much still," Gianna says, and her voice is thin.
"We all do," Clara adds, despite not being related to Arsène, they were always close.
"Have you told Charles about him?" Gianna asks.
"Not yet, but soon," I answer. "I'm not sure when, but when the time comes, I'll know,"
"I'm proud of you, Julie," Clara says out of nowhere.
I give her a puzzled look which she takes as her cue to start elaborating.
"I mean, you're finally allowing yourself to be romantic with someone— for real— this time, and you're releasing music about Arsène, planning to talk about him; you're growing, Julie,"
I feel myself tear up, despite not really being a crier anymore. Sometimes I feel as though I used all my tears on my brother's passing. "Thank you," I whisper, choking up.
She gets up and wraps her arms around me; I manage to collect myself and not cry, but I keep my head buried in her shoulder. I feel another pair of arms— Gianna's— enclose around us.
The evening eventually spills into the night, and Gianna and Clara leave my place. I give them both a kiss on the cheek as a send off as they exit the door. I watch them drive off, and lock my house door shut.
I find myself on my bedroom floor again, with a pen and a notebook in hand. The words to 'i love you', just start spilling out, and before I know it, I have a finished song on my hands, embossed on a paper with holes in it where I've written in anger, and tear spots by the lines I've written in grief.
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tagged smartarsene
Liked by claraafrenchh, charlesleclerc and 87,015 others juliannadumont missing you like crazy, Cy ⭐️🤍
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★・・・・・・★
Short chapter :0 emotional one though. Trying to push out chapters quicker because Im 2 GPs behind 😭 thank you so so so so much for 1k reads!! I didn't think this book would get much traction so thank you again <3
