𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒚 // ᶜʰᵃʳˡᵉˢ ˡᵉᶜˡᵉʳᶜ

𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣¹⁴

The much-anticipated day had arrived: March 5th, the race day for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Valentina's close friend and co-star, Gabriel Guevara, had flown in the previous night, and they were set to meet in the lobby in 10 minutes to head to the paddock together. Ferrari had arranged for transportation to pick them up.

The night before, Pierre and Charles had dropped Valentina off at the hotel. Charles had asked if he should pick her up again, but she declined. "Ferrari is sending a car to pick up me and Gabriel tomorrow, don't worry," she assured him. Charles's smile faltered slightly, but he nodded before saying goodbye.

Valentina entered the lobby with a grin, scanning the area for Gabriel. After a few moments, the elevator doors opened, revealing a sleepy-looking Gabriel.

"You're running late again," she teased as he approached. He hummed, giving her a once-over with a smile spreading across his face.

"Hola preciosa," he greeted warmly, pulling her into a hug before she could continue. With their height difference, she hugged his chest while he enveloped her figure, both smiling.

"I missed you," he admitted. "Tell me you didn't have too much fun without me."

"I did, I made some new friends," Valentina teased as they parted from the hug.

Gabriel looked puzzled. "What friends?" he asked.

Before she could answer, a suited man approached, introducing himself as their driver to the paddock. They greeted him back and followed him to the car, with Gabriel reaching for Valentina's hand as they walked.

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As they arrived at the paddock, a swarm of fans welcomed them with cheers. With the drivers already there, all attention shifted to Valentina and Gabriel as they interacted with the crowd, taking selfies, signing autographs, and waving.

"Could you pass this to Charles?" a fan requested, handing Valentina a canvas with Charles' sketch. "I'm his biggest fan, but I might never get to meet him."

"Of course, don't worry," Valentina replied with a smile, the fan embracing her as she was overcome with emotion.

Sarah quickly intervened, pulling Valentina away from the fan. "You alright?" she asked, checking on Valentina.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Valentina reassured her as Sarah nodded, "she was just giving me a gift for Charles."

"Okay, now let's head inside," Sarah suggested, leading Valentina and Gabriel towards the Ferrari paddock. Valentina nodded, reaching for Gabriel's hand as they walked together.

Entering the paddock, Valentina felt the tension in the air. It was the first race of the season, and everyone was on edge, hoping for a good result.

"Stay here," Sarah instructed Valentina and Gabriel before heading off.

Valentina glanced around until she spotted her friend engaged in a serious conversation with one of the engineers.

As if sensing her gaze, Charles looked up, his expression instantly brightening as he saw her, excusing himself and walking towards her. He approached with a smile, pulling her into a hug.

"Bubbles, you made it," he greeted warmly as they broke away from the hug.

"Of course," Valentina chuckled, "where else would I be?"

"Who knows? Maybe Lando convinced you to switch teams," Charles teased.

"Not a chance," Valentina replied, smiling back.

Their moment was interrupted by a throat clearing.

Suddenly, their attention was diverted by a throat clearing. Valentina glanced at Gabriel, recalling his presence, while Charles also turned his gaze towards him.

"Oh, Charles, meet Gabriel, my co-star," Valentina introduced, bringing Gabriel closer by linking her arm with his.

Charles briefly glanced at where Gabriel's arm rested behind Valentina's waist before returning his attention to Gabriel, extending his hand with a slight, forced smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Gabriel replied, maintaining a similar smile as they shook hands.

Just then, Sarah approached with two bouquets in hand. She handed the larger one to Gabriel and the other to Valentina. Valentina noticed the difference in ribbons - Gabriel's had a red Ferrari ribbon while hers had a pink ribbon.

"Why is mine different?" she asked, frowning.

"Oh, this one's from me," Charles quickly explained, noticing Valentina's confusion.

"I forgot to get you flowers yesterday," he continued, "so I'm making up for it today." Valentina's frown immediately brightened up into a wide smile at his words.

"You don't have to get me flowers everyday, Charles," she protested, smiling brightly.

"Well, if it makes you smile like this every time, then I have to," Charles replied, matching her smile. Beside them, Gabriel observed the interaction with a serious expression.

"Um, I think it's time you two head to the media team," Sarah said to the costars, noticing the varied expressions as she cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

"What media stuff do you have planned?" Charles inquired, glancing at Valentina, who shrugged, indicating she wasn't sure.

Sarah chimed in and explained, "You guys have an interview with Sky Sports, then a photoshoot with our new Ferrari. Also, Amazon Prime arranged for the movie's soundtrack to be unveiled here, playing through all the speakers. And finally, after the race, you'll have an interview with Lissie Mackintosh, a sort of game. That's about it."

"Sounds like a busy schedule," Gabriel remarked, and Valentina agreed with a nod.

"Well, we're here to promote the movie after all," Valentina sighed, "Anyway, good luck, Charles." She reached out and squeezed his hands reassuringly. "We're rooting for you, okay? Don't worry, you've got this."

Charles smiled at her words, nodding appreciatively as he gave her a quick hug before Sarah led Valentina and Gabriel out of the paddock to meet the media team.

It's fair to say Charles felt jittery about today. His Qualifying performance didn't sit well with him, but starting the season strong mattered. Today's race held significant importance. With Valentina's motivating words, he felt more determined to do better, eager to prove himself to her.

Yet, he couldn't shake off his discomfort about her costar. He'd seen photos of them together, and he always felt uneasy about how close they seemed. Despite Valentina insisting they were just friends, he couldn't help but feel bothered by it. And he didn't know why it was that way.