SO AMERICAN charles leclerc

★. . . eleven

STEVIE ALWAYS HAD AN ISSUE OF being with people but not really being with them. Arthur was sitting right in front of her, chatting on and on about his recent practices in Formula 2, and it was interesting, really, it was. But no matter how hard Stevie tried, her mind kept wandering away from her, away from Arthur.

"What are you thinking about?" Stevie shook her head, coming out of her stupor. Arthur's eyes were boring into her, and it made her squirm in her seat. Both him and his brother had such intense gazes, it made Stevie feel so small whenever they looked at her.

"Sorry. Mind's just busy." She shrugged her shoulders, reaching for her water glass and taking a hesitant sip.

"How are you liking the job? Charles is not giving you a hard time, I hope?" She shook her head, smiling kindly.

"Not at all. He's been a real sweetheart." Lying through her teeth, Stevie felt embarrassed about the whole situation. Sure, Charles hadn't been awful, but he didn't exactly welcome Stevie with open arms. Unlike his brother, Charles seemed like he didn't want anything to do with Stevie, despite those small moments when he'd smile at her, or laugh at something she'd say. To be frank, Stevie's experience was nothing like she'd thought it be, in more ways than one.

"Are you two ready to order?" The server walked up, a smile on her face, notebook in hand. Stevie cleared her throat, but Arthur had already begun ordering a simple club sandwich and fries, which made Stevie more confident when she ordered the barbecue bacon cheeseburger.

"You really can eat a lot, huh?"

"A girl's never full. You should know that." She waved his comment off, but he furrowed his brow, grabbing his diet soda and pulling it closer to him.

"Not really." Curiously snuck in to Stevie's thoughts and she raised an eyebrow at the brunette boy across from her.

"Why not? What about your girlfriends?"

"I've only had one. But that was when I was young. We ended badly because all my focus was taken by racing and she felt... well, neglected, I suppose." This sudden sharing of personal backstories caught Stevie by surprise. She'd always been a good listener, and incredibly empathetic, but that came with a certain awkwardness when you're sitting there listening to someone pour their heart out.

Arthur shrugged his shoulders, coughing to clear his throat. He ran a hand through his hair as if he were fixing it but it already looked good to begin with.

"I suppose she was right. I really didn't pay much attention to her. I wasn't ready for a girlfriend, not then. But I guess things are different now."

Stevie nodded her head, feeling her breath catch in her throat. What she was doing to Arthur was evil. That's the only word for it. He seemed so genuine, much more so than any other guy Stevie had ever talked to.

Lunch was slow and quick at the same time. While time seemed to speed up when her and Arthur were actually talking to each other, it also seemed to stall when they fell back into an awkward silence. Needless to say, Stevie was grateful when the waiter finally came with their bill, which Stevie was quick to take and pay for himself. Yet another reason for Stevie to like him.

"So, your job at that museum. You told me about the actual cars, but not really about the job. How are you liking it?" Arthur questioned, the two gathering their things before pushing their chairs out and leaving the table.

"Well, I guess the actual job part is the boring one, so I don't focus too much on it. It's loads of paperwork, and I've never been good at the tour guide part." Stevie crossed her arms in front of her, thanking Arthur who held the door for her to walk through before following her out onto the sidewalk.

"There's a new girl, absolutely sweetheart. Name's Estelle, I call her Stella, though. She's much more of a people person than I am. So I've been working with her to take over the tours. She and I get along well, but that's mainly because we're the only two close in age."

Arthur and Stevie made their way down the street, to the parking garage he had skillfully hidden his Ferrari. The car sort of stuck out in the Austin landscape, and they both figured they didn't want to bring too much attention to their date.

A quiet two minute elevator ride later, the two climbed into the car, Arthur turning the engine on and scrolling through his phone, looking for music to play. Stevie sat with her legs pressed together, hands folded in her lap. There was a stiffness between them, relentless, unwavering.

Even when Arthur leaned in to kiss her, Stevie could still feel it. Like something was not right. Like she wasn't right.

She let him kiss her though. How could she not? She liked him, she really did. But Stevie couldn't imagine liking him enough to kiss him like this everyday.

Arthur gave a cheeky grin after pulling away, tucking a strand of Stevie's hair behind her ear. Stevie hummed softly, watching him shift gears so flawlessly, like the car was merely an extension of himself. That was a feeling that felt right to her.

"You think I could drive?" She asked, uncrossing her legs and leaning over the armrest. Arthur merely shook his head, a curt chuckle leaving his mouth. Stevie felt embarrassed, because why would he laugh?

"Probably not the greatest idea."

"Why not?" Stevie crossed her arms, furrowing her brow at the Monégasque driver with confusion, and a little bit of hurt. "I can drive manual. It's what I learned on."

"Have you ever driven a Ferrari?" Of course she hasn't. Her family was always well off, but never enough to afford any sort of luxury vehicles. Stevie pursed her lips and turned her head to look out the window as Arthur carefully pulled into the street.

"Maybe another day." Arthur reassured her, as if trying to put out the fire he seemed to have realized he'd started. But Stevie was slowly coming to a conclusion. That there probably wasn't going to be another day for her and Arthur.

maddie speaks !
very short, sort of a filler chapter, but i
just got a new laptop so ill be able to write
much faster and edit easier now! even more so
now i can focus entirely on this book instead of
juggling it with my lando fic all the time (which yall can go read) (pls don't i have to rewrite it)

anyways, hi jasmine i promise there's more soon i swear