down bad | c. leclerc

TWENTY FOUR

kennedy awoke to a pounding on her door the day of the race.

she groaned and got up, opening the door to see her father.

"kenny! we have to go soon! lewis and josie already left!" he said urgently and kennedy nodded, trying to wake up still.

she had been up in the gym last night, trying to get charles off her mind.

it didn't work however, as the driver was still the first person she thought of when she woke up and the last person she thought about before she went to sleep.

she let her dad in her room and grabbed a black, short sleeved t-shirt and a pair of white jeans, one of her favorite pairs.

she ran into the bathroom and changed quickly, putting on some makeup and her favorite mercedes hat.

as she came out, she saw her dad holding her black heeled boots and her black purse.

"what would i do without you?" she asked with a laugh as her dad handed her everything.

"probably lose your mind." james answered, giving his daughter a smile.

the pair headed out to where the car was waiting and sped off to the track, getting trapped in a traffic jam.

"so," james started, looking at his daughter, "have you thought about what you want to do after modeling?"

kennedy shrugged, "not really, i might go back to school."

james just smiled, "or, you could help me run my business?" he suggested and kennedy looked at him in shock.

"really?" she asked and he nodded.

"i mean, i have an ulterior motive for being here. some teams have asked me to sponsor them and i've been thinking about it. next season 'rhodes' might be on a car or two." james told her and she shook her head.

"i can't believe it! why didn't you tell me?" kennedy asked with a laugh.

james just smiled, "i did want to see my only daughter too. it's not all about business. i do have a meeting with piero ferrari after the race today." he said.

"wow, okay. anyone else? maybe not the ferrari team?" kennedy asked.

"yeah, mercedes and haas too. but i'm really just wanting to see the race." james explained.

soon enough, the two had parked and were walking around the paddock, kennedy trying to find josie.

the blonde was anxious, she had been avoiding the track the last few days, hoping to avoid charles as well.

soon, the two reunited and hung out in the mercedes garage, kennedy even wishing george good luck.

josie had pulled the blonde to the redbull garage to say hi to max.

kennedy and the red bull driver had been texting so it was nice for her to talk to him face to face.

"kenny, have you seen charles at all?" max asked as the trio walked around the paddock.

kennedy sighed, knowing she couldn't lie to him, as he probably already knew about the first night.

"yeah, i saw him." she shrugged, trying not to think about how harsh she was.

"and?" he asked, pressing for more information.

kennedy rolled her eyes, "please max, i know that you already know what happened."

josie snickered as max sighed, "can you please go talk to him. he's being very dangerous and unhinged. he's going to hurt himself or someone else." he explained.

kennedy looked at josie who nodded.

"fine." she sighed and the trio walked over towards the ferarri garage.

"oh, kennedy!" james called, already standing in the red garage.

"oh man, here we go again." she mumbled, making josie laugh and max look in confusion between the older man and his friend.

"james! have you met max?" josie asked, grabbing the red bull drivers arm and pulling him over to the man.

the three all started talking and josie cast a look to kennedy, silently telling her to go find charles.

kennedy nodded and moved away, looking around for number sixteen.

finally, she spotted the brunette and made a beeway to him.

"leclerc!" she called and he turned around, surprise all over his face.

"kennedy?" he asked as she got closer.

"charles, i am so sorry. i didn't need to be so mean the other night. i just- you were right." she told him, her face flushing red.

a grin broke out on his face and he pulled her into his chest, giving her a hug.

"really?" he mumbled into her hair and she nodded, her face smushed into his chest.

they pulled away and she looked up at him, a small smile on her face.

"kennedy, i, god what do we do now?" he asked with a massive smile on his face.

kennedy just shrugged, "i mean, you could start by winning, then maybe ask me out on a date and we go from there?" she told him.

he nodded, his smile brighter than ever, "sounds good rhodes."

the two just stood there, staring at each other for a second, before kennedy blushed and looked away, "i think i'm going to go back to jo and max, they're talking to my dad."

his eyes brightened up at that, "your dad? can i go say hi?" he asked and she nodded.

the pair walked back to james, josie, and max, charles trying his hardest not to link his fingers in hers.

"oh! hey guys!" josie said, grinning at the blondes flushed face.

"i'm literally going to kill you, i hope you know that." kennedy whispered as she got close to josie.

josie just grinned and squeezed her friends arm.

"ah! charles! nice to see you again." james said, shaking charles hand.

"you too mr. rhodes. hey max, good luck today." charles said, shaking james' hand back and giving max a sly smile.

"well, i'm going to head back to my garage, it was a pleasure meeting you james, and good luck to you too charles. see you on the track." max said and gave everyone waves as he walked back to his garage.

charles turned back to james and smiled, "could i talk to you for a moment sir? i just had a question." he asked and james nodded, slight confusion on his face as the two walked a couple feet away from the models.

josie turned to kennedy and squealed quietly, "tell me everything!" she whispered and kennedy rolled her eyes, the smile hadn't moved from her face.

"just testing the waters." she answered vaguely.

josie squealed as she looked over at james and the driver who seemed to be having a quiet conversation.

by the time they had finished talking, it was almost time for charles to be back in his garage.

"thank you again mr. rhodes!" the ferrari driver said before turning to the two models, "bye josie! and kennedy, see you after the race!" he called, giving the blonde a wink.

josie looked at the blonde, who was bright red.

"oh honey!"