Dopamine | Adrenaline Book Two

2 - The Inevitable

"Max!" He began walking towards him, slowly stopping halfway through his path once he noticed the other man didn't seem to match his excitement.

The noise of Kimi vomiting again echoed from one of the stalls and Lando curiously headed to open the door, facing the scene of the young driver hugging the toilet, with Charles Leclerc beside him.

"What's going on here?" he chuckled, "Why wasn't I invited to the party?"

Max grabbed the collar of Lando's suit and aggressively pulled him away from the stall, pushing him against the bathroom wall. "What the fuck were you thinking?" the blond snapped angrily, "He won't be able to race this way!"

Lando frowned in annoyance, trying to seek a way out of his grip. "What? He drank on his own."

"He is a fucking kid," Max snapped back at him.

"Let go of me!" Lando contorted himself, trying to push Max away.

"You fucking..." Max began, but did not finish, as he suddenly felt himself being dragged back by the neckline of his own suit. In sequence, he felt a sudden punch against the side of his neck.

Max grabbed his own neck in pain and turned around to face the culprit — Oscar Piastri.

"He said to let go," Oscar shouted at Max.

Max halted himself; he didn't want to be drawn into a fight with the Australian. He knew Oscar's intentions were only to protect Lando at that moment. Yet, he made a grave mistake by turning his back on Lando, who seized the opportunity to leap at Max, wrapping his arm around Max's neck in an unskilled chokehold.

Meanwhile, Charles continued to press the damp paper towels onto Kimi's forehead, gently wiping away the sweat that had accumulated. It was painfully evident that Kimi wouldn't be fit to drive today, but Charles wasn't prepared to break the bad news just yet.

"Once your stomach settles, we'll get you some water and sit you down for breakfast, okay? It might be difficult to eat at first, but it'll help with the hangover," Charles reassured him. Despite Kimi still looking nauseous, the chaos outside the stall made it challenging for Charles to maintain his focus. Once Kimi appeared to be calming down and looked more fatigued than sick, Charles gave him a reassuring pat on the back before excusing himself to attend to the commotion outside.

Stepping out, Charles was met with the alarming sight of Lando launching himself at Max, attempting to choke the taller man. Without hesitation, Charles leaped onto Lando from behind, attempting to pull him off Max while issuing threats for him to release his hold.

The sudden weight of Charles caused Lando to stagger backward, loosening his grip on Max as he struggled to free himself from Charles's own grasp.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Get off me!" Lando protested, his struggles intensifying. Before Charles could release him, feeling that the threat to Max had been neutralized, he felt arms wrap around his waist, forcefully pulling him away from Lando. Losing his balance, Charles stumbled and fell to the ground. Oscar stood above him, acting as a barrier between Charles and Lando, further fueling Charles's frustration.

"Were you part of this too?" Charles demanded, standing his ground despite the slightly intimidating presence of Oscar behind the baby face. "Did you all think it would be amusing to make him so ill that he misses the first race of his career? You were a rookie not long ago; you should have known better," he exclaimed. Charles couldn't believe the immature drama unfolding before him. Under no circumstances should they have encouraged the rookie to party, especially not before the race, or attacked Max when he was the only other person acting sensibly in the room.