Ghost of You

3.

'We can do it baby simple and plain, this love is a sure thing'

July 12, 2024
England

Max couldn't sleep. He'd helped Hannah to bed and she insisted he sleep beside her, but he couldn't relax. From all the traumatic events, he felt on edge. He just wanted Hannah to rest- poor girl. She deserved all the sleep. He could sacrifice his own and would do so willingly for the love of his life. He'd make sure she slept peacefully.

But his mind wandered through memories. He couldn't help it... laying in the dark, staring up at the ceiling, his eyes drifting to Hannah's bruised face. He reached out and ran a thumb down her cheek. It made him think about the first time he'd ever done that. The first time he knew his feelings for her were more than just a friend.

It had been one of those rare weekends without a race. Many of the drivers and their families had made way to the rich state, for vacation and permanent. Max and his dad visited Monaco often- for practice. The roads were narrow and made his instincts build-up.

But Charles lived there... and Pierre Gasly only lived a few hours away. George and Hannah were in town and the five of them were getting into trouble. Well- not real trouble. But they'd gone to the movies and ate horrible snacks. Max would have to keep that a secret from his dad until the grave.

Max had never really paid much attention to Hannah. Of course, there was that first time they met when Max hadn't stopped thinking about her until the next race. But after that... he tried to always be serious around her. He had priorities.

Sure, she was funny and had that magnetic way about her that always pulled people in, but she was George's sister too. He'd always been overprotective and Max didn't feel like testing those boundaries. The boys fought enough.

That day, though, everything felt... different.

"Max, are you even listening?" George called out, glancing over his shoulder. It was the first time Max had seen him in such... normal clothes. He was just in a plain white tee shirt and blue jeans. He looked like a teenager, not the Prince of England.

Max blinked, "Huh?"

"I said, wasn't the fight scene insane? The choreography was perfect." George slowed his pace so the others could catch up. He had such long and lanky legs, sometimes Max wondered how he fit in the car.

"Who says choreography in reference to fight scenes?" Pierre joked, still holding a bag of popcorn in his hands. He popped a kernel in his mouth.

Hannah, whose hair was long and swayed down her back, turned and punched Pierre in the shoulder. "Someone who knows their shit."

"Ah, right." Charles chuckled, jumping on and off the pavement. "Remember, we're in the presence of a dancer!"

"Ha-ha." Hannah deadpanned.

Max held back a laugh. The boys continued chatting about the movie, but Max was disinterested. He couldn't explain how he was feeling, but it was weird. He wondered if he was sick- he had all these butterflies in his stomach. Hannah seemed to notice and moved towards the Dutchman. He glanced at her with a weak smile. Hannah frowned. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He said quickly, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"You've just been pretty quiet." She said, tilting her head to look up at him. "Didn't like the movie?"

"It was... fine." Max shrugged, then, after a pause, "You seemed to like it."

"I did." She said with a grin. "But I annoyed like half the theater with how much I laughed. Action-flic or not, that movie was hilarious."