There's Twice as Many Stars as Usual| L.S

28

Charlotte

I wake up to the sight of Mick pacing around, searching frantically for his things for media day.

"Well, good morning to you too," I groan, noticing his frustrated expression.

"I can't find my hat or my shirt," he says, clearly annoyed.

"Did you check my bag? You might have thrown them in there by accident," I suggest.

He shakes his head but checks anyway. Sure enough, they're in my bag. I glare at him playfully.

"Well, now that you're up, do you want to sit through media day and briefings with me?" he asks, giving me his best puppy dog eyes.

"Fineeeee," I groan, getting up and grabbing a pair of jeans and a hoodie. I head into the bathroom to get changed.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Mick calls out as I come out of the bathroom.

I nod tiredly.

"What's going on between you and Logan?" he asks, genuinely curious.

"Well, honestly, we're more than friends, but we're also not. We haven't put labels on it, so I'm kind of confused, honestly," I say, realizing that Logan and I have never really defined our relationship.

Mick nods thoughtfully. "As long as you're happy," he says, smiling at me.

I smile back, appreciating his support, and we head out for the track. As we scan our passes to walk in, the flicker of journalists' cameras engulfs me.

As we walk down the paddock, I spot Logan. He looks up and smiles at me.

"Go talk to him," Mick says, giving me a gentle push.

I giggle but walk over to Logan. "Hey, Char," he says, smiling warmly.

"Hey," I respond.

"You okay?" he asks, concern evident in his voice.

I nod. "Yeah, I just need to talk to you later," I say.

He nods, understanding, and I head off to the Mercedes garage to sit through briefings with Mick.

As I sit through the briefings with Mick, my mind keeps drifting back to my conversation with Logan. The hustle and bustle of the Mercedes garage, with engineers and team members discussing strategies and data, fades into the background as I replay our interactions over the past few weeks. I know we need to have a serious conversation about where we stand.

Mick, sensing my distraction, nudges me gently. "You okay?" he whispers.

"Yeah, just thinking," I reply, giving him a small smile.

The rest of the morning passes in a blur of meetings and technical discussions. Finally, we're done, and I have some free time

I follow Mick to hospitality to grab a water bottle and something to eat.

"Are you gonna talk to him fully or are you just gonna make him be riddled with anxiety all day?" Mick asks.

"I'll talk to him back at the hotel. I really don't need the media to pick up on anything," I say.

He nods. "Well, just know Alex has been telling me that Logan has been distracted all morning."

I look up at him, surprised, but I brush it off as we head back to the garage to listen to more information. Once that's over, we head back to the hotel.

"Please go talk to him," I hear from behind me as I was about to go up to my room.

I turn around and am met with Alex.