Rivalry

Capter VIIII

I was in my hotel room after the race packing the rest of my belongings up. I was kind of dreading this plane ride home. It was going to be just Charles and i, and i was still upset with him.

I heard a knock on the door. We didn't need to leave for another hour. I was confused. I opened the door and was faced with Charles. "Can we please talk?" he said, trying to gauge if i was going to slam the door in his face. Not going to lie, i thought about it for a second. It was probably best we talk before this dreadful flight, so it would be less awkward, at the very least. I stepped aside without a word to let him in.

He didn't even wait for me to close the door. "Mal, look, I'm sorry. I know i shouldn't have done that without speaking to you first. You're a really good friend, and i was just trying to protect you because i know his silly little games, and i didn't want you to fall for-" he rambled "Charles i don't like him. I don't need protection, i know you didn't mean it the way i took it but, please at least let me come to you if i want to talk about it instead of just getting it from Alex" i cut him off.

We continued talking for almost the whole hour before we had to leave. We were okay now. Everything was fine. I'm glad i have a friend like Charles. He's not just my teammate. He's like a sibling i never had.

Max V called Charles as soon as we started heading out of my hotel room. He looked perplexed. He kept looking at me, kind of worried. He also let out a few frustrated sighs."Don't hate me," he started as i furrowed a brow. "There's a problem with Max's jet, and we're the last to leave, and there are no other flights until tomorrow. He's going to come with us," he continued, his voice a little shakey this time."He was supposed to fly with Lando." i just closed my eyes and breathed. "It's fine." i said, trying not to seem annoyed.

Great, just what i needed. An hour and a half locked in a plane with my worst enemy.

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Charles and i always watched a show together when we were flying. We both had an earphone in, and we were staring at my laptop. He fell asleep a little while ago, though. Max was right in front of me. There were four seats with a table in the middle on each side of the plane. He was on his computer, typing like there was no tomorrow. On the other side of the plane, Norris was sleeping, his head resting by the window.

I glanced at him. He looked peaceful and comfortable. His hoody was spread across his curled up body like a blanket. He didn't look like he was the most annoying person in the world for once. "Interesting." said Max as he closed his laptop shut. My head snaps to him, and i feel my cheeks burn. "You know, for someone who hates the guy, you sure do look at him a lot." he said and looked at me as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I rolled my eyes and continued watching my show.

What's that supposed to mean?

A couple minutes later, the pilot made an announcement, saying we were going to land soon. I nuged Charles to wake him up and let him know. Max got the memo and threw his empty water bottle at the sleeping british boy. We all chuckled when he almost fell off his seat. "What the hell, man?" he said, his voice still rasp from sleeping. He sat up and pulled his hoody over his head.

As we were landing, i let out a bigger sigh than i intended to. I just wanted to get off this plane and sleep for four days straight. "Bit dramatic that." said Norris from across the way, looking out the window."Says you?" i snap back, watching him as if i were reminding him what he did "i wouldn't talk if i were you," Max said his gaze on me, with a smirk on his face. I clenched my jaw so i wouldn't say something stupid and looked away.

After we landed, as i was putting my laptop back in my purse, a black backpack fell on my head. I heard a small chuckle next to me. "Sorry, i didn't do that on purpose, i promise." he put his hands up, wanting peace. "You alright?" "I'm fine." i said my gaze focused on my rivals' eyes. There i was again, looking at him for longer than i should've. His gaze locked onto mine, intense and unwavering. He took a sharp breath, and his eyes flickered from my lips back to my eyes. I started to feel nauseous again. I shift my focus back to my purse, like it was the hardest thing I've ever done.

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A couple of days later, Kika Alex and i were having a girls' day, and we also invited Kelly, Max V's girlfriend. Pierre, Charles, and even Arthur were at Max V's for the day, but he invited us to dinner later tonight. We also planned to go to the club after dinner. I shouldn't go, but i will. My father isn't here to stop me anyway.

Alex and i haven't really talked about last weekend and what happened with Norris. I didn't really want to anyway, and i think she thought i was mad at her for telling Charles. I'm not mad. it's her boyfriend, you're supposed to tell them everything, i think. So that's why i don't blame her.

After a lovely day at the pool with the girls, we headed to my apartment to get ready. I lived closer to Max's than them so we could just walk there when we were ready. I did my makeup pretty quickly because Kika wanted me to curl her hair. I kept my outfit pretty simple. I couldn't be bothered. I wore a white tanktop and black skirt with white sneakers. I am not wearing heels again, no thank you.

The girls and i walked over to Max's house. We didn't need to be buzzed in since Kelly was with us, so we just went up to his flat. We all walked in, and the boys all snapped their heads to us. As everyone exchanged greetings, my gaze landed on someone unexpected. The British boy's eyes met mine, and a small smile played at his lips that i instinctively returned. "Hey Mal!" Arthur said while he wrapped his arms around me, breaking the eye contact between my rival and i. "Hi art." i said softly, hugging him back.

We all sat around in the living room, spread across the three couches. That made a U shape. Arthur sat beside me, his arm resting behind me on the back of the couch. Max ordered pizza for all of us. We chit-chatted about what we'd done earlier and a bit about the next race until everyone fell into different conversations.

Arthur and i were talking about something Charles had done when he was younger, which made me laugh. "You guys are quite cute together." Said Kelly. Everyone turned to look at Arthur and i. "It's true, you guys should do something about it." Pierre said while looking at Arthur. I turned to look at Arthur, who was bright red. I don't want to hurt his feelings. He's a sweet guy, but i just don't have time. i would just end up breaking his heart. The room went silent. "She doesn't want a boyfriend, she's too busy." said Alex. This is why she's my best friend. I shot her a smile. "Thank you, Alex, you know me so well." i said with a crooked smile. "Oh, i don't agree with you, I'm just saying what you were going to say." She said with a snarky tone.

For the next 5 minutes, they all tried to convince me to go out with Arthur. except for Norris, he just silently listened. "Or maybe she just doesn't like Arthur, and we should find her a guy at the club tonight." said Kika enthusiastically. Poor Arthur, he clearly likes me, Kika probably just hurt his little heart by saying that. "Right, let's not turn tonight into a find Malia a boyfriend. Please let me be." i said in a joking manner and sunk into the couch. I didn't realize Arthur's arm was still behind me until he patted me on the shoulder in reassurance. I gave him a warm smile, trying to apologize.

My eyes met Max's, and he discreetly tilted his head toward my rival telling me to look at him. I shifted my gaze to him, catching the dark intensity in his eyes and the hard set of his clenched jaw as he focused on Arthur's hand resting on my shoulder. He must've felt me staring because he looked back into my eyes and immediately looked away. I looked back at Max, who saw our interaction. He raised his eyebrows and raised a hand in an "im just saying" manner.

This is going to be a very long night.