Racing Hearts : VOLUME 2

MOMENTS - 1 (Extras ✨)

It was just another standard post-race interview, one of those obligatory moments that Mark Spencer had gotten used to as a Red Bull driver. He sat in the chair, trying to maintain composure, but his mind kept drifting, his answers becoming short and distracted. He nodded along to the interviewer's questions but wasn't fully present. It wasn't that he didn't care, but rather his focus was elsewhere—specifically on the door that had just opened.

And then, like a switch had been flipped, Mark's mood shifted entirely.

Charles Leclerc walked into the room, looking effortlessly stylish in his Ferrari jacket, a soft smile on his face as he greeted the others. Mark's eyes lit up as if a sudden surge of energy coursed through him. His gaze immediately snapped to Charles, and his demeanor changed—gone was the tired, distracted driver, replaced by the smitten, smiley Mark everyone knew him to be when Charles was around.

Mid-interview, while the interviewer was asking about the race strategy, Mark, without skipping a beat, excused himself. "One second, I—" He was already standing before the interviewer could finish, his gaze locked onto Charles. The interviewer paused, but Mark didn't wait for any response. He stepped forward, pulling Charles into the conversation.

"Come on, come on, LecLec, get in here," Mark said, his voice practically a drawl, all casual, but with that unmistakable spark of affection in his eyes. Charles, slightly confused but amused, was pulled into the frame by Mark, who didn't let go of his arm for a second.

As soon as Charles was in the frame, Mark's expression softened. His eyes were glued to Charles, the tiniest hint of a smile tugging at his lips. It wasn't subtle. It wasn't hard to notice the way Mark's attention was no longer on the questions or the interview. Instead, it was all about Charles—Charles' smile, the way he answered questions, the little movements he made. Mark was beaming, his expression almost ridiculous in how much he was beaming at Charles.

The interviewer asked a routine question about Mark's driving, but Mark—completely losing track of the conversation—immediately turned the answer into something about Charles.

"Well, you know, Charles was really pushing me out there," Mark said, his tone light, but his eyes still not leaving Charles. "I'm just glad to have him as a rival, but also... sometimes I just want to race him in a go-kart and see who really wins."

The interviewer blinked, confused. "Uh... you mean on track, right?"

Mark just chuckled. "Sure, yeah, but on track and off track... both work for me," he winked at Charles, who raised an eyebrow, clearly amused but also playfully questioning Mark's sudden mood shift.

The rest of the interview proceeded with Mark occasionally drifting back into the conversation with little nods to Charles. When asked about his team's performance, Mark could only talk about how "Charles' pace out there was really impressive. He's not easy to keep up with, but it's always a good challenge." He couldn't help it. He was smitten, and everyone knew it.

The drivers in the room gave Mark knowing side-eyes. Max Verstappen was the most obvious, practically rolling his eyes as Mark giggled like a teenager with a crush every time Charles spoke. Lando Norris was fighting a grin, while Daniel Ricciardo shook his head in amusement. Even Yuki Tsunoda, usually the quiet one, couldn't suppress a small chuckle.

Mark's engineers in the corner were chuckling amongst themselves, fully aware of the dynamic. They'd seen it enough times. They knew Mark could never fully contain his affection for Charles, and it always slipped out in the most hilarious and obvious ways. "He can't even do an interview without mentioning him, huh?" one of the engineers whispered to the others, trying to suppress their laughter.


Fans on social media were quick to react, flooding Mark's Instagram and Twitter with their thoughts: