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toomuchracket · 1 month

Text

it's only been a year (birthday party matty x reader fluff)

surprise! happy 1st anniversary of the blog, and therefore to these fuckers. love you all. enjoy <3

matty’s so glad you're here.

not that he doesn't love his job, because he really, really does - and, to be honest, playing music for lovely people with his best friends has never felt like a proper shift to him - but the touring sparkle is starting to fade a bit now. it's been nonstop for almost two years, the end of this album cycle is in sight, and, as much as he hates to admit it, he's not as young as he once was. the tiredness catches up to him faster, because the adrenaline doesn't last as long, and all the dancing around is taking a bit more of a toll on his body than it used to (which reminds him: put the knee support on before travelling tomorrow). what used to be hours-long hedonistic afterparties have turned into staying backstage for a couple of drinks at most, before hurrying to the hotel for a hot shower to soothe the muscles in the voice and the rest of the body, and then getting as much sleep as possible. arguably, not particularly rock'n’roll, nor very exciting.

but you're here. at the shows, on the planes and trains and buses, and, currently, cueing up an episode of derry girls from the bed in matty's (well, both of your) hotel room. and because you are, the sparkle is still there, still glimmering away like glitter under strobe lights. he's not in the habit of quoting or relating to abba songs (although it's been happening more often recently, probably because of your love for mamma mia), but matty thinks they hit the nail on the head in super trouper - he truly cannot be sad knowing you're in the crowd, seeing you dance along to his songs and smile at him like he hung the moon.

wrapping the towel around his waist, matty steps out of the bathroom, and immediately smiles (probably gormlessly) at the sight of you, frowning cutely as you try to get netflix to load; his heart melts when you push up your glasses, then turn to beam at him when you catch a glimpse of him from the corner of your eye. “hi, baby. how you feeling?”

“tired,” matty sighs, smiling again when you climb off the bed and peck him on the lips, before tugging him into a cuddle. he hums. “thanks, sweetheart.”

“s'ok,” you press a kiss to his chest tattoo, a move so tender that it never fails to weaken his knees. “d'you want me to make you a hot chocolate while you get ready for bed?”

matty pulls back to look at you, brow furrowed. “we have hot chocolate?”

“there's a setting for it on the coffee machine.”

“there is? i didn't notice.”

“yeah, it's in french.”

“oh,” matty laughs, kissing your head. “this is really a recurring thing for us, isn't it? you keeping me right with drinks in europe because you're the only one of us who can speak french. thank god you were a pretentious teenager, darling.”

you blink at him. “you're taking the piss out of me for being a pretentious teenager?”

“well, i’m not the one who learnt another language so i could read the original text of les mis,” matty smirks. “how's that going, by the way?”

your face takes on the adorably bashful expression matty loves so much. “haven't even finished it in english yet,” you say, before crumbling into laughter that matty can't help joining in on - fuck, he loves you so much. when he tells you as much, you kiss him again. “i love you, too. now - hot choc, or no?”

“i'll take one, please, darling.”

“okay,” you kiss his nose, beaming at the way he scrunches it when you do. “can you see if you can get netflix to work once you're dressed, please, babe?”

“course, darling.”

“thank you, lover.”

there's a final kiss, then you let go of matty and wander to the coffee machine; as silly as it sounds, because you're only about three feet away from him, he misses you as soon as you leave his arms. having you in them, being in yours… that's matty's favourite thing in the world, and he'd gladly sacrifice most other things in life to have it for five minutes longer every morning and night, ten more minutes per day of him just being yours and you just being his.

although, looking at you now, it's so clear that those things are true even without him holding you - the hoodie you're wearing is an old one of his (that honestly looks better on you), the boxers you're wearing as pyjama shorts are his, and he's preeeeetty sure the overly-long nike sports socks you're wandering around in are also his. he gives parts of himself to you, and you accept them gladly, proudly displaying that you're completely his; in heart and mind and soul, too, not just in wardrobe.

he still can't get over that. he doesn't think he ever will.

once he's dressed (clothes warm, because you were sweet enough to put them on the radiator for him) and the tv has loaded properly, matty settles into bed, beaming at you as you wander over with his drink and giggling when you place it on the bedside table and just crawl over him to get to your side of the bed. he kisses the side of your head as you snuggle into him. “you're not having one, darling?”

“nah,” you let out a world-weary sigh. “i've had far too much chocolate today as is. remind me never to agree to going to a gig in switzerland ever again. s'awful for my digestion.”

matty laughs. “or you could just, you know, not eat chocolate.”

you frown adorably at him. he laughs again. “or not.”

“thank you,” your face softens. “s'good, though. try the hot chocolate, see for yourself.”

“right,” matty takes a sip, humming happily at the rich sweetness. “mhmm. yeah.”

“amazing, isn't it?”

he nods, swallowing, then grins. “nowhere near as sweet as you, though.”

“oh, you sap!” you roll your eyes, tucking your face into matty’s chest in mild embarrassment while he giggles; he can feel you smiling through his t-shirt, though. “put the telly on, i can't cope.”

he obliges, free hand coming up to stroke your hair as you watch the episode in relative calm - that is, aside from the two of you constantly laughing at the onscreen antics, and from you covering matty's mouth in an attempt to stop him doing his god-awful impression of a northern irish accent. the whole experience is really domestic, as sweet as the hot chocolate matty finished ten minutes into the episode, the perfect end to a busy work day.

matty stretches when the episode ends, moving to wrap his arms around your waist and rest his head on your chest. “time is it, sweetheart?”

“ten past midnight,” you yawn; suddenly, though, you perk up. “oh! happy anniversary, baby!”

he smiles into your chest, dragging himself up to hover over you. “happy anniversary, my girl,” he coos, thumbs stroking your pretty face. “i love you.”

“i love you,” you smile. “kiss, please?”

matty nods, leaning down to press his lips to yours; on instinct, you open your mouth as soon as he does, soundtracked by a sigh that makes his head spin. even now, a year on from it, every kiss you share feels like the very first one up against the wall in the smoking area, full of passion and adrenaline and just total love and devotion that you'd both kept buried for each other for years. the only difference is that now, 365 days on, you know exactly how to kiss matty to make him melt - a moan slips from his throat as you softly swipe your tongue around the perimeter of his lips, which in turn makes you smile, and another follows when you gently bite his lower lip and drag it to release. but it's the way you beam at him afterwards, breathing just as heavily as he is, that gets matty most, makes him hug you as tightly as he can and press little kisses all over your face and hair and get you giggling (his favourite sound in the world).

once you've both caught your breath, kissed some more, and caught your breath again, you speak. “d'you want your anniversary present now, baby?”

matty grins. “yeah. you want yours?”

“yeah,” you beam. reaching across to your bedside table, you take out a little wrapped gift and hand it to him. “for you.”

“thank you, sweet girl,” matty kisses your forehead, rolling off you to pull a thin box from his bag at the side of the bed. “for you.”

“thanks, darling,” you kiss him softly. “go on, you open yours first.”

“alright,” matty carefully rips the brown paper - after smiling, lovesick, at for the love of my life written on it in your unmistakable handwriting - to find what looks like a zine, small enough to fit in his back pocket. he laughs in slight shock at the cover, displaying both of your first initials in a heart and subtitled year one, and this continues when he flicks through the pages. the very first has a picture of the two of you at that fateful birthday party, taken by a friend across the table, as well as one of the receipt for dinner, with little hearts drawn on either side of the listing for your favourite wine; the next, a short typed-out musing ‘written on matty's couch. he's in love with me. he knows i'm in love with him. i've never been so happy in my life. i fell asleep thinking my heart might burst, and that feeling hasn't left me at all. this is true love. i know it now’.

flicking through the pages - he so badly wants to spend time poring over every single one, but he knows now isn't the time - matty feels the exact same way. you've always been shockingly good at gift-giving when it comes to him, but this… this is the best thing anyone's ever done for him.

he doesn't even think love is a strong enough word to describe how he feels about you, to be honest.

you smile when he tells you as much, lifting his hand to kiss it. “i'm glad you like it, baby. i had a lot of fun compiling everything. it was just constant reminders of how much i love you - although, i agree, it's not a strong enough word. maybe i should come up with an alternative. like how coleridge did with soulmate.”

“thank fuck he did, by the way,” matty sighs, leaning in to kiss you. “what would i call you otherwise?”

“i'm sure you'd figure it out. you're very good with words.”

“not when it comes to you, darling,” he smiles. “and that's actually relevant to your gift, so…”

“point taken,” you wink, lifting the lid. your beautiful face takes on a confused expression as you lift out a thin, a3-sized hardback book. “this looks like one of your lyric books from stage…”

“it does, a bit, yeah.”

“...and it has my name on the front,” your jaw drops, and you open the book so frantically that matty can't help but giggle; he laughs even harder when you look up at him, aghast. “this is a score. you wrote me a song?”

“kind of, sweetheart. i mean, i've written you lots of songs already-”

“but none explicitly with my name!”

“no, that's true,” matty moves to sit behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist. he feels you relax immediately, which is good, because for a second he thought you were about to go into genuine shock. “and this one is slightly different in another way, too.”

“it is?”

“yeah. look - there aren't any lyrics,” he takes your hand in his own, dragging your finger over the score to show blankness where the words would appear over the stave. “when i said a minute ago that i wasn't good with words when it comes to you, i mean it. you're literally the only person in the world that can render me speechless; trying to concisely convey everything i love about you in words that 1) made sense and 2) worked in a song was impossible. so i figured i would just let the music do the talking,” matty kisses your head. “no lyrics, parts for almost a full orchestra plus the instruments i'm used to writing for… this isn't a song, darling, it's a symphony, the one that plays in my head whenever i think about you.”

“matthew,” your voice is shaky when you say his name; when you turn to look at him, he notices your jaw is too, the telltale sign that you're about to burst into tears. “i think you're absolutely fucking mental. and i love you, i love you, i love you,” your voice cracks into a sob on the last you, and you bury your face in your boyfriend's neck while you cry. “that's the most romantic thing anyone could do, i think, and you did it for me. what the fuck!”

matty giggles, caressing your back and kissing your head soothingly. “s'the least i could do, really.”

“oh, shut up.”

“alright,” he coaxes you out of hiding, wiping your tears away and kissing your nose. “i'll play it for you when we get to a piano tomorrow, yeah?”

“i'd like that,” you peck his lips. “thank you, my love.”

“you're welcome, darling. and thank you for the little zine about us - can't wait to read that tomorrow, too.”

you nod happily - suddenly, your eyes widen. “wait! that reminds me: i got you something else too. and i want us to use them tomorrow.”

“let's see, then,” matty sits up in anticipation, but almost immediately slumps back down exasperatedly when he sees the rolling papers in your hand. “baby…”

“what? it's on-theme!” you grin. “it’s paper! the thing you're meant to give and get to celebrate a first anniversary. and, let's be serious, it was me wanting to smoke that got us here, wasn't it?”

“you’re incorrigible, sweetheart,” matty shakes his head, hand tracing patterns into your thigh; he can't help but smile, though. “but alright - tomorrow, at some point, we'll smoke.”

“promise?”

“for fuck's sake,” he sighs. “i promise, even though i think you're demented.”

you beam. “thanks. i love you!”

“i love you, too, darling.”

#mads muses #mads does writing #into the birthday partyverse #matty healy fanfiction #matty healy fanfic #matty healy fic #matty healy fluff #matty healy x reader #matty x reader

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diorsluv · 29 days

Text

casual , part 2

“ ‘cause i’m still hanging around ”

series m. list previous chapter next chapter

( socialmedia!au )

vivianliu

liked by yourusername, adamfantilli, and 66,824 others

vivianliu spending time w my girlfriend while she’s still my girlfriend 🫶

tagged: yourusername

view all comments

yourusername what’s that supposed to mean 😰

→ vivianliu you know exactly what i mean.

→ yourusername NO YOU’RE STILL MY WIFE I PROMISE

→ vivianliu SAY THAT IN FRONT OF THE MAN WHOSE BED YOU SLEEP IN

→ yourusername VIVI PLEASE

→ rutgermcgroarty whats going on 🙉

→ lhughes_06 ARE YOU THE MAN WHOSE BED SHE SLEEPS IN?? rutgermcgroarty

→ rutgermcgroarty no stupid (i wish)

→ yourusername HUH? EXPLAIN URSELF RUT

→ _quinnhughes oh hell no

→ jackhughes wtf

→ edwards.73 oh

username33 YOU’RE SO GORGEOUS

rutgermcgroarty baguette 🥖

→ vivianliu those are french dumbass

→ rutgermcgroarty mamma mia! 🕺

→ yourusername THAT WAS IN GREECE 😭😭

→ rutgermcgroarty goddammit you two never let me win

username7 OKAY GODDESSES???

luca.fantilli i love italy 🇮🇹

→ vivianliu i love taiwan 🇹🇼

→ edwards.73 i love canada 🇨🇦

→ markestapa i love america 🇺🇸

→ rutgermcgroarty i love nebraska

→ adamfantilli stop speaking right now rutgermcgroarty

→ rutgermcgroarty i thought we were naming our native countries????

→ mackie.samo but nebraska isn’t a fucking country?????

_quinnhughes okay i know my sister asked what the caption meant but actually what does the caption mean 😥

→ vivianliu figure it out

→ yourusername no quinny don’t figure it out

→ _quinnhughes just because i’m in vancouver doesn’t mean you can run around doing crazy shit

→ yourusername BUT IM NOT THOUGH??? 😭

→ _quinnhughes i’m going to figure it out and once i do you’ll have no choice but to tell me everything

→ yourusername you’re so nosy wtf

→ jackhughes what about me 😓😓

dylanduke25 why didn’t you take me with you

→ vivianliu because we didn’t want to 🤗

→ dylanduke25 oh 😕

→ adamfantilli LEAVE MY DUDE ALONE

username94 what i’m hearing is rosie’s cheating on vivian with ethan

username45 everyone’s so obvious abt this shit 😭

username21 the dresses are so prettyyy!

username30 best friend goals 🗣️

username28 correct me if i’m wrong but isn’t that the bag ethan posted himself buying on his story a few weeks ago??

→ username76 this sum detective shit 😭😭

trevorzegras i know

→ vivianliu know what?

→ trevorzegras I KNOW.

→ yourusername and how do you know

→ trevorzegras a little birdie told me

→ yourusername a little BITCH*** by the name of rutger mcgroarty?!????

→ trevorzegras snitches get stitches 🤫

→ rutgermcgroarty i plead innocent

→ vivianliu since when are you ever innocent???

username53 trevor knowing before her brothers is insane

jamie.drysdale bring back souvenirs 🙏

→ vivianliu she spent an HOUR at a gift shop today

→ yourusername i’m thorough with my purchases 😈😈

markestapa your girlfriend’s boyfriend is jealous

→ vivianliu my girlfriend doesn’t have a boyfriend 😒

→ mackie.samo THEY’RE DATING

→ vivianliu they’re “casual” 🙄🙄

→ luca.fantilli exactly they’re casually dating

→ vivianliu we all know he doesn’t like labels

edwards.73 pretty

→ vivianliu stfu 🤬🤬

→ edwards.73 was talkin bout the view but ok

→ yourusername the view is very pretty

→ edwards.73 so pretty i couldn’t take my eyes off it

→ dylanduke25 GET A ROOM

username21 ethan flirting every chance he gets 😭

→ vivianliu i’m against it but majority rules ig 😞

username60 the sunset is STUNNING

_alexturcotte what’s your opinion about it

→ vivianliu i’m definitely a neutral supporter but i’m kiiiiiiiiiinda leaning towards NO. NEIN. NAY. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

→ colecaufield agreed

→ edwards.73 yall gotta stop hating on my boy

→ _alexturcotte 🫤

→ vivianliu 😐

→ colecaufield 😑

edwards.73

liked by adamfantilli, mackie.samo, and 94,168 others

edwards.73 shi was fogging up 😵‍💫

view all comments

username6 wait. waiiiiiiiiiiiit.

rutgermcgroarty HOLD TF UP IS THAT HER CAR

→ edwards.73 🚗💨

→ rutgermcgroarty wtf bro i was sitting in there like 15 mins ago

→ edwards.73 you never sit in the back anyways you’re fine

→ markestapa I WAS SITTING IN THE BACK WHAT THE FUCK

→ edwards.73 😱

→ markestapa i’m gonna shower for a week what the hell

username47 IS THAT THE LAKE????

username33 bro really dropped the biggest bomb on us like we wouldn’t notice tf?

luca.fantilli notice how the clock says 4 am. I COULDN’T SLEEP FOR 4 FUCKING HOURS

→ edwards.73 STOP EXAGGERATING it wasn’t even that bad

→ luca.fantilli it wasn’t that bad MY ASS

→ edwards.73 we were quiet 😪

→ luca.fantilli yeah when you two were finally passed out 😒😒

dylanduke25 ethan i have two very important words for you

→ edwards.73 go ahead say it

→ dylanduke25 thin. walls. THIN. FUCKING. WALLS.

→ edwards.73 that’s 5 words duker

→ dylanduke25 fuck you

→ edwards.73 there we go now we’re at 2

→ dylanduke25 😒😒

username57 that is a hughes if i’ve ever seen one

vivianliu 🤬

→ edwards.73 why r u beefing w me 🙄

→ vivianliu is this supposed to be a soft launch

→ edwards.73 you could call it that yeah

→ vivianliu then tf r u launching bc it sure as hell isn’t a relationship last time i checked mr “i don’t do labels”

yourusername nice very nice

→ edwards.73 whats nice?? im gonna need u to specify

→ yourusername the heart it’s nicely drawn 🤗

→ edwards.73 mhmm cuz the windows got foggy af

→ yourusername oh really? doing what?

→ edwards.73 that’s a good question maybe we should test shit out to see what gets the windows so fogged up like that

username26 it’s a whole hughes-a-palooza up in here

username80 sunset 😁😁

lhughes_06 eddy since when did you get a girl??

→ edwards.73 since before u left 🙄

→ lhughes_06 AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME??

→ edwards.73 my girl wanted to keep it a secret so we kept it on the dl 🙏

→ lhughes_06 but everyone else knows.

→ edwards.73 we’ll tell you eventually!

→ lhughes_06 😓

username24 tell me this aint the girl he’s been flirting w for the past three months

→ username5 i think it’s been longer than three months 😭😭

username78 name drop rn

mackie.samo 🥀

→ edwards.73 🥴

→ vivianliu is this the boy verson of code names

→ rutgermcgroarty fuck no

→ adamfantilli we use initials cuz we’re not weird???

→ colecaufield this shit is too obvious

jackhughes 🤨🤨

→ edwards.73 😰😰

→ jackhughes ur a little risky for that one

username66 does jack know or is everyone clueless

username32 are we just gonna ignore the fact that ethan called her his girl in one of the threads??

username87 this shit freaky asf 😭

trevorzegras oh 👀

→ edwards.73 yes

→ _alexturcotte z stop acting like you know more than we do

→ trevorzegras I DO

→ luca.fantilli go ahead keep lying to yourself

adamfantilli 😲

→ edwards.73 🫣

→ vivianliu 🤫

→ colecaufield 🫠

→ rutgermcgroarty 😏

→ markestapa 😫

→ yourusername 🤭

→ jackhughes 😧

→ dylanduke25 🫢

→ trevorzegras 🤪

→ luca.fantilli 😃

→ _alexturcotte 🙃

→ mackie.samo 🤓

→ _quinnhughes all of you are like the definition of brainrot

next chapter notes ) like stated in the description under the au on the main masterlist… EXTREMELY SUGGESTIVE so let this be your warning 😭 yall r freaky bitches tho bc I REMEMBER THAT ONE CHAPTER IN FEATHER 🤨🤨 the influx of notes i had on that chap was insane also this chap’s a short girlie butttttt hell week is incoming so im either gonna have more short chaps or less longer chaps 😓😓

tags: @dancerbailey3 @hughesfein @loveforaugust

#ethan edwards #ethan edwards fanfic #ethan edwards fic #ethan edwards x reader #ethan edwards x y/n #quinn hughes #jack hughes #trevor zegras #cole caufield #alex turcotte #luke hughes #mackie samoskevich #mark estapa #dylan duke #rutger mcgroarty #luca fantilli #adam fantilli

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delfiore · 10 months

Text

—A SUMMER’S TALE.

pairing: vada cavell x reader

synopsis: the summer before college, vada joins mia's family on vacation in france and falls in love with the scenery, and a charismatic lifeguard.

word count: 9.6k

warnings: talk of the shooting

a/n: it's summer so you know my cmbyn flare ups are happening. i’ve been writing this for a few weeks now and i’m super pumped it’s done. pls let me now what you like, what you don’t like about this! i’d really appreciate some feedback!! and i’m sorry if i can’t reply to you if you comment on this as this acc is a secondary blog

The villa had one feature that stood out in particular—a hallway that ran through the base of the house, connecting the kitchen to the open grass area in the back. Even the tiniest gust of wind could collect into a large breeze to combat the sticky heat of the day.

Vada closed her eyes and lifted her arms by her side as she felt the breeze glide through her. She could smell an earthy, hay-like smell of flowers that had been bathing in sunlight wafting in from the garden behind the villa. It didn’t take much to notice; summer in southern France was in full swing.

I could live here, she thought. Four weeks of this? Away from the repetitive scenery of the American suburbs, away from expectations. Only a few minutes since she’s gotten off the car and seen the yellow walls and red bricks of the Mediterranean villa, and she’s been buzzing ever since. She’s never actually left the country before, and the long flight over was jarring, to say the least. But the beauty of what she saw as soon as she landed made up for it.

Mia had instructed her to come along upstairs to put her things away; Vada would be occupying the guest room next to hers. She swore her friendship with Mia Reed started because they both went through a traumatic thing together, but it was moments like these when she was grateful for the perks.

“I could use a nap,” Mia said, rubbing her face.

It was nearly nine in the morning when the girls finished unpacking. Mia’s parents had given them the morning to get settled and get used to the jet lag.

“I’m not too tired,” Vada said, “maybe I’ll go into town for the morning.”

“You sure you don’t need me to come with you?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fun. It’s about time I put my four years of high school French to the test.”

The road into town winded downhill, and she was grateful she used one of the bikes the Reeds had available at their villa, as she would have dreaded the trek back up, had she gone on foot. She mapped out exactly the way into the town square and was determined to check everything out before returning for lunch. Thank god for Google Maps.

She had also bought a paper map of the town in a nearby kiosk and, after nearly two hours of exploring, mapped out a general layout of notable places in town. There was a fountain in the middle of the square in front of a church that Vada would use as a reference for everything; from the Fountain facing the church going left would be the town hall and that little kiosk, going right would be the local post office and the way back to the villa, opposite the church facing ahead lead down a slanted cobblestone alley full of restaurants and gift shops, as well as the way to the beach.

It must have been in the high 80s (30s Celsius) that day, so Vada decided to reward herself with some ice cream in the town square before she headed back. It was so hot that when sitting on a bench in the shades, she still had to try and keep the ice cream from melting all over her lap.

“Lillian’s ice cream is nice, but it melts quickly. You should try Karim’s down the street.”

Vada looked up at the voice in surprise, as it was English that was being spoken to her.

“Oh, totally!” She replied quickly. “How did you know I speak English?”

“I haven’t seen you around here.”

“But I could have also known French, right?”

“Touché, but I also recognize a compatriot when I see one.”

You wore an oversized white button-up that barely skirted past your black shorts, and your flip-flops indicated that you might have had a better idea of what the weather was going to be like as opposed to her in her high-neck basketball shoes. Peaking out from between the hem of your shirt was a necklace in the shape of a hummingbird, dangling and reflected in the sun.

“That obvious, huh?”

“Maybe a little." You grinned and shook your head from side to side. "Only tourists go to Lillian for ice cream.”

“So you’re not one, I assume.”

“I wouldn’t say so, no. My family has been coming here every summer ever since I was eight. These people are probably sick of me by now.” You chuckled.

This is your time, Vada, be smooth. “Lucky for you, you’ll have someone new to entertain.” She grinned and pointed at herself.

. . . Adequate.

The melodic laugh that escaped you gave her a new-found confidence, and she decided that it was to be her new favorite sound.

“Alright, since you seem to know the area so well,” Vada said. “What’s fun to do around here?”

Conversation flowed so easily between the two of you, she had almost forgotten that she only met you 15 minutes ago. Granted, you were also easy on the eye, and Vada would always remember the way the water from the fountain reflected in waves across your skin.

At one point she had started talking about the time her family got stranded in the middle of nowhere on a road trip to Phoenix. Vada felt like she was talking too much, but the way you laughed along with her story made her feel like it wasn’t for naught.

The bell tower of the church rang throughout the square. Vada widened her eyes and checked her phone, it was noon.

"Shit, I have to get back. My host family's gonna wonder where I am." She stood up quickly and collected her bike. The height of the seat and her haste caused her to stumble, and she would have fallen if not for you grabbing her by the arm and holding her up.

"Oh, okay. I’m sure there’s a story about a daytime Cinderella somewhere.”

She looked up and you were smirking. "Vada," she said. Maybe she shouldn’t have told you, Cinderella was fine, you didn’t know each other.

She could barely make out your attempt at her name on your lips before you nodded.

“Y/N.” You held your hand out for her to take. There was that touch that changed the course of her summer, the one touch that set into motion a journey toward a certain feeling that Vada had never felt before.

"Bye, Y/N!" She called behind her before rounding the corner, past the post office, and back to the Reed villa.

Mia had been waiting by the front door and breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Vada cycling uphill.

"Where the hell have you been? We thought you'd been kidnapped!"

"Wait, could you get kidnapped here?" Vada’s face dropped at the thought, even though she was positively out of breath.

"You could get kidnapped anywhere, V."

"Well, I got lost." She hopped off her bike and set it by the entrance. "My phone died so I couldn't use Maps."

Her friend rolled her eyes and led her inside where a hearty lunch awaited. It was mid-June and apricots were in season for dessert.

It wasn't until late afternoon the next day that Vada regained the energy to go outside again. The jet lag had finally caught on, and she spent the morning asleep until noon. Mia had suggested going to the beach, which was great because she could see how things were, and either get into the water or take another nap.

Mia—being Mia—wore her bathing suit and a thin cardigan as her attire, while Vada decided on wearing an oversized tee and shorts over her bathing suit.

"Don't freak out. I've invited some friends. Just kids from the area," said Mia, once they arrived at the beach.

Vada stayed back, as Mia was greeted by several people similar in age to her, speaking in French at a pace her high school education couldn’t help her understand.

“This is Vada, she’s a friend from home.”

A curly-headed boy stood up from his lounge chair and sauntered over to give Mia a kiss on each cheek, then looked over to Vada and did the same. “Corentin, but please call me Coco,” he said and took both their bags. Vada didn’t miss the way his eyes lingered on Mia’s form a bit longer than normal.

“Come, Vada! Mia, where have you been hiding this one? I’m Marlène. This is Sasha.” The brunette pulled her by the hand and gestured to the boy sitting next to her. He was slender with blonde hair part in the middle. “We’re about to go into the water if you want to join.”

“Where’s Noémie?” asked Mia.

“Déjà à l’eau. No doubt to show off to the lifeguard.” Sasha snickered, nodding his head towards the water. He took another drag from his cigarette and rested his arm back against Marlène’s chair.

“Speaking of the lifeguard . . .” Vada followed Marlène’s gaze towards . . . you.

Her mouth hung open as she watched you, in red shorts and a white T-shirt, a whistle hanging from your neck. You pulled your sunglasses up to your head and gave Mia la bise.

Of course, she thought. She had hoped to see you again, but only when there was no one else around, and that you’d catch her by surprise when she was alone once more. She’d only met you, but she wished that she could have you all alone, not like a secret, but like a prized possession.

“And just how many people have died while you’re on watch?” Mia teased.

“Zero, but very soon,” you pointed at her, “one.”

When you turned to Vada, her breath hitched. “Hi,” you greeted with that warm smile again. Even in your work attire, she spotted that necklace next to your whistle.

“Y/N, this is—”

“Vada, the daytime Cinderella. We met yesterday in the square.” You replied. “Did I forget to mention I work here?”

Vada was grinning like an idiot, her cheeks tinted pink at the nickname. “Yup, you did.”

“Y/N!” Over jogged a gorgeous girl, even Vada had to admit. Her black bathing suit hugged her curves perfectly, and though her hair was completely wet, the water droplets clinging to her olive skin made her glow. “T'as prévu aller en boîte ce week-end, ou bien? J'ai chopé l'info qu'y a un nouveau DJ en ville, et il envoie du pâté!”

She was clinging onto your arm, and speaking way too fast for Vada to understand, but she picked up on some keywords: ce week-end, and nouveau DJ.

When she finally noticed Vada there, her excitement subsided, but she walked over anyway to greet her, like an afterthought. “Salut. I’m Noémie.”

“Hi. Vada.”

Just as quickly as you arrived, Noémie had led you away, talking your ear off about something that Vada didn’t have the heart to eavesdrop on. Her eyes followed your form, picking up on the way you kept your arms by your side even when Noémie was practically hanging off of you. In a sporadic moment, Vada thought she saw you looking back over her shoulder at the friend group, and maybe toward her.

“Your phone died, huh?” Mia poked her elbow into her side with a teasing grin.

“Shut up,” Vada murmured. “What’s the deal with them anyway?”

“They were together last summer,” Sasha replied, then turned to the others. “Plan cul, how do you say?”

“A fling, but Noémie seems more attached than Y/N ever did,” said Coco.

“No doubt Y/N has already found a new paramour for the summer,” Marlène commented.

“It’s summertime. Anything’s possible.”

As much as she hated it, you plagued her mind, much more than she cared to admit. She didn’t want to think about what your initial conversation meant to you (if it did at all), or what the lack of words in your second meeting meant. She didn’t want to think about Noémie either, how she seemed so confident to get your attention, and an up-and-down look from her made Vada want to crawl into a hole.

She remembered the handshake. The speed at which she rode away wasn’t entirely to get home in time before Mia’s parents called the police, but to get away from the butterflies that burst in her stomach that moment her hand firmly shook yours. She’d seen how you greeted your friends, but to her, she offered a handshake. Though the gesture itself was completely platonic and can be passed off as a farewell between two strangers, she felt a sense of exclusivity, that American camaraderie you shared with her in a foreign land. Common courtesy as a mode of intimacy. Revisiting it now, Vada recognized it as a sign of attraction and an apprehension to the speed at which it enveloped her.

She would see you around town in your work uniform after your shift, sometimes you’d be talking to people, sometimes you were the buyer yourself. No matter the person though—from the tourists asking for directions to the old owner of the bookstore by the fountain, they always loved you and talked to you like you were their best friend. She’d see you from afar, wanting to talk to you, but then get anxious the moment you spotted her a give her a friendly wave.

Then there were times when you would come by the Reed villa. Philip and Andre always received you like you were an esteemed guest, gifting you fruits from the trees in the backyard. She loved to see how you acted around different people, and to the Reeds who had known you for years, you were awful shy.

“Invite your parents over. We should all have dinner sometime!”

“Oh, my parents aren’t here this summer. My dad’s busy with a conference in Singapore, but they’ll drop by at the end of July.”

Even the times you were invited to stay for supper, it was clear you knew how to hold a conversation over the dinner table. She wondered if you were studying to be a politician because you seemed to charm everyone and had the best manners. Mia would not-so-subtly yield the spot next to you for Vada, and secretly, she was glad to be sitting next to you.

For the first time in her life, she felt a force holding her back, preventing her from reaching out. Maybe it was because she had only known you for a couple of weeks but felt like you’d always been there, like a puzzle finally piecing together.

And every time, right before you left, after you had said goodbye to the Reeds, you’d find her somehow. “Bye,” would be all you said with an adoring smile, but Vada would be thinking about it until the next day.

She and Mia met up with the group again one night, this time at a nearby open-air disco. When she arrived, she could spot Sasha and Marlène already twirling each other around on the dance floor, she was laughing as he spun her around, cigarette between his lips. She felt a pang of envy, imagining that it was your arms around her waist instead as you spun her around without a care in the world, in front of everyone. Let them see. Let them see that you’re mine and I’m yours. If she were being honest, she only agreed to come just so she could see you again. She found you sitting at a table with Coco and Noémie, chatting away.

“Hi.” Her attention was focused on you. She couldn’t be more sober, and she wished she had taken a few puffs before coming.

As if having read her mind, Coco pulled out a couple of joints, lighting one and taking a puff himself before passing it to Noémie.

“You partake?” You shouted over the loud music.

“Oh, she partakes.” Mia nodded enthusiastically. “The first time she did weed she smoked most of my joint. Then proceeded to blabber on nonstop for two hours.”

You let out a laugh. “I like this one!”

She hated, despised even, the overwhelming feeling of wanting to be near you, to impress you, to feel special in your eyes as you were in hers. It was human nature; everyone liked feeling special, but somehow getting validation from you would make her ten times happier. She sat two seats away from you—next to Mia and Noémie—and once in a while, she would try and dart her eyes over to look at you ever so subtly. On a couple of occasions, her heart would jump when she noticed you were already looking back.

A few minutes later, Vada started to feel the effect of the weed, and Mia must have too because she pulled her toward the dance floor. Looking back, she saw you talking to Noémie. You didn’t look too happy and neither did she, having her arms crossed in front of her chest. Then, she walked outside and you followed her impatiently. When you returned, a polite smile was on your face when you noticed her looking for you.

“Are you okay?” She shouted, the weed had made her feel bold.

“Yeah! Everything’s fine.” You shouted back.

It might have been the weed or it was something that’s already been there, but Vada couldn’t take her eyes off of you. She took you by the hand, and there was that same spark of electricity again. You let her guide you, your hands never leaving hers as you moved with her.

It was about a quarter to midnight when everyone decided to split because frankly, everyone was too tired to continue. Vada said goodbye to Sasha and Marlène, the latter of whom gave her a big hug and repeatedly expressed her delight that Vada had decided to join them. Coco, already sober, offered to drive Mia home, but his ride was a scooter.

“Sorry, les gars,” Coco smiled sheepishly and asked Mia if she was ready, to which the girl only nodded.

“I’ll walk you home.” You said quietly, surprisingly timid. “Promise me you won’t turn into a pumpkin at midnight?”

She huffed through her nose and gave you a shove, but she was grinning. It was just the two of you now. Her pride was on the line, and so was her heart.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Your voice cut through the stillness of the night. Before that, the only sounds were that of your shoes brushing against the ground and the soft sighs of the ocean.

“Is everything okay with Noémie?”

You averted your eyes, your hand coming up to play with the hummingbird on your neck.

Maybe she shouldn’t have. “Shit, did I overstep?”

“No, no. It’s fine. It’s just Noë being Noë, she was out of line.” Your walls were up. “We were always close, she was the first friend I made here. And last summer we slept together.”

“Oh.” Her steps faltered.

“I stopped it before it could progress into anything beyond that, though. I’m just not ready.”

Vada nodded slowly. Loud and clear. Maybe that was the signal she needed, the insecure part of her thought it was that, but when she was with you, all she wanted to do was listen to the other part.

“I slept with Mia once, sophomore year.”

You looked over at her, seemingly surprised. “Mia? Huh. Never would have thought.”

“It was just that, though.” She flashed you a smile.

Vada felt that surge of closeness between you, your arm swinging beside her as you walked. The obsession with finding anything to relate to you prompted her to say it, like Hey, I’m like you, I know how you feel. Maybe it wasn’t the best thing to tell you, she might have screwed up.

You mirrored her smile, but something about it told her that your heart wasn’t entirely in it. Tell me what you’re thinking, Y/N. She wanted to get inside your head and know everything you were thinking, to go all the way with that closeness. Even as friends, one has to start from somewhere.

It was radio silence from you for the next few days. Vada came up with all the excuses as to what it could have been, and when she grew tired and angry at herself for thinking so much about you, she tried to distract herself by doing other things. She helped Philip collect figs from the trees in the backyard; she looked up the fortress nearby you told her about the day you met and biked all the way over there, even though it was a half an hour's ride each way; she finally took out the book she packed with her and began reading it whilst sunbathing. It was starting to feel like a summer that she should be enjoying.

Her mom called and was happy to hear that her daughter was going outside and doing fun things. “The people are nice,” Vada would say, “I met some of Mia’s friends.” And in true Mom fashion, her mom would quickly squeeze in a “Don’t do drugs and use protection” to which she ended the call and almost threw her phone across the room.

She would also call Nick every other day. I met someone, she said one day after having finally gathered the courage to vocalize her crush. Girl, I know. Mia had told him. When? Literally the second day. She said you were so obvious.

It was as if the weather knew too. It started raining all day when she decided to go to the beach one day, souring her mood entirely. She would sit by the entrance in the backyard watching the rain, and sure enough, she was thinking about what you were doing on the opposite end of town.

“It’s unlike you to be so hung up on someone,” Mia told her when they were hanging out in Mia’s room.

“I’m not hung up on someone,” her words trailed at the end, mindlessly flipping through the magazine in front of her.

“So am I just crazy for thinking that you want to pounce on Y/N every three seconds?”

“Okay, but what about you and Coco? He follows you around everywhere like a lost puppy.”

“Coco’s just shy,” her friend blushed. “And stop changing the subject.”

“There’s nothing between us, at least not yet.”

“So you do want something to happen.”

“Shut up! Mia!” She hid her face behind her hands and writhed on Mia’s bed in embarrassment. “I’m not talking to you about this anymore.”

“Alright, alright,” Mia held her hands up as her laughter subsided.

“Look, I just want to—” Vada took a moment. “I want to test the waters, okay? Y/N is special, and I don’t want to ruin anything.”

Mia nodded, understanding. “I just don’t want you to be misled. I mean, you’ve seen how it was with Noémie.”

“I know.” Vada smiled softly. “I know what I’m getting into. Zero expectations.”

She wanted to believe what she told Mia too, but then when she saw texts from you the next day, there was no hiding that a connection was what she so tirelessly wanted, and needed.

hey it’s y/n Sent 3:23pm

mia gave me your number, i hope you don’t mind Sent 3:23pm

call me when you see this? Sent 3:24pm

Damn you, Mia, but also, thank you.

She didn’t work up enough courage to call you until later that night. Of course, it could have been something dire, but then you would have called her first, right? I am such a wimp.

“Hello?”

“Hi,” she rubbed her hands against her shorts. “it’s Vada. You wanted me to call you?”

“Yeah. I was gonna just text you, but I don’t know . . .” You hesitated for a moment. “Anyway, you ever been to Antibes?”

“No, why?”

“Well, I’m going there on Friday for my apprenticeship, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with? I’m just giving some manuscripts to my mentor, and then leaving them with him for a few hours to review, so we can make a fun day out of it. It’s a one-hour drive, so I don’t plan on staying overnight.”

“Friday you said?” Vada took a deep breath to still her racing heart. “I don’t think I got anything better to do that day.”

“Great!” You said. “I’ll pick you up at 9am?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Cool, see you then!”

There was something frightening about when things go exactly how you wanted them. It was inch-perfect, the puzzle pieces just slotted in place as if they were always fated to be. You were the first to reach out; she thought it would be easier that way, she’d just have to take your hand and come along. But there was a certain apprehension that Vada had as if she was walking straight into the lion’s den like a deer blinded by hunger. What if she loses her heart? She was aware of the dangers of heartbreak, of course—she was no fool—but the thought of giving her heart to you, then watching you walk away with it like an unwanted gift was too devastating.

Mia was practically bouncing off the walls when Vada told her about the phone call, saying that in all seven years of knowing you, she had never been special enough to receive a call. She didn’t exactly say the latter part, but she all but implied it.

On Friday morning, Vada woke up earlier than usual, made herself some breakfast, and was already waiting at the door with a backpack by 8:45. No later than 9:05, you arrived with a Volkswagen Golf, sunglasses on, and a bright smile.

“Music?” You offered, turning on Bluetooth. “Also, if you need a pee break, please tell me. Bladders can be untimely.”

“Noted,” Vada giggled.

The car ride was mostly silent, aside from the music you let her pick and the fun facts you enlightened her with about some of the landmarks you drive past.

“That one I believe was built in the later 1600s and owned by a minor Provence viscount. It was also in a strategic location for the military until it was abandoned after the French Revolution. Also, the viscount built the castle for his second wife, but she died shortly after giving birth to their child.”

“That’s a little sad,” said Vada.

“She was also 14 when she died and he was in his 50s.”

Vada grimaced. “Maybe death was a sweet relief.”

“Yeah. It was more common back in the day than you think.”

“How do you know all this?” She brought her legs up against her chest.

“I like history. I like to learn about the areas I’m in, and in the time that I’ve been here, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to learn.”

She watched your side profile for a moment. “You mentioned some manuscripts. What is it for?”

“Is this an interview now?” You laughed and glanced over at her, and she looked down with a blush. “It’s for my bachelor’s thesis. Technically I don’t start writing until next year, but I like to practice whenever I can. This one that I’m giving to my mentor is a collection of essays.”

“Can I read them?” You looked over for a moment, then reached behind you to grab a file of paper and handed it to her.

Vada settled back and opened the first pages, and read in silence. She could feel you spare short glances at her from time to time, nervously watching for her reaction, but she was so engrossed in your writing it almost didn’t matter that you were sitting next to her. This might have been what it feels like to peer into someone’s soul, to see the traces of fresh blood as they lay their heart onto paper.

It was a beautiful sunny day, the waters shone a deep turquoise, and the French Riviera looked glorious as ever. And yet, she could only get lost in your words.

“This is beautiful,” Vada breathed, setting the papers down on her lap. “You’re amazing.”

You looked ahead at the road, eyes covered by shades, but your large grin was unmissable.

You parked the car on the side of the street in front of several apartment buildings. “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back.” Vada only nodded and watched you cross the street with the manuscripts in your hand. She liked how it felt between you two, and she would gladly accompany you on every trip until you were sick of her.

Mere minutes later, you returned. “I hope you’re ready for the best adventure of your life.”

Only, she knew it would be.

You first led her to the market in the vieille ville, where you bought some fruits and snacks for the way. Vada also got to witness firsthand your bargaining skills, asking for a price and then pretending to walk away until the vendor becomes desperate enough to settle. “I used to be really bad at this, but then I watched my mom do it, and now I kind of just do. These vendors hike up their prices for tourists like crazy.” You walked away proudly with a bag of food.

As the both of you walked through the picturesque alleys and streets, you proceeded to tell her more about the city and its history. She listened carefully, hanging onto every word that left your lips. You told her about how Antibes was first named Antipolis and part of Ancient Greece before it was built by the Romans in the time of Julius Caesar; how in the Middle Ages the city fell under the fiefdom of the Grimaldi family, the main branch of which is now royalty of Monaco.

“Sorry, you gotta stop me before I go on a tangent,” you chuckled, scratching the back of your neck. “I’ve been talking for ages.”

“No, I like it.” She said quickly. “I like listening to you talk. It’s no surprise many artists were so taken with this place.”

You raised your eyebrows in surprise.

“Hemingway, Picasso, and Monet all had a fascination with this city.” She had to look that up, but you didn’t need to know that.

“That’s right,” you nodded. “In fact, I’ll show you the spot where Monet painted one of his paintings later.”

After lunch, you both walked along the city walls that looked out to the beach.

“I’m just saying, Ratatouille piqued a lot of interest in the dish, and it wasn’t a coincidence. I mean, I’ve never tried it but I’d love to, just because it looked so good in the movie.” Vada said.

“You’ve never had ratatouille?!” You exclaimed loudly making Vada laugh. “Man, it’s a staple here in southern France! I’ll have to make you some because that is just criminal.”

“Okay, Chef Remy. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Actually, I’ll make a whole batch for you and the Reeds too. They always give me fruits from their backyard,” you said. “How did you meet Mia anyway?”

At the question, Vada’s smile collapsed into a frown. “Um . . .” You watched her, a confused look on your face. “I’ve always known who she was. I mean, it’s Mia, you know? But one day we met officially in the bathroom at school.”

“Oh,” you voiced. You must be confused as to why that was so hard to squeeze out, but the latter part, the part she kept hidden, she had been trying to squeeze out for two years.

“We were in the bathroom while there was a shooting going on.”

You opened your mouth to say something, but you only ended up watching her. Then, a moment later, “I didn’t mean to . . .”

“No, it’s fine.” Vada shook her head. “You didn’t know.”

“I’m so sorry. You don’t have to tell me anything else if you don’t want to.” Your eyes softened and you looked like you had kicked a puppy.

“I know,” she said, taking a breath.

“I see it on the news all the time, but I can’t imagine what it’s like to be there,” you said quietly. “Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me.”

Vada hated having to talk about it. If she could have it her way, she would bury it deep down so it never sees the light of day again. Still, she has to talk about it to her friends, her family, her therapist sometimes. She hated talking about it because she’d have to see the way people’s faces contort uncomfortably as they scramble to find consoling words to say. They don’t make her feel any better, and she never liked people seeing that broken side of her reflected back at them.

But when she looked at you right now, there wasn’t a trace of ego in the way that you look back at her. Deep down, she had always wanted to lay it on you, to give you a piece of her, not because she had to, but because she wanted to.

Because she wanted you to see it.

Vada found your hand by your side, soft and comforting. She kept her eyes on them; her hand and your hand, intertwined together. You embraced it and rubbed the back of her hand with your thumb before kissing it. A kiss of friendship, a kiss of love, a kiss of two young people in a city far from home together who had only just met. A kiss that said I see you, I hear you, you’ve got me around your corner.

“You wanna go grab some dinner?” She asked.

Dinner turned into even more talk. Towards late afternoon, you said you wanted to catch the sunset before going to the spot you claimed Monet painted the city. It was a quick drive, but you pumped your fists in the air when you got out of the car and were happy with how the sun rolled over the city just right.

“Come on, you’re gonna miss it!” You jogged towards the edge of the water, beaming like a little kid. It had become natural between the two of you to share skin-ship.

Behind the trees, there it was. Across the blue water, Antibes basked in the last few rays of sunlight in stoic tranquility, just as Monet had seen it. Perhaps she was in one of Monet’s paintings, frozen in time, stuck with you.

She found your hand again, your left this time, and once again your gaze followed, but this time, you trailed your gaze to her eyes. God help me, she thought.

There were so many things Vada wanted to blurt out, and she was close to it. Holding back was never her strong suit, but once she got a good look at the depth of your eyes, she felt that they were better appreciated in silence. Words don’t do anything but snitch on you anyway.

She didn’t need to, because the moment she turned to look at you, she felt you grab her face gently and lay the softest kiss on her lips.

The sun continued to glare, yet Antibes stared on.

Did Monet ever paint lovers?

Liar.

Vada felt like she’d make a mistake for giving in to it. She saw her younger self in the square that day, by the fountain, eating ice cream. She saw you talking to her, and she wanted to scream and tell herself to stop, to save herself the heartache. No one else was to blame, not even you, only her.

Antibes was a week ago, and she hasn’t really spoken to you ever since. She replayed the kiss over and over in her head, trying to pinpoint exactly the moment when you decided that keeping your distance would be the best course of action.

But then she remembered the way you acted alone with her was much different than how you were with the others around. She saw the way your eyes linger on her when you thought she was admiring the sea. She noticed the way you smiled bashfully when she brought up how good your essays were in front of your mentor. She remembered how you never let go of her hand when she grabbed it while you watched the sunset.

Marlène and Sasha had been a big help in getting her out of her slump. Mia was there to cuddle with her the first couple of nights after Vada told her everything, but rendezvous with Coco had kept her busy. But Marlène and Sasha were cool, and probably one of the healthiest couples she’s ever seen at the age of 20. She felt like their adoptive child hanging out with them, especially when Sasha would greet her by endearingly calling her Petit Vada.

“And have you talked to her?” Marlène asked, leaning over the lounge chair. She and Vada had been sunbathing and swimming at the Reed villa that afternoon.

“No.” Vada sighed. “It’s just—I just don’t get it! Why does she have to be so mysterious all the time? Like one moment we would be fine, and the next she’s somewhere else, someone else entirely.”

“That’s Y/N,” Marlène chuckled and took a sip from her margarita. “You know, when I and Sash first got together, he wasn’t as talkative as he is now. In fact, I was the one to ask him out. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and tell them.”

“That’s so easy to say,” Vada muttered, and put her face in her hands.

“That’s the kind of attitude you should save for when you go back to your other life, your American life. Are you going to university this fall? Summer’s halfway over, you know? Are you going to mull over it and let it pass by you?”

“Yes.” Vada’s voice was muffled through her hands.

“Carpe diem, mon chère.” Marlène shrugged. “It’s cheesy but it’s true.”

Andre being the ever BBQ dad that he was, decided to host a get-together with some friends that night, and encouraged Mia to invite hers. Everyone that Vada met at the beach showed up, including Noémie, except for you.

“She said she was busy,” Noémie waved it off. Vada pursed her lips. The fact that you talked to Noémie first stirred uneasy envy in the pit of her stomach.

She didn’t have the stomach to sit outside and spoil everyone’s fun with her sour face (most of all she didn’t want to give Noémie that satisfaction), so she made a plate for herself and ate in the living room.

“Hey, kiddo,” she looked up and saw Philip walk past her toward the kitchen. “Not feeling the party?”

Vada made a face to indicate a yes, but she didn’t want to explain further. “Just not really in the mood, sorry.”

“It’s okay. You can’t stop Andre from barbecuing when he has the urge or he’d literally combust.”

She nodded and smiled. “We don’t want that.”

“We’re serving fruits now. Want me to get you some?” He pointed at her empty plate.

“Yes, please. Thanks.” She hesitated for a beat. “Hey, Philip?”

The man turned around.

“How did you know that you wanted to marry Andre?”

Philip contemplated for a second, then walked over to the couch where she sat, leaning against it. “I didn’t wake up one day and choose to propose to him, Vada. It’s just one of those things when you start to notice that gnawing feeling in your chest. And you’d have to ask yourself, ‘Would I be fine going the rest of my life without them?’”

Vada nodded slowly and smiled as the man went back to the kitchen. She opened her phone and went to your messages. The last text from you was from a week ago. She began typing.

can we talk? Sent 8:47pm

A mere five minutes later, you responded.

of course Sent 8:47pm

meet me at the fountain at 10? Sent 8:48pm

see u there Sent 8:48pm

Vada found you walking back and forth by the Fountain, one hand in deep your pants pocket, the other holding a cigarette between your thumb and index, and puffing it as if it would give you a lifeline. She got off her bike and set it by the railing of the Fountain where you stood.

“You smoke?”

“Not usually,” you attempted to smile, shaking your arms as if to shake off an invisible burden. You were anxious, it was clear.

Vada didn’t know what to say next, so she leaned against the railing of the Fountain, rolling a pebble back and forth underneath her shoe.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come to see you earlier. I was busy.”

She nodded half-heartedly, not looking up. She wished you’d come up with a better excuse than that.

“Are you angry with me?”

“Angry’s a strong word, Y/N.”

Another puff. “Are you discontent with me?”

She should have prepared herself for the nit-picky bullshit from a writer. “I don’t have a valid reason to be upset with you, not really. Unless I’ve been reading this wrong.”

“You haven’t.” You answered quickly and met her eyes. “I promise. It wasn’t very mature of me. In fact, I think I acted like a total idiot. I’m really sorry.”

“Do you regret kissing me?”

“No, not at all. And you have to believe me.” You sighed exasperatedly, and she almost felt bad because you looked so anxious.

“Tell me what you’re thinking.” Vada stepped towards you, facing you head-on. “You’re asking me whether I’m upset with you, but I don’t even know what you’re thinking most of the time. And then you disappear as though I did something wrong! How fair is that?”

You nodded and took another drag from your cigarette. Then, you dropped the butt on the floor and stomped on it. “I’m thinking that I really want to kiss you right now.”

Vada scoffed. “I don’t believe you.”

You stood up from your spot against the railing, your face now inches from hers. “It’s true.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yeah, it is.”

She felt the exact moment her body became as light as a feather as your lips pressed against hers. Her hands clenched by her side, and come up to hold onto your shoulders, because she was afraid her legs might give out under her. You angled your face and deepened the kiss, and Vada sighed into your mouth. This is what the poets all wrote about, the inevitability of giving in to what you’ve wanted for so long. She’s caged in you in between her body and the Fountain, kissing you and touching you as though her life depended on it.

You moved to lower your kisses to her neck, but she leaned back and saw a dark look in your eyes.

The sound of a street musician playing the saxophone in the distance somewhere echoed through the square. Wordlessly, Vada took your hand.

She followed you by bike towards your house, which was towards the end of the street closer to the beach. You returned to speaking only one or two words to her, telling her to put her bike by the door next to yours, to take her shoes off before coming in, and whether she wanted some water.

“Nice place.” It was another thing that she never thought to ask you about, nor did you tell her. But it wasn’t a surprise that your family was loaded too, considering the vacation home in an area like this.

“Thanks. It’s my parents’, though.”

“What do they do again?”

“Well, my mom does interior design and my dad is a football agent.”

“Football agent? Who does he represent?”

“Mostly American players in Europe; Christian Pulisic, Luca de la Torre, Gio Reyna. I remember my dad bringing me along to dinner with Sergio Agüero once because he considered a move to LAFC. That was pretty cool.” You stood against the wall in the hallway, next to the staircase, kicking your feet aimlessly. The small talk was to cover up for something else.

You fell into a deep silence. Vada took a step forward under the yellow light of the hallway and took your hand, stroking it gently.

“Can I kiss you?” She asked quietly.

You and she both knew you were way past just kissing. This was new territory, and there would be no going back after this.

You nodded, and she surged forwards to kiss you slowly. This time, it felt different. You kissed her without the chastity and fear of being looked in on but without the hunger of overcoming lust. It was a perfect blend of passion and appreciation, a marriage of everything felt within the past few weeks.

You lead her upstairs, towards your room. Once inside, your lips were still glued to hers as you let her walk backward, though your eagerness made her trip on your feet and fall onto the mattress.

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry. ‘M sorry.” The two of you burst into a fit of giggles as you tried to make it up to her with a shower of kisses.

As her giggles quickly turned into pleasant sighs, she decided to surrender herself to you, to her deepest desires ever since the day she arrived. You had charmed her from the moment she laid eyes on you. But now to feel your hands on her in all the right places took her to new heights of pleasure that she’s never experienced before. How beautiful it was to be herself, to be here in this moment, and to cherish and be cherished by you. But most of all, to hear you whisper her name and profanities in the most sinful and vulnerable ways, so unlike your polished and composed self in front of other people.

Vada, Vada, Vada . . .

She awoke in the morning, the sun piercing through the horizontal slits of the shut windows. There was sweat sticking to her skin, but she didn’t want to get up and shower, not when you were still soundly asleep, arm loosely wrapped around her torso. It was then that she realized that you both were still very naked, but she reveled in the skin-to-skin contact like it was giving her strength and vitality. The golden hummingbird sat on your chest, rising and falling with each of your breaths.

Vada caught the moment your eyes fluttered open and focused on her. Then a smile.

“What time is it?” You asked.

Vada leaned over to check the clock on the wall. “7:41.”

You grumbled. “My shift starts at 8:30.”

“You better chop-chop then.”

“I don’t wanna go.”

“Then don’t.” Vada placed her chin on your upper chest. “Stay here with me, and we can recreate last night.”

You chuckled and kissed her once. “That sounds really tempting.”

And yet, you moved to get up, but she held you back. “Five more minutes.”

“Only five?” You smirked.

“You don’t think I can do it in five?”

You grinned like a Cheshire cat and settled back.

Vada had to let you go eventually, you let her stay at yours and do as she pleased. She suddenly remembered that she never texted Mia back about staying out overnight, and sure enough, flipped her phone over to a few missed calls and text messages. After texting her back and reassuring her that she was okay, she got up and went to take a shower.

You came back around four and, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, it felt like forever until you walked through the doors again. And the moment you did, she pounced on you like a lion.

“I’m so sweaty,” you laughed but soon became lost in the sensation of her lips against yours.

You made love again that afternoon. Vada could almost picture the routine that she and you so easily fell into, how the puzzle pieces fit together so seamlessly. It almost felt like she had cheated somehow to feel this way, that it truly felt as magical and wonderful as it was laying in your arms, both of you stark naked. You had showered and smelled much like lavender. Your eyes were closed but you weren’t asleep, as she watched your chest rise and fall steadily. Sometimes you would murmur something and she would talk to you quietly, knowing you were tired from a day’s work at the beach.

“I knew I liked you from the first day, at the Fountain,” you said.

“Then why didn’t you say anything?!” Vada looked up and hit your chest playfully.

“I didn’t want to come on too strong and scare you away!”

“Jesus Christ,” she sat up and put her face in her palms. “Y/N, I wanted you so badly. Like, I could not go a day without thinking about you. It was actually becoming unhealthy how much I did.”

“Oh? I’m flattered.” You smirked and rubbed her knee. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because . . . After Antibes, I wasn’t sure if you felt the same way.”

Your face dropped slightly. “I was scared to get close to someone. I think I caught myself then after we kissed. It was scary how much I wanted your company.”

Vada could understand. You’ve only known each other for three weeks. What were you to each other? Maybe it didn’t matter, there was something comforting about just existing as two souls being present with each other. She realized that the fear she’d harbored about losing her heart was all in vain; you never took it for yourself, you’d only pressed your hand against her chest and encouraged it to keep beating—to keep being hers—while you’d hoped that she would do the same to you.

“If you could go back to that day at the Fountain, and do it differently, would you?” Vada asked.

You thought for a second, then shook your head. “No. I always want to remember you this way.”

Vada swallowed thickly and avoided your eyes. “We’re leaving next week.”

A silence hung in the air, unspoken words stuck in her throat. Tell me to stay. Tell me you’ll come back with me. Tell me you’ll never love anyone else. Tell me you’d forget about me so as to soothe the pain.

“Then let’s make it count,” you brushed a hair from her eyes. “We’re not the first, and we won’t be the last to love each other.”

She dreaded the flight back home, having to pretend leaving you wouldn’t be as hard in front of Mia and her parents, and about 300 strangers. She’d miss biking everywhere and the beach and Lillian’s ice cream (she had grown to like it over Karim’s). She’d remember Antibes and Monet’s spot. She’d remember your face and how you seemed to appear in every memory of this trip.

Vada felt you brushing your finger under her eye and realized that it was wet. Then you brought her into your arms and held her tight as she hid from the world in your neck. You cooed and somehow it made Vada feel worse and started crying harder, clinging to your skin desperately.

She’d find space for the grief she was going to feel in her heart somewhere because she knew she’d rather live with the pain than be without you again.

The last week started on a Wednesday. Vada did the usual things she did the last few weeks—go to the beach, bike to town, hang out with the group; she wanted to soak into that last semblance of her summer routine before she had to leave, and everything would be different. She hadn’t given college much thought either. Deciding to move halfway across the country for it was the least stressful part of the whole process, as she was going in undecided. Mia was happy though, because they would only be a few hours apart by train.

Until then, Vada was too afraid to ask you about what would happen after the summer ended. If she asked, it would mean that it was close and it was real. You’d go back to school in Paris and start on your thesis, and everything would go back to the way it was.

Everything would go back to the way it was. As if nothing happened.

She had lived four weeks with you, how was she ever going to go the rest of her life without you?

She met up with you after dinner one night at the beach. The tides had come in much closer and were pulling on her heartstrings mercilessly. In and out, in and out . . . You were as quiet as the night, your eyes gazed towards the distance somewhere, looking pensive.

Still, she was afraid to ask.

“I lied,” you finally spoke. “I wished I had told you sooner how much I liked you.”

Vada remained silent and nodded. “We’ll call.”

“It won’t be the same.”

She knew too that it would never be the same the moment she leaves France. She realized that though she was afraid to ask, time was not on her side, and she didn’t have the luxury to be afraid anymore.

“Will you stay over tonight?” Vada asked, and you looked so happy that she did.

Once you stumbled through the door, you leaned in to kiss her instantly. Between wanting to kiss you back and suppressing moans, she told you to be quiet as you followed her upstairs, hand in hand. You failed, however, actually, both of you did, as your giggles trailed up the stairs and through the hallway. Vada would be lucky if only Mia heard you.

The day she left for the airport, you came over to say goodbye. You greeted the Reeds first, giving Philip and Andre big hugs, then turned to Mia to hug as well and kiss her on the forehead.

Vada waited in the backyard. She felt almost pathetic and needy for wanting you to come out here quicker. It won’t be the same.

“Andre gave me this to keep for my parents.”You held up a bottle of wine by the neck. “1983, nice.”

Your smile died down when you noticed her silence. “You got everything?”

She nodded. Wordlessly, she stepped forwards to wrap her arms around your frame. She thought she’d cry, but it was as if her brain was already actively shutting down trying to block out this memory to save her the future heartbreak.

You pressed her tightly against your chest and swayed her back and forth. Upon releasing her, you set down the bottle of wine next to your feet and took off your necklace.

“I want you to have this.” You opened her palm and neatly placed the jewelry inside. “That way, you won’t forget.”

How could you ever think that I would forget when I’m afraid I’ll never be able to let go of this summer?

“I wish we had more time,” Vada said.

“Bye, Cinderella.” Your eyes were glossy now.

The car door was wide open, waiting to take her away from you. For a split second, she considered dropping everything to stay.

She leaned in to kiss you once, deep and hard, “Bye, Y/N.” Then she walked away, the hummingbird clenched in her fist.

You followed her and watched her get in the car. You watched her close it with force and you watched her refuse to make eye contact with you, but you saw the way her lips trembled. You watched the car take her away from you and grazed the spot on your chest where the hummingbird was missing.

It was mid-July, the hottest day of the year, and yet, the ocean waves—blue as it gets—continued to crash against the shore, on and on and on.

#vada cavell x reader #vada cavell imagines #vada cavell imagine #vada cavell x you #vada cavell #jenna ortega #jenna ortega x reader #tara carpenter x reader

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winwintea · 14 days

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nct and pet names

pairing ▸ random!nct members x reader (yuta, ten, jaehyun, renjun, jaemin, chenle, riku, sakuya) author's note ▸ i was inspired by another post, but wanted to go for a more realistic feeling, especially towards the foreign idols. enjoy my brainrot. also there needs to be more wish content on here i beg

yuta - naishinno

this man would definitely call you ‘gorgeous’, ‘divine’, or ‘princess’. but he’d prefer and be more comfortable to say such words in his native tongue. he also found out how much you enjoyed hearing him speak japanese, so sometimes on purpose he’ll sneak up behind you and whisper, “naishinno…'' (meaning princess in japanese) startling you but also making your ears turn pink. yuta also has no problem with using the pet name within earshot of others, and as much as you protest, he assures you that no one really understands.

ten - mi mi

hear me out guys. hear me out. ten our beloved cat mom would definitely call you something relating to cats. he’s not calling you “kitten” because um that’s kinda cringe… but he would go for something cuter. “mao mi” is the chinese word for cat, (I KNOW HE'S THAI. BEAR WITH ME OKAY) and people usually refer to kittens as “mi mi” (it’s like the most basic name an owner can give to their cat too) most of the time, nicknames are usually duplicated characters, and mi mi is also a very common nickname for girls. it also means ‘tits’. so ten decided that was the best nickname in the world and he was an absolute genius for coming up with it, and so now you’re stuck with being called his “mi mi” for life. good luck.

jaehyun - cara mia/mi amor/ma cherie

jaehyun LOVES pet names. it’s a rare feat if he ever calls you by your first name. ‘sweetheart’, ‘darling’, ‘honey’. he uses them all. but jaehyun is a classy bitch, and he likes to keep things fancy, so his favorites are using different languages, just because it somehow sounds more expensive and full of taste and that’s exactly what he feels you deserve. some of his favorites include: “cara mia” the italian words for ‘my beloved’; “mon amour” & “mi amor” the french and spanish words for ‘my love’; and finally, “ma cherie” the french words for ‘darling/sweetheart’. (stream mon amour by gemini guys)

renjun - qin ai de/qin qin/lao po

okay yes renjun is using chinese, but not straight away into the relationship. let’s get that cleared up out of the way. he’ll initially start with ‘my dearest’, and uses his sweet voice to his advantage. “qin ai de y/n, could you do something for me real quick? pretty please?” but eventually as the relationship progresses on and he feels more comfortable, he’ll start dropping the “lao po” (‘wife’ in chinese) on you, which initially comes as a culture shock, because you haven’t even thought of getting to that stage yet. renjun teaches you of how common it is in china for non-married couples to call each other husband and wife, and even teaches you how to say ‘lao gong’ (husband)

jaemin - pookie

once jaemin discovers this word it’s joeover for you. one day you accidentally call him, ‘pookie’ to his face (which is what you would often use when referring to him around others) and he is so intrigued by the word he demands an explanation as to what it means. and when he realizes it’s true purpose, it’s true meaning, he’ll be taking that word to the GRAVE. and this brat uses it EVERYWHERE. on text, in person, in front of your friends. he will never spare you the pain and embarrassment. but he just wants to let you know how much he loves you, truly. his pookie <3

chenle - bao bei

immediately into your relationship chenle throws around ‘babe’ and ‘baby’ like crazy. this man knows what he wants because he quickly found out that if he slurred his words while saying, “bao bei a~” you would fold immediately. not afraid of saying it in front of others because the only one who understands are the c-liners (but eventually everyone catches on) chenle also somehow makes it seem so casual and natural. ‘bao bei’ also directly translates to treasure, and he’ll occasionally add in a ‘xiao’ (little) at the beginning when praising you or giving you compliments.

riku/sakuya - pan-san

I was originally just going to do riku, but figured i’d just shove these two together, but mostly write about riku.

sakuya and riku both like bread, the only difference is that while both want to work at a bakery, sakuya cannot cook to save his life and riku can actually bake. these two actually share so much in common it's actually insane, for one being absolute shits in general. regardless, ‘pan’ means bread and ‘pan-san’ is actually so cute and it rolls off the tongue really well. (i was originally going to say ‘pan-pan’ but a quick google search said no.)

although riku enjoys teasing you, he still wants you to enjoy the pet name given to you. ‘bread’ is sweet, it is simple, and it is certainly delicious. literally the best nickname anyone could ever have and you should be grateful. but you don’t seem as pleased as he is. you have to process that your boyfriend is naming you after bread. not even like ‘cupcake’ or ‘sugar cookie’ or something else, just. bread. but after riku yaps about it for an hour, adding in compliments and phrases, you give in, and allow yourself to be called bread.

(do let me know if you want to see anything for the other members! i'll try my best 🙏🙏)

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charlesswife · 1 year

Text

Una Noche En Mónaco ii

Mateo Con Una T (Mateo with one t)

unem masterlist

pairing: charles leclerc x latina! reader

summary: after a one night stand between you and charles, he continues on with his formula one career. until two months later, you come back claiming to be pregnant with his child.

warning: bad writing, charles is a bit of an asshole at first, google translate because i dont speak french, teen pregnancy, english isnt my first language so there might be some grammatical error.

a/n: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT YOU GUYS HAVE SHOWN IN THE FIRST EPISODE! It makes me so happy to know that you guys really liked it. I really have sooooo many ideas and twist for this book, like you guys have no idea, so always expect the unexpected hehehe

Just to clarify y/l/n is your last name. This is your story so I didn't want to give reader a last name.

second A/N: for some reason i can't write chapters on my phone because the letters are black. I have it in dark mode but i didnt have that problem before. does anyone else have that problem?

gif is not mine!

May 2018

Charles Leclerc was a gentleman. That's how I remember him. The way he took care of me after the several rounds of sex we had. He is definitely the kind of man I don't ever want to forget. He was very sweet and caring.

But he was only a one-night stand. I don't really know him, as him. The fact that I have to tell him I'm pregnant with his child absolutely terrifies me. I wish my parents were here. If they were, I don't think I would be in this situation.

Charles sent me the address where he was staying at. As I got closer to the place, I realized it was the same place where I woke up. Is this his apartment?

Steph left me at the doorstep. I needed her as moral support, just in case things didn't go as planned.

"Go," Steph said as she hugged me. "I'll be waiting in the car, don't worry. If he does anything, we'll sue him. You have the money for it"

Money wasn't a problem for me. I just wanted him to be there, I'm scared and I don't want to do this alone. I know Steph is here for me, but it is not her responsibility at all, it is mine and his.

I took a long breath and rang the bell. Steph went back to the car and after a few minutes, Charles opened the door.

He had such a bright smile on his face. "Oh, cara mia," he pulled me into his apartment and then close the door. He grabbed my face with both of his hands and try to kiss me but I pushed him slightly by his chess. His thick brows frowned a bit and then he asked, "What's wrong?"

I looked at him in the eyes and said. "We need to talk"

February 2023

I walked to my bookstore with Mateo in hand. Steph was the first one to greet us.

"Auntie!" Mateo let go of my hand and ran to my best friend.

"Maty!" Steph got down to the level of my kid and hugged him. "Uff, why are you getting so big, huh? How is my favorite godson doing?"

Mateo laughed. "I'm your only godson, tia" (aunt)

"How would you know, Alexander Jules?"

"Mommy told me, and Mommy would never lie," he pointed at me. "Verdad, mami?" (right, Mommy?) he looked back at me.

"Si, mi amor (yes, my love)" I nodded at him. "Stay with your tia (aunt) while I check stuff in the store, okay? And don't forget to pick up a book" I told him, to which he nodded.

Mateo Alexander Jules Y/l/n is four and one quarter. He likes to remind people of that. He is the most educated boy I know, and I'm not saying that just because I'm his mother, but because it's the truth. I have seen other kids and they are horrible, ungrateful brats. I hate kids. Except for my son. I want to think I did a good job raising him. He looks a lot like Charles. From the eyes' color and shape to the dimples to the hair, to the lips.

I walked around the store, checking books that needed to be restocked and putting some books back in place. I went to the cafe and got my regular iced coffee.

I walked around again until I got to my favorite section. Murder & Mysteries. In there, I saw a lady. Probably in her mid-50s. Blonde hair, she was dressed casually. She was looking around at the books. Picking one up, reading the back, and then putting the book back on the shelf.

"Do you need any help?" I asked her.

She turned around and looked at me up and down. "Oh, dear. I thought I was alone. You work here?"

"Something like that," This answer seemed to confuse her. "Is there anything I could help you with?"

She turned her sight to the books again. "Well, I'm trying to find a good mystery book but none of them catches my eye. I'm looking for something similar to Alexander Y/l/n or Perla Campos. They are my favorite authors"

I stared at her for a second. What are the odds? I looked back at the bookshelf until I found the book I was looking for. "This one should do."

She looked at the cover and asked "The Seven and 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle?"

"It's not as near as good as what Alexander Y/l/n and Perla Campos used to write, but if you like their books, I'm sure you'll like this one," I explained as I see her read the back of the book. "Another option would be 'The Secret Inheritance' by Cassandra Matthew." (lmao idk if that book is real)

I handed her the book and she took it gladly. She read the back and then looked at me. "These are very good suggestions! Thank you, dear. What's your name?"

"Y/n," I told her.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Pascale"

August 2018

Pregnancy wasn't easy. I never thought I would cry so much in the span of 5 minutes just because I ran out of my favorite gelato.

Today was my fifth visit to the doctor, and I was nervous as hell. I am more bigger than a regular pregnant woman, it has me fearing for my baby's life or even mine.

"Okay, Y/n. You know the drill. Lay down, and lift your shirt up. As always the gel is cold" Dr. Williams said. She is always so gentle with me. Maybe she pities me.

"I have concerns," I told her. She looked at me as she was putting on the gel. "My belly looks bigger than normal, is that okay?"

"It depends, in most cases, yes. It means the baby is healthy. But let's take a look" She moved her sight to the machine. The image of my baby appears immediately in the sonogram. She moved the transducer to another spot on my belly and I could see her eyes widen a bit. She was going on up and down in the same area. "I think I have a better answer to your question." She looked at me and said, "You're having twins"

February 2023

"Mami, can I read Nancy Drew?" Mateo came running to me as he showed me the first book in the series.

I looked at the book and say "I don't think so, love. It might be too much for you. This is for bigger kids"

"But I am a big kid!" The old lady, Pascale, laughed.

"This is your son?" she asked.

I nodded with a smile. Mateo looked at Pascale and stayed quiet. He knew it was rude to interrupt conversations. He got behind me, hiding.

Pascale tilted her head for a moment, narrowed her eyes a bit, and murmured "He kind of looks like... never mind. What's your name, little boy?"

He looked at me for a second. "Answer her, baby. It's rude to not answer to elders" I told him.

"I'm Mateo with one T" he lifted one finger.

This made Pascale laugh again. "Nice to meet you, Mateo with one T"

"Why don't you take the book to Tia and tell her I say to check it out" Mateo nodded and ran towards the register, he stopped for a second and came back walking.

"Goodbye," He said to Pascale while giving her a little waving and then walking back to the register.

"He looks like a bundle of joy," Pascale said as she sees Mateo walk away.

"He is," I agreed. "Is there anything else I can help with?"

"No, that's all. Thank you for the help. I'm ready to check out."

We walked to the register and started the process to check her out. I did the usual routine. I asked if she had an account with us, which she didn't, but she decided to get one.

"Okay, Pascale. What's your last name?"

"You can just put an L," I did as she told me. As I was checking out her books, she said "This is such a pretty bookstore. I have never been here before."

"Thank you," I said.

"She's the owner," Steph spoke as she was playing hands with my son, who shushed her for butting in the conversation.

Pascale looked at me with wide eyes. I laughed at her reaction. She inserted her card and paid. I put her books in a bag and grabbed one of the coupons. "Here is a ten-percent coupon to use on your next visit!"

"I will definitely come back. I need to tell you if I like the books or not."

"Oh boy," I laughed.

"I might even bring one of my sons with me" Oh boy... This isn't the first time a mother has try to set me up with their kids.

"Please do!" Steph yelled. Mateo put his small hands in her mouth and murmured a small 'no tia, don't talk'.

"See you next time, Pascale"

"Bye Y/n," She walked to the entrance as she passed my boy, she turned and say "Goodbye, Mateo with one T"

"Bye-bye."

After she left the store, Steph turned to me. "She didn't say goodbye to me. How rude?"

"Jesus Christ, Steph. Why would you tell her that?" I elongated the a in 'that'.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I know I left you guys with open scenes between the first and third scenes but everything is for a reason!!! I might do Charles POV on the next one!!! Trust the process guys, things are going to get sooo good.

If you guys don't know (just in case) Pascale is Charles' mother.

Please let me know what you think of it. I would really appreciate any type of comment, whether is your opinion or just anything! It would def motivate me to keep going. I would really appreciate if you guys like and repost as well! So other people can be aware of this story.

@mac-daddy-210 @infinite-wanders @rbrsavage @itsyogurlkel @bbygrlllllll @nerdreader @imnotcryingyouare1 @killerangel88 @obx-mylove-things-blog @triorion @daniellarogers @insssanemind @bosinclairsgf @rb-danny @shyshva @booksobsess @ogfangirl @ravenqueen27 @masonspulisic @yunnie-f1 @simxican @ushygushybaby @graceverstappen11 @maximoff-xmen @severenswife @ferraribabe @pjofics @harrysdimple05 @mloyer @teti-menchon0604 @imagineadream @reidsworld @heavengirls111 @scentedskydreamer @christianpulisic10 @formulas-bitch @topguncultleader @hc-dutch @moonclaine @miureiz @tall-tanned-tattoo @madisontaxarn @bisexualbith

For some reason, it's not letting me tag some of you so people make sure your tag is correct. I want everyone to get the notification and this is beyond me.

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yourneighborhoodbibliophile · 2 years

Text

Albertine, NYC

#Indepedent Bookstores #NYC #New York City #Albertine #book haul #book shopping #booklr #bookblr #frenchblr #french langblr #Mia speaks French #book #books #bibliophile #your neighborhood bibliophile #your friendly neighborhood bibliophile

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prefer-to-be-vilified · 8 months

Note

I'm going to assume you know a decent amount the Winclair fandom, I'm curious why so many fanfic writers have Wednesday speaking Italian instead of Spanish, considering Netflix Wednesday is pretty firmly considered Latina?

Interesting question. I don’t know for certain, obviously fandom is a community and therefore there are various different perspectives taken when creating fan-content that kind of just amalgamates into various levels of popular and unpopular fanon. So in all honesty I don’t actually know.

But having said that, if I had to wager an educated guess it’s probably a mixture of a few things.

The first being that Wednesday, though Latina in heritage through her father, is also canonically multilingual and Italian is one of the languages she is fluent in. We find this out during her first meeting with Tyler when she fixes the espresso machine.

And though we’ve seen her almost get into a romantic relationship, again with Tyler, that ends almost as soon as it begins when she finds out he’s the Hyde during their first kiss. And so we haven’t yet seen Wednesday take that final step and actually be in a romantic relationship which is where I find most of the Italian comes out in Wenclair fanfic.

One of the more popular fanon concepts is ‘the Gomezification of Wednesday Addams’ which is just Wednesday being as openly affectionate and insanely in love with Enid as Gomez is with Morticia. Sometimes to it’s full extent, though more often than not it’s a more subdued and private version where it tends to stay just between her and Enid and it’s all very cute and romantic.

Obviously as she is multilingual Wednesday and fic authors are then able to take their pick of the more romantic languages she knows when talking to/about Enid. Italian, French and Spanish being the main three that I’ve noticed.

Why Italian is the favoured choice of the three is probably also due to Gomez within previous Addams Family media. Though my favourite will always be the 60’s show most people will be more familiar with the 90’s movies in which Gomez refers to Morticia as Cara Mia (Italian for my beloved) quite frequently.

Though speaking of the 60’s show Gomez is more prone to Querida (Spanish for darling or beloved) in that iteration. So at the end of the day it’s a matter of preference for the author and also likely to them being unfamiliar with the romantic languages and going off of other Wenclair authors and/or using previous Addams Family media in which Italian is often used and spiralling onwards.

#asks #wednesday #wednesday addams #enid sinclair #wenclair #enid x wednesday #wednesday netflix #wednesday 2022 #ptbv

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yukidragon · 2 months

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Sunny Day Jack - Playful and Crazy

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I've decided to just write something in the spirit of love. What better way to show myself love than with some sugary sweet self-indulgence with my OTP? I just let things flow wherever it took me with Alice and Jack loving on each other, without really fretting about any bigger purpose, polishing, or any real beginning or end.

No real warnings apply, just some sweet making out and silliness from a clown who has an appreciation for television and a ray of sunshine who drives him crazy. Who doesn't love to reference a good sitcom that they grew up with when the mood is right?

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you all have a wonderful one and that you enjoy my story. Love you all and, as always, thanks for reading and sending me sweet comments!

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

...

Alice ran her fingers through his blue hair. It felt soft and silky, not at all stiff like a wig or as if it was dyed. Jack let out a low, pleased rumble at the back of his throat as he leaned into her touch. His expression was one of pure contentment as his eyes drifted closed. His adorable dreamy smile seized her heart in a gentle squeeze.

“Alice,” Jack sighed. He shifted as Alice brought her fingers back to his forehead, nuzzling into her arm before pressing his lips to her wrist. “My sunshine…”

Alice shivered at the way his voice and warm breath caressed her skin. “Jack…,” she said softly as he planted another kiss there, then another. Slowly he worked his way down his arm, planting countless playful pecks that tickled and warmed her all at once.

“Cara mia,” Jack said with a playful note to his voice, his eyes dancing as he met her gaze.

Alice tried not to laugh, but it escaped her anyway in a snort. Of course this television clown would make a TV show reference. “You’re so cheesy,” she teased before breaking off into giggles as he peppered her with intentionally ticklish kisses.

“Querida mia,” Jack cooed in a poor Italian accent. His movements became a bit more exaggerated with every kiss, making the reference even more intentional, but each kiss carried his sincere love for her.

Alice giggled as she watched her silly clown perform, using her arm as a prop. “Do you even know what that means?”

“No,” Jack admitted playfully between kisses. “But I do know that it means you’re the only one for me, sunshine.”

Alice felt a flush of warmth that brought a rosy hue to her cheeks. “You’re the only one for me too, mi amor.”

Jack’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and he flashed a wide smile. “Sunshine, that’s French!” He practically attacked her arm with kisses. “You know it drives me crazy when you speak French.”

Alice fought not to laugh at his silly antics, giving him a smile that barely managed to hold onto its wry hook. “A-actually that’s Spanish.”

Jack paused for a moment, as if caught off guard or contemplating, before he went back to kissing her arm. “Alice, that’s Spanish! You know it drives me crazy when you speak Spanish.”

Alice couldn’t hold back her laughter that time, and every kiss only made her cackle even more.

It was only when Jack worked his way up to her shoulder and his lips found her neck that Alice started to go breathless for a different reason. Silly pecks slowly started to linger, his mouth gently sucking on her skin with every kiss that blazed a trail upward along the hollow of her throat. Gently, he raked his teeth along her skin before nibbling on a particularly sensitive part, eliciting a gasp that turned into an adorable almost mewling sound.

“God…,” Jack murmured against her neck, and Alice could feel his smile against her skin. “It drives me crazy when you make those noises for me, sunshine.” He leaned back just enough to see her flushed face, those plump pink lips that beckoned for his. “You drive me crazy… so, so crazy…”

Alice didn’t get a chance to respond before Jack claimed her lips with his. She moaned what would have been his name if his tongue didn’t slide into her mouth to twine with hers, making words impossible. She gave up on any sort of witty retort and savored the kiss instead, wrapping her arms around her lover’s neck to draw him closer.

It was only when both of them were left breathless and gasping desperately for air that they parted, mouths wet and connected for a moment more after that. Jack admired the haze of love and desire that clouded her bright blue eyes, taking pride in knowing that he was the cause of it. He was the reason she was so worked up. He was the only one she looked at that way, the only one who she would ever look at this way.

A part of Jack wanted to show off, to brag to the world that only he was worthy of Alice. He was the only one who could drive her wild and make her weak with need. Another part of him was greedy like a dragon with its hoard, wanting to lock her away in their own little world where no one could take her from him. Nothing would take his sunshine away from him. He’d never allow it.

It scared him sometimes how badly he needed her.

“I can’t help it,” Jack said softly, more to himself than her. “I can’t help but be crazy for you, Alice. I love you so much… I need you.”

His answer was a kiss, as Alice pulled him back to her. Jack melted into her lips, moaning as she took the initiative to deepen the kiss, sliding her tongue along his intimately. She twined her fingers through his hair, tracing hearts along his scalp and making him shiver as the kiss ended.

“I love you too, Jack,” Alice said breathlessly. She placed a kiss on his painted nose before giving him a crooked smile. “You’ve made my life crazy, you silly clown, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Jack chuckled as Alice teasingly poked her tongue out at him before he captured it with his lips, leading them into another deep, wet kiss. He pulled her close, savoring the warmth of her body against his, how her delicate fingers toyed with his hair and scalp.

“Good,” Jack said once they caught their breath again. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m holding you to that,” Alice said as she playfully, but gently, tugged on his hair for emphasis.

Jack shivered at the feeling and his smile took on a hungry edge to it, like a predator salivating over his prey. “You can hold onto me as tight as you want,” he practically purred before his voice turned teasing. “You can pull on my hair as hard as you like too. I don’t mind, you know~!”

Alice blushed harder at his suggestion and sputtered for a moment before she recovered. “You really are a crazy clown,” she said with a soft chuckle, before giving his hair a slightly firmer tug. “Just… let me know if it’s too hard.” Her smile faded just a little. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t,” Jack said. His voice was soft but full of conviction so strong that Alice couldn’t help but believe it too. “Don’t worry… I’m tougher than I look, you know. Besides, I’d enjoy it if you played a little rough with me sometimes.” He added a playful wink to lighten the mood. “I love how gentle you are with me, Alice, but I’d love to drive you just as crazy as you make me. I want you to lose control with me, go wild for me, want me, need me, until you can’t think about anything else but me… how much you love me and I love you.”

Alice let out a quiet chuckle at that. “Trust me, there’s no one else who makes me wild like you, starlight.” She punctuated her words by nipping at his lower lip before drawing back. “I’m crazy for you, Jack. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Alice,” Jack sighed happily before he closed the distance between them in another kiss. He smiled against her lips as he felt her give his hair another, much more firm tug. He moaned her name in approval before drinking deeply of that sweet mouth that always knew the right words to say to fill his heart with love.

#Sunny Day Jack #Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack #SunnyDayJack #sdj #swwsdj #My Writing

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sunoksunny · 1 year

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nicknames/pet names enhypen would call you (maknae line)

genre: fluff, a bit of humor in riki’s

warnings: established relationship, kissing, playful teasing, pet names

word count: 0.8k (837)

Kim Sunoo

- i think sunoo would use sweet nicknames

- i think his favorite one is probably “cutie”

- but sometimes i think he will also go for “sunshine”

- he sees you as the sun in his life that helps him shine to others<3

Sunoo had a lazy smile on his face as he pulled a brush out of your makeup bag. He had practically begged you to let him do your makeup, pleading with round eyes and pouting lips. How could you ever deny him? When you said yes, you swore his eyes literally shone. He had a similar gleam in his eyes now as he gently cupped your face with one hand, tilting your head upwards.

“Close your eyes for me, cutie.”

You complied, feeling the soft bristles of your brush glide over your eyelids shorter after. You could feel Sunoo’s warm breath hitting your cheeks, and knowing he was so close paired with the fact he was likely intently staring at your face made heat rise in your face. Of course, Sunoo noticed, he was holding your face after all. With a light giggle, he squeezed your cheeks together as you let your eyes flutter open. He still wore a soft smile as he gazed at you. His grip loosened as he leaned forward to press a light peck against your lips, lingering near your face before meeting your eyes.

“I’m so glad you’re mine. You’re my sunshine.”

read the rest under the cut!

Yang Jungwon

- for some reason i see jungwon using kind of,, old timey endearments?

- not old timey persay but something like “dear”

- although another thing i think he would do is learn terms of endearments in other languages and call you by them

- for example, “cara mia” (’beloved/dear’ in italian), “media naranja” (’my better half’ in spanish), “mon petit chou” (’my little cabbage’ in french)

“You ready, dear?”

You shrugged on a coat, turning to Jungwon as he stood by the door. He held out his hand as you approached, and you took it with a smile. Your fingers locked together as you stepped out into the night air, a cool breeze hitting your face. The two of you walked in a comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other’s presence. As you neared the park, Jungwon peeked at you out of the corner of his eye. He hesitated before speaking up in a soft tone.

“Cara mia, do you want to get churros? There’s a shop just around the corner that sells them even this late.”

Jungwon had a hopeful look on his face, swinging your joined hands as you walked. You nodded in agreement, letting a wide smile cross your face. The two of you changed directions to make the quick detour, securing 2 churros before returning to your original path. Jungwon munched happily on treat as the two of you sat down, resting to finish your desserts before beginning the walk back. You shifted closer to him and he wrapped one arm around you, the both of you gazing at the sky.

“You complete me, media naranja. I’m forever yours.”

Nishimura Riki

- i think most of the time he would call you silly nicknames

- like “snookums” or “pookie” LMAO like he would just use the stupidest things but it never fails to make the two of you giggle

- but when he’s alone with you or he’s feeling clingy

- he will call you “あなた“ (anata) which between couples represents something similar to “dearest” or “darling” in japanese

The studio was quiet except for the light laughter of none other than you and your sweet boyfriend, Niki. You had been practicing a duet, but most of today’s practicing wasn’t taken very seriously. The two of you were in a fit of giggles as you danced, each making silly faces whenever you caught the other’s gaze. By the time the song ended, Riki was doubled over in laughter as you failed to hide your giggles behind your hand. He caught his breath enough between laughter to call out to you.

“Okay, okay, one more time! This time we’ll be serious, snookums.” He grinned, a snort leaving you at the nickname.

Niki snickered before gesturing at you to get into position as he crouched by the speaker, ready to begin the music. After receiving conformation that you were ready, he hit play before dashing beside you. The two of you glided along with the music, in sync with each other’s bodies as if you were one. You still made eye contact often, but it felt different now. Both of you were focused on each other and the music, blocking out everything but this moment. When the song ended, you both stared at each other, breathing heavily. Riki reached up and grabbed your face, pulling you in for a sweet kiss. The world faded out again, now only focusing on Niki and the way his soft lips moved against yours. When he broke away, a smile stayed on his face.

“I hope you know how much you mean to me, あなた.”

a/n: here’s the maknae line version! this was fun to write because i love them<3 (can you tell i almost got carried away with niki’s)

permanent taglist (open! send an ask or fill out the form in my pinned): @starrpt2 @sunnytheos @kalabasaa

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jessicaloons · 3 months

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Chapter 32:

Don't say I didn't, say I didn't warn ya…

Masterlist - Previous - Next

I woke up to sunbeams warming up my skin and turned around, the bed next to me empty. Yawning I snuggled back into the warm sheets, not wanting to get up already. Right when I was about to doze off again, the bed behind me dipped a little and Charles engulfed me in a warm embrace.

"Good morning, cara mia." he whispered in my ear, his soft stubble tickling my skin.

"You need to shave…" I mumbled and he chuckled, kissing along my jaw.

"Happy anniversary, pretty girl." he said between kisses and I smiled.

"Happy anniversary, pretty boy." I turned a little, waiting for his soft lips to press against mine, sealing them with a kiss.

"What about we start the day with a nice shower together and then head downtown to this beautiful market, having breakfast or more brunch and just enjoy a free day together? And for tonight I booked us a table at the best restaurant in town! How does that sound?" he asked and I sighed contently.

"Sounds perfect." I pecked his lips and he got up, pulling me with him and I wrapped my legs and arms around him, giggling.

"I guess I have to carry you then." he smiled at me and walked us into the bathroom.

An hour later we left the hotel where a car already waited for us, to drive us to the market.

"We have to FaceTime Pops!" Charles said as we got out of the car. He pulled his phone out and looked around for a quiet corner where we could call him to congratulate him, right as we said our goodbyes Liam chimed in.

"Guess what! We’re coming to Monaco!"

"No way!" Charles said excitedly.

"Mummy and Pops and I! And then I cheer you on!" his face lit up.

"Who me or Charlie?" I asked and he looked conflicted for a moment.

"Both of you? But it’s Charlie’s home race! So maybe a little bit more for him?" he said sheepishly

"Awww thank you, Bubba!" Charles smiled and I pouted.

"It’s my home race now as well!“

"No it’s not, silly! You just live there! But Charlie is Monegasque!" Liam laughed.

"Beautifully pronounced, Bubba! Amazing!" Charles cooed and Liam blushed a little.

"I’m speaking only French now with Oma!" he answered in French and Charles grabbed dramatically onto his heart.

"You’ll speak better than me in no time!" I said and Charles laughed.

"Then he will teach you, right?" he said looking at the screen.

"Qui!" Liam smiled "Now I gotta go, Lunch is ready! Love you! See you! Bye!" he hung up before anyone else could say something.

"Well, goodbye everyone else." I laughed and Charles pocketed his phone, taking my hand.

"Come one now! I’m hungry!" he pulled me towards the market and we strolled around, looking for a nice spot. When we sat down and ordered a little of everything two young boys walked up to us, asking for a picture with Charles and he happily obliged, while I took it. The boys then wished us both luck and scurried off, right as our food arrived.

"Okay. I have no idea where to start, but this looks delicious, what was it called again Qutab?" I took a bite of the pancake like dish "Damn that’s good! It’s filled with spinach and cheese. Here! Try it!" I held out the pastry for Charles to take a bite and he nodded, while chewing.

"That’s really good. Here, taste that. Kükü? Kuku? I don’t know how to pronounce it, it’s an omelette with herbs." he fed me a spork full and I almost moaned because of the flavour.

"Okay. Yeah. That was an amazing idea coming here, thank you!" I brushed his cheek with my knuckles and he smiled.

"I’m still a little mad that you didn’t let me buy you anything. It’s our anniversary, cara mia!" he said while I sipped on my tea, tilting my head a little "It’s my duty as a good boyfriend to spoil you!"

"It’s absolutely not…" I rolled my eyes "It would also mean that I have to buy you something as well! And it’s not so easy buying you a present! It was tough enough delivering on your birthday and Christmas over the last years! Now you want to add Valentine’s Day and our anniversary to that list? Four occasions every year to buy you something? Have mercy!"

"I said it’s my duty to spoil you and not the other way around!" he mumbled, shovelling some more food into his mouth.

"But that wouldn’t be fair to you! Ever heard of something called equality?" I chuckled and now he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah I know what that means and I want to be equal with everything, but I also want to spoil you!" he pouted and I shook my head.

"Whatever." I sighed and his eyes lit up.

"Whatever you let me spoil you?" Charles asked.

"Do whatever you want. But please stop looking at me like a lost puppy!" I laughed and he slipped his hands inside his jacket, pulling out a little box "Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!" I exclaimed as he put it down in front of me "You carried that with you?"

"Okay listen, it’s not a present like you think it is. It’s more… umm- I don’t know how to say it! Open it." he sounded nervous and I cocked an eyebrow, opening the box. A key with a beautiful keychain inside, I took it out and then looked at him confused.

"I already have a key to your flat?" I asked and he nodded.

"This is not a key to my flat, it’s not even a key to any flat. It’s more a symbol… you know how they build more and more new buildings in Monaco?" he asked and I nodded slowly "There is this one penthouse, I want to show you. It’s amazing."

"Charles I just bought my own flat…" I began.

"It’s not for now. It’s not even finished… it’s for the future! I just want to show you, please!" he pleaded, his puppy eyes on full display.

"Okay… let’s have a look." I smiled at him and he pulled me into his arms, gently kissing me.

"You’ll love it. I promise you that."

I knew he was right, after all he knew me all too well.

Charles POV:

"Okay, how do I look? Please remember, you didn’t tell me that you would get us a table at the best restaurant in town. Otherwise I would’ve packed something way more fancy than this!" Lizzie stepped out of the bathroom, a black dress on. A black dress that hugged her body perfectly, with long sleeves, ending right above her knees.

"You look beautiful. It’s elegant, yet simple. Sexy but not too revealing. It’s perfect." I kissed her cheek, feeling a little bad that I didn’t tell her the whole truth, about our dinner reservation.

"Okay? So hair and make-up, check. Dress, check. Bag, bag, bag…" she rummaged through her suitcase and then smiled "Bag, check. What am I missing?" she looked at me and I chuckled, pointing at her legs "Oh! Shoes! Okay, yeah, shoes, check." she slipped into her black heels and stopped in front of the mirror, smoothing the dress down "Isn’t it a little too short?"

"Absolutely not, cara mia. You look amazing!" I hugged her from behind and kissed her cheek.

"Hmm… okay." our eyes met in the mirror and she smiled "You look handsome"

"Not as good as you, but that’s okay." I laughed and she rolled her eyes "Can we go now? Our car’s outside." I took her bag from the bed and she nodded slowly "Alright, then let’s go." I took her hand and pulled her with me, out of our room, down to our car.

"What even is the best restaurant in town? Did you google it?" Lizzie asked, playing with my fingers that were intertwined with hers in her lap.

"No. I know someone who was there already and they loved it." I said and she looked out of the window "Don’t worry, they have vegetarian options." I squeezed her hand and she smiled "It’s not that far away actually, maybe we can take a walk back to the hotel…"

"With these shoes?" she snorted and I laughed.

"Maybe not." I looked outside, the little street looking familiar, when the car stopped "We’re here." I got out of the car and walked around, opening Lizzie’s door, holding out my hand for her to take. The car drove off and Lizzie spun around a little when her eyes caught the little neon sign and her breathing hitched.

"Charles…" she whispered, squeezing my hand "That’s… that’s…" her voice got caught in her throat and she looked at me.

I grabbed her waist and cupped her cheek, pulling her closer.

"We were here after I won the race…" I said and Lizzie had tears in her eyes. "Pops said after that week we deserve a treat. How you housed down that burger and the fries? God, I think I fell in love with you even more back then. It was the first time that I genuinely laughed the whole week! You took care of Arthur and I, tended to us. Made us eat and drink, that you forgot taking care of yourself. You were almost dehydrated and starved after the race. And when we were here, you did a little happy dance when you had your first fry…" I laughed.

"That was the best fry of my life!" she chuckled and I nodded.

"And for me it was one of the best nights of my life… because I knew that everything was going to be okay, after all I had you by my side…" I wiped away a stray tear and then closed the last distance between us, kissing her, putting all my heart and soul into the kiss "Now? Would you do me the honour and have a fancy dinner with me?"

"With pleasure!" Lizzie took my hand and I lead her inside, everything was quiet, only one table in the middle of the little room, candles lit up "You did not rent out the whole place?" she made big eyes.

"Of course I did… it’s just for us tonight. No one interrupting. No one watching. Just us. And the waiter." I chuckled as the waiter welcomed us.

"I love you, Charlie." Lizzie whispered, kissing my cheek and I smiled at her.

"I love you too, mon amour."

"What did I say? WHAT DID I SAY?" I jumped right into Charles arms "You were flying!"

"Thanks, cara mia!" he set me down and I kissed his cheek.

"Now go! Go to your Interview! I’ll wait for you!" I pushed him towards Crofty and he smiled one last time before he turned around, walking to give his interview.

"Lizzie!" Pierre nudged my shoulder and I smiled at him "Now that was a comeback!"

"Yeah.. I honestly thought I would be out in Q1 already, I mean, that was just milliseconds!" I said and he nodded.

"But you did it! As always!"

"Well yeah, P4 isn’t what I wanted. But the best that was possible, given the circumstances." I shrugged my shoulders "I’m sorry for you though… what happened?"

"No idea." he shook head and I squeezed his shoulder "Can’t change it now…"

"Hmm… you’ll make up for it in the race!" I tried to cheer him up.

"Yeah, maybe…" he sighed and walked off.

I turned around when Charles pinched my side.

"How’s he doing?" he asked and looked at Pierre’s back.

"Not so good… " I sighed, when Julie waved at us "Seems like I’m needed."

"Alright, I pick you up later?" he kissed my cheek and I nodded, walking towards Julie.

"Good job, Lizzie!" she smiled at me.

"I tried my best…"

"And you did amazing!" Felix smiled at me when we walked through our garage.

"The set up was way better than in practice!" I replied and he nodded.

"That’s good!"

"Let’s go Lizzie." Julie nodded towards the exit.

"Let’s do this then." I followed her outside to the media pen.

When we were at the interview for ESPN Spain I had a weird feeling, the reporter smirking at me the whole time, like he knew something about me. As soon as we walked away Julie looked at me and then back at him.

"What was up with that dude?" she asked and I shrugged "He was weird."

"I’m just glad that you felt the same…" I mumbled and she shook her head.

"At least the girl from Canal+ wasn’t here today." she chuckled.

"Oh don’t remind me of her! I mean I know that half of the media, probably even more, doesn’t like me, but she hates me! I don’t know why!" I laughed right as Charles crossed our path and he kissed my cheek without a word and then kept walking with Mia. I felt myself blush and Julie laughed.

"You two are sickeningly sweet! And the way you blush sometimes? Adorable!"

"Oh stop! It’s not adorable! It’s annoying! I don’t even know why I blush sometimes!" I groaned as we walked inside our hospitality.

"Hmm… I’d say it’s because you’re still a little shy with PDA?" she asked and I thought about it.

"Whatever. When does the team meeting start?" I asked right as Pete waved me over "Well, speak of the devil…"

"Third in yesterday’s sprint race. Fifth in today’s race. Seems like your luck has changed a little, no?" the Canal+ reporter asked, rather sneered and I nodded.

"It was a good weekend. I understand the car better now and-…" I began when she interrupted me.

"Charles had a pretty good weekend, too. Pole position for the sprint and the race. Second in the sprint race, third today. His season also changed for the better."

"Is there a question in your statement that I just missed?" I asked her and she laughed.

"How do you feel about that? People were joking that since you’re driving alongside Charles he only makes it onto to the podium when you’re up there too."

"Oh yeah? Sucks that I’m not on the podium today then…" I said and she nodded.

"True. Oh! Charles! Here! I was just finishing up with your lovely girlfriend." she switched to French and waved Charles over who joined us "Now, I just told Lizzie what a great weekend you two had! You can be really proud!" her voice was sweet and loud as she laid her hand on his arm, smiling at him with big eyes.

"Umm yeah, we had a good weekend…" Charles began but I didn’t listen, I looked at Julie who just chuckled and shrugged. I squeezed Charles arm and followed Julie.

"I think she has a huge crush on Charles, that’s why she doesn’t like you." she said and looked back to the French reporter who smiled at Charles, throwing her head back laughing, by the look on Charles face, probably about something that wasn’t that funny.

"Yeah well, tough luck. That’s my man." I shrugged and she laughed.

I looked out the window for a while, when I turned to Charles.

"How is it? Having Fred now in the team as well?" I asked and he looked up from his book "What’s he even doing?"

"Honestly? No idea, all they said was he’s having a supervisory role within the team. But no clue what that means." he scratched his chin "But it’s nice having him in the team in some kind of way, at least. He helped me a lot in my rookie year… but yeah. He won’t be around a lot on the track, they said he will be here for the next three or four races to see how the team works, the routines and stuff and then he’ll be back in Maranello, working on how to improve the departments that need improvement."

"So he’s basically making sure that the team stops fucking up?" I said and Charles chuckled.

"I guess you could say that."

"Hmm. Well let’s hope he can fix that… especially your strategy department…" I muttered and he pinched my side "What? Just saying…"

"I’m not supposed to say this, but I heard from… doesn’t matter, but I heard he’s heavily involved in the development of next year’s car." Charles said quietly and I looked at him "It’s not official or anything, I just heard it from someone who has connections to certain people in the factory."

"If you’re lucky Mattia is gone by the end of the year and Fred will take over…" I wiggled my eyebrows and he laughed.

"I never had any problems with him, it was just that…" he stopped.

"I know, I got it." I patted his arm and he sighed.

For the rest of the flight I mostly watched some tv shows or cuddled up into Charles warmth, trying to not think about the upcoming race weekend. The race I didn’t finish last season. Coming back here, I knew that it would be one of the number one topics on media day, that’s why I wasn’t surprised at all when I sat down for the press conference and answered the probably tenth question about it.

"Of course I watched a replay of the crash and I honestly don’t know what happened still. It all happened so fast. I was making contact with Checo, I don’t know what lead to that or why I didn’t react. Maybe I had an idea for a split second but then got already caught up by him." I said, of course not mentioning the blackout due to my terrible night before the race. That was a secret I’ll never share. Not with the public at least.

"Brad Worthington, BBC Sports. Lizzie, what do you expect from this weekend? Your car seems to be good around here, on paper at least?"

"I hope I can convert the performance from paper to track. I think we’re heading in the right direction with the car, Baku was a huge step forward, so I’m really excited to see what’s on for us this weekend!"

"Jan Dietrich, Bild. Question for Charles. How is it coming back to this track after last year? We all remember your team radio, the agony in your voice asking for updates on Lizzie after her crash. How you left right after the podium for the hospital? Your win here was a little overshadowed by the crash."

"I didn’t care about the race or the win to be honest. For me it was more important that Lizzie was okay, so yeah, I knew I had to leave immediately. If it were up to me I wouldn’t even attend the podium, but the win wasn’t just for me. It was also for the team, they deserved to celebrate it." Charles said and looked at me.

"Alright, that’s it. Thank you Lady and Gentlemen. Have a good race weekend!" Tom Clarkson ended the press conference and we left.

"Are you okay?" Charles asked and I shrugged.

"Never show them that their questions are getting to you." Lewis smiled at me and I nodded.

"Thanks, Lewis. Trying my best." I replied.

"You did good, both of you." he squeezed my shoulder and nodded at Charles and then left.

"Come on. Let’s get out of here. I’m done for today, whatever Sylvia has in store for me, I’m not doing it. Not today, I feel like a bad headache is coming? And my stomach? Not good…" Charles winked and I laughed.

"Yeah? If that’s it, then I guess I have to take care of you! Let me just tell Julie."

"In 15 minutes at the car?" he kissed my cheek.

"I’ll be there!"

The car worked great on the track. Valtteri had the better Friday, but after we adjusted the set up of my car a little, I could make up some seconds. Quali went amazing and luckily I already set a pretty good time when Q3 was red flagged, parking my car in P3. I knew that Charles had a hard time, getting comfortable in the car and as I watched the replay of his crash I knew immediately that he must’ve pushed too hard, to abstract the most out of the car. He looked down, head hung low, shoulders sagged.

"What happened?" I asked him gently and sat down on the couch next to him.

He sighed, throwing his head back.

"This car. It’s… it’s unpredictable! The car goes from understeering like crazy when I turn into the corner, where I have to fight to stay on track, to massively oversteering at the exit. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel comfortable like this." he sounded tired, his eyes closed.

"Consistency is what you’re lacking most at the moment…" I said carefully and he only nodded.

"We’re good in qualifying, I mean if I’m not that stupid and crash out… twice! At the same fucking spot! But we have no race pace whatsoever. So yeah, consistency is what we’re lacking at the moment." he turned to look at me and then smiled "But you had a good weekend. I’m proud of you. Audi really is doing a good job at the moment, developing the car, fix what’s wrong. You’re doing a good job, adjusting to the changes."

"Yeah, I think Baku was a little turning point? I mean we’re nowhere near Aston or Merc, but we’re getting there, slowly but steady."

"I thought after last week that we turned the season around as well…"

"I know, I’m sorry. It looked like your car was worse than last week for some reason? And by your car I mean YOUR car and not both Ferraris…"

He shrugged only and then got up.

"I don’t know. I’m struggling a lot this season. I’m not comfortable with the car, Carlos is. So yeah, we’ll see I guess…" he walked to the mini bar and grabbed a coke, looking at me, I shook my head and he came back, opening the can "But I have to stop using this as an excuse, that the car is more for his style of driving. I’m a Formula 1 driver in my fifth season in the biggest team, sixth overall. I have to be able to adjust to a car that’s not to my liking. That’s my job. That’s something I have to get better at." he took a sip of his coke.

"You will adjust, I know it. You’ll be back on top in no time!" I kissed his cheek and sat up, almost instantly Charles passed me the can and then laughed.

"Come on, take a sip, I know you want it."

"You know me too well." I chuckled but then took the can and took a sip "Thanks."

"At least I’m confident in how to handle you." he teased and I gasped.

"Handle me? How dare you!" I slapped his biceps and got up walking towards the bathroom "You know what? I’m really looking forward to stay a couple of days here. Relax under the sun. That will do us some good." I took off my shorts.

"Are you taking a shower without me, cara mia?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"No, I’m taking a shower waiting for you…" I winked at him and he threw his head back in the pillows, chuckling "I mean, if you want to of course…" I shrugged my shoulders, pulling my shirt off and threw it at him. The moment it hit him he jumped up and followed me.

I signed caps and shirts, took selfies with some fans and talked a little away when I heard how the crowd got louder and knew Charles had come. He waved at me and then turned to his fans, smiling and taking to them. Even after a bad result he was the sweetest with his fans, always trying to make everyone feel special and seen. I leaned at the car and watched him when JK stopped next to me.

"It’s truly amazing how he can always put on a smile for his fans." he said while watching Charles as well.

"Yeah, he was always like this. Always focused on making them the happiest…" I smiled.

"He was pretty hard on himself again." I looked at him "I mean I know you two, you both are like this. But he’s even this hard on him when it’s not his fault… his car? What a shitbox."

"I know… but it’s Ferrari. They could break him to pieces and he still would want nothing but the best for them." I sighed "That kind of love speaks volumes."

"True." JK waved at Charles as he looked over "I hope you guys have some quiet days, can relax a little. Take care, Liz." he hugged me.

"See you in a week." I waved him off, pulling out my phone, to beat the time.

"Alright, let’s go!" Charles voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I looked up "I can’t wait to get out of here."

"Someone’s eager!" I chuckled and kissed his cheek, getting in the car.

"We only have three and a half days for ourselves, so yeah, I’m eager to get away!" he started the car and drove off.

"We could’ve just stayed in our hotel here, you know?" I said looking out the window.

"Nope. I wanted to get away from here. Palm Beach sounded nice, the hotel looked amazing and the beach as well!"

"So Palm Beach it is then." I smiled looking out the window, right when Cruel Summer began to play on the radio and I began to sing along. By the time the bridge started I almost screamed from the top of my lungs, dancing along "You know that Taylor’s here? Well not here here, but close. Tampa. Tonight and then on Wednesday night again?"

"Yeah, Lizzie, you told me that like a million times…" Charles chuckled a little and I sighed "You’ll see her! At the end of this year. Next year. You’ll see her." he grinned.

"It’s annoying that you’re this optimistic."

"Life as a Ferrari driver…" he mumbled and I laughed.

"Did you just-… no… you didn’t? That can’t be? Did you just indirectly called out Ferrari?" I looked at him, still laughing.

"Nope." a tiny smirk on his lips.

Charles POV:

Lizzie snuggled into me as we sat on the beach, watching the sun set on the horizon above the ocean, a beautiful pink and purple hue painted the sky.

"Best anniversary ever!" she whispered after a while and I chuckled a little "You don’t think so?"

"Oh no! I do think so! For me it definitely is the best anniversary ever! I just think it could be maybe even a little bit better…" I shrugged my shoulders in amusement.

"How could this be even more perfect than it already is?" she asked turning her head a little, looking at her.

"I don’t know… but I think when I say that we’re going to the Era’s Tour tomorrow in Tampa, it might be really perfect and really tough to beat…" she sat up in an instant, turning around, staring at me with wide eyes.

"What did you say?" she almost whispered it.

"We’re going to the Era’s Tour tomorrow night in Tampa." I smiled at her.

"Okay… I’m having a hard time processing this… when you say 'We’re going to the Era’s Tour tomorrow night in Tampa' then you mean we could’ve gone there if I could’ve been able to purchase tickets, right? That’s what you mean?" Lizzie’s voice was wavering and I shook my head "Shaking your head means no… so no that’s not what you mean, right?"

"No, that’s not what I mean." I grinned and she squeezed my hands like crazy.

"So you’re saying we are going to the Era’s Tour… like going to the concert. Inside a stadium. Watching the show?" tears started gathering in her eyes and I slowly nodded, gently taking one hand from her strong grip, showing her the tickets on my phone.

"You. Me. Taylor. Tomorrow night." I said and she let out a loud squeal before she threw her arms around my neck, screaming, crying, littering my face with tiny kisses.

"I love you. I love you. I love you." she cried and I hugged her tight "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

"Happy anniversary." I whispered in her ear and she sniffled, pulling away a little, smiling at me "I love you, cara mia." she leaned in and captured my lips in a wet and salty kiss.

"You are the best boyfriend a girl could ask for. Thank you, Charles." she breathed out against my lips, smiling her gorgeous smile, I chuckled and pecked her lips "I can’t believe it! I’m going to see Taylor Swift live in concert!"

"Yes you are." I laughed.

"We’re going to see Taylor! We’re going to the Era’s Tour." her eyes shining bright "I’m going to the Era’s Tour tomorrow night!" she closed her eyes for a moment before looking at the sky above us "I’m going to the Era’s Tour. Tomorrow night." she repeated, this time her voice sounded a little panicked "Oh my god! I’m going to the Era’s Tour! Tomorrow night! FUCK! What do I wear? I can’t just go there in some boring clothes! OH GOD! WHAT DO I WEAR? I wanted to wear something special." full on panic now.

"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down!" I laughed but Lizzie almost hyperventilated.

"I can’t! This is not just a normal concert! This is the Era’s Tour! I have to dress up! Like seriously!" she pouted, pacing back and forth.

"I know! That’s why Shima designed your outfit, it’s in the closet." I smiled and she stopped abruptly.

"What?"

"I knew you would wanted to wear something special. And you talked with Shima about what you would love to wear. Well she designed it. It’s here. Well not here, in the hotel, but you get what I mean…" I chuckled and she grabbed my hand, pulling me with her "And now we’re going to the hotel because you have to see it." I laughed.

"Yep." she replied, then stopping again, kissing me fiercely "And then I thank you properly." she nipped at my bottom lip and kept walking again "And now move!"

The whole way from the hotel, to our car, to the entry and when we were brought up to our seats I had the biggest smile on my face. I was at Taylor Swift’s The Era’s Tour. I had my gorgeous boyfriend by my side. And I wore an amazing outfit, designed by Shima. The night could only be epic. And it was. More than epic. As the show started, I was singing and dancing, having the time of my life. Charles doing his best to keep up with me. While Lover was played he held me close, swaying us back and forth, gently kissing my cheek and I had the biggest smile on my face. As the setting switched and a new era began I looked at the stage in awe. Singing at the top of my lungs along. It was during Love Story when I had a little heart attack, right when the bridge started and Taylor sang 'he knelt to the ground' Charles in fact knelt to the ground and I gasped. He wouldn’t do that. Not here. Not like this. Not in public. My heart was beating out of my chest when I looked down, but then I saw how he tied his shoe lace and got back up again, a devilish smirk on his lips.

"What?" he mouthed and I chuckled, playfully hitting his shoulder. Although I was shocked and definitely overwhelmed with the feeling of getting proposed to in a sea of strangers, I couldn’t ignore the little spark that got ignited inside my stomach. The warm feeling rushing through me. The tiny pinch of disappoint when I realised Charles only tied his shoe lace. As if he sensed that I was a little lost in my head, Charles pulled me to his side, kissing my temple. I shook my head a little and smiled. Focusing back on the stage in front, where the visuals changed yet again, signalling for a new era to start. The time flew by and way too soon it was already the last era, then the last song.

charles_leclerc just posted a story…

We followed the security guy and I sweated even more, nervousness seeping through me. I just danced and screamed for more than 3 hours and was about to meet Taylor Swift. TAYLOR SWIFT. My sweaty self meeting Taylor Swift. I pulled off the coat and started to dry my face with the flimsy fabric, goosebumps spreading all over my skin.

"You’re getting sick like that." Charles said next to me, looking at my arms but I shrugged my shoulders.

"That coat, although it looked amazing, is soaked and way too hot."

"Here." he took off his jacket and gave it to me "Put it on cara mia, you’re wearing this thin dress and are sweaty as fuck. You’re getting sick!" he repeated and I took the jacket and put it on, rolling up the sleeves.

"Thank you!" I smiled at him, grabbing his hand again.

"Boyfriend duty." he winked and I laughed.

"You’re excelling as always!" he rolled his eyes a little but I squeezed his hand "I’m serious!"

"It’s okay. Really." he reassured me and I nodded.

"How do I look?" I asked him, smoothing down my hair a little.

"You look as cute as always!"

"Hmm. Okay, do y-…" I began when the security guard stopped.

"Alright. Wait inside there, she’ll come to see you." he opened the door in front of us and I walked inside. A handful of people waiting already. I swallowed hard and looked at Charles, who smiled at me encouragingly.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! You’re Charles Leclerc and Lizzie Doetterer!" a female voice behind us screeched out loud.

I turned around and in front of us stood a girl whose face I knew, but just couldn’t place.

"I’m Sarah Collins! I’m a huge Formula 1 fan!" the girl held out her hand and we shook them and it hit me.

"Sarah Collins! You’re an influencer slash activist slash fashion blogger slash… you kinda make everything! I follow you on Insta!" I said and she made big eyes.

"What? You follow me? No?! I swear I never saw that!" she took her phone out and scrolled through her Instagram "Oh my god! How the hell did I miss that!" she said more to herself before she looked up "It’s so cool to see you here! Wow! Can we take a picture together, maybe?"

"Sure!" I smiled at her and she shoved her phone into her friend’s hand and stood next to me, Charles wanted to walk away but Sarah shook her head "No, no, please! With you as well!"

"Oh, okay." Charles stepped next to me again and her friend took some pictures.

"Thank you guys so much!" she smiled and and looked at the pictures.

"No worries."

"So! How did you like the show?" she asked and I smiled wide.

"I loved it! I’m so sad it’s over already! I could’ve gone for another hour or two!"

"Same! It was so amazing!"

"As soon as she announces some shows in Europe for next year we’ll be going again!" I smiled at Charles who cocked an eyebrow.

"We are?" he laughed and I hit his arm playfully "Just kidding! We are!"

"You two are literally the cutest!" Sarah said and I blushed "Since the day it was announced that you’ll be in F1 as well, I was rooting for you! And then I saw you two the first time together on the screen? I knew immediately that you two were a couple" she wiggled her eyebrows a little and I laughed.

"Well, we tried our best to hide it and-…" I began as the door opened and the word got caught in my throat, Sarah turning around gasping a little.

"Hi guys! How are you doing!" Taylor Swift asked us how we were doing. Taylor Swift. She walked up to us, a big smile on her face, opening up her arms, hugging first Sarah and her friends, talking a little with them, before she turned to Charles and I, hugging me "Hi, I’m Taylor." she introduced herself and I hugged her back. Not just that Taylor Swift introduced herself, as if we didn’t knew who she was, no! She hugged me!

"Hi! I’m Taylor, it’s so amazing to meet you Lizzie!" I blurted out and blushed immediately "Oh god! You’re Taylor. I’m Lizzie. I’m so sorry!" I apologised immediately but she just laughed.

"It’s okay, don’t be nervous. Just take a deep breath!" she still held my hand, squeezing it "Hi Lizzie, nice to meet you! You’re the racing driver everyone is talking about, right? The only girl in… Formula 1?"

Rest in peace me. RIP me. I died. Dead.

Taylor Swift knew who I was. My mind went blank and I kept staring at her, unable to say anything.

"Yes. Yes, that’s her. The only girl in Formula 1." Charles jumped in and smiled at me, then at Taylor.

"And you must be the boyfriend who surprised Lizzie with tickets for tonight? Charles?" Taylor Swift knew who my boyfriend was.

"Yep. That’s me. Nice to meet you." Charles said and Taylor smiled at him.

"I hope you had some fun tonight?" she asked and I broke out from my trance.

"It was amazing! So freaking amazing! You were amazing! The show! The dancers! The band! The visuals! Amazing!" I praised her and her smile got even bigger.

"Aww! Thank you! You’re the cutest!"

And again. Rest in peace me. RIP me. I died. Dead. I kept on staring at her. Not knowing if she talked to me or if I even was able to answer. I just stood there. Star-strucked. And in awe. She was tall and so pretty. And her smile was contagious.

"Lizzie?" Charles gently nudged my shoulder and I looked at him "Come on, we’re taking some pictures!" he smiled and me and I nodded.

"Here. Come to me." Taylor Swift pulled me to her side and I tried my best not to faint.

Charles took some pictures with his phone, before he stood next to me, to be in some pictures as well. My cheeks were hurting from smiling that much but I couldn’t help it.

"Did we get some good shots?" Taylor asked and Charles nodded.

"Amazing shots."

"Perfect!" she smiled again at us, before her assistant walked in and nodded at her "Unfortunately I have to go now, but it was so good to meet you all!" she hugged us all one by one and when it was my turn she took off one of her bracelets, when she pulled away, handing it to me "I think that one fits you pretty well." she smiled and I looked at the bracelet the 1 stood on the pearls "As you’re the only girl in Formula 1 and you’re also the number one because you won a race!" I put the bracelet on and took one of my own off, in the colours of the German flag and with pearls saying girl champ.

"I think that one fits you pretty well too." I said and she smiled.

"Thank you!" she hugged me again and then lastly Charles "It was really great to meet you! Good luck on the race course? Is it race course? Yeah? Good luck then and win some more races! You guys rock!"

With one last wave she was gone and I just stood there, staring at the bracelet on my wrist. We said our goodbyes to Sarah and her friends and left. Or rather Charles dragged me along, because I wasn’t able to comprehend anything that had happened just now. It was late at night when we arrived back in our hotel and we took a quick shower, getting bed ready, when what has happened fully sunk in.

"I was at the Era’s Tour. I saw Taylor Swift live performing. I met Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift knew who we were. Taylor Swift took pictures with us. And last but not least, Taylor Swift and I switched friendship bracelets." I said and looked at Charles, a big grin on his lips "And that all was only possible because of you. YOU! My amazing, perfect boyfriend!" I snuggled into his side, kissing his cheek "I love you. So much. You have no idea. You are the best boyfriend any girl could ever dream of. Thank you for making this possible!"

"I would do everything for you, cara mia. Although I have to admit, there is someone you definitely have to thank rather than me… Lewis. He got us the tickets. He knew someone who worked with Taylor before and who’s she’s friends with and he organised this all…" Charles said and I smiled.

"Lewis? Well then I guess I have to thank him as well, as soon as I see him again." I yawned and Charles chuckled.

"Come on, sleep now, our flight is at 12." he kissed my forehead and I sighed contently "Good night, cara mia."

"Good night, my Charlie bear. And thank you. So much."

"Call me as soon as you arrive!" I kissed Charles at the gate to his flight to Bologna, after we had arrived two hours earlier from Orlando.

"I will. And you text me when you’re at the factory!" he held me close, kissing my temple.

"Will do! Have a good flight, I’ll see you back home." I waved him off as he boarded the plane, turning around smiling one last time.

Outside the airport a car was waiting for me and when I got inside I leaned back, closing my eyes. I was tired from the long flight and my mind was still trying to wrap around what happened the last 48 hours. Lost in thoughts I flinched when the door of the car opened and Pete grinned at me.

"Welcome back, Lizzie." he grabbed my back for me as I got out and took my suitcase from the driver, thanking him.

"Good to be back!" I smiled and followed him inside, ready to start the preparation for the upcoming races.

The data looked great. The lap times were solid. I was ready for Imola, Monaco and Barcelona. All three tracks were tested, the best set ups and strategies for all types of weather were discussed. On Saturday morning Julie informed me that I would be closely followed by the Netflix film crew for the next three days and for the first time

I honestly didn’t mind it at all.

"You’re awfully cheery…" Elijah chuckled on Sunday at lunch break and I just shrugged.

"I had a good week, I’m optimistic for the next races. Life’s good!" I laughed and he nodded.

"Let’s see if there will be a next race first, right?" Pete squeezed my shoulder when he got up and I sighed.

The weather situation in the Emilia Romagna region was concerning, heavy rainfall was threatening to flood the racetrack and the surrounding regions, a cancellation was considered. I left the factory on Sunday evening, stopping by at Marcus’ place, staying overnight and spending the evening with Benji, playing some board games and watched a movie, before I left on Monday morning to drive back to Monaco. I sent Charles a text that I would be driving now and got in the car, starting my journey.

I parked my car right when Charles called.

"Good timing, I just parked." I said and got out, unloading my suitcase.

"Already? I thought I would catch you somewhere on the streets still." he chuckled and I locked the car, going for the elevator.

"You know me, the indicated time is just like a challenge for me." I stepped into the elevator.

"I honestly have no idea how you’re still having your drivers license! I mean, speeding in Germany is one thing, but the rest? You’re not always going to be this lucky, not getting caught for speeding!"

"It’s not luck. It’s talent."

"It’s madness."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." I chuckled, rummaging through my bag to find my keys.

"You know that I’m right!" Charles said.

"We’ll see!" I sighed and walked out of the elevator "I’m at home now, I’m thinking about-…" I dropped my phone and gasped loudly.

"Cara mia?" Charles faint voice from the ground "Lizzie? Talk to me?"

I stared at the bouquet of red roses on my door mat. A white card in the middle.

"LIZZIE!" Charles scream pulled me out of my trance and I bent down, picking up my phone "Cara mia? What happened? Talk to me?"

"I’m okay. Sorry." I choked out, voice shaky.

"Lizzie, what’s going on?" I heard the worry in his voice.

"I tripped. Fell. Sorry. I didn’t look where I was going and there was a- ummm a package on the floor. Sorry!" I lied.

"Are you sure, you’re okay?" Charles didn’t believe me. I heard it in his voice.

"Yeah, kinda. Just some bruised knees tomorrow." I fake laughed.

"Okay. I call you later then?"

"Okay. Bye. Love you." I hung up hastily. My eyes didn’t leave the flowers for a second. I carefully picked them up. Looking the hallway up and down before I unlocked the door and walked inside. With shaky hands I set the vase down on my kitchen island and looked around, then walked through every single room and only when I was convinced I was alone, I took the card out of the flowers and opened it. An address. Nothing more. I googled the address. A betting office. I kept staring at my phone. What did he want me to do at a betting office? Would we meet there? But there was no date or time. Just the address. Nothing more. As it was already getting dark outside I decided to go there the next day. Although I had no idea what I was supposed to do there.

I sat in the car and double checked the address, looking around. Nervous as I was I sat in the car for almost four hours, watching the people who entered and exit the shop. I took one last deep breath before I got out and walked inside. Right at the door was a counter and the man looked at me.

"Hi, umm a friend of mine wanted me to pick something up for him? Salva Diaz?" I asked and he looked through a basket with papers.

"I’m sorry, there’s nothing for a Salva Diaz here." he informed me and I swallowed.

"Something for Lizzie Doetterer?"

"Umm… yes. Lizzie Doetterer." he pulled out a brown envelope and I wanted to take it from him "You have to sign the receipt, that you received the envelope."

He pushed a form over the counter and pointed at the dotted line. I grabbed the pen and signed it, then grabbed the envelope and opened it up. A folder with a bunch of papers inside. Race prognoses for each driver and team. Starting from Monaco. A chart with bet quotes. Copies of betting slips and receipts. And the last paper were instructions on how I had to ensure the winner in Barcelona, Montreal, Spielberg and Silverstone. Diaz’ message in bold letters on a sticky-note:

I lost my money because of you, now you help me get it back. You know what you have to do. Otherwise, see what happens.

I looked at the guy behind the counter, but he was already busy scrolling on his phone so I left the shop, envelope tightly clenched to my chest. Back in the car I looked through the folder. He wanted me to manipulate races? At the instructions for every race my heart clenched when I saw Monaco. He wanted me to make Charles DNF. For Barcelona, Montreal, Spielberg and Silverstone he only instructed who had to win the race. But for Monaco he wanted me to end both, Charles and my race. I started the engine and drove off. This was impossible. Not just that it was morally wrong and against all integrity, it was also fucking illegal. It only needed one person to raise suspicions and it would be over, my career, my team, everything. He knew how dangerous this was. Put all that aside, there was still the biggest question to answer, how was I supposed to do it? How? How do you manipulate a Formula 1 race? I could only control my racing. This wasn’t football where I could cause a penalty or just not give my all and play like shit. This was racing. This was nothing that could be easily manipulated. Especially not by one driver alone. It all didn’t make any sense. When I parked in the garage I opened Instagram and looked through my messages, when I found the chat with Diaz I took a deep breath and opened it up. Our last conversation visible. I wrote him that what he asked of me didn’t make sense, that I couldn’t help a certain driver to win. I had no influence on track positions and therefore didn’t know how I could ensure who would win a race. Not even a minute later he replied, saying his instructions were clear, I had to handle it myself. I groaned and got out, back in my flat I sat down on the couch, folder on the table and I kept staring at it. Out of all the things I thought he wanted me to do, this was something I never, not in a million years, would’ve thought about. I knew that Diaz was insane, but this? This was ridiculous. And impossible. And wrong. And illegal. He wanted me to commit a fucking crime? I flinched when my phone was ringing, Charles, I took a deep breath and answered the call.

"Hey."

"Hi cara mia, how was your day?" Charles muffled voice rang out.

"Uneventful." I answered looking around.

"Yeah? What did you do?"

"Had a workout with JK. Ran some errands and now I’m just sitting around. How was your day?"

"My Monaco race suit and stuff was ready so we shot a little video." I could hear the smile and excitement in his voice.

"Yeah? You like it?"

"Love it."

"I can’t wait to see it." I said, trying to sound as gleeful as possible.

"Are you okay? You sound a little down?" the excitement replaced with worry in an instant.

"I’m just exhausted and tired." I faked a yawn, hoping Charles believed me.

"Hmm… maybe you should cut back on your work outs? You seem to be quite exhausted a lot in the last weeks…"

"I’m fine. It’s just… yeah I don’t know for some weeks now I feel a little tense after the race weekends, but it’s fine."

"Okay. But don’t overwork yourself okay? I know you!" he sighed a little.

"Promise. And now that the cancelled Imola, I have a little time to relax."

"True."

"How’s the situation in Maranello?"

"Luckily we’re all good here, no flooding or anything. But yeah, people are a little worried…"

"I’m glad you’re okay."

"It’s all good, don’t worry!"

"Okay… look, I really don’t want to cut you off, Charles, but I’m really tired…"

"No, it’s alright, cara mia. Go to bed. I’ll be back on Saturday morning. We have a sponsor dinner on Friday and I’m leaving right after it."

"Saturday? That’s 4 more days! Didn’t you say Thursday?" 4 more days alone. I hated it.

"Mattia wanted to test some things." I could practically hear his eyes rolling "Whatever. I’ll be home on Saturday, yeah."

"Okay. See you then! I love you." I swallowed thickly, ready to hang up.

"Good night, cara mia. Love you too." he hung up and I sighed, falling back into pillows.

4 more days alone in here. Here where Diaz knew that I lived. I looked around. Then got up and packed my suitcase, threw everything in that I would need for the next week, with the stuff at Charles flat I should be good for a while. I locked the door and left, taking the car straight to Charles flat. Still alone, but at least I felt safer. Inside I locked the door and rolled my suitcase in the bedroom. Climbing into the bed trying to find sleep. A difficult task for the next days to come. My mind full of his crazy plan for me.

Charles POV:

I was more than happy that I could dodge that sponsor dinner tonight. Driving back home to Lizzie, I wanted to text her that I would be home earlier but decided to surprise her. I unlocked my door, ready to take a quick shower and then head over to Lizzie’s, knowing she would be still awake at this time. Right when I wanted to enter my bedroom my phone vibrated, Lizzie. I chuckled and picked up.

"Hey ca-…" I began but a faint whimper made me freeze "Lizzie?"

"There’s someone here…" she whispered and my heart almost burst out of my chest.

"Lizzie, hide. Lock yourself inside your bathroom! I’ll be right over!" I was already on the way to the door, when I heard a loud bang from inside my bedroom.

"Fuck! I knocked over the candle by the door…" she whimpered, her breathing staggering. Candle by the door? I spun around, storming inside my bedroom towards the bathroom, trying to open the door. Locked. "He’s here."

I threw my phone away and knocked on the door.

"Lizzie! Open up! It’s me! I’m here!" I said loudly "Cara mia, unlock the door! It’s me!"

"Charles?" her voice barely audible through the door. As soon as I heard the click of the door unlocking I pushed the door open, Lizzie looked at me, tears stained her cheeks, a terrified look on her face. Once she recognised me, she jumped right into my arms "Charles…"

"Shhh… it’s okay, cara mia. It’s just me." I held her close and kissed the side of her head "I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!" I walked us outside the bathroom, sitting down on the bed, Lizzie in my lap "I should’ve told you that I’m coming home. I’m sorry."

"It’s okay. I’m sorry. I was just- I woke up because I heard you and thought that someone is-… I thought it’s a burglar or something." she whispered.

"Just me. No one else, Lizzie." I cooed and her trembling stopped slowly, breathing stabilised "I didn’t know you’re here. I wanted to surprise you!"

"I’m sorry! But there is-… someone is renovating above me and it’s so annoyingly loud. I should’ve asked you first if it’s okay staying here." she apologised but I shook my head pulling away.

"You never have to ask that, okay? This place is as much as your place as it’s mine. You come here whenever you want to, okay?" I looked at her intently.

"Okay." she gave me a little smile and then pecked my cheek "Sorry about the candle. I was just so scared that I just knocked it over."

"Fuck the candle. You’re alright. That’s important." I nuzzled my face in her hair and took a deep breath. When I opened my eyes I noticed tiny red droplets on the floor, coming out of the bathroom, I immediately sat Lizzie down next to me and kneeled in front of her, taking her feet in my hands. She had a small cut int the sole of her right foot, a little glass shard poking out "Alright sit still, I take care of that and…" I got up pointing into the bathroom "…that."

"I didn’t even notice it…" she muttered, looking at her foot.

"That’s why you have me." I kissed her forehead and left to get the first aid kit.

As soon as I took care of the cut and made Lizzie lay back down, I cleaned up the floor and took a short shower, then climbed in the bed, Lizzie already asleep. I switched off the light, hugging her from behind, I snuggled into her warmth. Her breathing was evenly and she grabbed my arm tightly.

"Charles?" she whispered after a while and I squeezed her hip to show her that I was listening "Thank you… for being my knight in shining armour, yet again."

"For you always, cara mia, for you always."

I opened my arms and she sat down between my legs, leaning back against my chest. I nuzzled my nose against her neck and inhaled deeply.

"Have I ever told you that I love how you smell?" I asked and she giggled.

"No… and would this be a true crime documentary it would be creepy!" she laughed and I pinched her sides.

"Why are you like this? You’re so annoying!" I chuckled and she just shook her head and turned it slightly to look at me.

"Oh come on! You love me!" she said and I looked into her eyes and leaned in.

"True. That I do. More than anything else…" I whispered against her lips. Before I could kiss her, her phone rang and she flinched.

"God! I almost had a heart attack!" she grabbed her phone and as she looked at her screen she froze "Umm… I gotta take that!" she got up and left the room. I sat up and waited for her to come back. After a couple of minutes I heard the bedroom door opening and Lizzie walked out, she looked confused, upset even.

"Lizzie?" I asked and got up, she looked at me "What happened? Who was that?"

"Umm… that was, that was Pete. He looked through some… umm some of my recent sim results and they weren’t that great… yeah I have to work a bit harder I guess." she was lying "Are you hungry? I’m hungry! I’m going to cook something. You want something too?" she didn’t even wait for an answer and already left into the kitchen. I got up and followed her.

"Hey! What’s going on? Pete wouldn’t call you just to say that? You’ll see him tomorrow?" I said pointedly and she looked at me.

"Well, he didn’t just say that, he said that after Barcelona I had to come to Neuburg and we need to get over some sim data for the new upgrades. That’s how he said it! No big deal!" she tried to reassure me but I wasn’t buying it.

"Lizzie. You know I know it when you’re lying? So just tell me the truth?!"

"I’m not lying! You don’t believe me? Okay! Let’s call Pete then!" she was almost furious as she walked past me, back into the living room grabbing her phone "Here! I call him! If you need proof of me telling the truth, I’ll give it to you…" she clicked on his contact "Thanks for trusting me!" right as she was about to dial his number I sighed. No. Not like this. It wouldn’t do any good if I caught her lying like this.

"Okay, stop. You’re right! Sorry! I trust you! I really do!" I said and she looked relieved "You don’t have to call him…"

"Thank you." she said it with such an attitude that I wanted to just grab her phone and call Pete myself.

"Yeah…" I pressed out "Sure."

When we ate our dinner I felt Charles look on me and tried my best to ignore it. My mind was still reeling from the fact that Diaz had my phone number. When I texted him in Instagram earlier today that I was done, that I wouldn’t do what he wanted from me, I didn’t expect him to call me. Then again, nothing should surprise me anymore when it came to him. I lazily picked at my food, not able to stomach any of it.

"You’re okay?" Charles asked after a while and I just nodded "You should eat, Lizzie. You haven’t been eating much recently." I could hear the worry in his voice.

"I’m fine. It’s just… this season is tough. The car is nowhere near last year’s car. Sure, the last races were better, but still… I just don’t know how to push the car to the max." I sighed "Maybe that’s why my sim work is not that great!" I added and Charles frowned, but didn’t say anything.

"You’ll figure it out. Maybe the upgrades will help." he said after a while and I nodded.

"Yeah, maybe." I shrugged, flinching when I got a text. I kept staring at my phone, feeling Charles look on me.

"Okay, what’s going on?" he asked after a while and I looked at him "First Pete who called you because of your sim data although he sees you tomorrow anyway, then you’re being totally out of it since the call, now you keep staring at your phone like your afraid of the text you just got? What’s going on, Lizzie!"

"Nothing! Jeez! I know who the text is from! And I’m annoyed! It’s Elijah! They want to film this weekend here as well. How I or we, I don’t know, get to track, what we do afterwards, stuff like that! And I’m not really in the mood for that!" I rolled my eyes and Charles sighed.

"Okay." he just said and got up "Are you done? Can I take your plate as well?" he asked and looked at my almost full plate, I nodded and handed him my plate.

"Thank you." I smiled a little and he only nodded and walked off.

With shaking hands I grabbed my phone, closing my eyes I took a deep breath and then unlocked it. When I saw that it was only a text from Shima I huffed, sinking back in the pillows. Right when I wanted to get up, I heard Charles cursing, then he stormed out of the kitchen.

"What the fuck?" Charles hissed and stopped in front of me, then he showed me his phone, a post from an F1 gossip account on display.

I grabbed his phone, reading through the post, my eyes widened.

"What the hell?" I frantically searched for my phone and when I finally found it I tried to call my sister. Busy. Dad. Busy. Mum. Busy. "What the actual fuck! Why is no one picking up!" I kept staring at Charles phone, as he clicked on a link, opening up an article of a big newspaper, my mind reeling when I tried to call Sissy again. Still busy. Right as I wanted to dial Dads number again I got a text from the same number that Diaz called an hour ago. With a sickening feeling in my stomach I opened the text. I swallowed hard and kept staring at the 6 words:

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Chapter 32 - Happy anniversary, Lizzie and Charles ♥️ and what better way to celebrate than going to The Era’s Tour 🙌 but you know me by now… I can’t let them be happy for too long 👀

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