LOVER -
act one chapter fifteen

charles:

IRIS:
where are you
i've been waiting for like twenty minutes

CHARLES:
did you mean to send that to mick

IRIS:
no?
where are you

CHARLES:
why are you asking
are you going to kidnap me

IRIS:
no
i'm taking you out for ice cream

CHARLES:
that's not in my diet

IRIS:
i don't care?
if you wish to follow it so strictly
you can just watch me eat ice cream

CHARLES:
why would i do that
when i could just eat the ice cream

IRIS:
you just told me that it's not in your diet?

CHARLES:
yes
that doesn't mean i'm going to follow the diet

IRIS:
😤😤😤
just hurry up
meet me outside
the ferrari hospitality

CHARLES:
why do you always rush people
let me take my time

IRIS:
you are one to talk leclerc.
you are really one to talk.

CHARLES:
technically we are texting

IRIS:
i'm leaving without you

CHARLES:
I'M SORRY
I'M RIGHT BEHIND YOU ANYWAY

IRIS HAD NO TIME TO READ THE LAST MESSAGE SENT BY CHARLES BEFORE HER FEET HAD BEEN LIFTED OFF THE GROUND. A squeal immediately left her mouth and demands for her to be put down. She had only recognized who it was once their laughter followed.

Iris turned around with wide eyes as Charles begun to laugh at her reaction, she smacked him on his arm - stopping his laughter immediately. "You are not funny." She told him before walking away and in the direction of the exit of the paddock.

"I think I am." Charles sung, having to walk much faster just to keep up with her.

"If you say so." Iris smiled, "But don't funny people qualify first?" She asked him, biting back a smile and laughter as he froze and his facial expression falling.

"That," he took a deep breath before continuing, "was not funny."

"I thought it was." She mimicked Charles' previous statement before signing out of the paddock.

A fresh air hitting her once she had stepped out the gates. She had not expected a day in the Ferrari garage to be so overwhelming. It wasn't that Iris hadn't enjoyed it, of course she had.

It was that memories she had often forgot about began to resurface, memories from when she was very young. Memories she hadn't even intended on forgetting, but they seemed to be the best memories she had.

Her father lifting her up in the air after a victory, the winning trophy in her hands as they celebrated in the middle of the sea of red - worn by the Ferrari crew.

Her mothers elation when he had won his second title. The joy from the garage. The screams and cheers that had erupted, August joining in even though he had no clue what was going on.

Iris had missed the drill of the wire gun, the sound of the throttle, the smell of the burnt rubber. She had missed the thrill of it all.

And for once, she would admit she was wrong. And felt as though she had missed out on a large portion of Mick's career.

"What on earth are you doing?" Charles criticized as the girl poured many rainbow sprinkles onto her ice cream.

Iris looked up from her concoction of chocolate sauce (that you could hardly see now) and rainbow sprinkles, all of which that had been piled on top chocolate and fudge ice cream. The Blanche girl hadn't seen a problem with her creation, as this had been what she classed as her specialty since she was younger.

She shrugged and licked the top of her ice cream, making Charles shake his head with a smile. "How can you even judge mine. Yours is all bland, mine has flavors and a creative sense." Iris pointed towards his one scoop of vanilla ice cream, "That is just plain. Not even a flake! Who doesn't get a flake!"

"You can't even see the flake in yours!" Charles protested, making sure no more insults were thrown at his very nice vanilla ice cream.

"And?" Iris asked, "It makes for a nice surprise."

Iris followed after Charles as he lead her towards one of the tables in the small shop, instinctively heading for the table in the corner with the least light. "Lovely." Iris sarcastically commented, "And you were worried about me killing you."

Charles rolled his eyes, "That was a completely different scenario."

"And sitting in a dimly lit corner isn't?"

Even in the dimly lit corner Charles couldn't help but admire her eyes, as she rambled on about anything that came to her mind he remained focused on her eyes.

In the right lighting they were a light hazel, with golden flecks. When she smiled, they would light up and if her laughter were to follow it would sound like music to Charles. Beautiful and flawless.

In this lighting he couldn't quite see the golden flecks, but nonetheless her eyes were beautiful. Hidden beneath the length of her eyelashes, if anything he was quite jealous of the length of them and how perfectly they curled.

If only he know, Iris was jealous of his eyelashes. They were the perfect length and perfect thickness. His whole face was perfect to Iris. In any situation or any facial expression he still looked beautiful. And she often found herself staring at him, and Charles knew.

All day he had felt a pair of eyes on him, not the usual eyes of the camera for the TV but the beautiful hazel eyes in the garage. Every so often he'd turn around in hopes of catching her, but she always looked away with a pink hue spreading across her cheeks.

In this moment, it was Charles who faced the pink hue. Having gotten lost in her eyes until she snapped her fingers in his face. "You looked lost." She teased.

His eyes widened and ate his ice cream in attempt to his embarrassment but looked up when Iris gasped. "What? Are you okay?"

"No!" She replied, scaring Charles slightly as her voice was filled with worry. "You're eating your ice cream?"

Charles' face immediately relaxed, not before kicking Iris under the table making her yelp. "What was that for?" She asked, holding her leg under the table.

"You can't scare me like that!" Charles reasoned.

"Scare you! You're scaring me! Eating ice cream, what is the matter with you!"

"I thought you were having a heart attack!" Charles explained.

Iris' eyebrows furrowed, "I gasped, not bloody fainted!"

It was Charles' turn to furrow his eyebrows, "You've spent too much time with George, next thing you'll be saying is-"

"Crikey, this ice cream is delicious." Iris said, the chocolate sauce and ice cream forming a small beard around her mouth making Charles smile.

That smile. The one Iris loved to put on his face, knowing it filled her stomach with butterflies as he smiled at her.

"You got a little something..." Charles pointed as Iris rubbed her cheek, in the wrong place. "No, no, to the left."

Iris looked down, checking which one was her left before completely missing where the ice cream was.

"How did you miss it!" Charles laughed, leaning over the table and using the napkin to wipe it away from her cheek and the corners of her mouth.

He slightly towered over her as she looked up at him through her eyelashes, admiring his eyes in the dim lighting and how they somehow still managed to shine. Even after a long day in the Saudi heat.

Charles placed his one hand on her cheek, using the pad of his thumb to run it across her soft skin. She was so beautiful, he thought. Finding her irresistible and unable to pull away.

He was beautiful. She thought, ignoring all that Mick had warned her about. Finding it was just her and Charles in this ice cream shop, leaning in towards the other, mere centimeters away from connecting their lips when the bell above the door rang.

Bringing them back to reality.

Instantly jumping back into their seats and attempting to hide the heat that had risen to their cheeks.

"Hey!" George Russell greeted, strolling toward the pair. With his girlfriend CARMEN beside him, a wide smile on his face unbeknownst to the moment he had just ruined.

Carmen however, took note of their bright red cheeks, the napkin in Charles' hand and the wide eyes he now had. Worried he had been caught.

"Hey." Charles greeted, attempting to hide the shake in his voice. "What are you guys doing here?"

Iris and Carmen exchanged smiles. The latter winking towards the Blanche girl.

"Just came for some ice cream, you know." George shrugged, turning to a wide eyed Iris sat opposite the Ferrari driver. "Oh my! Iris! It's lovely to meet you, I hadn't even seen you there!"

Iris awkwardly chuckled, accepting George's very formal handshake. "It's lovely to meet you too."

George looked between the two his eyes widening, "Oh." He said, his mouth forming an o shape. "I'm so sorry if we interrupted something. We better get going then!"

Once the cheery couple had left the less cheery pairs company, they finally looked each other in the eyes.

No words spoken as Charles stood up from his seat, sending Iris one last smile before leaving the parlor.

Leaving one heavily confused Iris behind. As she sat all alone, wondering what she had done wrong.

AUTHORS NOTE:
iris and charles fluff in celebration of all the love you guys give me and all my fics, i truly do love all of you 💗

midway through this chapter i realized whistle by flo rida was not in fact about learning to whistle x