august - MV1 (1/?)
- you're on your own kid [pt1]
Pairing: Max Verstappen x Juliette Durand
This is a story for the Max (and Taylor Swift) girlies.
masterlist
Summary: They were doomed from the start. Two completely different worlds colliding, there was no way this could work. But what happens when they keep running into each other, as if gravity was pulling them together.
Trope: slow-burn af
(*dialogues in italic are meant to be in French, I’m just too lazy sksksks)
Word count: 1,1k
A/N: This is the first chapter guys! I'd love some feedback :) Enjoy !
Having recently graduated meant finding a job and getting your life together.
But Juliette was only 25, how was she supposed to know for sure what she wanted at this point in her life?
Juliette was completely lost. She wanted to do everything and nothing at the same time. Everyone expected her to know everything, especially her parents.
Instead of facing their incessant questions on the matter, she ran away, in hopes of overcoming her current situation.
Hence why Juliette booked her tickets for Italy, and found herself wandering the streets of Orta San Giulio.
Juliette felt at peace here, the sound of the water banging against the boats, the cool breeze gently brushing her cheek, the smell of sea water. She didn't know anyone, and no one knew her. No one to expect her to be anything.
She was strolling through a bookshop, her fingers brushing the edges of the books as she went. Her eyes lit up as her hand touched her favorite book. She couldn't even tell how many times she'd read it, but it always had the same gut-wrenching effect on her. She took one last glance at the book before leaving, Martin Eden, by Jack London, a fan favorite, or at least hers.
As she left the store, Juliette’s phone rang. It was Pierre.
“Ju?”
“Yes Pierre?”
“Did you arrive safely? You were supposed to text me once you get there.”
“Sorry dad!” She laughed. Pierre was her best friend and he could be a tad bit overprotective sometimes.
“You know I worry about you. How are you feeling?”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine, I just need time to figure things out for myself” Juliette was lying. She wasn’t fine. Her anxiety was really getting the best of her lately.
“I know, and you’ll figure it out. You’re the clever one, you’ll find your path” Replied Pierre, trying to reassure her.
“Easy for you to say, “Mister I always wanted to be a Formula One Driver”” .
Juliette and Pierre met when she was in middle school. They actually met in detention. Pierre was there after talking back to a teacher and Juliette was there after throwing her eraser on a friend. He was three years older than her and immediately saw her as the sister he never had. Since then, she has been cheering for him throughout his entire career, being there for each milestone. She was very proud of him.
“What can I say, I have always dreamt big” laughed Pierre “By the way” he added “Kika is coming to spend a couple days with my family next week, will you be there?” Pierre asked.
“Of course! I can’t wait to see her again!” Juliette was so happy to see Kika again, she was a real sweetheart. She was glad Pierre had found her.
“Well I gotta go Pierre, I’ll call you back during the week, alright?”
“Ok, take care Ju, love ya!”
"Love you, see you soon!" replied Juliette.
Juliette cherished her friendship with Pierre more than anything. They couldn't see each other often due to his intense schedule, but he was always there for her and vice versa. To her, he wasn't Pierre Gasly, he was just Pierre, her best friend from middle school. She felt really lucky to have such a friend by her side.
Juliette kept exploring the city for a couple hours. As the evening went on, she decided to grab a bite in the nearest restaurant. Once she settled, she pulled out her film camera, snapping candid shots of the people surrounding her.
That camera was always in her hand, having thousands of film rolls at home, each capturing snippets of her life.
She watched the people through her lens throughout the whole dinner, until her gaze fell on a pair of piercing bright blue eyes already staring back at her. She slowly lowered her camera, and looked away shyly, embarrassed that she'd been caught red-handed.
She looked back up and that’s when it hit her. She knew those dashing blue eyes. They belonged to none other than Max Verstappen, one of Pierre’s fellow drivers. Except for Charles, she had never met any of them, trying to stay away for the spotlight as much as possible.
Juliette was completely mortified, and to make matters worse, he was headed in her direction.
“Ciao” he said when he reached her, cringing at his own attempt to speak Italian.
It was all it took to make Juliette burst out laughing, a mixture of surprise and nervousness.
After seeing Max’s defeated look, Juliette pulled herself together.
“I’m sorry”, she said “It’s just, I wasn’t expecting you to speak Italian”.
This made Max smile.
“You speak English… then, made a fool out of myself here, didn’t I?” he asked, chuckling.
“Kind of, but it was entertaining” she softly replied with a grin. Realising he had been standing there for five minutes, she invited him to sit with her, which he did.
"I'm Juliette by the way"
"Nice to meet you Juliette, I'm Max"
“So,” he kept going, “did you take any nice pictures, hopefully some with me in them” he said smirking.
“So you did see... Well, I would’ve but I got a little interrupted” said Juliette.
"Don't worry, I'm flattered" he replied laughing.
"Don't go feeling too special, I take many candid shots of strangers... Although it might sound weird like that" she laughed. "I just find it beautiful to capture snippets of life".
"Well you definitely make it sound beautiful" he replied with a warm smile, making her blush.
They stayed like this for a while, chatting about this and that, although Max failed to mention that he was an F1 driver and Juliette, on her part, failed to mention that she knew who he was and that Pierre was her best friend. They both did not want to make this conversation weird, knowing that were never going to see each other again anyway.
"Well, Max, it was lovely to meet you, but I think I'm gonna head out" said Juliette after a while.
"Yeah me too, have a good night Juliette" replied Max with a smile.
"Good night Max" said Juliette softly before leaving.
They each went their own way, a smile on their face as they though about this one-off encounter.
But after all, Orta San Giulio isn't a big town. Who knows, they might run into each other again.
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