THIRTEEN

Mick Schumacher always used to play games and make bets with his sister, Gina Schumacher, when they were young children.

They always had a stupid forfeit for whoever lost, most of the time, Mick had ended up with bruises because his older sister was easily able to win.

He never understood why the forfeits that she chose always involved him getting hurt. Maybe it was an older sibling thing.

"I bet that I can beat you on a go kart track."

Gina Schumacher spoke with confidence, her blonde hair tied back in to a tight ponytail, her body still dressed in the clothes that she had worn to go horse riding earlier in the morning, a pink and blue plaid shirt and a dark grey pair of jodhpurs.

He couldn't help but notice that the jodhpurs had been made by his Lex, easily being able to tell what pieces she had created due to how amazing the stitching was.

"I bet that you can't."

Mick Schumacher smiled back at his sister, the pair getting competitive with one another, their bodies moving as if they were ready to fight right in that very moment.

"The loser has to pay for a fancy dinner, and if i win, I get to slap you in the face with a fish." Gina spoke, a smug feeling evident within her chest since she had a ninety percent chance that she had it, knowing that whilst Mick had risen up the ranks thanks to karting, that she had never stopped it, constantly getting very good times.

She knew that she had this bet already won, she just needed the confirmation and her prize.

The first lap of their karting competition involved them deliberately ramming their karts in to one another, their speed increasing as the laps went on.

Mick knew that he wasn't rusty in his karting skills yet he did begin to wonder just how it was possible that Gina was so far ahead of him after twenty laps, almost being able to lap him since he could hear her loud laughter approaching from behind him.

He didn't even know that it was rigged against him from the beginning, to ensure her victory that she had also sabotaged his kart, knowing that she needed the win a lot more than he did.

She needed the win, she had already planned out the fancy dinner so she had to act on it, and she easily was going to, her brother didn't stand a chance.

"How did you win by that much? You cheated!" Mick raised his voice, with the German boy raising his hands in to the air in exasperation, astounded that he had actually lost against his sister.

"I did not! I won fair and square!" Gina argued as she held her small trophy that she had bought for her victory, wanting to rub it in a little bit.

He would have to pay for a nice big fancy dinner now. But she knew that he would thank her for it, because she wasn't going to be eating the food that he was paying for, no, he was.

He was, and he was going to be going to the fancy dinner... with Lennox.

She had already invited Lennox way before the bet was even set, hence why she needed to win.

He was going to thank her, they both were.

She knew it.

_____________________________________________

Lennox Knight was ready for the fancy dinner, her outfit perfectly hugging her body, and with thanks to her best friend Gina, she looked amazing.

Her naturally curly hair was untamed and wild, showing how it usually was since they had opted to keep her looking natural with her hair and makeup, only a small amount of concealer, mascara and lip gloss upon her face.

Her dress however, was anything but natural.

Gina had told her to go all out, and since she had been designing a dress that would perfectly suit a gala, she opted to wear that.

It was silk, so it didn't scratch at her skin like a lot of other fabrics did, it had a small trail so that there was some movement within the dress, a slit in the thigh going just below her knee helping to make sure that she wasn't having to waddle like a penguin.

She was very confused about the whole invite in the first place, but she had promised Gina that she would go and she never broke a promise to her best friend.

"You look beautiful, Lex. I love your hair."

Mick Schumacher spoke softly, his mouth almost dropping open at how beautiful she looked, her skin glowing as her eyes were concentrated solely on him.

"Your eyes. They are... very blue."

Lennox Knight let the words fall off her tongue without a thought, her eyes squeezing shut at how bad it sounded, the awkwardness making her wring her hands together nervously.

Why was she getting so nervous around Mick? He was her best friend, she was never this awkward, not even when she had first met him and just zoned out staring at him for a couple of minutes.

"Thank you, they're natural." Mick giggled softly in order to break the awkward tension, his arm offered out to her so that he could get her seated at their table which was outside, that having caught them both off guard.

His eyes noticed how her body shivered as they were seated at a table where there seemed to be a little bit of wind, his hand reaching in to the small paper bag that he had brought with him, pulling out a hoodied sweater.

"I have a spare hoodie, if you want it. I don't want you getting cold, Lex." Mick smiled softly at the young woman, her eyes meeting his for a mere moment, a look passing between them, their smiles growing, soft dusting of pink appearing on both of their cheeks.

The German boy watched as the French-American girl accepted the hoodie, pulling it over her dress so that she wasn't too cold, a happy smile filling her face at the realisation that he had brought one just for her.

"Ginny told me that you're paying." Lennox giggled softly, her nose slightly scrunching up as she did so, the eyes of the German boy concentrating solely on her and her beautiful face, taking in every single bit of it, wanting to remember and savor it all.

He hadn't realised just how amazing and beautiful his Lex actually was.

He knew that her personality was amazing and beautiful and perfect and he loved that, but as he watched her sitting opposite him, it was like it hit him like a freight train.

Lennox Knight was the most beautiful person that he had ever seen.

And it was in that moment, that he realised just how much he had missed amidst the chaos of his brain, the way that her nose would scrunch up when she giggled or when she would smell something that she didn't like, the way that her eyes would light up the second that she saw him, the way that she would look around the room for him until she found him, the way that his heart had reacted when she had accidentally kissed him when exhausted, the way that her lips would move and curve as the softest of words would leave them, the way that her voice was so soft and heavenly that it sounded as if everything she said was spoken by angels, because they were.

Because to him, in that moment he realised something that he had missed for a very long time, she was an angel, his angel.

How did he miss it?

How did he miss being so in love with her?

A/N

I am back, I strangely love this, what do you think?

I can't believe that the book is actually nearly over, I love Lennox with my whole heart and soul and it feels so strange knowing that there isn't long left before her story is complete,

Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and I'll see you all soon for the next one,

I'm so proud of all of you, my loves

Love you all,

-RUBY 🇵🇸🇨🇩🇸🇸🇺🇦🇾🇪🇱🇧🇦🇫