JULIETTE CAREFULLY INHALED the air surrounding the girl, attempting to control the pace of her breathing. She needed to succeed further this race, she had to. She wasn't expecting a pole, but somewhere near the front row would benefit her race tomorrow.

Her hands gripped tightly on the wheel, impatiently waiting for the flashes of colours above to change and the crowd to go wild.

Jules' foot immediately slammed the pedal at the instant noise, the other cars mimicking a similar movement. All she had to do was perfect these turns.

"Be careful at the turns, Jules." Her engineer informed, not wanting a repeat of yesterday.

"Got it." She quickly answered, preparing for the first turn. With a slight budge of the wheel, her vehicle twisted towards the right, practically perfectly.

Her body released the air that filled her lungs with anxiety, a weight on her shoulders released at the skilled movement.

"Great job, Jules. Just keep that up throughout and this should be smooth." The driver was advised.

"Okay, who's leading?" Juliette wondered, she was certain that she wasn't currently ahead.

"You're P4 right now. Charles is leading, Verstappen not far behind." The girl proudly grinned when she heard the positions, she was sure her brother could achieve pole if he kept up the dedication. "Norris is about 5 seconds in front of you." They added.

Juliette's previous smile sunk. Why was it always fucking Lando Norris? Jules hardened her foot, the mention of his name unleashing the girl's competitive behaviour. She was going to stand on that podium and wipe that fucking smirk that he always wore off his face.

She swiftly sailed through the next few laps, her mind devoted to one mission only. Eliminate Lando Norris.

A glimpse of orange finally emerged in her eye-line, there's the motherfucker.

Jules' hands clenched onto the wheel, if she could see her knuckles they would be a ghostly white. Her eyes refused to blink.

"Leclerc is approaching Norris! Can she beat his time?" The commentator announced her whereabouts, the Mclaren slowly speeding up at the declaration.

NORRIS SCOWLED AT THE VIBRANT red car slowly making its way towards the boy. He could recognise that number 15 anywhere, Juliette. He attempted to increase his speed, but the Ferrari just creeped ever so closer. He couldn't have her overtaking him, he'd lose his chance at the podium that was practically calling out his name.

Lando's body began to drip with sweat, from both the intense heat of today and the fact Juliette Leclerc was now next to him, focused on the upcoming turn. His gloves tightly gripped the wheel before slowly twisting it, trying to not let the Ferrari overtake him.

However, his attempt was no match for the girl who effortlessly sped past the now enraged driver, contracting his hands into a fist before aggressively slamming against the steering wheel in frustration. Fuck! why was she so good at everything? She was going to have a quicker time than him now.

The thought of her stealing his opportunity to possibly proudly stand on that podium filled his body with uncontrollable fury. Lando clenched his jaw, highlighting his muscled cheekbone but also showing the pure anger flowing through his veins. She was always stealing his fucking spotlight.

The boy accelerated again, striving to pass the Ferrari once again, but the sight of the finish line caused his eyes to widen in horror. She was going to beat him. His eyes screwed up, his foot firmly pressed against the clutch, picking up as much speed as he could.

"Leclerc is currently 1.5 seconds ahead of Norris, can she achieve a quicker time than the Mclaren? 1:31.567 she has achieved! Can Lando do better..." The pressure intensified, desperate for the commentator to announce the desired information. "And sadly, he can't. Norris manages to scuffle a 1:32.311."

Great. He buried his helmet in his arms, disappointed by his position. He probably wouldn't be this annoyed if it was anyone else, but it just had to be Juliette Leclerc, the 'Stargirl' of Ferrari.

JULIETTE TRIUMPHED PROUDLY at her successful race. She was also joyful due to perfecting the turns she has previously struggled with.
"Well done out there, Juliette. P3 is very good." She was congratulated by her engineer.
"Thanks!" She smiled gleefully, making her way to the garage to celebrate the podium she rightly deserved after the hardwork and dedication.

The whole crew cheered as the Ferrari entered the garage, Charles following not long after. Another eruption of celebration occurred as the older Leclerc stepped out of the vehicle.

"Fantastic job, Charles! Pole position!" His engineer patted the winner's shoulder, proud of his achievement.

Juliette grew a large beam on her face at the announcement of his results, her pearly teeth slightly revealed. She cupped her hands around her mouth before screaming loudly at his victory, which easily caught her elder brother's attention. His sage eyes darted towards his sister's familiar hazel ones. The corners of Charles' mouth upturned when he saw the cheerful girl, somewhat mimicking the same cheesy smile she always wore in his presence.

"You got P3?" The man immediately shunned away his achievement, more focused on the brilliant outcome his younger sister had managed to scuffle, despite struggling on the practices.

"Yeah." She spoke softly, attempting to contain the extreme happiness that was coursing through her veins. Instead, the energy was emphasised with her body language, her head aggressively nodding in agreement at his query.

The brother instantly sprinted towards his sister at the confirmation, wrapping his arms around her back and allowing her head to gently rest on his chest.

"You improved so much, you don't understand how proud I am of you, Julie." Her cheeks flustered at the mention of her old nickname. She nuzzled her head further into the warmth of his body, ignoring the fact he was sweating. But she didn't care.

"I'm proud of you too, Charlie." She whispered, the brother slightly smirking at childhood reference. He despised it, she knew that, but still he allowed her to always call him the name. However, he adored her too much, him being mildly annoyed was worth her.

The duo stayed in the embrace for over a minute. They loved each other, they would never stop loving each other. Not ever.

"Hey!" The sibling's moment was interrupted by the call of a worker in the PR department. "You two need to get ready for your interviews!" They signalled towards the ever-growing crowd of people carrying microphones.

"Okay." The two answered in sync, climbing out of the long-lasting hug.

"See you soon?" Charles asked, preparing himself for the many questions he was going to be bombarded with.

"See you soon." She repeated his phrase, lifting her hand up into the air to say her goodbyes, taking a deep breath before heading towards the 'stampede' of interviewers.

LANDO GROWLED AS HE EXITED the vehicle, his eyebrows arching and his nostrils flaring. You could tell a fire was burning in his stomach, and one wrong move and it would ignite wildly.

"Decent job mate, P4." He heard the claps from the crew, glad of his position on the second row. But he wasn't happy about it. Not at all.

Maybe he was blinded by the immense rage he was currently feeling, P4 should be something worth celebrating for him, he could still catch a win from that place. However, the thought of seeing the number '15' ahead of him made his blood boil.

The driver refused to celebrate with the team, despite the positive attitude emitting off them. He couldn't enjoy this. Not with her ruining it. All of it. It was all her fucking fault.

His jaw locked close once again, he could feel his teeth grind together, the tight friction causing an aching feeling. But he was too trapped in his mind, replaying the same scene constantly in his head. The way she shot past him so easily. Why couldn't he do better?

"You alright, Lando?" He was transported back to reality by the voice of his engineer, concerned about the visibly irritated demeanour the boy was currently wearing.

"Yeah." He replied sharply, "Just fine." He breathed out heavily, attempting to compose his fury to avoid any interrogations from the interviewers. The disappointed driver masked a pleased grin across his face before heading towards the swarm of people. One rule imprinted in his brain- Don't lose your temper, Lando.

JULIETTE CLAMBERED THROUGH the gathering of people, almost immediately greeted by microphones being shoved close towards her lips, impatiently glaring at the girl for an answer to their many inquiries.

"Juliette, starting second row tomorrow! How do you feel about your result?" A sky reporter slammed through to reach the driver.

"It was a great race today, managed to perfect the turns I struggled on yesterday and I believe I improved massively today. Can't wait for tomorrow." Jules explained, a proud smile on her face.

"You had quite an overtake with Norris!" The reporter exclaimed. "Would you like to talk about that?"

"Yes, we were approaching turn 13 and he slightly understeered which let me easily speed past him."

"Now you and the Mclaren driver have quite an aggressive history together, do you think this minor rivalry will continue into the new season?" They asked, their eyes beaded open, desperate for a response.

"We'll see, I don't want any bad blood between us but if anything happens I'm not going to allow him to just run me over." Juliette facial expression saddened, pretending to be sympathetic about the situation. She hated him. It's hilarious to see the boy get so enraged. Lando acted like he still was a pathetic child.

"Amazing to hear from you, Leclerc!" The reporter finally disappeared after the long interrogation session, allowing the girl to walk away stress-free. The immense pressure of the interviews being released off of her shoulders, escaping a sigh of relief.

SIMILARLY TO JULIETTE, Lando was instantly bombarded with reporters, all of them eager to hear his opinion on the recent race and how the driver believed he performed during it.

"Lando!" A man shouted, sprinting towards the boy, "How was the race for you today? Must be tough to be so close to that P3, only to be swiftly overtaking by Juliette Leclerc."

"I could've done better today, lost my opportunity to start on that second row courtesy to Juliette, but tomorrow I'm going to try my hardest to stand on that podium." He responded, a visibly downed expression bold on his face.

"Would you like to explain what happened out there?" The reporter inquired.

"We were heading towards turn 13 and I noticed her car approaching me from behind. I attempted to speed up for the upcoming turn but I accidentally understeered which let her get past me."

"I see. Now we know that you and the younger Leclerc haven't always had the bestest relationship, will that continue into this season?" The reporter wondered, their hand tightening its grip on the microphone, highlighting their impatience.

"Personally, I'm not trying to start anything between us but in some situations, including today's race, I do believe she is targeting just me." He admitted, clicking his tongue and shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to appear unbothered.

"Can you elaborate further on that?" The reporter's curiosity increased by Lando's answer, intrigued by the reasoning of his belief about the girl.

"It's just.." He pondered, contemplating whether he should speak his truth. "Ever since I arrived here in 2019, she's always been brutal towards me and I'm not sure why, but hopefully she'll learn to not treat people that way anymore."

"Great to hear from you Norris!" His short-lasting interview abruptly ended to stop the conversation from breaching the time limits placed on the post- qualifying inquiries.

JULIETTE STOOD IN AWE AT THE  shocking words that escaped out of the McLaren driver's mouth. Brutal? She wasn't brutal! He was just a fucking crybaby.

The girl scoffed loudly at the finalisation of his unnecessary speech, before beginning to slam through the crowd, refusing to even slightly budge her eyes away from the strutting boy. He just couldn't keep that trap of his shut, could he?

"Hey, Norris!" She yelled, speeding up her pace to catch up with him, her body fuelled with anger.

"What?" Lando replied, keeping his head firmly glaring at the walk ahead and not towards her eyes. You could hear the frustration at the sudden realisation of whose voice he had just heard.

"What the actual fuck was that?" Jules spread her hands up in the air, expressing her desperation for a valid explanation to Lando's foolish antics in his interview.

"I don't know, you tell me, Leclerc." He shrugged, the immense rage that he had felt just after the race had started to spill out again, sharply turning to face the angered girl.

"Targeting you? I'll learn eventually? How fucking arrogant can you get?" She growled, her eyes narrowing into slits, menacingly glaring into the boy's soul.

"You know I'm right though." Lando snickered, his voice quieting down as he stepped closer to the girl, using their height difference as an attempt to intimidate Jules.

"I don't know if you can process this in that tiny brain of yours, but you're wrong." Juliette whispered, towards Norris, who was now just mere inches away from her, his ocean-like eyes peering down into her hazel ones, both of them powered with pure hatred for the other.

"I'm never wrong though, darling." The boy gently murmured, raising his eyebrows and sliding his tongue inside his cheek. Why did he have to always call her darling?

Lando Norris despised Juliette Leclerc, but why wouldn't his eyes budge away from hers. The boy could see the mini specks of green that glistened in the Bahrain sunlight. The way her eyelashes flicked upwards, perfectly complimenting the harsh frame of the currently tensed muscles. Thin strands of her brunette locks would sometimes flow across her practically flawless skin; he observed the slight waves and kinks in her hair. God, why did she have to be such a bitch?

Juliette Leclerc loathed Lando Norris, but why was she similarly unable to make her eyes shift away from his. She could see the many different blues in his eyes, like the Mediterranean Sea back in Monaco where she would relax with her family. Fuck, why was she thinking like this? He's a narcissist who only cares about his own reputation.

And for that thirty seconds, their faces were the closest they had ever been. Both of them determined to ruin each other, but was that what they really wanted to happen? Yes.

It was the only thing that should happen, nothing else. Absolutely nothing else...

***

AHHH YAY SECOND CHAPTER FINALLY FINISHED! I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY! I CAN'T WAIT FOR MORE LULIETTE INTERACTIONS!