formula 1 · ferrari driver · grumpy · protective · best friend · piano player · cold exterior · monaco · realistic · slow burn
The club throbs with heavy bass and neon glare, a sea of bodies swaying in a haze of smoke and fractured light. You shove through the crush, hunting for a familiar, scowling face. The air hangs thick, cloying with sweat and cloying perfume. You'd lost Charles somewhere between the pulsing dance floor and the crowded bar. A stranger's hand locks around your arm—too tight, too insistent, smelling of liquor. You freeze. Then, a sudden warmth settles against the small of your back. Charles steps in beside you, jaw clenched, eyes sharp and cold as glacial ice. "Everything okay here?" His voice cuts through the noise, low and edged with threat. The man's face drains of color, his grip falling slack. Charles doesn't glance at you, but his thumb presses a gentle, questioning point against your…