#cl6

Red was the colour of her lunchbox on the first day of kindergarten. She did not know anyone, having just moved to Monaco. The first part of the day was spent playing alone, all the other children seemed to already be friends, and nobody approached her. She looked at all the other groups running around and pushing each other on the swings. If it hadn’t been for her shy personality, she would have walked towards them and befriended them, but fear of rejection got the best of her. At lunchtime, she finally sat around with the other kids. A small boy with green eyes and a cheeky smile took place next to her. "I really like your lunchbox" he said "Red is my favourite colour". She looked at him and thought his dimples were funny. "I like blue," she said. His eyes widened "My lunchbox is blue!" he said pointing at it "I am Charles, and you?"

Red was the colour of his rucksack on the first day of school. Pascale and Charles were already standing in front of the gate. She arrived a bit later, accompanied by her mother. None of them slept the night before, too excited to start a new adventure together. They entered the gate together, hand in hand as usual and sat next to each other at the back of the class. Everyone in school knew them, teachers were always amused by their closeness and their classmates never missed an opportunity to spread rumours about them being in love with each other. None of them cared about what people thought, they lived in their own world, and, on that planet, there were just two inhabitants.

Red was the colour of her dress on Joris' birthday. They were both sixteen and lately, Charles’ heart started doing backflips every time she was around. He was euphoric as he just got the licence to drive a scooter and he could not wait to pick her up. He waited outside her house, and, for the special occasion, he wore a suit, borrowed from his brother Lorenzo. He saw her walking down the last flight of stairs. It was the first time he saw her wearing a dress and heels. They were not kids anymore; she was turning into a young woman. A beautiful, gorgeous, stunning young woman. It was difficult for him to take his eyes off of her. "How do I look?" she asked while doing a spin for him. Ethereal. "You look good". She smiled at him and fixed her hair "You don’t look too shabby either". The ride to Joris’ house was silent, she sat behind him and put her arms around his torso. "We made it" she jokingly said "For a moment I thought I would have died". Charles rolled his eyes "Ready to party?" She looked uneasy and he took her by the hand, visibly worried. "Marta told me Davide has a crush on me" she confessed, "She said he would like to kiss me and I am scared. What if I don’t know how to do it?" Charles heard a tiny ‘crack’ in his chest. He had no idea Davide liked her and that the feeling was mutual. The idea of her kissing someone else made him feel sick. "It’s just a kiss, it comes naturally" he explained "Just... Don’t think too much". "Would you show me how to do it?" Charles’ confused expression caused her to clarify "Would you kiss me? I have never done it and I would feel more comfortable doing it with you first". He did not hesitate and pulled her closer. His hand caressed her cheek and searched in her eyes signs of hesitation. Her hands found his neck and closed the gap between their lips. It was just a small peck on her lips, the kind of kisses their parents exchanged, the ones they used to find disgusting as kids. Charles took a step back to see her reaction. She was beyond disappointed, and a wrinkle formed between her eyebrows. "Are you for real?" she was expecting much more. How could she learn if he did not put in some effort? "Forget it, I’ll figure something out" she continued, walking away from him. She already knew it would have been a disaster, Davide would have made fun of her and no other boy in the whole Monaco would have ever kissed her again. Charles took her by the hand and made her turn towards him. She did not even have the time to reply that his mouth was on hers again. One of his hands was on her hip to keep her stable and the other one was in her hair. He passionately kissed her, biting her bottom lip and making her gasp with the unexpected act. Once he thought she was more comfortable, he licked her lips, asking her to access her mouth. She grew some courage and her hands found the hem of his shirt, pulling him closer to her. When she was almost out of breath, Charles gave her one last kiss and then rested his forehead on hers, their breaths still mixing. "How was it?" she shily said. At that moment Charles realised he wouldn’t have kissed her again as she was about to make out with another dude. "Needs some practice" he said and the girl could not hide the disappointment. During the party, they did not interact at all. Charles was jealous and she was hurt. After midnight, he completely lost sight of her until Marta pointed at the balcony. "Oh my God, guys" she whispered, "it’s happening". The group turned around to see her and Davide cuddled up together. Charles felt a knot in his stomach and was not sure if he wanted to watch or not. In the end, his eyes remained fixed on the scene and saw their mouths collide. Everyone was cheering and clapping their hands, aside from him, obviously. He needed something to keep his mind busy, so he refilled his glass with some more wine. He could feel his blood boiling in his veins, and he knew he had to do something. In a way, Charles wanted to punish her, so that night he decided to lose his virginity to someone else.

Red was the colour of her nails as she was scratching his hair. He was folded in two, his head in the toilet as he threw up all the alcohol digested. "I won’t drink anymore," he said as he moved slowly. She helped him lay with his back on the wall for extra support, his eyes lost somewhere in the room and his lips parted. "You say this every Saturday night" she chuckled amused, and her hand caressed his arm as his breath went back to its normal pace. "This time is true. I don’t want to feel this sick ever again" he cleared his throat "You always take good care of me". "Who is going to look after you now that you are leaving?" Charles gave her a sad smile "I wish I could take you with me". It was true, he was devastated by the idea of not seeing her like they used to. He felt so lost without her, her contagious smile and encouraging words. "I was not lying when I said I could not have done it without you. These months have been so difficult, and you have been my rock". Sitting both on the cold floor, inches away, she did not even realise his words made her tear up. It was true, the last period had been particularly hard, Charles was in pieces, and she collected every single one and put them back together. "Charles..." she did not even know what to say. "I don’t want to make you cry on our last night. Actually, I have something that can make you smile" he put his hand in his pocket and gave her a small packet. She took it and was fast to open it. Inside there was a necklace with a tiny red heart. "So you have a piece of me everywhere you go," he said. Her eyes filled again with tears. There was something more that she could not really explain. There was a void in her chest she could not give a name. "If you don’t like it, you can always chan-" Charles’ words died in his throat as she pressed her lips on him. It was not a kiss like the one they shared when they were sixteen. It was just a small peck, but it spoke a thousand words none of them knew yet.

Red was the colour of his tracksuit the first time he drove for Ferrari. He locked himself in the bathroom and dialled her number. "I am about to throw up" These were his first words when she picked up the phone. "No, you are not. You are going to be amazing" she reassured him "Where are you now? Shouldn’t you be in the car?" "I locked myself in the bathroom. I am not leaving it. There are other drivers who can replace me". She scolded him "Are you insane? No one can replace you. You worked hard for this, yo- we all made so many sacrifices, I won’t let you throw everything out of the window. Now open this damn door so I can properly wish you good luck". Charles’ emotions travelled from panic and fear to pure confusion as he rushed to open the bathroom door. She was there, pretty as ever with a big smile on her face and sparkling eyes. She was there, even if she said she couldn’t, that she was busy with exams and job interviews. Nevertheless, she still found the time to be there for him. He swore he could not have loved her more than that.

Red was the colour of her eyes the night she found out he had a girlfriend. He had been in love with her for years and got tired of waiting for someone who was clearly not reciprocating the feeling. They were at the airport, and she was about to leave Abu Dhabi to go back to Monaco. He had acted weird all week, more detached, and less chatty than usual. She knew something was up but decided to give him space. Words slipped from his mouth like a machine gun. "I have been seeing someone in the past months, I did not say anything because it was early days, but now it is official. I wanted to tell you before it came out on the papers". They did not look at each other in the eyes, both afraid to know what they could find in it. Charles had been with other girls, obviously, but none of them had ever been an official girlfriend. She shouldn’t have been that surprised, he was gorgeous and famous, and everyone would have fallen for him. Not many knew that he was also generous, a good friend, a funny guy who loved his family and romantic comedies. Not many knew him like she did and consequently, nobody loved him like her. She came to terms with her feelings little by little, even if a part of her had always known she loved him and he was the person for her. "Does she make you happy?" she asked, terrified of the answer. "We get along" he replied. It was not a yes. "Then I am happy for you" she said, her eyes already filling with tears "I better get going now or else I’ll miss my flight". He pulled her in a hug, and she almost melted. Charles held her as close as possible and kissed her cheek. "You’ll always have a special place in my heart, you know it right?" She simply nodded, trying to hide a sob. Once on the plane, she cried until she got home. Red was the colour of the lipstick stain on his pale skin. They went out drinking as Charles just won his first race (first place ever!) and everyone was in the mood for a good party. They were also recently single and heartbroken in their own ways, so a distraction was needed. The night lasted forever, or so they thought. Once at the hotel, none of them felt like sleeping and Charles took a bottle of wine from the fridge in his room. "I just feel so lonely" she started saying at some point, her eyes almost filled with tears. "But you have me" he replied almost offended. She shook her head, he was not getting it. "I can’t do with you the things that would make me feel less lonely, you know?". "Who says that?" he asked. They were sitting on the bed, she still had on the dress she wore to the club while he had unbuttoned his shirt just a bit to tease her imagination. She turned to face him and noticed in his eyes no signs of hesitation. "What are these things that would make you feel less lonely?" he continued as his face approached hers. She almost forgot how to breathe for a moment. None could believe it was finally happening they were about to cross the thin line between best friends and lovers and this time there was no turning back. She was the one making the final move and made their lips collide. This was not their first time and certainly not the last. The kiss was hot and frantic, the kind of kiss between two people who had wasted too much time already and wanted to make up for it.

Red was the colour of her nose. It always cracked with every cold or cry. Charles always reminded her to put some cream to make it fade away. A few hours passed from his voice note and he was starting to worry. He rushed back to the hotel to find their room empty. He reached for his phone and dialled her number again when, suddenly, someone knocked on the door. She was standing in front of his (their) hotel door and looked miserable, just like him. Charles thought fast about something to say when she let a sob escape from her lips. "I love you too. I always have and don’t ever say I have better options because you have always been my person and I can’t think of a better match for me" she said with tears running down her cheeks. At that point she did not even know the reason for her to cry: she felt so happy and relieved it was almost painful, but nothing a kiss couldn’t cure. Red has always been their colour, just like the fil rouge that has kept them connected and always will.