Pairing: Max Verstappen x Reader
Summary: Max is in the wrong relationship, and you both know it. But knowing isn’t choosing, and you’re done waiting.
1.8k words / Inspo / Masterlist
You don't want to be here.
Not in this overpriced, dimly lit restaurant. Not sitting across from your best friend who, for all intents and purposes, should be yours but isn't. Not watching him share a plate of something too delicate, too refined, with someone who doesn’t know him the way you do.
You shouldn't be here, but you are. Because Max asked, and you’ve never been able to say no to him.
His girlfriend, the word itself sticks in your throat like it doesn’t belong there, sits beside him her hand curled possessively around his arm like it’s an accessory.
She's beautiful in that effortless way that makes it impossible to hate her, but easy to envy and you do, not because she's done anything wrong, but because she has him and you don’t. She’s the kind of girl who wears white to brunch and never spills anything. Who smiles with her teeth but never with her eyes. She laughs at all the right moments, smiles like she’s being watched, and you suppose she probably always is.
She tells people he’s different with her, like it’s some accomplishment, like she’s smoothed out all the parts of him that used to be real. And maybe that’s what she wants, a version of Max that’s easier to manage. More polished. Less... passionate.
And maybe he needs that. Maybe it’s easier to be loved when no one sees the cracks.
But you do.
And you love him anyway.
"You're quiet tonight."
Max's voice breaks through the fog of your thoughts, dragging you back into the present. His blue eyes flick to yours, brow furrowed. You know that look. Concern. Like he always gets when you're not yourself. Like he doesn't realise he’s the reason why.
"I'm fine," you lie, forcing a smile that doesn't quite reach your eyes. "Just tired."
His girlfriend, her name, why does her name escape you? Leans in, pressing a kiss to his cheek, whispering something you can’t hear. Max laughs, low and affectionate, and it splinters something inside you.
You force your attention back to your plate, pushing the delicate food around with your fork, though you have no appetite for it. Each bite seems tasteless, it’s not the kind of meal you’re used to. You’d much rather be somewhere familiar, somewhere real, where the food is greasy and the air is thick with laughter, the kind of places where Max talks with his hands and lets himself forget who he has to be.
But tonight, he’s wearing someone else’s life. And you’re just the spectator.
Max's laughter, though, it’s still real. It’s just harder to swallow now, harder to accept, because it’s not for you. Not tonight.
Then he leans in closer than necessary, voice dropping again, warm and soothing, bringing you back to the present. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Your heart stutters for a beat. The question, the tone it’s always the same. Always concerned. Always directed at you. But never for you. You’ve learned to ignore the quiet ache that blossoms each time, because it’s pointless.
"I'm fine," you repeat, this time with more conviction. The smile feels less forced but still unnatural. "I promise."
His eyes linger on you like it’s a habit he can’t break, and you can tell he’s not buying it. His gaze flicks briefly to his girlfriend, who is now chatting animatedly with the waiter about some wine pairing, before he leans in, close enough that only you can hear.
"Are you sure? You know you can talk to me right?"
That damn sweetness in his voice. That quiet tenderness he saves just for you, like a secret between the two of you, a secret you’re not sure you can keep much longer. His girlfriend is only a few inches away, but the distance between you and Max has never felt more cavernous.
You swallow, unable to look at him, because if you do, you might say something you can’t take back. Something that would shatter the delicate balance you’ve managed to maintain.
You want to tell him that you're not fine. That you haven’t been for a long time. But you can’t. You just can't.
Instead, you nod, your throat tightening, unable to force the words past your lips. He doesn’t need to know. Not now. Not when it could ruin everything.
Later that night when you’re alone in your apartment, you do what you swore you wouldn’t.
You scroll through old photos, ones where it was just you and Max, before… before everything became complicated. Late-night drives through Monaco, your legs propped up on his dashboard. His arm around you after a race, champagne still clinging to his skin. The way he looked at you, like you were his whole world.
And maybe you were.
Maybe, for a time, he was yours too.
You miss him. Not the version of him you get now, careful and distant, but the Max who used to call you at 3 a.m. just to talk. The Max who used to sit on your bathroom counter while you took off your makeup, who would trace patterns into your wrist absentmindedly as you talked about the future.
That version of Max doesn’t exist anymore.
Or maybe he does. Maybe he’s just buried under the weight of a relationship that isn’t meant for him.
She’s the safe choice. The quiet, easy path. She’ll never demand the real version of him, but she’s there and for now that’s enough for him.
Your fingers hover over his name in your phone, heart hammering in your chest. You shouldn’t call.
But you want to.
Call me when you break up.
The words sit on the tip of your tongue, but you swallow them down.
Instead, you type a message you’ll never send.
We’re so meant for each other, when will you wake up?
You read the words, and the weight of them sinks deep in your chest. But you delete them immediately. They’re too raw. Too desperate. Too honest.
With a shaky breath, you shut off your phone, the screen fading to black.
The thing about being in love with Max Verstappen is that you never really stop waiting.
You wait for him to see you. Wait for him to realise what you've always known. Wait for the moment when he’ll turn to you and say, it was always you.
But waiting is exhausting.
And you're tired of feeling like an afterthought.
So you do what any rational, heartbroken person would. You try to forget.
You let strangers buy you drinks, let them whisper sweet nothings into your ear, let them kiss you in the dark corners of bars where no one knows your name. You chase distractions, hoping that one of them will make you feel something, anything, other than the ache of missing him.
But they never do.
Because none of them are Max.
And maybe that’s why when your phone rings one night, his name flashing across the screen, you still answer without hesitation. Because this isn’t the first time. It’s become a pattern. A quiet, painful ritual. A fight with her. A call to you.
"Hey."
He sounds off. Tired. Worn down in a way you’ve never heard before.
"Can I come over?"
Your pulse spikes. "Max—"
"I just… I don’t want to be alone right now."
The unspoken words hang between you.
I don’t want to be with her right now.
You exhale shakily. "Yeah. Of course."
Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rings, cutting through the silence that had settled over your apartment like a heavy fog. You stand frozen for a moment, uncertainty crawling up your spine, before you force your legs to move.
He looks wrecked. Like he hasn't slept in days. He doesn't say anything at first, just steps inside, closing the distance between you in a way that makes your breath catch.
"Did something happen?" you ask softly.
Max shakes his head, exhaling sharply. "I just needed to see you."
The space between you closes with a speed that makes your pulse skip. It’s like he’s always known the exact way to find you, to make everything else fade away, to pull you back in like you’re a magnet and he’s the force that won’t let you escape.
His eyes search yours, and it’s in that moment you realise he knows.
He knows he's with the wrong person.
He knows that no matter how much he tries to pretend, it’s always been you.
But knowing something and choosing it are two entirely different things.
And you’re tired. Tired of waiting for him to make the right choice. Tired of standing here, always second. Always the backup when things aren’t perfect in his world.
So you step back, putting space between you that feels like a chasm.
"You can’t do this," you whisper. "You can't just run to me when things go wrong with her. It’s not fair."
His jaw tightens at your words, the muscle in his cheek twitching, but he doesn’t argue. Instead, he looks down, taking a long breath, his chest rising and falling with the weight of something unspoken. You can see the frustration, the guilt in the way his shoulders tense, but it doesn’t change anything.
"I—"
"You love me Max." Your throat tightens, interrupting him before he can pull you in, and you hate the way your voice cracks on the last word, but you don’t care. "I know you do."
Silence.
Painful, suffocating silence.
But then—
"I do." His voice is raw, like the words are being torn from him. "I do love you."
Your breath stutters. "Then why are you still with her?"
Max opens his mouth to respond, but the words die on his lips. His eyes dart away from yours, like he’s trying to find the right thing to say but can’t. He clenches his fists at his sides, and the tension in his body is palpable. "I... I don’t know," he mutters, voice thick. "I don’t know what I’m supposed to do."
"You’re supposed to choose Max!" Your voice cracks, the frustration bubbling over.
He opens his mouth again, but the words won't come. You watch him struggle, like he’s stuck in a loop of his own making. "I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to hurt you," he says, regret creeping in.
"But you have," you say, your voice steady but filled with everything you’ve been holding in. "You have hurt me Max. And you don’t get to keep doing that and expect me to just be here when you feel like it."
Max takes a step toward you, but you shake your head, stepping back. "No," you whisper, shaking your head. "You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to have me when it’s convenient for you. You either choose me, or you don’t."
Max opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. Because there’s no excuse. No reason good enough.
Just fear.
Of change. Of consequences. Of finally choosing what’s real over what’s easy.
And you? You’re done waiting for him to be brave.
So you smile, even though it hurts. Even though your heart is shattering.
"Call me when you break up."
Then you shut the door.