No Going Back (Nyck de Vries X OC)

The moment

"Are you ready Jess?" Mick breaks me out of my thoughts.

"Yup," I reply. I'm not really ready but I need to make it to the end of the race. After a ten minute wait, the race has started. For some reason, I am able to get past Mick without any issues. Hopefully, he wasn't ordered to let me pass. I just wanted a challenge during this race. I mentally shrug it off since there is not much that I can do. After thirty minutes of driving, Mick has finally overtaken me again. I notice that he is struggling with something.

"Marcus, can you tell me what's wrong with Mick?" I used the radio to ask my lead engineer for information. I hope it's not serious.

"He has brake issues. I suggest you overtake him just in case," my lead engineer responds. Well, it looks like team orders are involved after all. I make my way past Mick. It looks like I am going to win the championship without the challenge. After an hour of driving the race has come to an end. It has been too easy for me to maintain my lead. It's a pity that Mick had those issues. Speaking of Mick he approached me.

"Congratulations Jess," Mick remarks. I try my best to be happy but the thought of my brother's cheeky smile passes through my mind. I am hit by the sadness of the memory. Maybe I should have taken the seat at Williams. Nah I am definitely better off in Formula E. The only person there that will know my brother personally would be Jean-Eric Vergne and I don't see us crossing paths any time soon. It has been a month since my victory in Formula 2 and I am getting ready for an important transition. Today is my first day in the actual Formula E car. The thing is I have had a go on the simulator but I am in the camp that actual driving is the best. I am looking forward to today for more than one reason. I will be seeing Nyck again after two years of struggling to maintain contact. I am so engrossed in my thoughts I fail to notice the person coming in the opposite direction. Luckily he is quick enough to catch me before I hit the ground.

"I am so sorry Jess," The person that I have run into is Nyck. The thing is even though the predicament I find myself in is embarrassing I am happy to see Nyck.

"Don't worry about it. After all, it was my fault," I respond. I can feel the fluster in my voice. I really need to stop being embarrassed at every single mistake.

"So what are you doing here?" Nyck asks. No one told him? That's odd. At least I can tell him myself.

"Well, I am joining you in Formula E," I announce. I can feel the corners of Nyck's lips curl up into a smile. It's contagious. A smile breaks out on my face as we head to the briefing room. I am not surprised that Nyck and I are the only ones here. We are both still early. Thankfully the rest of the team arrive soon after.

"First of all, I would like to welcome our newest team member Jess Bianchi," the team principal starts the briefing. At least the welcoming chatter is quick. After everyone wants to get the job done. I am glad that I already have most of the information because I really am struggling to pay attention. Not long after the briefing, the testing gets underway. I find myself caught out by the instant torque but despite that, I feel like I have made the right decision. I quickly recover as I bring the car up to speed. After thirty minutes of testing the team has given Nyck and me a break. I am glad because the car has a lot of things that I am struggling to come to terms with. Even then I am happy with my first session. I am currently nibbling on some food in the hospitality area.

"How do you think you went?" Nyck gets to work on making sure I am ok with the car.

"I did alright. The thing is I'm not sure how I will do in race conditions," I say. The thing is I am worried that I will run into Jean-Eric. I don't want to tell Nyck the real reason why I am not exactly confident. The thing is I know I will be fine. Despite my lack of confidence, I am enthusiastic about my position in Formula E.

"You'll be fine. In fact, I think you will be in the top five in the first race," Nyck announces.

"I think you are being a little too optimistic," I retort. I suppose I will find out in a couple of weeks. For some reason, I am overcome by the desire to thank Nyck for keeping me on the straight and narrow.

"Nyck, can I thank you for making sure I kept racing," I give in.

"Look I don't like seeing people struggle and I promise to listen when you need help," He responds with a simple explanation. The thing is I know he is hiding something but I am choosing to ignore it since it is probably none of my business. I feel bad for bringing the mood down in the room but since Nyck left Prema I haven't had the chance to tell him how much his help meant to me. I still can't put into words what it means but now that I thanked him there is a small weight off my shoulders. Now I just need to get through the rest of the testing.

"Thank you Nyck and I'm sorry for ruining the mood," I find myself sighing after my apology. I hate it when I do that.

"Don't worry about it, Jess. I'm just glad we are reunited," Nyck replies. Yup, he is definitely hiding something. I will talk to him about it after the first race. I am just glad that he still has my back despite a two-year split. Not that we stopped being friends. It's just that being on different teams made it harder for us to see each other. Now I won't have those kinds of problems anymore.  

A/N If you don't know the drill I am working on re-writing some of my stuff and this story is one of the victims. Please don't forget to vote and/or comment if you think the re-write is better.