razorblade | sebastian vettel ✓

chapter 7 | two strangers in silverstone

Cassandra didn't have enough time to register the touch before he started to guide her to the garage, clearly they didn't have the same reflex capacity. Sebastian didn't let go of her wrist even as he named some of the people around the garage, mainly from his side of course, and tried to explain to her what all the screens and everything were about. Some smiled, some waved their hands, and others just acknowledged her with a simple nod — like Mark who seemed surprised to see her there next to Sebastian but made sure to be polite enough to give her a tight-lipped smile. They even bumped into his team principal for a minute, this one did look a bit wary of her when Sebastian mentioned she was some sort of journalist. Cassandra just brushed that off.

He kept wrapping her wrist even when they stepped out of that garage and he suggested exploring some more. It was like he was afraid he would lose her if he let go of her. She didn't complain anyway.

The words kept pouring out of him, Cassandra just listened attentively as he mentioned team names and drivers, and whatever other explanation he came up with. She felt a bit mesmerised by all of it and the way he talked about it. She even got a nod from an extremely blonde driver who Sebastian called Kimi. He said he was nice and a good friend of his; she would take his word for it despite Kimi's less-than-enthusiastic expression.

A lot was going on, and Cassandra was trying to take everything in.

"I wouldn't know what to do if I had to deal with all this every two weeks," Cassandra mentioned once they started to slow down a bit.

"You get used to it." Sebastian smiled. "For me sometimes it does help that when I get to go back home it's quiet, so it's like recharging. You know."

She nodded. "Switzerland, right?" He hummed in confirmation. "I bet it's relaxing there. I mean if you live in the mountains or something like that."

"You should visit." He suggested. Cassandra looked at him. She wouldn't even pretend she couldn't afford that because technically she could. That was what Gareth called rich. "We have a break after the race in Hungary, you can find me there if you want." He looked at her.

Her mouth went dry. "Do you plan to give me another interview?"

"For sure, I love talking to you." His attention drifted to the way ahead of them. "You should've noticed by now." Cassandra saw the corners of his lips lifting a bit.

The heat rising to her cheeks wasn't imaginary. And she looked away before Sebastian could catch that. The words of any possible answer to that died in her lips when they heard a loud 'Seb!' coming from somewhere else. They stopped walking to turn around.

Two drivers wearing white racing suits approached them. Sebastian unwrapped her wrist, and she felt the loss of contact before taking a step to the side, bringing some considerable distance between them. She hadn't realised how close they were to each other until then. When the two drivers were closer, Cassandra felt a bit out of her element, whilst Sebastian grinned at them in a very welcoming way.

"Hey there, mate." The taller driver engulfed Sebastian in a half-hug and then looked over at Cassandra. "And...hey there."

Sebastian glanced at her. "This is Cassandra, she's a...journalist." He raised his eyebrows as if searching for her approval of the title. Cassandra just nodded. "Cassandra this is Jenson," He pointed at the tall guy. "And Lewis." Both of them smiled at her, which she returned because of politeness and all that. "They drive for McLaren, as you can see by the—" He gestured at their racing suits. "That."

She liked Sebastian's much better. Maybe she was biased.

"Nice to meet you." She extended her hand to both of them. Courtesy gestures were exchanged. "Maybe we should continue this later when you're less busy. I can leave you guys alone to talk about what you have to talk about. Racing stuff or whatever." Her hands gestured in the air. Sebastian wouldn't lie, at that point, everything about Cassandra amused him. "I'll be around." She told him and he nodded. "Excuse me," Cassandra mentioned and then tried to figure out which way she had to go.