✓ | UNTIL THE SONG WAS DONE, oscar piastri

FORTY - ONE

"I doubt they actually have all those parties that we see on television," she laughed, taking a sip of the ice cold water, waking her senses in the midst of her tiredness from mingling more than she'd typically like to. "I'll be focused on other things anyway."

"Like your studies?" Sebastian asked.

"Yeah, obviously, but also," she weighed the idea in her head, the same way she had been since she got her first modeling gig a year ago. "I'm thinking about doing modeling professionally. Maybe even acting too. It'll be nice, a little hobby."

Sebastian raised his eyebrows and nodded with a smile. "Wow, that's ambitious."

"I've been told I'm like that. Keep up, Sebastian," she joked, and he merely chuckled in response.

"Sorry, mind wanders." He placed down his own glass of water and looked towards her again. "I like your dress by the way. Very unique color."

"Oh, thank you! It reminds me of peaches," she said, a small smile on her glossy lips.

He only hummed as he gave her a once over. "I was thinking more like the inside of a papaya, but if you say peaches, I'll think the same."

Sebastian was sweet, easy to talk to, and someone that everyone liked to have around, Maia included.

She hated herself for the way that every time they spoke, she wondered how the conversation would have went if he was here instead, but she shouldn't be thinking about someone thousands of miles away, doing God knows what with people she didn't know anything about.

...Does he think of her?

Sometimes she wondered if he did, but she doubted it greatly.

"Maia," Sebastian asked softly, and she looked toward him with attentiveness. "Can I ask you something?"

She nodded, and he continued on with his question.

"Why don't you go somewhere else?"

She quirked her head to the side with raised eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"You know..." he shrugged, looking her in the eyes. "Europe."

Maia opened her mouth to protest the idea, but he put a hand out in front of her.

"Just, just listen, okay?" Sebastian pleaded. "I know that Oscar guy was important to you, and now you, like, resent him, or whatever. But, you liked him a lot, you know?" He straightened his posture, and Maia wanted him to just shut up now, be quiet for the rest of the night and never see each other again. "Why not go find him somewhere? I mean, the guy's trying to be a Formula 1 driver, he's gotta have a website or something for you to search for—"

"No," she shook her head. "Not worth it."

"But he is," he fought, almost like he was trying to convince her to actually go; to refund her plane ticket and turn around and run to Europe instead. "You know he is. The way you used to talk about him when we were like, what, fifteen? He was important to you, still is. I'm not stupid. I mean, what happens if you have to go to England someday for an acting gig, or something, and you bump into him in...I don't know, a coffee shop?"