Being back in Switzerland felt like being freed from a cage. A huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders and everything seemed brighter than before. She even found herself greeting random people on the street, something that she hadn't done in a long time. A spring was back in her step and she could now see how much fear had numbed her feelings over time. Without her noticing it had taken over her life and now that she was free it made her sad to realise how much she had missed. The sharp pain while breathing and eating reminded her of the fact that still all was not well yet. She wasn't able to cover up her face like she used to and sometimes she caught people staring at her. It made her feel uncomfortable, but the guilt that had always been there was significantly less at least.
She stared out the window and could see people walking by, laughing and talking with their company. The familiar scent of coffee filled her nostrils and it funnily enough made her feel like she was back in London. She finished the order she was making and handed the coffee she was holding in her hands to the waiting customer. It had been a good choice to apply for a job here and it made sense to start somewhere familiar. Not knowing the regulars yet was a pity, because the small conversations were what she liked best about the job. However, it had been doing wonders for her German and she also was becoming more familiar with the characteristics of the Swiss. With a smile on her face she went around the counter to clean the empty tables.
A lot of people where relaxing in the big arm chairs, whether having a conversation or frantically typing on their laptops. The atmosphere was very different from her job at the cafe back home. There most of the customers were commuters and people were always in a hurry, here almost everyone took the time to sit down and just enjoy their coffees. The next table to clean was one of the tables at the window, it reminded her of that time she and Sebastian had met up and had set at that exact same table. She couldn't hold back a smile when the image of Seb sitting there popped up in her head. The sugar bowl was still there, although she was sure that the contents had been replaced after the mess he had made. She straightened her apron and started collecting empty mugs, she could not be thinking of Sebastian right now. Since she had been back in Switzerland she had not seen him, not even just a glimpse. Maybe he was on holiday, she thought, or maybe he was away for work. She sighed at that thought and put several empty mugs on her tray. It didn't matter how much she tried not to, her mind still kept wandering to Seb several times a day.
'Keira, we need you!'
She turned around to locate the source of the voice and saw Elsa waving at her from behind the counter. There was indeed a small queue forming so she quickly picked up the last empty mugs and went to help her colleague. The cafe also sold a lot of homemade cakes and pastries, so orders could get complicated.
'How may I help you?' she asked the blonde girl who was staring at the cakes.
'I can't decide on which one to choose,' the girl answered apologetically. 'I want to surprise my boyfriend, but he always complains about my choices.'
Keira smiled, she knew that feeling and also everything looked so good that you would just like to buy everything. 'What does he like?' she tried to help the girl.
'Chocolate, but he's always sulking that he isn't allowed to eat it,' she sighed. 'He has been away for a few days, so I just wanted to do something nice.'
'Well, one piece of chocolate cake wouldn't hurt, would it?' she smiled. In the mean time she started to top up the croissants, because they always sold very rapidly.
The girl grinned. 'I guess you're right. I just have to hide it for his trainer, otherwise he would kill me.'
'This one then?' Keira pointed at the cake with the largest amount of chocolate covering it. The girl nodded and grabbed her wallet from her bag. After packing up the cake and wishing her a nice day she continued with topping the other products.
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The rain came down very heavily and people were running in different directions to find shelter. Damn it, the weather had been so beautiful when he had left and now he was treated to this. He had hoped after almost having to use a boat for transport in England that the weather here would at least be dry. Of course he hadn't brought an umbrella so now his hair and clothes were soaked and it made him feel miserable. He already wasn't in a very good mood, he had been in several arguments with Mark over the last days and it had drained him mentally. While brushing the wet hair out of his eyes he could only think of one place he wanted to go to right now.
He pushed open the door and spotted an empty table next to a couple of guys who were folding Origami. While raising an eyebrow at the rather unusual situation he sat down at the empty table and observed the guys. He could smell they were slightly intoxicated already, but it was staggering how accurate they still were while folding.
'Can I take your order?' a voice sounded from behind him.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he turned around. 'Keira?'
'Seb?' she said sounding surprised. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open at the sight of Sebastian.
A smile appeared on his face, she had remembered to call him Seb. He was surprised however to see her here, because she had gone back to England. Also the fact that she was wearing an apron sure meant that she was working here and that confused him even more.
'What are you doing here, I thought you were in England?' he raised an eyebrow, but a small grin played on his lips. 'And speaking German now, are we?'
'Working,' she stuttered in English this time. Her cheeks turned pink and she dropped the tray she was carrying. When she picked it up her cheeks had turned red. 'Sorry,' she muttered.
Although her cheeks had turned red, he could still see some swelling and bruising. It looked painful and still quite fresh, like it had happened very recently. He couldn't imagine someone hurting such a sweet girl, but he had spotted signs before. Also how she had reacted when they had accidentally touched had raised some questions. The hurt look in her eyes gave away that at least something was bothering her and he didn't know what to do about it. The last time he had brought it up she panicked and he had hated himself for upsetting her.
She could feel him staring at her face and his fixed eyes made her realise he had spotted her broken cheekbone. She could see recognition dawning on his face and afraid of his reaction she glanced up at the ceiling.
'Why did you come back?' he asked. His voice sounded concerned and a line had formed between his eyebrows, but he stayed clear of asking what he had wanted to.
She played with her hair and observed the growing pile of Origami on the next table before looking back at him. It was unnecessary to say she was taken aback by being suddenly confronted with Sebastian. Sure she had been thinking about him the last couple of days, about if she would see him again one day, but this had been a very unexpected meeting. His wet hair was sticking to his face and his eyes showed signs of exhaustion, he must have had a rough time. Normally there would have been a smile on his face and this worrying look suited him less. Not that it made him look horrible, absolutely not, but he wasn't able to light up a room like he normally was.
'Why are you wet?' she retorted the question.
The corners of his mouth turned up a little and his eyes softened. 'It rained,' he grinned.
'Thank you Captain Obvious,' she sighed dramatically.
He shrugged his shoulders and his smile widened. 'Wasn't expecting it to rain here, so was not prepared for the rain sadly,' he pouted while trying to look as sad as possible.
'But it has been raining for a couple of days now?' she raised her eyebrows, although he looked adorable trying to look sad.
'I didn't know that! I have been in England for work and only came back yesterday evening, so...'
The situation seemed somewhat funny to her, he had been in England and she was here in Switzerland, just the opposite of where they both belonged. 'Boring business trip or was it actually fun?' she asked. He had sounded somewhat frustrated and he was tugging on his wet hair very passive aggressively, so she thought she knew the answer already.
'Boring and frustrating, especially one of my colleagues,' he said in a tired voice. He rolled his eyes and slumped his head down on the table, frustration was clearly visible.
'Sounds fun,' she smirked in an attempt to make him feel less annoyed. 'What has he done to you?' she added.
He started slamming his head on the table and groaned in exasperation. Now he had to explain to her about Mark, but how was he going to do that without giving away what he actually was doing for a living? He already felt guilty about hiding it from her, but he couldn't get himself to ruin everything yet. Maybe one day there would be an opportunity to share his situation.
'Well, at work my colleague and I are both in the running for eh... a bonus at the end of the year. We're both quite competitive and he's constantly accusing me of not playing by the rules and me getting preferential treatment. Which of course is all bullshit,' he said through gritted teeth. Mark could be such an asshole, it wasn't his fault that most of the time he couldn't keep up with him. If he wanted to win the WDC this year he should do better, whining about him wasn't going to change anything.
'Sounds like a very nice guy,' Keira said while trying not to laugh when she spotted his expression.
'He can be perfectly nice, but he also can be such a petulant child sometimes,' he explained. He had put his hands in his hair and leaned back against the back of the chair. His fingers got tangled up in his hair, because it was still wet. Frustrated with that absolutely nothing worked out for him he shut his eyes. It was weird but nice to meet Keira here, and in some ways it made him feel slightly better to see that she was back. However, she still had avoided his question why she was here in the first place.
'And you're always an angel, I assume?' she said jokingly. Her mouth twitched when she saw him glaring at her.
'Always perfectly behaved, what else?' he smirked innocently.
'Oh yes, having puked in front of anybody lately?'
'Shut up,' he muttered.
'Well, well, for someone that says he's well behaved that's quite some strong language!' she laughed.
'Bollocks,' he replied under his breath.
'Slipped up again?' she clearly enjoyed winding him up.
'OK, maybe you do have a point,' he admitted, 'but only slightly!'
'Good boy,' she giggled. 'Seriously though, just focus on your own job, because I assume that's already hard enough,' she added.
'I will try my best, but you have to do that too then,' he grinned.
Keira looked at him with a puzzled expression. 'What do you mean?'
'Weren't you supposed to take my order?' he wiggled his eyebrows while pointing at the menu he was holding. He graved for coffee, being stressed always made him more coffee dependent and he already had gone too long without it.
'Oh shit, I'm sorry!' she almost dropped the tray again. She just caught it and looked around if someone had seen her. 'What do you want?' she asked sounding mortified.
'Are you always this clumsy?' he joked while giving her a wink.
'I don't understand why you have any friends,' she sighed.
'Because I'm funny!'
'You aren't,' she looked deadly serious.
'I am!' he tried to convince her.
'You aren't.'
'OK fine! One Americano then please,' he batted his lashes and tried not to laugh when he saw her face.
'One Americano coming up then,' she shot him a slight smile and walked away to get the coffee.
He moved his chair a little to the right so that he could see the counter from where he was sitting. He was intrigued by her, that was something he couldn't deny. She threw her long hair over her shoulders when she laughed at a joke, all while concentrating on making the coffee. It was clear that she was liked by her colleagues and he had also been surprised by the improvement of her German, she was definitely a quick learner.
'One Americano for you,' Keira said when putting the coffee in front of him, 'and one for me,' she added.
'Drinking coffee in the boss's time, you're quite a rebel I see...,' he smirked.
She sipped her coffee and wrapped her hands around the mug. 'Well, ever heard of taking a break?'
'That doesn't sound as adventurous,' he sighed disappointedly.
'Why does it have to be adventurous?' she raised one eyebrow and her mouth curved into a sarcastic smile.
'Because everything in life should be adventurous, makes everything better!' he explained.
'Why?' she asked again. She was playing with the mug in her hand, almost spilling coffee on the table.
'Just because,' he shrugged, not really knowing a good answer.
'Thanks for clearing that up,' she added.
'I can teach you all the important life lessons if you want?' he tried to make her smile again. He would do anything to make her smile as it brightened up his mood very successfully.
'No thanks, I think I'll pass. I intent to live a bit longer, if you don't mind,' she smirked.
'That's not fair! Do I look like a fool to you?' he tried to sound indignant, but he felt his mouth twitch. Damn it, she was not making it easy for him.
'Do you want me to answer truthfully?' she glanced at him looking innocent.
'Only if you say nice things,' he answered. He took another sip of his coffee, the warm liquid was also contributing to brightening his mood significantly. His wet clothes finally started to dry a bit and he tried to fix his hair, although he knew it wouldn't help much.
'I can't accept such high demands,' she chuckled.
He tried to look offended and folded his arms. 'And you ask me why I have any friends?'
'Point taken,' she grinned. She put down her empty mug and glanced at her watch. 'I have to get back to work again, do you want another coffee?'
'If that isn't too high of a demand, yes please,' he answered. He was slightly disappointed that she had to go, it was nice to have some distraction from the stress at Red Bull. Although it was the summer break, the pressure was still high. His championship hopes were very slim with him now being 42 points behind Fernando, stupid Ferrari. At least he was now only two points behind Mark again, so the last race was a good one in some extent. He couldn't wait to shut Mark up again and show him who was the number one driver at Red Bull. He smiled, at least he was a double world champion, Mark however was not.