It had been a long day and it seemed to be catching up to Darcey as she found herself resting her eyes momentarily. The peace was abruptly ended as Sebastian cleared his throat making his presence clear, the startled look apparent on Darcey's face causing Seb to chuckle to himself.
Heikki tended to the injury, but not without the screams and cuss word thrown in there - much to Seb's shock. Darcey looked down examing the steri-strips which helped close the cut on her palm, asking herself how she had let this happen.
"You're lucky you got to me in time" Heikki announced as he finished off the bandage he had wrapped around her hand, while Seb walked over with a glass of water for Darcey.
"Why, would we have had to cut it off?" Seb smirked, causing Heikki to roll his eyes. It seems that it's not just Darcey who finds his jokes cringe-worthy, yet somehow coming from Seb she couldn't help but laugh.
"No, I was about to head to bed for the night" Heikki stated, reminding Darcey how late it must be by now and with that, she quickly stood up - startling both men in the process.
"Shit, of course - thank you and sorry again"
"Don't worry about it" Heikki assured Darcey, giving her a light squeeze as she walked towards the door "Just take it easy" He pressed before Sebastian appeared next to her with his keys in hand.
"I'll give you a lift backSeb insisted following after her
"No it's fine, bet Sophia is wondering where you are by now" Darcey whispered, he hadn't really given Sophia a second thought, instantly kicked himself as he grimaced at the earful he'll probably get from Sophia later.
Darcey left the apartment in a hurry, scolding herself for getting in that position. After she called a taxi to take her back to the hotel, she noticed a missed call from Liam. Without a seconds thought she placed the phone to her ear. He never sleeps anyway she thought as she waited at the entrance of the hotel.
"Too busy partying to answer my calls now?" Liam declared thought the phone, she could imagine him shaking his head in the process.
"No, just too busy for you" Darcey shot back, attempting to seem unbothered and cool - both of which she knew she was not in that moment in time.
"Ouch, that hurt! What you doing up then?" Liam asked thinking it did seem rather quiet through the phone.
"Just waiting for my taxi back to the hotel" Darcey answered
"Not having fun at the party?" Liam teased
"Something like that, but I had to leave early after I cut my hand anyway so"
"Oh, is it okay now?"
"Yeah, it really wasn't that bad - Seb just had me get it cleaned up"
"Right I see" He paused for a moment, thinking carefully about what to say next "That was good of him"
"Liam" She warned
"What I didn't say anything! Just - be careful Darc, I don't want you to get hurt"
Angry at his accusation, she closed her eyes collecting her thoughts before answering him "I'm not going to get hurt, we are just friends"
"I'm only looking out for you"
"I know but you don't have to protect me" She simply stated, before ending the call glad that her taxi had just showed up. Darcey was so ready for bed at this point and to get back to reality.
The conversation with Liam had shaken Darcey up a bit and she struggled to get any sleep that night. The pair grew up together and he had always been like a big brother to her and now that her father was gone, she knows he was only looking out for her.
A couple of days off was exactly what Darcey needed after the events from the weekend. Her mother was concerned when she saw the state of her hand but seemed thankful when Darcey explained how Seb had handled the situation. Darcey had been avoiding Liam however, not wanting to face any lectures - she'd already done that herself!
Sebastian
Just checking that I still have a wheel-gunner for my pit crew? Can't have a loose tyre now can I?
Darcey
Getting better now - should be all good by this weekend, thanks for asking.
There was one more race until they broke up for summer break, Hungary was a fan favourite and one that Sebastian was considerably good at. They were hoping for a good result this weekend and with Darcey's recent revolution she used that as her distraction.
Darcey hadn't heard from Sebastian since their very brief conversation a couple days prior and she was beginning to feel guilty about her change in tone. He was just asking how she was.
"You should've seen her face, it was priceless" Brad chuckled as the two walked down the paddock heading over to the garage to start the second day of practice.
"I bet" Darcey sighed, catching Brad off guard as it wasn't the playful response he had expected.
"Hey, what's up with you?" Brad halted in his tracks "You've barely said a word this weekend"
"Nothing, I just need a break that's all" Darcey forced a smile
"Not a break from me I hope" Brad gave her a light nudge, attempting to cheer her up
"One can dream"
They got to the garage just in time ready for their team meeting with Ian, where they would discuss the data, timings and tyre strategy. In the past, Sebastian would listen in on these but he was nowhere to be seen - something Darcey had noticed is that he wasn't hanging around the same. Maybe he was busier than normal?
Ahead of qualifying they quickly grabbed a bite to eat, having done all they could for the car fixing the new upgrades onto the car. For Darcey working on a car was better than therapy, something she discovered when her Dad passed away. The hours under a car bonnet served as relaxation time and she always walked away feeling much calmer.
"She's smiling! Oh my god she's actually smiling" Scotty exclaimed as they walked over to their table in the motorhome
"I don't know...It looks suspicious" Will muttered, looking around the group for dramatic effect.
"Grow up would you!" Darcey groaned, laughing along with the table afterwards.
Catching Sebastian attention as he walked through the motorhome with Britta, he attempted to go over to say hi but was pulled back by his press officer.
"We haven't got time Seb" Britta stated firmly, finishing the sentence with a sympathetic smile
Qualifying set a good position of P3 for Sebastian, with Lewis and Romain in front of him and with Seb busy with interviews and media crew for the rest of the afternoon.
By the time he returned to the garage - they were all gone. Seb had noticed that he hadn't spoken to Darcey at all that day and for some reason it bothered him. Maybe she was just busy today he thought, trying not to dwell on it too much.
Sebastian went back to his hotel, with every intention of having an early night. However, his mind had other ideas as he laid starring up at the ceiling after tossing and turning for what felt like forever. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
"Wow, rough night?" Heikki questioned as the sleepy german walked out of his room
"You can say that again" Seb muttered, not in the mood for any of this now resting his head on the breakfast table refusing to move "I can't do this right now"
"You're gonna have to do more than that to get out of training bud" Heikki laughed causing Seb to grunt in protest
"I just want to sleep"
"Should've thought about that until you stayed up all night - was it Sophia?"
"No"
"Then what?"
"It's nothing - are we going now or what?" Seb abruptly got up from the table and headed towards the door not wanting to take the conversation any further.
Looking puzzled Heikki followed after him, deciding not to press this anymore "Fair enough"
The morning was just as slow and painful for Darcey as she dragged herself out of her bed. It reminded her of how you'd feel as it gets closer to the six weeks holiday in summer, so close but yet so far away. In the drive over to the circuit, Brad noticed that she wasn't joining in on the normal morning banter.
Once we arrived on the pitlane, got all geared up it's as if all her worries went away and it was just her and the car. They carried out all the pre-race checks ensuring that everything was running smoothly and set the engine to the correct setting using the data they collected.
It helped that Sebastian wouldn't be in the garage for most of the morning, although she knew she couldn't avoid him forever and would have to just get over her silly crush. She cursed Liam for bring it up that night - it was all going fine up until then.
Soon enough it was time to prepare for the grid, they began to gather all the equipment they would need and Darcey stepped back watching as Seb climbed into the car. Instantaneously she noticed that he was missing something, walking back over to his corner of the garage to retrieve them.
"Good luck" Darcey beamed down at Seb as she passed him his gloves, noticing that sparkle in his eyes she backed away allowing him to prepare to leave the garage.
At the start of the race, Sebastian attempted to pass Grosjean in turn one, but was blocked. The loss of momentum allowed Jenson to pull alongside Seb through turn two and then pass him in turn three.
In the closing laps of the race, Red Bull pitted both of their drivers. Mark Webber fell from fifth to eighth, where he remained until the end of the race. Sebastian remained in fourth, and by the last lap was able to catch back up to Romain on fresher tyres, but was unable to pass.
Another race without a champagne celebration and Darcey was beginning to miss the rush of running to the fence and cheering with her team. Plus there was something about seeing Seb standing up on the podium smiling down on them.
"How are you going to cope for four weeks without me?" Brad teased as they finished up for the weekend, reminding themselves how they are now free for summer break.
"It'll be rough - but I'll get through it somehow" Darcey sighed sarcastically, even though deep down she would miss seeing Brad every day - not that she'd admit that to him.
"Come on let's get out of here" Scotty cheered, picking Darcey up in the process and placing her over back and running with her out of the garage.
"Let's go!" Brad shouted as he gathered up all his things placing them in his backpack, running off after them towards the gates to where they parked the van.
"Put me down!" Darcey demanded while banging on Scotty's back "Scott Ryan put me down right now or else"
"Alright alright" He sang as he gently placed her back on the ground
"Great now I've left my bag in the motorhome" Darcey groaned looking over at the distance they travelled already
"Better hurry up Collins" Brad smirked
"I hate you all so much" Darcey expressed, as she turned in her heels to head back to the garage, not wanting to risk losing her backpack and the things inside.
Everyone had the same generic backpack, red and navy blue which can sometimes get confusing when they all share a work area. Darcey had kept her cap in there since the very first day, serving as her good luck charm and a reminder of where it all began.
She walked over to a bag, but in order to ensure it was hers she opened it up - pulling out a McLaren hat. She paused for a moment as she thought of the memories it held.
"Everyone is a Mclaren fan. Even if they say they're not, they are Mclaren fans" Her Dad used to say
"Don't let them see you with that now" Whispered a voice, scaring Darcey half to death as hadn't expected anyone to be around at that time.
"It's not how it looks" Darcey gulped staring up at Sebastian who was standing alarmingly close, not having stepped back from moments ago. Coughing awkwardly Darcey took a step back allowing herself some space to gather her thoughts.
"Oh, so that's not a Mclaren hat then?"
"You got me there"
"Is that the hat?"
"Yes - I keep it in my bag, I know it may seem silly but-" Darcey's voice began to trail off looking down at the ground at that point.
"It's not silly" Sebastian assured her, looking deep into her green eyes.
"I better go, the van is waiting for me" She stammered, walking around him towards the exit - but stopped at the doorway turning to meet his eyes for one last time.
"Have a good summer break" She beamed from across the room, sending a shiver down Sebastian spine.
"You too Darc"