It was then that Sebastian's protective nature kicked in, it was clear to him that someone was watching them. He turned to Darcey, gesturing for her to stay quiet as he appeared out the room way.
"I don't see anyone" Sebastian explained, rubbing the back of his neck. He clearly was more concerned than Darcey was anyway.
"Maybe it was an accident" Darcey suggested, "They probably just wanted to see if anyone was still here, guess they got their answer and left"
"It's still weird though, they could've at least said something. Not just vanish like that"
"You're not scared are you, Vettel?" Darcey sang, as she stepped closer to Seb which was now helping take his mind of the intruder at least. Which left him wondering, what Darcey was about to say before they were interrupted?
"Of course not, but I could do with some company tonight" Sebastian grinned, sliding his arms at either side of her as he pulled her closer. Teasing her was his favourite game, and Darcey was a great teammate for sure.
"See! I knew you were scared" Darcey giggled, but wasted no time in agreeing to spend the night with Sebastian. They had spent a few nights together by this point, but they agreed to take things slow and just having him around at night helped.
Looking around the premium suite the team had him in got her wondering why they ever spent time at her room, or why they ever went anywhere else for that matter. He had his own lounge, walk-in wardrobe and bathroom bigger than most hotel rooms. It made her hotel room look like a storage room in comparison.
"I was thinking we could watch a movie, once you're finished gawking of course" Sebastian snickered at the last part, seeing how she hadn't said a word for a few minutes now.
Much to Sebastian dismay, they decided to watch The Conjuring. Gone was the clique of the girl burying her face in the man's shoulders. Darcey loved her horror movies but Sebastian wasn't so keen. By the end, it was fair to say Sebastian wouldn't be sleeping a wink that night and not for the reasons he originally hoped.
Darcey had the whole double bed to herself that night and it was without a doubt the best sleep she had ever had. The mattress was just out of this world, maybe she could get used to this.
The team had a scheduled flight back home, Darcey had to admit the novelty of flying was beginning to wear off now. A 10 hour plus flight back home was the last thing she wanted to do, especially considering Sebastian would be making his own way home again.
She walked out of the bedroom, dressed in one of Sebastian's t-shirts and boxer shorts as their sleepover was rather last minute.
"Morning liebling" called a voice, she rubbed her eyes as she smiled up at Sebastian who was making some breakfast in his own kitchen. Yes, he had his own kitchen area too!
It wasn't until Darcey rubbed her eyes for the second time that she noticed Heikki, smirking at her from the breakfast bar.
"Morning Darc" Heikki grinned, "Sleep well?" Heikki giggled, before taking a sip of his protein shake. Her eyes darted between the driver, his trainer and then back at herself.
"Why are you not more shocked to see me?" Darcey asked as she suddenly felt rather exposed, trying to cover her braless chest.
"I was more shocked to see Seb up and dressed this morning" Heikki explained, Darcey looked over at Sebastian who was now fidgeting nervously.
"I couldn't sleep, that movie was terrifying!" Sebastian insisted, the other two broke out in laughter as the German driver shot them a death stare.
"Like you actually watched any of it" Darcey teased the driver right back, chuckling to herself as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
"I watched enough, but next time I'm picking the movie" Sebastian protested, making Heikki and Darcey laugh as this man could go 100mph but couldn't stomach some ghosties.
Sebastian's flight wouldn't be until the evening, while Darcey was flying back with the team later that morning. He had already tried to convince her to fly back with him, but she didn't want to raise any more suspicion amongst the team. It was hard enough having to explain how she was getting to and from the circuit most mornings.
It wasn't long until Heikki dragged Sebastian out for a 5k run, leaving Darcey to change and head back to her room to pack.
"Let's go then" Heikki insisted, standing at the door while Sebastian scrambled to get ready and say goodbye to Darcey as well.
"Bye, I'll miss you" Sebastian smiled as he reached around her waist.
"I'll miss you too, now go" Darcey laughed and gave him a quick peck pushing him out the door.
With the end of season quickly approaching, the team were analysing all data and working on any possible upgrades. With the right package, they could walk away with the driver's championship in the next race in Japan.
"Where have you been all my life?" Will expressed as the group sat down for their first meal in Japan. They found a nice sushi bar not far from their hotel as most of them were too tired to head out for the night.
"Probably hiding from you" Darcey laughed, earning a snicker from Brad as they smiled across at each other. Their friendship had been pretty off lately, but it seemed things were beginning to go back to normal.
"Speaking of hiding, when were you gonna tell us about your promotion?" Scotty asked Darcey, all eyes fell on her. Honestly she wanted the ground to swallow her up right there and then.
"I'm still trying to process it myself" Darcey began, "Christian only spoke to me a couple of days before we left, I'll still be doing pretty much the same as before" and honestly she didn't know how to approach the subject, she didn't want any of them thinking she hadn't earned it.
"Well congratulations, you deserve it Darc" Kendall smiled, giving her friend an encouraging hug, the rest of the group joined in until it came to Brad who had sat quietly for a most of it.
"Good job, I can't think of anyone more deserving than you. You truly deserve everything that you get Darcey." Brad cheered, raising his drink "To Darcey" The team joined in at saying cheers.
In the new role, Darcey found herself busier than normal as she tried to spread her time between the car and the data. Her new responsibilities focused on the chassis which meant she would have to look through piles of figures and use that for the set up in the next session.
Red Bull looked to be challenged by the Mercedes of Lewis and Nico in the morning, but Sebastian and Mark managed to steal it back again by the afternoon.
The next morning Darcey had decided to wake up early and go for a run around the track, before the busy day ahead. In recent months she had found running helped clear the mind and gave her time to progress everything that was happening.
By the time she arrived at the circuit, there was already a buzz around the place as tv broadcasters had began to pile in. But as the driver's wouldn't be here just yet, everyone was keeping to themselves and Darcey didn't expect to see anybody just yet.
"Morning Darcey" She heard a voice, scaring her half to death.
"Good morning" Darcey smiled up at the Scotsman, once she pulled herself together of course.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare ya love" David chuckled, "What brings you here so early?"
"I could ask you the same thing" Darcey pointed out, teasing him as they stood in the middle of the paddock. There still wasn't much movement around the paddock as the place was still pretty much deserted. It actually made the place quite eerie because of it, empty and quiet.
"Touche, If you must know I was meeting with Christian" David replied, "Well done on the promotion by the way"
"Thank you, but it's not that big a deal" Darcey expressed, pushing it off slightly as she still felt uncomfortable about the fact she was given it above all her teammates.
"Nonsense, every achievement is a big deal. No matter how small" David smiled as they both recognise the quote, Darcey sighed. Another one of her Dad's famous sayings, mostly used back in his karting days when they built themselves up from nothing. But he also stuck by it as Darcey grew up too. "Your Dad used to say that to me, before I was winning races. He said every step counted as long as you were going in the right direction."
"Was he always so wise?" Darcey asked, looking at David for some kind of answer.
"Sometimes, sometimes not. Depends how much whisky he had had" David smirked remember the wild nights out back in the day, "He just always knew what to say"
"Yeah, he sure did." Darcey smiled, thinking about much she could've done with his help in the recent months but at least he taught her to be strong no matter what.
"I better get back to the team, they probably think I've wandered off again," David laughed, the two said their goodbyes as they disappeared through the many motorhomes and storage cupboards.
Darcey made her way over to the motorhome, putting her bag with all her things away ready for later. Something about being there alone sent shivers down her spine, as she couldn't shake the feeling of someone watching her. It probably just her imagination, Darcey thought. That was until her mind went blank and she fell to the floor under someone's stature.
Less than an hour later, Christian walked into his office up in the motorhome just to grab his files for the day. But instead he found a letter, a resignation to be exact. From Darcey.
The practise session started just like any other for Sebastian, but when he looked around the motorhome he struggled to her. It wasn't like her to be late, and now that he thought about it he hadn't seen her around the paddock or in the motorhome. Where was she? What's happened?
"There we are, about bloody time," Darcey recognised the voice, it echoed around the room as she woke up on the cold floor beneath her "I was beginning to worry about ya"