I CAN SEE YOU

eighteen

"No fighting." Leah snaps at me over her shoulder as we walk out to the track.

"No promises." I huff, placing my hands in the pockets of my Redbull jacket, hoping that it'll hide their shaking from peering eyes.

"It'll be five minutes. You can be civil for five minutes." She runs her hand through her hair, gently pulling at it in anxiousness.

"I can." I shrug, a smirk beginning to grow on my face as I annoy her even more. "But I don't think he can."

She stops immediately, turning to face me with an exasperated look that almost makes me feel sorry for her. "He's not my problem Madeline, you are. So you get in that car, you ask and answer those questions in a professional manner, and then you leave that car. Is that too much to ask for?"

I sigh, giving her a small nod. Right now I'm about to do a Hot Laps with Max around Silverstone - another piece of PR that we're being forced to do. Going fast in a car around a track sounds like my perfect afternoon, however being trapped in that car with Max after what happened in Austria is my definition of hell. Neither of us have spoken to the other since that tension filled night, with me going back to Leah's room early and him being gone by the time I woke up. His disappearance doesn't annoy me, in fact I'm rather grateful that it happened considering it would've been an awkward topic to discuss with the killer hangover the next morning.

Leah and I start walking again, approaching the car that's waiting with him already leaning against it. His arms are crossed over his chest with his muscles tightly pressing on his jacket, pulling it tighter around him and adding to their definition. When he notices us getting closer a small smirk begins to lift on the right side of his lips as he looks me up and down. Under his gaze my insecurities grow, I feel exposed and vulnerable to his stare - it's not a feeling I particularly enjoy. His smirk grows from just the one corner to all over his lips before he nods his head, acknowledging my presence.

I look away from him as I feel a blush begin to produce on my cheeks, not wanting him to spot a single blotch of pink. I don't know why I feel embarrassed, it wasn't just me who was acting that way at the party, but I still can't help but be overly critical of myself.

Without acknowledging him I walk closer to the car, my eyes still staring down at the now oh so interesting asphalt. Just as I'm a few paces away he pushes off of the car. I expect him just to make his was around to the drivers seat, but he doesn't do that right away, instead he opens the passenger door and motions for me to get in.

I pause, utterly confused at what he's doing, my brows furrowing slightly. But before I could ask what the hell he was doing, he rolls his eyes and uses his arms to further motion for me to get in. "Come on Bernard, I've got a car to drive. I can't stand like your personal chauffeur all day."

There he is. The Max Verstappen I know and loathe was still down there somewhere.

"Ever the gentleman." I sigh sarcastically, sitting down in the car, still not able to look him in the eye.

He slams the door, the loud noise making me jump. It's quite funny, all day I listen to the deafening roar of engines yet the slam of a door has the capability to scare the shit out of me.

As he takes the driver seat, I put on my helmet and lean forward to take the cue cards that are sitting face down on the dash. I don't yet look at the questions, not wanting to ruin the fun, but I arrange them so that they all align and sit neatly - just something to do whilst I wait for Max to get ready. He places the key in the ignition, turning it on and reviving the car to life.

"Hey Max." I innocently call out, finally gaining the courage to turn and look at him properly for the first time today.

His baby blue eyes look at me softly as a small smile sits on his lips naturally, but something about his appearance looks calm, domestic even, and it instantly relaxes me. "Yeah?"