𝐒 𝐏 𝐑 𝐈 𝐍 𝐓 𝐄 𝐑 [max verstappen x oc]

six

"It's only a year, Papa." Lena rolled her eyes. "It's basically my job now except I photograph cars instead, and I travel a little more."

She tossed a few going-out shirts into her duffel, not knowing when or why she would need them but packing them just in case. She'd been reviewing the scheduling and job information all day after Patrick had phoned his guys in Austria, telling them she was up for it. After that, there was an onslaught of emails--travel tickets for today, hotel reservations, itineraries. Lena had only looked through her train ticket and hotel reservation for the next few days because she could feel the headache coming on already. 

"I worry about you, fille. You don't have a history of taking care of yourself." Her father sounded tired through the phone. "You work too hard."

"I'll be fine, Papa. I think we're going to be in Barcelona at some point, so I'll even get to visit you for free. Maybe get tickets for you, too."

After telling him about her new job, she had learned that her dad was a fan of Formula 1, which definitely helped her case.

Her father still seemed wary. "Okay. Just, take care of yourself. Your mother says hello."

Lena zipped up her duffel. "Tell her I say I love her."

She threw a few pairs of socks into the bag and with that, she was packed. 

________________________________________

The train ride was long. Monaco to Austria wasn't exactly a quick trip. Sixteen hours on a train was extremely uncomfortable, but Lena wasn't that upset. It gave her time to think.

She'd left her bike in Monaco, just outside of her apartment. It had no purpose with her seeing as she would be traveling every weekend. She itched for the thrill of the bike, though. Watching the landscape speed past reminded her of all those rides, wind whipping around her as she savored every delicious moment. Lena would miss that. 

Lena never told Wesley or any of her friends that she was leaving. She didn't really have friends anyway, so the only guilt she felt was for Wesley. Leaving without a goodbye was a pretty shitty thing to do, but Lena couldn't see herself telling him. She would be back, of course, and he would text her at some point after he realized she wasn't around, but Lena couldn't admit the fact that she was too scared to say goodbye. The boy who had consumed her days, the boy she'd been obsessing over for years, was finally in the picture and now she was jumping out of the frame. Cursing herself, Lena wished she had never gotten a drink with him in the first place. Now she seemed like the asshole for getting involved and then ditching. 

After a few hours, she fell asleep leaning against the chair next to her. Thankfully there was no one in her booth so Lena could sleep in peace for the remainder of the trip. 

________________________________________

"Final stop: Salzburg, Austria. All passengers off board."

Lena was shaking. Her leg had been bouncing up and down on the seat ever since she saw mountains come into view, and her hand was twitching. She couldn't for the life of her understand her nervousness, but she gripped her duffel and her backpack anyway as the train came to a stop. 

The passengers around her hustled toward the door and she got a slow start, but eventually squeezed her way out of the train and onto the pavement. Lena was hit with a feeling of unfamiliarity as she glanced around at people she didn't know, speaking a language she had never heard, in a city she had never been in. 

This was going to be great. 

Lena pulled out her phone, going to her email and reading the intructions she had been provided by the ESPN team. She was supposed to catch the 8:30 AM bus to Fuschl. Lena checked her watch. 8:23. Wonderful, she was already late. 

"Excuse me. Pardon. Excuse me, sorry." None of the people around her understood her mumbling, but Lena could care less. Her legs were already burning as she sprinted out of the station and onto the street. Her eyes landed on a bus stop a few meters away and, more specifically, a nearly full bus about to leave. 

"Warten! Bitte!" Lena used the only German words she knew as she shot to the bus in a panic. 

The bus driver swung the doors back open and raised his eyebrows at her. "Mach langsam, Mädchen. Ich werde nicht ohne dich gehen. Hast du ein Ticket?"

All Lena gathered was ticket. She inhaled and looked around nervously. "Uh, no German. French? English? Italian?"

The bus driver nodded. "Ho detto che non me ne andrò senza di te. Hai un biglietto?" His Italian was remarkably good and Lena breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Sì, è digitale. Lo scannerizzerò qui?" The bus driver nodded and Lena pulled out the barcode on her phone, swiping it through the digital receiver by the wheel. A green light flashed and the driver pointed to the back of the bus. 

Lena plopped into the first seat she could find and leaned her head back in exhaustion, feeling all kinds of anxious but at least she was on the bus. There was no going back now.

a/n: is everyone excited its about to happen!!