Dangerous Woman (Daniel Ricciardo)

Two

Once Jessica had calmed her breathing back to a regular rate, she knew it was time to open her eyes. If she kept them closed for any longer then it, this whole situation would just get even weirder than it currently was.

She took one more deep breath and opened her eyes.

Jessica didn't know was she was expecting to see before her. Perhaps an ordinary guy who just happened to be passing. Or even a slightly tipsy Australian on holiday. Maybe a business man. Or a race marshal just finishing up for the day.

Never in her wildest dreams (okay, yes maybe in some of them this happened) did she except Daniel Ricciardo to be crouched in front of her.

Maybe she was severely dehydrated. And that's exactly what she blamed her next action on.

Jessica leaned forward, and poked him.

Yes, poked him.

Right in the face.

At least she knew he was real. And if that wasn't enough, the crazy look he was directing at her was real enough.

"S-Sorry.." Jessica croaked out in a broken whisper. "I didn't - I mean, I didn't...I'm, umm, yeah sorry."

Daniel's soft smile quickly merged into one of amusement. "It's fine. A bit weird but I'll look pass it. You okay?"

"Umm, no, I mean yes, yes I'm fine." I nodded weakly.

"Okay, well how about I take you back to the garage, get you a glass of water and we can chill until you stop shaking and are actually okay?" Daniel stood up to his full height, stretching out his hand to help me.

Jessica gave another weak nod, shakily reaching out and taking his hand. Sure, Jessica hadn't a lot of human interaction but she wasn't going to deny going into the garage of her favourite sporting team with her favourite driver by her side.

God, he's even prettier in real life.

Jessica's eyes widened as she registered her own thought, a blush flushing her cheeks and down her neck. Her blush soon disappeared however, as she momentarily forgot about her sprained ankle and stepped on it to walk. Jessica hissed in pain as she stumbled to take the weight off her bad foot.

"Shit, you okay? Wait stupid question. Here," Daniel muttered, reaching around to lean her arm over his shoulder, his own hand snaking around her waist. "Just lean your weight on me okay? It's not very far and then we can get some ice on that as well."

"Thank you..." Jessica whispered before clearing her throat.

"So what brings you here?"

"I...um, I'm here for the Grand Prix."

"Cool! So you've got tickets? Where are you sitting? I'll see if I can spot you." Daniel's grin only widened.

"Umm, I haven't-I haven't actually got tickets."

"You...don't have tickets? But you're here for the weekend?"

"Yeah, I just thought that maybe I could, umm, come here and see what I could see...It's stupid, I know I dont...I regret it now."

"Because you met me?" Daniel joked.

"No, I've just never been around so many people before." Half truth, half lie.

"Is that why you had a panic attack?"

"I-I...I umm guess so. I don't know, I didn't really know that I suffered from them." Why would I when I've been stuck in isolation for twenty five years. Nothing to scare me nor panic me like this, there.

Jessica bit her bottom lip as silence fell upon the duo as they walked down the busy street. This was definitely not what she had in mind. Her first conversation with someone and she couldn't even get a sentence out without stuttering like an idiot. Well, if today was anything to go by then she was an idiot.

"Here we are." Daniel grinned as the pit lane come into focus. "There's not many people around and we don't have any hospitality areas here but there should be an ice pack or two around somewhere." He continued to explain, Jessica just listened to him as she looked around, closing her eyes briefly as she imagined the cars that were driving where her feet were now walking, just a few hours ago.

"Hop up there." Daniel pointed to one of the sides at the back of the garage. "I'll go get the first aid kit and a bottle of water. If anyone asks, just say you're with me." He gave her a small, sweet smile before walking down one of the back corridors.

Jessica took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down now that she was alone. She didn't know what she was doing. While meeting Daniel and being in the Red Bull garage right now were two crazy highs she thought she would never experience, she also knew that she was in a deeper hole than before. How was she supposed to explain to the sweet, caring Australian that she had ran away from home because she had enough of being locked up. Total madness. This was the kind of things she'd read about in novels.

And now it was happening to her.

Maybe she was hallucinating. Maybe the deprivation of food and water was getting to her and of course she had to imagine Daniel. But wasn't this too realistic? The drunken people....how was her mind able to create things she had never actually encountered before? The...panic attack certainly felt real. The guilt of running away felt real. The burn in her ankle. The sharp, dry feeling in her throat. The constricting pain in her chest. Real. It all felt real. So it must be?

Jessica reached for her backpack, pulling out her now-smashed phone and turned it on. She knew there would be a tonne of strongly worded texts, probably even a voicemail or two. Jessica knew that turning her phone on meant that with whatever resources her parents had found, they would be able to track her phone. So why did she turn it on? Maybe she had secretly hoped that they would track her, and find her, and bring her back to the only safe thing she knew. Those four walls. Or maybe she wanted to text them, tell them she was fine and that she would be home within the next day. Just to see if they trusted her.

If they trusted you, you wouldn't of had to run. You'd have been able to go through the front door. A voice niggled in the back of her mind. She knew it was true. Whether it be her, or the people that her parents were running from, there was no trust. Except, Jessica knew, that whatever trust there was between herself and her parents, no matter how small, was gone. It was gone the moment she jumped down from that window ledge.

"So I've got ice, some bandages and Red Bull was the only thing I could find." Daniel reappeared in front of her, hand stretched out in front of him to pass her the can.

"Thank you." Jessica murmured, her lips stretching into a small smile as she grasped the can. What did it taste like? Would she like it? What would she do if she didn't like it? How was she supposed to tell him that it was disgusting if she didn't like it?

"I'm just gonna bandage your ankle for you okay?" Daniel smiled before crouching down and sliding of her shoe and sock, rolling her skinny jeans up past her ankle. "How did you do this?" He asked, eyes briefly meeting before he looked down, reaching for the bandage.

"I...uhh tripped. And fell." Poor excuse. Jessica sighed.

"I see." Daniel's grin only widened, showing how little he believed her lie, although he didn't push for the truth. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Oh, it's um Jessica. Jess."

"I'm Daniel. It's nice to meet you." Daniel winked up at her.