It All Started With a Name - SEBASTIAN VETTEL FANFICTION

Chapter 7

*Monza  - September 2015*

The weekend's colour was red. There was red everywhere, whether one was at the Autodromo Nazionale or in the streets of Monza, one saw a sea of red. We had arrived at Monza the day before drivers' arrival to start the preparation for the weekend. Monza was also Ferrari's home race, and as the reputation stood, the Ferrari fans were passionate. The screams followed us wherever we went in the circuit area but enhanced when Ferrari uniform passed the crowds.

It had been two months since Silverstone and the announcement that I would be running the drivers' meetings alongside David for a temporary basis. Monza was my first official race in my new role. My family had beamed of pride that their little girl was filling in such a significant position. I hadn't been as convinced as my family. I felt I had got the flex-time contract due to my connections, not because of the experience.

On top of the new job, things had been busy since Silverstone. The thesis deadline had been in mid-August. On top of the thesis, the weeks also included the country hopping to the circuits in July. My father had put his foot down and ordered me to attend to the Grand Prix to discuss practicalities with Charlie, who had retired after Spa.

My schedule had been overbooked. There hadn't been enough hours in a day. The holiday in-between Hungarian and Spa had given a perfect window to finalise my master's thesis, just in the nick of time before the deadline. Somehow I had managed to sneak around with Daniel for at least one night during the weekends, and he had managed to squeeze a week in London with me. Otherwise, the nights had also been full of meetings, briefings, skype calls and thesis work.

After Silverstone, Seb and I had kept the contacts into the minimum. If someone asked what was going between him and me, I just commented that Seb was really busy, so was I. There was one miserable situation where I couldn't escape crowds in Budapest. I had ended up smashing myself into his chest and fell into his arms like a damsel in distress. It had been great to explain things to Seb's girlfriend without sounding forced or awkward.

Despite the blossoming shagging with Daniel, I missed Seb. Even though we had had our differences when I was an intern, it was unique and out of this world chemistry experience once we had clicked. I had slowly come to the terms that I had realised my feelings too late. I was also too chicken to confess in Silverstone when he had asked us to keep our distance due to his newly established relationship with Hannah.

Ted and I had developed our friendship into flourishing BFF friendship, e.g. Insta stories and constant selfies of our extraordinary life; #neverbored. His girlfriend Andrea had come to Hungarian Grand Prix, and it was wonderful to meet her. I adored Ted's girlfriend; she was super sweet and charming, a firecracker.

We had agreed with Ted to meet up before the first briefing. We were caught up on what had happened during the holidays, or lack thereof from my side. He spotted me first and tapped my shoulder. 'Guess who?'

'Who's there?'

'C'mon, your bestie'. Ted giggled. The more I got to know him, the more optimistic and easygoing he was. I gave Ted a smile that hopefully convinced him everything was right in the kingdom of Amélimania.

'So... How was your break?' I asked. 'Great. Andrea and I went on a weekend trip to Paris. We also travelled to the midlands to meet up with Andrea's parents. Cornwall baby - wicked weekend! We also spent time at home since we don't stay in that much during the formula time. Also... another exciting news! We got engaged! Ted flashed a simple silver ring on his ring finger. 'OMG, Congrats! Super happy to for you mate!' I hugged Ted tightly while blinking happy tears away from my eyes. 'Awesome to hear great news after the vaca. Let me guess... you popped the question in Paris?'