Wrath & Protest [Max Verstappen]

[f o u r t e e n.]

Waiting on Rosalie Burnouf was something Max never thought he'd be doing this year. The warm light of the evening sun melted through the windows of the hotel lobby, bathing him in much more than an ambient, wistful aura. The yellow rays stretched around him to act as a beacon, a signal, so that she could find him from a distance. This spotlight propped his ego on a pedestal. Everyone here knew who he was, from the doormen to the managerial staff, and as he sunk into the velvet cushion of his sofa, he stretched his arms. He enjoyed the others' inquisitive glances to a degree. They were a lot better than the disparaging glares he'd receive from his bosses, at least.

They also served as a great distraction from the fact that Max's mindset had changed regarding the girl he sat here waiting for.

In the beginning, he viewed her as irritatingly soft. Her appearance didn't come across him as noteworthy, the fact that her seat was basically bought for her should have struck a wrong nerve with him. If Pierre kept acting up in future races Rosalie had a more than likely chance of becoming his teammate, or if Max couldn't keep up, she could even replace him. Why, then, did his attitude pull a complete 180 now of all times?

Maybe because with her clinging to him as she did, he didn't feel as alone. Without Daniel, and without any other true support to stand by his side at all times, she was all he had. And that said a lot.

It wasn't like he could turn to anyone else. Victoria, as close as they were, didn't have the capability to empathize with the strife that came with being a racing driver. He wouldn't dare open up to his father, and the idea of calling Daniel just to vent came across as annoying to Max himself.

God dammit, he discovered that it was nice being around Rosalie - that was it. No need to overthink it! So if that was the simple answer, for that question, what then could be the simplest explanation for the other day, when he somehow found the way she greeted him to be endearing. The way the loose strands of hair that escaped the bind of her ponytail and fell nicely near her face, the way her nose crinkled a little when she wore a grin... Max wasn't certain if he really did want to know the answer to that.

A girl stumbled into the lobby out of breath, pulling Max from his own introspection. With her suitcase behind her, Rosalie tried catching her breath, and the Dutchman didn't hesitate to help her.

"Rosalie!" he scolded, "What the hell are you doing?'

"I ran all the way here!" she gasped.

"Why?!"

"I almost got duped! You see, there was this taxi driver at the airport who offered me a ride to the offices at a super low price and I couldn't just refuse such a great deal! So I put my bags in the trunk of his car and he stepped on the gas right when I was done organizing everything - could you believe it? I wasn't even in the car yet! But I managed to grab everything back before he could get away from me..."

"So you opted to just walk all the way here?"

"...Did I keep you waiting for long?"

Max burst out laughing. "That's not the point, idiot. You're helpless, but I hope you've the common sense to at least let me help you with your stuff."

She instantly brought her luggage closer to her body, "You don't have to."

"What, you think I'm gonna steal your stuff like that taxi driver?"

"No! Not at all! I can do it myself, so I don't see why--"

"Sure, sure," he rolled his eyes and grabbed it anyway. The weight of the thing almost brought him to his knees, however, and he cursed when he felt his muscles strain a bit too much. "Jesus, woman, how long are you planning on staying here?"

"That's why I told you to leave it alone!" her cheeks burned red as she tried reaching for her bag, but failed due to the man dodging her attempt, "I overpacked..."

"Oh yeah?" he asked sarcastically.

"I'm not used to going on trips like this! I panicked!"

"Well, it's not like I'm just going to give it back to you. To have people think Max Verstappen is the kind of guy who lets girls carry heavy bags by themselves..."

Max trudged toward the elevator and Rosalie followed him, embarrassed by the giggles they heard from the people in the lobby.

...

Her room ended up being on the floor above Max's. They stood in front of the dark wooden door, with the Red Bull driver holding onto Rosalie's luggage for dear life as she swiped the key card across the lock.

"Okay Max, let me set that down," she offered.

"No, I got it," he insisted and allowed himself in.

Her room was the standard - one bed, a table, a TV... There was nothing very special about it, in fact, it looked almost the same as his own. He sighed and dragged his feet toward the closet, "Here is fine--?"

"Wow!"

"What?"

"It's huge! I've never stayed in a room like this before!"

"Seriously..?"

Rosalie ran to the window to open it completely. The cool winds rushed into her room, sweeping her hair back and causing her skirt to flare against her knees. The view outside consisted of greenery, the city, and of course, included the vast expanse of the sky above. She breathed in deeply as she leaned her body all the way out, closing her eyes and smiling as if she didn't know there were three full stories between her and the ground. Clearly distracted, she stood up on her toes to get more of that fresh air...

Max dropped her things and caught her before she could fall.

"Watch it!!"

She wheezed when he wrapped his arms around her torso. As he backed up to move her away from the window, he tripped over his own feet, falling backward to hit the floor with the girl on top of him. They stayed like that for a moment, with her against his chest and his arms securing her. It took a while for Rosalie to scurry off him, and Max was left with his racing heartbeat. He sat up to yell at her, but when his eyes met her form, he found that she was hiding her face with her hands. "Rosalie!" he hissed, "You could have died!"

"I'm sorry! It was really beautiful, I got carried away!"

"W-Whatever, c'mon, get up," he told her as he stood. His ass ached from tumbling so hard, but he managed to bend a little to offer his hand to the American curled up on the floor. She didn't respond to him for some reason. "Hey, are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

"S-Sorry.. Give me a minute," she faltered.

"Rosalie?"

"I'm fine! That was a bit scary..." the girl gripped Max's hand and got on her feet. She continued to try and hide her face, but Max could see that her entire face basically turned into a tomato. Red, crimson all over, and the man had to stop himself from laughing.