ii.

luckily you were already inside a rich neighbourhood. the familiar, quiet and deserted neighbourhood where there were less cars, more trees, big and well-maintained park. you rarely come here unless you're visiting one of your rich friends. shocked, the dog doesn't move. he stays in front of your car in the middle of the road, crying for his mistake. you pull your handbreak and press the hazard light button before you left your car to check up on the dog.

     "hey, buddy." your hand reaches for the dog to pet him.

     the dog whines. he watches as you approach him, gives you his best puppy dog eyes so that you would not be angry at him and help him instead. he belongs to someone. there's a collar around his neck though without a name and a phone number. smoothing your fingers through the dog's fur, you help him calm down.

     "oh, thank god, you're okay," you say. "are you supposed to be here, little buddy? where did you come from, huh? where's your human?"

     the dog whimpers while you continue to caress his neck, his back, his head. you can feel him shaking uncontrollably under your palms. instantly, you feel bad for him even though it's not your fault to make him scared in the first place.

     "augustine!" comes a male voice from over the dog's shoulder. "augustine. oh thank god! there you are! you got me worried sick about you!"

     when the dog sudden crossed the road and you had to press the break, it got your blood drawn from your face. but every problem you had about your life was gone once you see him and how afraid he looked. but now as the familiar blonde-haired man with blue eyes is in front of you, you feel your heart explodes.

     something caught in your throat. your blood withdrawn from your face. you feel like your world is crashing down and rebuilding with a new kind of good problem. out of the many places and times, why must you see mick schumacher now?

     mick was your childhood best friend. since he's inseparable with his sister gina and since your age is not so different with her, you're best friends with her too. and being best friends with the siblings is like being the third child to their parents corinna and michael especially when your father was a friend of michael.

     it's a long story, but to make it short, your father was michael's car mechanic. he was one of the few people that was allowed to see michael when he got into that tragic accident. with everthing that happened with both families, the relationship between your family and mick's got even closer. but things changed between you and mick when mick got busy with his formula siries career and you're busy studying to be an engineer. it's been years since you last saw him. well, until today.

     mick, who has yet to notice you there, lets out a long sigh. you watch him as he puts his attention on the dog--augustine. he kneels in front of augustine, checking his body for cuts and bloods. when there's nothing serious, he sighs one more time. relieved, his shoulders relaxed.

     "augustine... what did i tell you about running off the street?"

     the dog shoves his muzzle into the mick's underarm, hiding his face and continues to whimper. it's as if he is apologising to mick that he's being reckless and maybe promise not to do it again.

     "you could've been killed, do you know that?" mick's voice was soft yet assertive with augustine.

     mick finally looks up at you now after feeling like it's enough to scold augustine. as soon as his blue eyes landed on you, they got wide. his pupils dilate when his brain registers who you are.

     "catherine!"

     "hi, mick." you smile.

     you feel like being a high school girl again for having your crush looking right at you. he is exactly the kind of prince charming most girls used to dream of when they were children. only you have had met your prince charming ever since you were little.

     mick's eyes studies your face as if mesmerised by it, as if there's something different about your face or on your face. "h--hi." mick scratches the back of his head, nervous. "i'm--uhh--i'm sorry about augustine. we were playing freebies. at the park. and then she thought we lost the freebies. so she went hunting for it."

     oh. augustine is a she.

     "don't worry about it." you wave a hand. "what's important is that she's fine, isn't she."

     "a bit traumatised, i bet. but other than that, she's fine, yeah." mick smiles at you even though his eyes are on augustine who is sitting like a good dog beside his leg.

     a short silence falls between you and mick. you keep staring into each other's eyes as if you're in your own world. until augustine nudges mick's leg as if to bring both of you back onto earth and also telling you that you're still in a dangerous zone.

     "i--i should get going."

     get going?

     five minutes ago, sure you felt like running away when you saw mick. in fact, you didn't want to meet anyone you knew who lives in this street because you hate telling stories about your father. the shock in their faces. the simpathy. they send condolences, but they never meet their hearts because none of them ever experienced what you're experiencing now. but when mick stands up, pets his dog to follow, turns around towards the direction they came, you feel like stopping them. because when interacting with them, you feel free for once.

     it feels fresh.

     but despite that, you didn't have the courage to call mick even though you were his childhood bestfriends. even though you grew up in the same village. even though both of you used to play with dirts together at the horse barn at your neighbour's. all of you learned how to ride a horse together with your neighbour's kids, but only gina turned out to make it a career. how he would follow you and your father hunting in the woods. you were there when he decided to be serious with karting. you would reconsider to do it if you still had that dream job, one where you and mick weren't having that huge gap in terms of your career. but it's different now. mick is a successful formula one driver and you're just a barista. it sounds crazy if he wants to go out with you.

     but you haven't seen him for years! you could kill yourself if you didn't go out with mick for at least once in your youth! to see what he's like as someone more than a friend. maybe it's okay if it didn't work out. you can still be friends with him like he is friends with justine.

     against all odds, you open your mouth to call mick. but before there was a voice coming out from your mouth, you see mick stopping on the road divider. augustine follows his human, looking up at mick one second with his tongue rolling out. she looks so innocent. mick turns around and approaches you once again.

     "sorry." he chuckles nervously. "i know this sounds a bit crazy but i was wondering if... if you'd like to get some coffee with me."

     you heart blossoms. a smile spreads on your face. "yes!" it came out faster than your brain could register what's happening. "uh--i--i mean, i would if you don't mind me driving for you."

     okay, that's not according to plan. according to your initial plan, you'd smile. then, you'll say yes after four seconds of his offer. he'd drive you to a coffee shop where both of you loved to sit after school, doing homework, talking nothing. but then, in reality, the car you're driving now is only two years old since you purchased her. even though mick is a professional racing driver, but still... your car is your car.

     mick chuckles. "i don't. new car?"

     "kind of," you answer as mick inspects your car. "it's two years old since the date of purchase. till feels like it's new."

     mick rounds your car, pushes augustine into the back of your car and apologises when augutine's legs cause dirts on your seats. though you wish you brought old towel or newpapers, but you dismiss mick and drive him back to the park (though you have make to u-turn) for him to collect his belongings that he left when chasing after augustine. good thing nothing was stolen.