HOME | DD

Description
Danielle had never been very good at managing her stress, and to make matters worse, life kept presenting the young woman with overwhelming situations that put more and more stress inducers on her shoulders.
The first problem of the day: They would miss the plane to Monaco.
Aria had woken up late, while Danielle wasted time worrying about Liam, thanking him for understanding that Cole would now be going with her to Monaco. After the midnight training they had shared, Cole agreed to help her with her riding on a daily basis until Ares had to leave for Monaco, but the stressed girl needed the cold man to give her that sense of security he exuded with every nod when he proposed to try something crazy with the four-legged giant.

—
After the fourth argument that day with her boyfriend, Liam calmed down and Danielle left with Cole to make sure Ares was okay before boarding the plane, after all, it was a long flight, and anything could go wrong.
On the trip back to the farm, and expecting a flat denial from the sea-eyed boy, Danielle asked Cole to accompany her to the dreaded Monaco racetrack.
-
"I know it's probably the last thing you want to do, but I need you."
-
Those last two words burned the proud girl's throat, but fed Cole's ego, who agreed after a few seconds of thought
-

Danielle ran out of the house after giving Liam a short kiss on the lips, he couldn't help but dedicate bitter glances to Cole, who was to share a whole week with his girlfriend. With a slam of the taxi´s doors, Aria, Mia, Cole and Danielle set off for the airport, arriving at the gate with minutes to spare and beads of sweat covering their foreheads.

Between layovers, plane changes, takeoffs and landings, they arrived at their destination 24 hours later.
Second problem: What do you mean, only 2 rooms?
It was possible that a couple gray hairs had made their way through Danielle´s scalp

"What part of 3 rooms didn't you understand?" she said annoyed to the man behind the counter.

"I'm sorry miss, there was a misunderstanding, whoever booked your rooms, marked two double rooms instead of three"

"Doubles? -she reassured herself, two beds, perfect-"

"No miss, a double bed for two people in each room."

By this point, the gray hairs were not gray, they were surely green.

-
They grabbed the keys and carried the suitcases upstairs, they stopped in front of one of the rooms before Aria interrupted Danielle when she noticed she wasn't moving her bags to throw them inside.

"Please, just don't tell Liam."

"What? That you'll be sleeping with a God prospect, in the same bed? Sure, I won't tell him anything."

"It's either that, or you sleep on the floor."

"Why me?!" She replied offended

"Because I paid for everything"

"Touche!"

Frowning, Cole and Dany walked together into the other room, placing their suitcases on the floor, surrounded by abysmal silence

"I'll sleep on the floor" Cole said

"Of course not, the bed is big enough for both of us, don't be childish."

He chuckled "You really think your boyfriend would be happy to hear that you´re sleeping with me? I don't think he likes me very much"

"Neither do I" she said quietly

"Ouch, words hurt little Leah."

A few minutes later, the four members emerged from their rooms and made their way to the buffet hall, admiring the room full of people. Danielle could recognize a few familiar people, at the back, she detailed Roman, her partner in the Ferrari team, a few tables away from him, Arwyn was sitting next to her sister, who looked at her with a frown, she headed towards them, leaving her group behind.

"Honestly, I didn't think you'd make it, we thought you were dead" Arwyn said excitedly as she noticed Danielle approaching.

"Just a “Hello” would have sufficed" They both laughed while sharing a warm hug.

"Where's Liam?" She said, scanning the room for him, but she could only notice Cole's messy hair, which caused her to quickly turn to Danielle, confused

"Back in Canada" -She said, embarrassed- ``It's a long story I promise to tell you... someday.”

Arwyn shook her head before they both said their goodbyes, leaving Danielle to make her way to the table where her team had been placed.
---------------

A few hours later

With several groans from his cousin and sister, Cole tugged on Danielle's arm in desperation, saying that he would do Aria's work for the day if it meant he would stop hearing whining. Dany gave her cousin a sour look before departing for the stables, keeping her pace with the walking iceberg. Upon arrival, they were surrounded by sounds that encompassed the road that would make way for the circuit. They walked to the stable and Cole quickly took charge of saddling the horse, brushing every bit his black coat.

Gawking at the sight, Danielle watched without moving a muscle, standing in the middle of the barn aisle, she was being dodged by multiple riders and grooms.

"Wow, I didn't know you could eat someone whole only with your eyes," said a voice very close to Danielle´s ear.

"Holy shit!" she jumped, turning quickly, detailing Lance's face, Cole walked to inspect what had caused the girl's scream, and panned the man from head to toe with weariness.

"Happy to see me Cole?" Lance let out a faint smile.

"You have no clue" replied the man, who quickly turned his focus back to the horse with the same boredom as before, leaving a silent atmosphere that was soon broken by Lance

"By the atmosphere, I'm guessing you both had a passionate night together, and are now uncomfortable with each other, or you´are both extremely boring"

Cole let out a choke as Dany blushed from head to toe, Lance turned to look at the girl, who shrank back on her feet in sorrow, he laughed

"I can't tell if that's a yes, a no, or a “we want to'" He said with amusement.

Danielle ventured a punch to Lance's shoulder, denying it.

"Wow, you two are boring. I guess that means you're still dating that insufferable boyfriend of yours then?"

Cole ducked under Ares' neck, wading into the conversation.

"You're an asshole" Dany spat out.

"It's nothing I haven't been told before" said Lance disinterestedly

" I guess at the end of it all, I'm glad to see you again"

Cole and Danielle headed to the track, taking advantage of an hour of training with the new environment for the horse. The relationship between Ares and the girl had improved, but Cole still noticed how the horse would tense up when the girl got nervous, so he would try to ease the environment by letting out little jokes that would bring a smile to Danielle's face, allowing her to relax and focus on what she was doing wrong.

Finishing the hour of training, Cole departed alongside Ares, helping Danielle untack him as she ran her eyes over the course map with Arwyn one last time. The course was menacing, turns, hills and jumps designed to make horse and rider hesitate, all of it only made her more nervous, and she only hoped her horse would respond well under the pressure.
The girl said her goodbyes to her friend, and made her way to the stable in search of the Cole, but was intercepted by the imposing character that had caused her to blush a few hours ago.

-
"I need to understand this, you bring the despicable, narcissistic, unfriendly man you acclaim to detest, instead of the sweet, empathetic but very boring man you call a boyfriend" Lance said following in her wake, without averting his gaze from in front of him

"Lance," She didn't have to explain anything, but she stopped and turned to him, he quickly copied her movement, "I needed his help."

"And what's this “help” your boyfriend couldn't give you? Now, you've only got to tell me that you´re staying in the same room" He said with amusement, with a slight smile as he averted his eyes, waiting for the girl's answer. When it didn't come, his gaze focused on Danielle's, who quickly blushed again.
"You've got to be fucking with me, this is fantastic!"

"Lance!" said Danielle in frustration.

"What do you expect me to do, this is ridiculously funny. Wow, life sucks, and not just for me"

"I hate you"

"Liar"

They continued walking towards the stable, as they arrived, Danielle turned around looking for Lance, but couldn't find him, she snorted and headed towards Cole, ready to head back to the hotel so they could rest before the big day of competition

At the hotel, Danielle and Cole headed to the room, she quickly excused herself, and headed to take a bath in the tub provided by the hotel, in the distance, she could make out Cole's voice talking to someone, curious, she finished her bath quickly, and stepped out of it, opening the door wearing only a robe.

"I miss you too, take care, bye," Cole said before putting the phone down. He was sitting on the corner of the bed, his back to Danielle, she watched him as he lowered his head, resting it on his hands, letting out a snort. You know, the kind that escapes your body when you're giving up on something.

"Are you okay?"

Cole stood up, and in a failed attempt to be subtle, he wiped his eyes with the palm of his hands, stood up, facing the small woman who had frozen in front of the foot of the bed, his eyes were slightly puffy, and red. She turned her head as Cole tried to dodge her; now, where did the courage come from to stand in his way, will remain a mystery, but she stopped Cole dead in his tracks, she searched for his gaze. Cole's frown softened as he met the girl's compassionate eyes, he sighed before blurting out.

"He's my grandfather, nothing you need to worry about. -He said dryly, dodging Danielle for the second time, heading for the bathroom. I'll sleep in the tub," he said before closing the door, leaving a frustrated and confused Danielle behind.

-

When Dany woke up, she found no trace of Cole, he had spent the night asleep in the bathroom, hunched and uncomfortable even though she tried to convince him to come out. She even offered to sleep in the bathtub, after all, it seemed to be tailor-made for her size.
She attempted to call him when she finished getting ready,, but to no avail, she left the room to meet her cousin and sister; and so, they headed out to the premises for the long run that would mark the start of CCF1

"Mia, I need you to clean my equipment please, Aria´s coming with me to plan the first few jumps once again."

Mia rolled her eyes, but avoided protesting, after all, she would rather be here than attend school. Complaining about her sister under her breath she made her way to the tack room, grabbed the saddle and began to clean it, but her task was interrupted when she heard a groan from someone who entered the room.
He turned to find Alexis, Arwyn's little sister whom he recognized, but didn't know. She couldn't help but smile seeing that they were in the same situation, and thus, the hateful task of doing her tedious sisters' work, became more enjoyable, both were able to share some laughs and jokes, agreeing to meet again when the day was over, to continue with this blossoming friendship.

Aria and Danielle returned to the stable some time later, immediately, Aria headed for Ares' stable, while Dany was trying to locate Cole for the seventieth time in two hours.
She led out the imposing horse covered with a red blanket, the same deep red color as the shirt she wore, with a small ferrari logo in the corner. She tied him to the cross rails, and walked over so she could start grooming him.

"Hi" Said a male voice behind her back.

With a slight jump, she turned to see a tall boy, with blue eyes that almost looked gray, she quickly recognized him as Kåre, she had met him the previous day, and found out he was part of the Elm Veil team, she had heard a lot about them, a prestigious barn were successful riders like Nikki Kalberg belonged to, but to be honest, she had never heard anything about the boy standing in front of her.

"Wow, you're all about scaring people," she said with a hand on her chest, "You're going to end up killing me."

"I-I'm sorry," he said with a chagrined smile that Aria found hilarious, she couldn't help but let out a laugh, leaving the poor man looking confused.

"You must learn not to take things so seriously," she said, turning to the big horse in front of her."

"You might be right,” -he said relieved- “ready for today?"

"I don't have to be, after all, I'm not the one about to go out to compete on a track that threatens to make an attempt on my life," she said, noticing a horrified expression on Kåre's face, "Sorry, I lack tact, you'll do great!"

The boy smiled
"I hope so"
They chatted for a while longer, before he walked away, ready to mount his horse and head to the warm up ring, Aria stayed, finishing saddling Ares, still distracted by the cute stranger that had now invaded her head.

—----------
Danielle mounted Ares, nervous, as she still hadn't been able to make contact with Cole.
Where was he?
She warmed up her horse, surrounded by other riders, occasionally crossing words with her teammate, but to be honest, she was incredibly distracted and preoccupied, somehow, she didn't feel able to make it out on the track without Cole's help.
She headed out for a few jumps, and with each one, she was getting more nervous. She attempted to relax, but the thought of being about to go through 6 minutes that required a calm, composed head in order to make a fool of herself betrayed her.

She made her way to the starting box, listening to the countdown-.
"10, 9..."
Looking around for the one who had unconsciously become a rock of support for her, she found with her eyes her sister and cousin, they gave her a smile, and mouthed some words she couldn't make out
"8, 7, 6..."
A few feet away, Lance was looking at her with his usual cool countenance but with a narrowed brow, perhaps deciphering that she was looking for something, or someone, the man smiled and shook his head
"5, 4, 3..."
Behind his back, Danielle watched as someone pushed the surrounding crowd aside, and from there, out came Cole, in his red shirt and a cap that tousled his hair, allowing a strand of it to escape and lay on his forehead.
Saying relief came over her body would be an understatement, she felt confident, secure, and after receiving a slight smile from the frivolous man she felt invincible
"2, 1... Good luck."
Because as ridiculous as it sounds, her mind had convinced her that she needed someone to be good, to feel good and safe, and even if she didn't want or accept it, Cole had become that person.

Description
Danielle had never been very good at managing her stress, and to make matters worse, life kept presenting the young woman with overwhelming situations that put more and more stress inducers on her shoulders.
The first problem of the day: They would miss the plane to Monaco.
Aria had woken up late, while Danielle wasted time worrying about Liam, thanking him for understanding that Cole would now be going with her to Monaco. After the midnight training they had shared, Cole agreed to help her with her riding on a daily basis until Ares had to leave for Monaco, but the stressed girl needed the cold man to give her that sense of security he exuded with every nod when he proposed to try something crazy with the four-legged giant.

—
After the fourth argument that day with her boyfriend, Liam calmed down and Danielle left with Cole to make sure Ares was okay before boarding the plane, after all, it was a long flight, and anything could go wrong.
On the trip back to the farm, and expecting a flat denial from the sea-eyed boy, Danielle asked Cole to accompany her to the dreaded Monaco racetrack.
-
"I know it's probably the last thing you want to do, but I need you."
-
Those last two words burned the proud girl's throat, but fed Cole's ego, who agreed after a few seconds of thought
-

Danielle ran out of the house after giving Liam a short kiss on the lips, he couldn't help but dedicate bitter glances to Cole, who was to share a whole week with his girlfriend. With a slam of the taxi´s doors, Aria, Mia, Cole and Danielle set off for the airport, arriving at the gate with minutes to spare and beads of sweat covering their foreheads.

Between layovers, plane changes, takeoffs and landings, they arrived at their destination 24 hours later.
Second problem: What do you mean, only 2 rooms?
It was possible that a couple gray hairs had made their way through Danielle´s scalp

"What part of 3 rooms didn't you understand?" she said annoyed to the man behind the counter.

"I'm sorry miss, there was a misunderstanding, whoever booked your rooms, marked two double rooms instead of three"

"Doubles? -she reassured herself, two beds, perfect-"

"No miss, a double bed for two people in each room."

By this point, the gray hairs were not gray, they were surely green.

-
They grabbed the keys and carried the suitcases upstairs, they stopped in front of one of the rooms before Aria interrupted Danielle when she noticed she wasn't moving her bags to throw them inside.

"Please, just don't tell Liam."

"What? That you'll be sleeping with a God prospect, in the same bed? Sure, I won't tell him anything."

"It's either that, or you sleep on the floor."

"Why me?!" She replied offended

"Because I paid for everything"

"Touche!"

Frowning, Cole and Dany walked together into the other room, placing their suitcases on the floor, surrounded by abysmal silence

"I'll sleep on the floor" Cole said

"Of course not, the bed is big enough for both of us, don't be childish."

He chuckled "You really think your boyfriend would be happy to hear that you´re sleeping with me? I don't think he likes me very much"

"Neither do I" she said quietly

"Ouch, words hurt little Leah."

A few minutes later, the four members emerged from their rooms and made their way to the buffet hall, admiring the room full of people. Danielle could recognize a few familiar people, at the back, she detailed Roman, her partner in the Ferrari team, a few tables away from him, Arwyn was sitting next to her sister, who looked at her with a frown, she headed towards them, leaving her group behind.

"Honestly, I didn't think you'd make it, we thought you were dead" Arwyn said excitedly as she noticed Danielle approaching.

"Just a “Hello” would have sufficed" They both laughed while sharing a warm hug.

"Where's Liam?" She said, scanning the room for him, but she could only notice Cole's messy hair, which caused her to quickly turn to Danielle, confused

"Back in Canada" -She said, embarrassed- ``It's a long story I promise to tell you... someday.”

Arwyn shook her head before they both said their goodbyes, leaving Danielle to make her way to the table where her team had been placed.
---------------

A few hours later

With several groans from his cousin and sister, Cole tugged on Danielle's arm in desperation, saying that he would do Aria's work for the day if it meant he would stop hearing whining. Dany gave her cousin a sour look before departing for the stables, keeping her pace with the walking iceberg. Upon arrival, they were surrounded by sounds that encompassed the road that would make way for the circuit. They walked to the stable and Cole quickly took charge of saddling the horse, brushing every bit his black coat.

Gawking at the sight, Danielle watched without moving a muscle, standing in the middle of the barn aisle, she was being dodged by multiple riders and grooms.

"Wow, I didn't know you could eat someone whole only with your eyes," said a voice very close to Danielle´s ear.

"Holy shit!" she jumped, turning quickly, detailing Lance's face, Cole walked to inspect what had caused the girl's scream, and panned the man from head to toe with weariness.

"Happy to see me Cole?" Lance let out a faint smile.

"You have no clue" replied the man, who quickly turned his focus back to the horse with the same boredom as before, leaving a silent atmosphere that was soon broken by Lance

"By the atmosphere, I'm guessing you both had a passionate night together, and are now uncomfortable with each other, or you´are both extremely boring"

Cole let out a choke as Dany blushed from head to toe, Lance turned to look at the girl, who shrank back on her feet in sorrow, he laughed

"I can't tell if that's a yes, a no, or a “we want to'" He said with amusement.

Danielle ventured a punch to Lance's shoulder, denying it.

"Wow, you two are boring. I guess that means you're still dating that insufferable boyfriend of yours then?"

Cole ducked under Ares' neck, wading into the conversation.

"You're an asshole" Dany spat out.

"It's nothing I haven't been told before" said Lance disinterestedly

" I guess at the end of it all, I'm glad to see you again"

Cole and Danielle headed to the track, taking advantage of an hour of training with the new environment for the horse. The relationship between Ares and the girl had improved, but Cole still noticed how the horse would tense up when the girl got nervous, so he would try to ease the environment by letting out little jokes that would bring a smile to Danielle's face, allowing her to relax and focus on what she was doing wrong.

Finishing the hour of training, Cole departed alongside Ares, helping Danielle untack him as she ran her eyes over the course map with Arwyn one last time. The course was menacing, turns, hills and jumps designed to make horse and rider hesitate, all of it only made her more nervous, and she only hoped her horse would respond well under the pressure.
The girl said her goodbyes to her friend, and made her way to the stable in search of the Cole, but was intercepted by the imposing character that had caused her to blush a few hours ago.

-
"I need to understand this, you bring the despicable, narcissistic, unfriendly man you acclaim to detest, instead of the sweet, empathetic but very boring man you call a boyfriend" Lance said following in her wake, without averting his gaze from in front of him

"Lance," She didn't have to explain anything, but she stopped and turned to him, he quickly copied her movement, "I needed his help."

"And what's this “help” your boyfriend couldn't give you? Now, you've only got to tell me that you´re staying in the same room" He said with amusement, with a slight smile as he averted his eyes, waiting for the girl's answer. When it didn't come, his gaze focused on Danielle's, who quickly blushed again.
"You've got to be fucking with me, this is fantastic!"

"Lance!" said Danielle in frustration.

"What do you expect me to do, this is ridiculously funny. Wow, life sucks, and not just for me"

"I hate you"

"Liar"

They continued walking towards the stable, as they arrived, Danielle turned around looking for Lance, but couldn't find him, she snorted and headed towards Cole, ready to head back to the hotel so they could rest before the big day of competition

At the hotel, Danielle and Cole headed to the room, she quickly excused herself, and headed to take a bath in the tub provided by the hotel, in the distance, she could make out Cole's voice talking to someone, curious, she finished her bath quickly, and stepped out of it, opening the door wearing only a robe.

"I miss you too, take care, bye," Cole said before putting the phone down. He was sitting on the corner of the bed, his back to Danielle, she watched him as he lowered his head, resting it on his hands, letting out a snort. You know, the kind that escapes your body when you're giving up on something.

"Are you okay?"

Cole stood up, and in a failed attempt to be subtle, he wiped his eyes with the palm of his hands, stood up, facing the small woman who had frozen in front of the foot of the bed, his eyes were slightly puffy, and red. She turned her head as Cole tried to dodge her; now, where did the courage come from to stand in his way, will remain a mystery, but she stopped Cole dead in his tracks, she searched for his gaze. Cole's frown softened as he met the girl's compassionate eyes, he sighed before blurting out.

"He's my grandfather, nothing you need to worry about. -He said dryly, dodging Danielle for the second time, heading for the bathroom. I'll sleep in the tub," he said before closing the door, leaving a frustrated and confused Danielle behind.

-

When Dany woke up, she found no trace of Cole, he had spent the night asleep in the bathroom, hunched and uncomfortable even though she tried to convince him to come out. She even offered to sleep in the bathtub, after all, it seemed to be tailor-made for her size.
She attempted to call him when she finished getting ready,, but to no avail, she left the room to meet her cousin and sister; and so, they headed out to the premises for the long run that would mark the start of CCF1

"Mia, I need you to clean my equipment please, Aria´s coming with me to plan the first few jumps once again."

Mia rolled her eyes, but avoided protesting, after all, she would rather be here than attend school. Complaining about her sister under her breath she made her way to the tack room, grabbed the saddle and began to clean it, but her task was interrupted when she heard a groan from someone who entered the room.
He turned to find Alexis, Arwyn's little sister whom he recognized, but didn't know. She couldn't help but smile seeing that they were in the same situation, and thus, the hateful task of doing her tedious sisters' work, became more enjoyable, both were able to share some laughs and jokes, agreeing to meet again when the day was over, to continue with this blossoming friendship.

Aria and Danielle returned to the stable some time later, immediately, Aria headed for Ares' stable, while Dany was trying to locate Cole for the seventieth time in two hours.
She led out the imposing horse covered with a red blanket, the same deep red color as the shirt she wore, with a small ferrari logo in the corner. She tied him to the cross rails, and walked over so she could start grooming him.

"Hi" Said a male voice behind her back.

With a slight jump, she turned to see a tall boy, with blue eyes that almost looked gray, she quickly recognized him as Kåre, she had met him the previous day, and found out he was part of the Elm Veil team, she had heard a lot about them, a prestigious barn were successful riders like Nikki Kalberg belonged to, but to be honest, she had never heard anything about the boy standing in front of her.

"Wow, you're all about scaring people," she said with a hand on her chest, "You're going to end up killing me."

"I-I'm sorry," he said with a chagrined smile that Aria found hilarious, she couldn't help but let out a laugh, leaving the poor man looking confused.

"You must learn not to take things so seriously," she said, turning to the big horse in front of her."

"You might be right,” -he said relieved- “ready for today?"

"I don't have to be, after all, I'm not the one about to go out to compete on a track that threatens to make an attempt on my life," she said, noticing a horrified expression on Kåre's face, "Sorry, I lack tact, you'll do great!"

The boy smiled
"I hope so"
They chatted for a while longer, before he walked away, ready to mount his horse and head to the warm up ring, Aria stayed, finishing saddling Ares, still distracted by the cute stranger that had now invaded her head.

—----------
Danielle mounted Ares, nervous, as she still hadn't been able to make contact with Cole.
Where was he?
She warmed up her horse, surrounded by other riders, occasionally crossing words with her teammate, but to be honest, she was incredibly distracted and preoccupied, somehow, she didn't feel able to make it out on the track without Cole's help.
She headed out for a few jumps, and with each one, she was getting more nervous. She attempted to relax, but the thought of being about to go through 6 minutes that required a calm, composed head in order to make a fool of herself betrayed her.

She made her way to the starting box, listening to the countdown-.
"10, 9..."
Looking around for the one who had unconsciously become a rock of support for her, she found with her eyes her sister and cousin, they gave her a smile, and mouthed some words she couldn't make out
"8, 7, 6..."
A few feet away, Lance was looking at her with his usual cool countenance but with a narrowed brow, perhaps deciphering that she was looking for something, or someone, the man smiled and shook his head
"5, 4, 3..."
Behind his back, Danielle watched as someone pushed the surrounding crowd aside, and from there, out came Cole, in his red shirt and a cap that tousled his hair, allowing a strand of it to escape and lay on his forehead.
Saying relief came over her body would be an understatement, she felt confident, secure, and after receiving a slight smile from the frivolous man she felt invincible
"2, 1... Good luck."
Because as ridiculous as it sounds, her mind had convinced her that she needed someone to be good, to feel good and safe, and even if she didn't want or accept it, Cole had become that person.