FOUR

"Lex, are you sure that you're okay?"

Mick Schumacher crouched down in front of brunette girl who was the best friend of his sister, Gina, in concern for her as she began to breathe heavily.

Lennox Knight stared down at the male Schumacher sibling with wide and terrified eyes as she was trying to control and slow down her breathing but found herself unable to.

Her hands were violently shaking and her legs were wobbly almost as if they were about to give way.

Her throat was as dry as the Sahara desert as her nose began to run, with tears starting to form in her tear ducts therefore making her eyes appear glassy.

Her bottom lip trembled as she stared hopelessly at the male Schumacher sibling, wishing with every ounce of her being that somehow he would be able to magic whatever it was that she was feeling away and out of her system.

"Lex, just listen to my voice, okay? I'm going to help you through this." Mick attempted to soothe her as he was forced to wait for Gina's arrival.

He had no idea what had happened.

One minute, Lennox was walking beside him with a coffee in her hand as they were making their way back to the Haas garage, since he was slowly trying to make the surroundings for her more comfortable, and the next, her coffee had fallen out of her hand and to the floor as she began to panic.

He really didn't want to place his hands on her trembling frame, since he was aware that he would then face the possibility that it would only make things a hell of a lot worse.

He just wanted her to be okay.

He could very clearly see the pure terror that was lurking in her eyes as she panicked, and he could very clearly see the toll on her body that the hyperventilating and panic was causing, but he did not know what to do.

He had studied the symptoms of anxiety and what to do when people had panic attacks and begin to hyperventilate, but even with his studying and all the time that he had spent reading, he just did not know if he was capable of helping the terrified woman.

Lennox had to force her own head to nod as she stared aimlessly in the bright, sparkling blue of his eyes, attempting to calm down from her sudden outburst.

"Okay, I need you to take a deep breath in, and hold it for five seconds. Can you do that for me, Lex?" Mick held his hands out with his palms flat towards her as if she was a raging bull that he was trying to tame.

Lennox attempted to follow his orders, trying to breathe in and hold it, but more tears left her eyes as she was unable to do so, a pain immediately shooting up inside her chest.

Mick's bright blue eyes held tears of his own as he heard a strained sob leave her throat before she frantically shook her head from side to side, having to shut her eyes to avoid any more tears leaking out of them.

It physically hurt him knowing that she was upset and crying, and that he was completely unable to help her, since all he had wanted to do was to pull her against his chest and hug her until she calmed, but he knew that he couldn't do that.

Because Lennox Knight hated physical touch with anyone who was not his sister, Gina Schumacher.

"Okay, so if you can't do that, then I need you to do something else for me, okay? Can you do that for me, Lex?" Mick once again attempted to soothe her.

Lennox had to once again force her head to move, this time in an up and down movement as she forced her head to nod.

"I need you, to think about your favorite place. The place where you feel safe and at home. Think about it as hard as you possibly can, and imagine that you are in that place."

Mick recited something that he had read online about what to do when a panic attack struck, and noticed how the Knight girl closed her eyes as tightly shut as possible.

He could only hope and pray that it would work, because he had no idea how long it would take for Gina to arrive.

Lennox immediately thought of her design studio as her safe place, the place where she felt at home, and was desperately trying to imagine that she was there.

She tried to imagine the mahogany desk that she always used to draw her designs on and how the texture always felt underneath her fingertips.

She tried to imagine the tiled flooring that she hated, but did not want to change because it would mean that she would have to get a stranger to lay down the new tiles, therefore having to have a stranger enter her safe place.

She tried to imagine the smell of fresh linen that filled her studio, since it was her favorite scent and would therefore make sure that every single time that she was there, that the room never stopped smelling like it.

She tried to imagine the one single light bulb that always seemed to flicker when ever that exact light was switched on, even if there was a brand new bulb in it.

She tried to imagine the smell of freshly baked goods that she could smell every day since her studio was directly next to a bakery which would make fresh batches of the best baked goods all the time.

She tried to imagine the small squeak that the stairs made every single time somebody stepped on it, making her aware of their arrival, unless she was lost in her thoughts which she quite often was.

She tried to imagine the sound of laughter that filled the studio whenever Gina would come to the studio to model and wear the designs that she had just made, since she didn't want to have to rely on the mannequin for it, and would burst in to laughter whenever her hand touched her skin since the German girl was incredibly ticklish.

She tried to imagine to soft whistles that her father would make as he sat in her studio whenever he came to visit her whilst she was working in the studio, since he would feel lonely when he wasn't with her, and would provide the soft whistle sound which almost sounded like birds.

She tried to imagine the scratchy sound of her sketching pencils scribbling on her sketch paper, since for some reason, the sound of her pencil on the paper always helped to keep her concentration levels up.

Gina Schumacher stood beside her younger brother Mick as she had just arrived to where her brother had contacted her and informed her of her best friends sheer and utter panic.

She held a hooded sweatshirt that belonged to her brother, and her bottle of perfume since she knew that the sweatshirt would provide the warmth whilst her perfume would provide her best friend with comfort and familiarity.

She had ran as fast as she could have, terrified to see what state her best friend was in and much to her surprise, on her arrival, she had found the one and only Lennox Knight calm.

Whatever her brother Mick had said to her, or made her do, had actually worked.

Mick smiled proudly at the Knight girl, seeing that her eyes were still screwed shut, but that her breathing was practically normal now and that the multiple parts of her body that were previously shaking, were shaking no more.

He couldn't hide the pride that was swelling inside of his body at the knowledge that he had done it right and that it had worked.

But the main thing was, he was incredibly proud of Lennox Knight.

Lennox slowly peeled her hazel eyes open to see both of the Schumacher siblings smiling proudly at her, since she had been able to calm herself down by herself with only a small amount of help from Mick.

Gina immediately stepped forwards and handed her best friend the sweatshirt that belonged to her brother, but not before she had sprayed her perfume over the item of clothing multiple times to ensure that her scent that Lennox was familiar with was all over it.

Lennox quickly pulled the hooded sweatshirt over her body and found that it seemed to fit incredibly well, almost perfect on her, with the scent of the female Schumacher sibling quickly invading her nose, making her feel at ease.

"You did it."

Mick smiled proudly at the Knight girl once more, with his sparkling blue eyes reflecting the sunlight that had hit them perfectly, making them look like the ocean when the sunlight would hit the water.

Lennox began to chew on her lip in an attempt to hide her smile, before she nodded her head up and down in happiness.

"I could not have done it without your help." Lennox muttered quietly underneath her breath, though it was still loud enough for both of the people that were standing in front of her to hear.

Gina held her arms open for her best friend, smiling as the brunette slowly stepped in to her arms, before wrapping their own arms around her waist.

Mick could see how much they cared for each other and he knew just how much his sister cared for the girl, since he had noticed the frantic behaviour of his sister whenever Lennox would not come back to their shared apartment after a very long day inside her design studio.

Lennox pulled her face out from the crook of her best friends neck as she stepped out of their hug, a small, happy and giddy smile on her face as she did.

She couldn't quite believe it herself that she had been able to stop herself from panicking, since she had not been able to achieve such a feet before.

She had no idea what would have happened if her best friends brother had not been beside her the whole time to help her and guide her through it.

Lennox debated for a moment, an idea forming in her mind and that whilst she really wanted to do it, she did not know what would happen.

Gina's eyebrows rose in surprise as she watched her best friend in the whole wide world walk towards her brother slowly.

Mick's eyes began to widen as Lennox moved closer to him after a brief moment of hesitation, before she gently pressed the softest of kisses to his cheek, causing them to immediately flush a bright shade of pink.

Mick began to dwell on his thoughts before his arms moved open slightly, allowing the brunette girl in front of him to step in to his arms and hug him.

She hated physical contact.

She really did, with the only exception being that of Gina, but for some reason, she liked being hugged by him.

Mick's arms were incredibly gentle as they wrapped loosely around her back, as he was internally making sure that he didn't put his hands too high up or too low, since that would have been disrespectful and inappropriate.

And it would have made Lennox incredibly uncomfortable.

Something which he never wanted to do for as long as he lived.

The hug only lasted for a mere couple of seconds, but to the both of them it seemed to last forever.

Gina could not help but grin at the sight of her best friend hugging someone that was not herself, let alone that person that she was hugging actually being her younger brother.

She knew the struggles that Lennox had been suffering with for years, in terms of not liking any physical contact, but it seemed as though that may have been changing.

At least for now, anyway.

She knew that Lennox had been to therapist and even a psychologist in an attempt to discover what was wrong with her, but it did not seem to help at all.

They blamed it on multiple different things, of which there was absolutely no proof to what they were saying.

Lennox stepped away from the male Schumacher sibling after a couple of seconds, to see him smiling brightly at her, as if she was the only thing in the whole wide world.

She turned her head slightly towards her best friend and found Gina watching her already, a small smile on her face signalling that she was happy that her best friend Lennox was finally getting out of her comfort zone.

"Can we watch a movie?" Lennox's voice sounded quite innocent according to both of the Schumachers as she stated at the two of them.

Mick and Gina glanced subtly at each other, both of their eyes holding a look of understanding as it passed through their bodies.

"Of course, Len. What movie would you like us to watch?" Gina questioned her best friend as the trio started to walk back to the driver trailer of her brother, since they didn't want her to be around a lot of people in the Haas garage anymore.

Lennox halted in her steps for a few moments as she tried to wrack her brain for a movie that they could possibly watch together, before she released a gasp.

Mick noticed how her eyes widened with childlike excitement and her lips twisted in to a bright smile, before she spoke.

"Grown Ups! Can we watch Grown Ups?" Lennox stared at the two Schumachers as she continued to walk with them, back towards the drover trailer of the Haas Formula One driver.

Gina and Mick glanced at each other with small smiles on their faces before they both nodded their heads.

"Of course we can, Lex. Whatever you would like to do, we'll do."

____________________________________________________

A/N

my baby Lennox is learning!!

Once again, based off my own experiences so I apologise if its not how some people deal with their anxiety, but it's how I deal with mine.

I hope you all enjoy this, and I hope you all have the same thing stuck in my head as I do

Mick on the formula one YouTube channel going "RAWR, I can make it pink as well" is the only thing giving me serotonin but it's also not letting me sleep but I don't mind because of how adorable he is.

Enjoy the next chapter of BFB, and I'll see you all soon for the next one.

I'm proud of you all,

Love you all

-RUBY