Chapter Text
1993
Lewis would rather eat dirt than admit to Angela and Peter that he has grown attached to this new kid with shiny blond hair.
He has grown attached, because despite the mean appearance and their upsetting first encounter, Nico has turned out to be very nice to him, sweet even.
He’s not sure if he’s trying to buy his friendship, but Lewis does find his favorite candy on his desk at school every first period.
They have been hanging out daily, and his friends are completely unaware of that. He’s scared of Angela especially, she’s very intimidating, bullies-are-scared-of-her type of intimidating.
Lewis loves her like a big sister, he’s incredibly grateful to her. She’s a few years older than him and she’s always been here for him, protecting him from bigger kids.
Since the day he went over to Nico’s, things have been progressing quite strangely.
His dad is surprisingly friendly and humble. He even insisted on meeting Lewis’ parents, and even his dad, despite having to be forced to attend a tea break at the Rosberg mansion, described him as a pleasant fellow. Lewis might even start believing rich people are not so bad, after all.
He’s starting to teach Nico how to skateboard, though he’s a bit clumsy with the board.
He’s even fallen a few times.
Once, Nico slipped while trying to jump on the board and scraped his knee. Lewis had advised him to wear long trousers, but Nico had dismissed it with a scoff, “I am German”. In retrospect, Lewis should have realized sooner that he had misunderstood his tip.
“You see what I meant with ‘wear long trousers’ now?”
Nonetheless, Lewis ended up nursing his wound, gently cleaning it while Nico complained.
“Stop acting like a little baby, have you never hurt yourself before while karting?”
“Not yet, no.”
“You must be very good then.”
“Did you ask your dad?”
“Not yet. I don’t know if it’s worth it.” Lewis spent a few moments trying to find the best words. “I don’t know if I will be good enough.”
Nico has an idea. They were going to try out racing, and, since Nico was a self-proclaimed karting expert, if Lewis met his standards he would force his father to gift him his old kart and, as for the plan to convince Mr. Hamilton, he would bring out the fake tears he frequently used to coerce his parents to give in into several whims of his.
Lewis has still to accept the proposition, though Nico has already talked to his father, trying to organize the possible duel. He’s not sure he’d take no for an answer – Nico is a bit spoiled, after all.
He ruminates on it a lot, he even thinks about talking to his friends about it, yet their reaction is way too intimidating for him, he’s sure they know better, but he’s so excited to get to know this new kid that he’s willing to risk being scolded by his older friends.
“You what?”
“To his house?”
“Are you insane?”
“After he treated you like that?”
“Chill guys, he’s nice.”
“Mrs. Johnson also seemed nice on that first day.”
Lewis rolls his eyes defeated. “Can’t you guys be happy for me?”
Angela immediately reaches for his shoulder, “Oh, Lewis, we don’t mean to be difficult, we’re just trying to look out for you.”
Lewis sighs and nods, his friends generally know better.
“Look,” Peter jumps in, trying to compromise, “Maybe you could try and play his game and see if he is genuine in the long run, but my advice is: don’t get too attached, for your sake.”
“Thanks, guys. I guess I’ll say yes then, given that my father agrees.”
Much to the shock of everybody on earth, Anthony Hamilton agrees. He does reluctantly, as the thought of his kid being friends with a millionaire seems insane to him, but he sees a sparkle in his son’s eyes that he has never seen before. There might be something here.
The only compromise is that he has to be there to supervise.
He has met this kid’s dad, and when he did, his eyes widened. He recognized the man, but he’s not sure his son ever did. He would have heard a lot of bragging about meeting a former Formula 1 driver if he had. So he decided to say nothing, after all, if he doesn’t like this family, it will be far easier to convince his son to stay away from them.
He didn’t mention anything to the man either, not even when he introduced himself with a strong handshake and a soft smile. Nice to meet you, he said. Nothing more, nothing less.
A small part of Anthony’s soul is hopeful for his son, he doesn’t know why, but he feels like letting him race will be a good idea.
Hopefully, he’s not just being infected by his son’s glee.
Hopefully, there is something here for Lewis to gain.
The kids have their karting competition, though there is nothing competitive about the way Nico rushes to the line, leaving his Lewis behind to frown.
But that didn’t seem to satisfy Nico, almost as if he was expecting to lap his son instead of winning by a handful of seconds.
Anthony cannot stop himself from glancing at Nico’s dad, who is looking quite thoughtful, with a hint of intrigue in his eyes.
The blond kid rushes, helmet still on, trying to catch his breath, his disappointment lets space for something else, excitement. “Lewis! That was amazing!”
“My dad said that if you were to be in a competitive time, even behind me, you could get our old kart!”
Anthony cannot believe his ears, someone doing something so thoughtful without asking anything in return? Couldn’t be.
As the kids talk, and Nico explains the best possible lines to his son, almost as if all parents share the same telepathic bond, Nico’s father approaches him, and without him asking anything, puts an end to his doubts.
“My son has always been extremely alone. I grew up the same, I don’t want him to go through the same. Hopefully, this karting thing can bring them closer. Hopefully, they can be friends for life.”
The hope in the Hamilton family falls short very quickly.
Almost as fast as Anthony Hamilton had been convinced to let his child be mentored by the Rosbergs, his fears become reality.
“He left.”
“What do you mean?” Angela squints at Lewis, trying her best to hear his younger friend amid the cafeteria noise.
“The new kid.” He couldn’t call Nico his friend anymore, nor he could even use his name. “His family moved.”
“Where did they go?”
“Don’t know. He didn’t even tell me they would. They had promised me – ugh, never mind that. My dad was right, rich people cannot be trusted.”
His friends can see he’s trying his best to appear tough, to appear uninterested. They can see it is clearly eating him alive, the disappointment, the loneliness, the betrayal.
“Told you he was an asshole," Peter mumbles between bites of his sandwich.
“Don’t be sad, Lew,” Angela rubs his back as she speaks, "you'll be okay. You have us. You have something he never will."
Friends, empathy, loyalty.
The boredom of summer is dooming over the trio. Over Lewis mostly, who’s being abandoned by his friends who both have family trips planned.
"Maybe I should start horse riding." He speaks in between licks, trying his best not to let any of his vanilla ice cream be wasted under the burning sun.
"What's next? You'll start golfing?" Peter snorts.
"Jesus. You can't do either, those are rich people's sports." Angela shudders. "And we hate the rich, remember?"
Lewis eyes her carefully, almost as if he’s expecting her to add something else. "Yeah."
"You should start karting, instead."
"Isn't that a rich people sport too?" Peter asks his friend and she replies immediately.
"Yes, but he could beat them at their own game. Besides, you said it's fun, no? And you were decent at it, no? A good place to start."
She leaves subjects, names, and occasions out of her speech. But she doesn’t need to, Lewis can fill all the missing pieces in his mind.
He can feel a shadow tainting the sole thought of him starting to race.
But rather than scaring him, this shadow, the tainted memories, they excite him.