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Lando had mentioned wanting to go urban exploring once, one time, late at night, fully serious.
Oscar did not think Lando was serious.
But now Oscar is sitting in Lando's old beat up honda civic driving to an old abandoned k-12 school on the outskirts of the next town.
The sun was about to start setting as they pulled up in front of the school painting everything gold. Oscar looked over at Lando, his hair frizzy and messy from the humid summer air, Oscar desperately wanted to run his hands through it.
Not that he would ever admit that to himself.
“You gonna stop staring at me with that look?” Lando smiled at Oscar.
“What look?”
“Like your waiting for me to give you a…a…fuck what do you call it?”
“What?” Oscar was now even more confused and even more sure he's missing out on a joke.
“A PASH. a pash. You're looking at me like you want to give me a pash!” Lando crossed his arms and smiled at Oscar, who is now looking at him like the idiot he was.
“God, Lando. You’re so British.”
“You say it too.”
“I’m not British.”
“It’s an Australian word!”
“Ok Lando number one: i was not looking at you like that and number two: i dont want you and number three: i do not call it a kiss a pash you dumbass”
“Ok now we are heading in” Oscar was about to speak up before Lando beat him to it “and no you cant just sit in the car wile i go in there”
“.....I wasn't going to say that”
“Mmm sure mate”
When they get to the doors they realize they have a problem.
The doors are very much locked.
Or at least that's what Oscar thinks.
“Mate how the hell are we going to get in, the doors are locked.” Oscar tries to demonstrate but Lando tugs at the door a bit harder than Oscar was and it opens with an awfully loud creak.
“See not locked just…heavly rusted shut. Osc dont worry your pretty little head off” he reaches out a hand to push Oscar’s head a little and Oscar lets it happen. “I did my research before i drove us here’
“Oh you did research? Where was this enthusiasm when you had exams?” Before they step into the school Oscar turns to Lando and grabs his shoulders, shaking him slightly. “Who are you and what have you done to my idiot who never studies!"
“Im not an idiot! It just didn't interest me. And hey i still got into that music program did i not?”
"You don't study music, you play music."
"Big difference." Lando tries to shrug off Oscar's hold but Oscar gives him one last shake before letting go of him.
"Yes, big difference. Can we just establish you're a dumbass and move on?"
"Hey!"
Oscar’s eyes go wide at Lando’s words and his head tilts, as if to say “Come on.”
“Fine. Established.” Lando mumbles begrudgingly without any actual bite.
“Good boy," Lando says before lightly pushing Oscar to the side and running into the school.
"Oh, fuck off mate! I'm not Liam!" Oscar shouts running after Lando.
Once Oscar catches up with Lando he is very intently looking at an old poster, his brow furrowed slightly and squinting at it in the low light. Oscar looks at the poster, it has a cartoonish frog on it saying what to do when there is a disagreement.
After a little bit of the both of them reading the old poster Lando tapped the poster and announced
“You know i kinda always wished i would get into a fight that i would have to just walk away because i thought that was so badass.”
“More evidence of you being a dumbass.”
“Hey!” Lando slaps Oscars shoulder
“Mate you're gonna give me a bruise one of these days” Lando smiles and Oscar knows that the next thing out of this man’s mouth is going to put him into psychosis one day.
“I bet you would let me put bruises all over you huh?”
Oscar knew he was right because all he could do was look at Lando's jaw on the floor and be very aware of the blood rushing to his face.
“Oh my god look at your face!” Lando keels over with laughter “come on lets go, id like to actually explore this place before you die”
They walk into an old classroom with desks scattered all over the place, dust settled on every surface, a chalkboard with tags and non-sencical writing on it, papers scattered across the floor, cabinet and cupboard doors opened showing old textbooks, and the windows were letting in the sun that was starting to set.
Lando walked over to one of the books and started flipping through it.
“How old do you think this book is?”
“You can check the date it was published, I don't think I could guess when it was published using the text alone, I'm smart but not that smart.”
“Sometimes” Lando says, flashing that toothy smile that Oscar can't help but mirror.
“What?”
“You can be smart sometimes” he says before flipping back to the front page, before Oscar shoves him knocking him off balance, falling to the ground.
“Hey!”
“What? You said I was sometimes smart. I feel like pushing you was warranted” Oscar says with a shrug and a smile. “Oh, would you look at that! This was published in the same year my papa was born!”
“Oh?” Lando finally gets up off the floor to look at the publishing date with Oscar.
“Oh yea it is! 1987! That's cool!”
“And horrendously outdated, geeze”
“I wonder if you brought this to our old chem teacher he could point out all the outdated shit in this book”
“Well i mean i could probably tell you a few outdated stuff just because i actually showed up to class Lando” Lando looked over at Oscar with mock betrayal painted on his face.
“I was doing important stuff!”
“Sorry mate, but i dont think cod is as important as chem, you know one of your core classes that you signed up for. You didn't need to, that was allllll you bucko”
“Yes it is. I have COD. I will be playing it instead of studying for chem you best believe me.” Lando walked over to the chalk board picking up a broken piece off the floor and started writing his name.
“What are you gonna start teaching me?”
“Wellll i would but…I have absolutely no clue what I would teach you.”
“You could teach me music theory”
“Osc i am so sorry to break this to you but i am shit at music theory and half the time i am guessing”
“I thought you were going into music?” Oscar was now so confused. How the hell did Lando pass and get into a really nice music program if he can't explain it to his best friend?
“Hey! I did it somehow! Don't underestimate me-” Lando was caught off by the ringing of Oscar’s phone.
“It's my dad…”
“Oh? Answer it”
Oscar answers the phone and puts it on speaker.
“Hi dad! Whatcha need?”
“HEYA MR. MARK!” Lando practically shouts into Oscar’s ear and phone.
“Hi Lando! How are you doing?”
“Good!” Oscar rolls his eyes. It took so long for Mark to come around and like Lando but now it seems like they could hang out the two of them without Oscar.
“Anyways, Oscar, me and papa were wondering if you were going to be home for supper?”
“Uhhhhh” Oscar had no clue if exploring an abandoned building with Lando would get him in trouble or not. He probably wouldn't, but he is technically breaking and entering, which is nottttt strictly the most lawful thing to do, but then again the amount of tickets that his dad and papa got could have funded the policestation’s doughnut orders for a year. Oscar doesn't even know if this would even be considered trespassing or breaking and entering. He didn't think to ask Lando these questions.
Oscar looked at Lando with a panicked expression, silently begging for help. Lando somehow telepathically understood what Oscar was asking and piped up:
“Oscar is coming over to my house to eat! We're just hanging out! Also is seb there? If so, say hi to me!”
Oscar shot Lando a look of pure greatfull-ness and surprise at his quick witted thinking before continuing:
“ yea if papa is there say hi to him for us!” they both faintly hear a ‘Hi boys!’ And pots and pans clattering.
“Oh ok! Well have fun boys! And Oscar if you are going to sleep over at his house please tell me, i dont mind buttt, I do mind waking up in the morning thinking you have run away to race cars for a living.”
“Hey! Cars are cool!” the both of them chimed in and a quiet ‘hey! Form what seems to be a seb’
“I never said that was bad! I would just like some heads up is all, you silly boys, is is my job as your father to worry about you after all”
“Oh can it dad, you know im fine”
“And doing something perfectly and boringly safe.” Lando chimes in.
After a beat of silence seb speaks into the phone.
“Now I'm concerned…”
Oscar shoots Lando a glare that says something along the lines of ‘great now you've blown our cover dumbass but mark unenternally saves their asses.
“Oh please seb, Oscar has enough brains for both of them.”
“Hey! Im smart-” Lando starts but Oscar finishes it with a:
“Sometimes”
That sets both mark and seb into a fit of giggles and laughs.
“Ok ok, ill let you boys be, but osc please text me if you are staying over at Lando’s place, and for the love that is holy, please give Lando’s poor mum a heads up”
“Will do dad!”
“Ok bye ozzy! Love ya!” mark says before seb shouts a "Ich hab dich lieb! Pass auf dich auf!”
“Ich liebe dich auch, Papa” Oscar replies and hangs up, when he looks over at Lando he is met with a face of intrigue.
“I didn't know that you could speak German!”
“Of course? My papa is German?” Oscar thought that Lando would know that by now considering the amount of time spent at his house and around seb.
“I really should’ve known this by now, shouldn't I"
“Yeaaaaa”
“Well I mean I bet you didnt know I could speak a little Flemish!”
And Lando was right, Oscar in fact did not know that.
“Really?”
“Ja, dat kan ik! Maar niet zo goed.”
“Mate i have no clue what you are saying”
“I'm saying ‘yea i can! not well though’”
“Ohh. wait how and why do you know flemish?”
“My mom is from Flanders.”
“Ohhhhh your right I did not know that, I bet you also didnt know I could speak a little bit of Finnish!”
“Osc why the fuck can you speak finnish”
“Kimi”
“Antonelli speaks Finnish?”
“No– you dumbass.”
“Hey there's two limits in our life!”
“Yea, one is a year younger than us and the other is my uncle”
“HES YOUR UNCLE!?”
“Really close family friend, he was like my uncle Lando, im preity sure i cant put up with the cold like he can, ice man over there”
“Thats not genetic”
“Should be,” Oscar says with a shrug.
The sun had now almost entirely set making the school more ominous and dark. Lando looked around as if noticing this for the first time.
“You brought some flashlights right? Or are we just gonna have to use our phones”
Oscar reached into his hoodie pocket and produced two flashlights.
“Oh sweet! Ok lets go and actually explore more of this place”
The pair went on to find the school's library, the small amount of books that were actually left there were thrown around on the floor, pages littered the floor.
“I still think this place is a little creepy and has the possibility of getting us introble-” there was a giant crash that made Oscar grab onto Lando and duck in between two bookshelves out of fear.
“See what i mean there is someone hear, and were going to get in shit!” Oscar whisper shouted inches away from Lando’s stunted face.
Lando leaned back (but not out of Oscar’s grasp) and peeked around the bookshelf to see a rat had just knocked over a few energy drink cans and was now scurrying away.
“Oscar, it was a rat that knocked over a few cans.”
“Oh…” Lando was still inches away from Oscar’s face. Breath mixing and mingling as Oscar tried to get his heart to calm down. His hands clutching Lando’s shirt like a life line.
Wait…
He was clutching Lando’s shirt like a life line. Faces inches aways.
He was clutching Lando’s shirt like a life line! And Lando’s face was inches away!
“Shit, sorry i didnt mean to grab you…i just got scared” Oscar says with a humorous laugh and a flushed red face.
“It's all good mate! That rat also scared the living hell out of me too.”
“Yea, i didnt mean to grab you- well i mean i did so you wouldnt get in trouble too but i didnt mean to grab you like that- i-”
“Osc its fine, you dont need to explain”
But Oscar did feel the need to explain. He wanted to keep both him and Lando out of trouble. He wanted to protect Lando, that's why he grabbed him. He grabbed him so he could protect him. Why did he feel the need to protect him? Lando could have said something half true on the spot like he always does. Right? Why did Oscar need to grab him? It was just a rat! Of course it was a rat! What else could it be? Oscar didn't need to grab Lando. But he did. But he wanted to. He wanted to grab Lando. Why? It was just Lando. If it were Logan he would've done that. Right? Why is Lando different? Is it his hair? His smile? His jokes? His personality? He knew Logan longer than Lando, but he wouldn't have grabbed Logan. Maybe Lando was just special and Oscar felt like he needed to protect him.
Yup, just special.
That was just who Lando and Oscar were.
Oscar needed to protect him.
For some reason?
But the more and more Oscar thought about it, the more apparent it became.
Lando was different from him.
He meant more to him.
And not just in a friendly way. He felt the same way that his dad would describe love.
Oscar loved Lando.
Oscar loved Lando norris
Oscar loved Lando freaking Norris.
“Oscar! Holy cow, I can hear the cogs in your head turning. Let's go up to the roof.”
Crap. He'd gone quiet. Too busy having a crisis to realize lando was trying to catch his attention.
“At least the cogs in my head turn!”
The school sat on a hill that overlooked the town that had long forgotten it. The street lights illuminating the streets, lights in the town’s houses turning on as the sun set lower and lower. Too far away to see anything happening but close enough to just make out what the lights illuminated.
Oscar met Lando at the railings. They didn't need to talk to fill the silence. They could just exist together and that was all that was needed. That was them. They were able to just be, without feeling awkward or weird about shared silence.
Oscar looked over at Lando, the wind slightly blowing in the breeze, eyes fixed on the town below them. Oscar could just barely make out the small scar on Lando’s nose that he got from walking into several walls. Oscar wanted to kiss it. Well of course Oscar wanted to kiss his lips, but he also wanted to kiss his scars, every freckle, just to see if Lando would show that smile. That one smile that he would reserve for only a few people, that smile full of fondness and pure joy. Just to see that smile directed at Oscar.
Lando rested his hands on the railing. Just resting. Oscar could easily reach out and grab his hand and hold it. Right?
Easy
Osacr puts his hands on the railing. He could just grab Lando’s hand now.
Like really easily.
No problem at allllllllll.
Oscar goes to grab Lando’s hand but chickens out at the last minute and instead he just links their pinkies together.
Lando looks over at Oscar, whose face is turned away, all red and flustered. Taking mercy on him he grabs his hand. Which dissolves Oscar more.
“You know if you wanted to hold my hand you could have asked and i would say yes, its hard to turn down a cute face like yours” Lando gives him the small little fond smile that makes the butterflies in Oscar’s stomach go crazy.
Oh
Oh
Lando likes him.
Lando freaking norris like him. He might have a shot. He could kiss the guy he likes. He might have the chance to date Lando Norris.
Somehow that small realization skyrockets Oscar’s confidence. He might have the chance to kiss Lando.
He turns to Lando, hands still linked, and grabs his face with his other hand. There faces inches away from each other for the second time that night, but this time Oscar can't stop staring at Lando’s lips, unknowing how to go about this or do this.
“Osc.” Lando said, deadpan.
Oscar gulped, “Lando.”
At the shaky sound of Oscar’s voice, Lando reached his hand up to caress Oscar’s cheek.
“Osc…”
“Lando?”
Lando sighed.
“Just kiss me already.”
“Uhm…”
“Osc.”
“Mhm?”
“Are you going to kiss me?”
“Yes.”
“Then why aren’t you?” he laughed.
“I… uhm…”
It wasn’t difficult to sense the hesitation in Oscar. If Lando’s knowledge was serving him correctly, this would be Oscar’s first kiss. At least, his first with a guy. For Lando, it wasn’t like that. He’d been kissed and kissed a few. So, he did what he had to.
With his hand, still caressing Oscar, he gently pulled his face in ever so closer. When their lips finally met, it was soft, like a feather. Slowly, Oscar’s hands moved from Lando’s face into his hair. Tugging on it lightly, enough to keep the kiss going but not let there be anything more for now. Just both of them, together.
When the kiss broke, Oscar didn’t know what to do other than pull Lando in for a hug. This boundary they crossed was new, and felt a bit scary. More for Oscar than Lando. Lando fell more into an “it’s better to ruin a friendship than regret it” mindset. Has that gotten him into trouble a few times? Definitely. But this—this was different.
It was different because it wasn’t somebody he barely cared for. This wasn’t someone he felt something for, for only a week. This was Oscar. The only one where his feelings had stayed. The only one who was real.
“Fuck, Osc.” Lando muttered, moving back from the hug and leaning his forehead against Oscar’s. “I thought– I thought you liked girls.”
“No, at least, not entirely.”
“Fuck.” He swore again, “Tell me sooner next time.”
Leaning away from Lando, but keeping his arm on his waist, Oscar questioned, “What?”
“Fuck, you… you were my awakening, Osc.”
“Huh?”
“Are you being intentionally dense?”
“HUH?”
They stand there for a minute staring at each other before Lando says.
“Damm Alex was right, you are really down bad for me.”
“We kissed and your first thought was Alex!? Geeze man.” Lando’s face fell, full panic, Oscar knew that isn't how Lando meant but it, was too easy to pick on him. “Lando, you know I am joking, right? I don't care. Anyways, I’m hungry. I’m going back to the car.” He starts to walk away, face still flushed and mind lagging behind at the moment they just had. Feeling as if he could do anything, especially if Lando was by his side.
They walk out the front doors and Lando realizes that he hasn't said anything since the rooftop. He wanted to talk to Oscar now that he knew the feeling was mutual. Grasping for anything, he remembered what Oscar had last said to him.
“Glad you’re joking, mate,” hoping that Oscar would know what he was talking about.
“Mate?! The utter disrespect!” Oscar clutches his chest in mock offence knowing that Lando’s brain is just as frazzled as his.
“You know I didn't mean it like thattttt, you muppet!” he catches up to Oscar and grabs his hand for the second time that night.
“Now I'm a muppet! Wowww, anyways unlock the car I want to get back to your house”