Chapter Text
From the moment Lando Norris moved next door, Oscar Piastri knew that his life was changed forever.
It wasn’t a realization as intense as that, of course. It actually started as a promise of a new friend at the ripe age of six years old. One hot Monaco summer day, Oscar was playing outside with his little sister Hattie when a moving van rolled up to the house next door; the property had been on sale since May, but Oscar had heard snippets of a conversation from his parents as they’d murmured about how high the house’s price tag was.
Oscar peered as a sleek white Mercedes sedan with bloodred leather seats and a glinting hood ornament promptly followed the moving van, the whole car dripping with money. Oscar had seen luxurious cars before—he lived in Monaco, for heaven’s sake—but this one caught his interest as it pulled into the driveway next door.
Oscar watched with a childish curiosity as two well-dressed adults, a man and a woman, stepped out of the front seats. His interest only deepened when the woman with caramel brown hair and glasses that looked much too big for her head opened the backseat door, unbuckling a child from his seat and guiding him out of the car. Oscar peeked over the front fence to get a better look.
It was Lando Norris. A talkative, bubbly six-and-a-half year old with curly hair that was never quite neat and green eyes that looked up at the world with a hope that only a kid who had moved over 850 miles from his previous home had.
Oscar’s mother, Nicole, then walked outside, the screen door slamming shut behind her. She held three lemonades—one glass, one closed cup with a straw, and one sippy cup. Before handing the latter to Hattie, Nicole’s eyes flicked up to next door, watching as the family of three opened the cherrywood front door of 481 Scott Street.
“You see, Oscar? Those are our new neighbors,” Nicole said, crouching down to hand him the lemonade with a straw. “And the kid is your age! I’m sure you’ll make a new playmate. I’m going to go over later and bring a welcome gift; would you like to come?”
Oscar nodded. “Okay!”
Hattie burbled happily and Nicole scooped her up. “Okay, then. We’ll go over later, all right?” She then carried Hattie back into the house, the front door closing with a slight squeak. Oscar was left watching the movers begin to unpack box after box of belongings from the truck and carry them into the house.
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Later, after the sun had gone down and the birds had stopped singing, Nicole took Oscar by the hand and brought him over to next door, holding mouthwatering chocolate chip cookies on a porcelain plate covered in foil. She knocked on the door with care and Oscar watched the front door open, revealing the woman Oscar had seen earlier.
“Hello!” Nicole said to her cheerfully, a warm smile on her face. “I’m Nicole, and this is my son Oscar. We’re your neighbors to the right. Welcome to the neighborhood!”
The woman smiled back tentatively. “I’m Cisca. Cisca Norris. It’s nice to meet you.” Oscar could hear the accent in her voice, but he wasn’t sure where it was from exactly. “We just moved from London.”
“Well, it’s wonderful to meet you too. Oh, these are for you.” Nicole handed over the plate of cookies as a flash of brown hair skidded to a stop right behind Cisca.
“Mum! Dad said—who is that?” Lando stopped short, blinking as he gaped at Oscar like a child fascinated with a ladybug on their bedroom windowsill.
Oscar immediately shrank back, hiding behind his mother’s legs, drawing chuckles from both Nicole and Cisca.
“Lando, this is Oscar. He lives next door to us,” explained Cisca, making Lando’s eyes widen. He stepped a smidge toward Oscar and gave him a wide, gap-toothed smile.
“Hi! I’m Lando!” he declared happily, sticking out a hand to shake.
Oscar stared at Lando’s outstretched hand before whispering back shyly, “Hi.”
It wasn’t that Oscar was intensely shy compared to others his age; he could hold his own in most interactions with people, whether that be his parents’ friends or his classmates. However, the thing that tripped him up was the vibes that surrounded Lando: a bright, loud, and chaotic cacophony of friendliness. Oscar had no idea what to do with all this energy; this explosive, crazy energy that made him feel smaller, somehow.
In short, Oscar was a little scared of Lando.
Cisca then interrupted the moment, holding the plate of cookies close to her. “Thank you so much for these, Nicole. You’re very kind.” She ruffled Lando’s hair and he giggled.
“Of course,” Oscar’s mother beamed back. “I won’t take up any more of your time; you guys are probably still unpacking. Welcome to Monte Carlo.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much,” Cisca said. Lando waved bye to Oscar, who managed a tentative yet friendly wave back before Cisca closed the door.
Nicole addressed Oscar as they sauntered back to the Piastri household. “Well, they seemed very nice. Lando seems like a good kid. Maybe you two will become friends.”
Oscar nodded, still clinging to his mother’s hand. Nicole opened the front door with her keys and stepped aside, letting Oscar go first. Oscar tramped inside as Hattie toddled over and hugged him with a big smile and an exclamation of “Osc!”
Nicole then picked both of them up, making Oscar laugh and Hattie let out a giggly shriek.
“All right, bedtime for you two,” she said, already carrying them upstairs. “Big days ahead!”
As Oscar’s mother tucked him into bed, a feeling of excitement blossomed in his chest. Lando was a new face, possibly even a new friend. Honestly? Sure, Oscar was intimidated by Lando, but he was looking forward to learning more about the unknown Brit. Oscar burrowed under his covers, hugging his stuffed koala tighter against him as his eyes fluttered shut, sleep claiming him.
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This was only the beginning of many interactions between Oscar and Lando. Surprisingly, they didn’t interact the whole rest of the summer. Oscar had wondered why—it could’ve been the adjustment to Monaco weather, chores of moving in boxes, or just the fear of a new place. The next time they saw each other, it was the fourth week of the first year of primary school—Cours Prépatoire.
It was during recess out in a gated piece of land, and as six year olds do, footraces were occurring. Children racing with no real speed and no real consequences.
In particular, Oscar’s classmate Carlos Sainz was one of the fastest of the group, usually being crowned victor. The Spaniard quickly got a big head, and after a race where Oscar had come dead last, easily started teasing him about it.
“You’re such a slow runner, Oscar!” Carlos giggled, pointing at him. “I know koalas faster than you. It’s sad.” Some of Carlos’ friends, like Charles and Max, joined in on the banter.
Lando had then noticed the kerfuffle, picking up on what was happening: his friends laughing at Oscar, whose face burned with embarrassment before he’d even known the definition of embarrassment. Oscar had seemed to shrink in on himself, too shy to speak up. However, speaking up was one thing Lando was good at doing.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Lando stood in between Carlos and Oscar, placing his hands on his hips.
Carlos was still grinning and trying not to laugh, his eyes flicking to Oscar. “Nothing, but Oscar’s the slowest runner ever. Even Charles is quicker than him!” This statement awarded him with a small shove from the Monégasque.
Lando frowned. “Carlos, that’s mean.”
“No, it’s not. It’s true!”
“Well, that’s not nice. Do you like when Max laughed at you when he used to beat you in running?”
Lando’s arms were still crossed, and his six months of age on Carlos gave him a sense of superiority, and everyone could tell.
Carlos shook his head with a pout, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “No…sorry, Oscar.”
“It’s okay,” Oscar mumbled, his face still flushed. He really just wanted everyone to stop staring at him. “Really.”
Carlos shrugged and sauntered off, Max and Charles behind him. Lando started to follow, but looked back at Oscar before catching up with his friends, leaving Oscar trying to understand what had just happened.
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After the school day had ended, Oscar was standing in front of school, waiting for his mother to arrive and pick him up when he heard a loud British voice coming his way.
“Oscar!” Lando skipped over, a bright green backpack on his shoulders and a boyish twinkle in his eye.
Oscar turned around. “Hi.” He suddenly felt like he wasn’t talking enough, so he said quietly, “Thanks for what happened at recess.”
“It’s okay. My mum says you were nice. So I should be nice to you.” Lando didn’t say it like it was a bad thing, just a fact.
Oscar nodded silently in response, not knowing what else to say. He didn’t know if Lando had something up his sleeve, but he seemed genuine.
“You don’t talk much, do you?” Lando suddenly said. “That’s okay. My mum says I talk enough for two people. I can make up for it…You do talk, don’t you?”
Oscar, for the second time in a day, flushed red in embarrassment. “I talk.”
“Oh, okay, good. It would be awfully boring if all I did was talk.” Lando shifted a little bit, adjusting his backpack straps. “Hey, Oscar.”
Oscar looked over at Lando, blinking. “What?”
“I think we’re gonna be best friends,” Lando said with a ginormous grin.
Slowly, Oscar smiled back. “Yeah.”
Oscar’s mother then honked her horn from where she was parked, and Oscar darted off to get in the car. Lando waved goodbye, and Oscar gave him a wave in return—a real one.
And that was only the beginning.