Chapter Text
Oscar covered his mouth as he let out a laugh as a response to the ridiculous story Liam was telling him.
It was Friday, the day before prom. Lando had texted Oscar Atleast once a day for the few days leading to now, and then added him on every social and began sending Oscar random TikTok’s and saying “this reminds me of u” and other things along those lines.
It was pretty clear that Lando was nervous, something Oscar never thought would happen, especially when Oscar had been the reason behind it.
Ofcourse Oscar had wanted to reach out and tell Lando not to worry, but Oscar himself had been just as bad, he’s just been less obvious. Internally, is Oscar was in a constant state of looking for or thinking about Lando.
For years, he’d had to suppress his crush. He had to shove it down and pretend it wasn’t there but now everything was different. Oscar had more than sufficient evidence that Lando Norris indeed did like him, if the elaborate promposal was anything to go by.
still, Oscar had lingering concerns. How did he not see it before? Everyone had always praised Oscar on his emotional intelligence, so how did he not even think for a second that Lando had ever liked him like that.
He didn’t know if he’d watched too many movies but the thought of it being fake consumed him. Oscar felt like was too good to be true.
He had heard people talking about the promposal, he kept hearing things like “he’s just Lando’s bitch” or “or probably was a bet”. And the insecurity just worsened. Oscar knew that it was just people speaking out of jealousy, he knew going into this that Lando was an attractive guy and Lando was sought after so he would inevitably catch random strays.
They were definitely not dating though, so they awkward energy they had around eachother felt like a ball on the top of a hill, so close to rolling.
Oscars eyes drifted to just behind Liam’s shoulder as he continued speaking, Oscar’s wasn’t even listening anymore as he spotted Lando emerge from the lunch line, but not carrying a tray. Oscar quickly looked away before Lando would notice him watching.
Oscar watched from the corner of his eye as Lando steadily approached Oscar’s table, put both his hands flat onto the space beside Oscar and leaned forward towards Oscar. Oscar looked up and gave Lando a polite smile and Lando’s eyes crinkled in happiness.
Lando just looked at him for a moment and then inches one of hands to where Oscar’s was resting atop the table and Hesitantly rubbed Oscar’s smaller hand with his thumb.
“hey” Lando quietly said as Oscar blinked up at him “hi”. Lando had just stared at him with a blissful smile and then something in his expression shifted to nervous and then into an expression that looked like he was in thought. After a moment, his eyes brightened again and he casually rolled his shoulders back “do you know what’s for lunch today?”.
Oscar knew that Lando knew exactly what was for lunch because he’d just emerged from there moments ago, but Oscar wasn’t going to point it out. “Pizza and fries I think” Oscar said, still looking up at Lando.
Lando smiled and hummed in acknowledgment but clearly wanting to say something else. He sighed to himself a quickly reached into his pockets, he pulled out a small chocolate and handed it to Oscar.
Oscar examined the chocolate in his hands, it was one of those mini individually wrapped timtams. Oscar smiled and looked back up at Lando “thank you!” Lando nervously swayed in his feet and rubbed the back of his neck “ it’s nothing, I was just really excited for tomorrow and saw this at the shop, so I wanted to buy it for you.. it’s double coat by the way” Oscar smiled again.
Oscar wasn’t good at this stuff, how he wished he possessed the same charisma that everyone else seems to have. He hoped that his grateful smile would tell everything Lando needed to know. “But I do hope you enjoy tomorrow, yeah?” Lando said after a pause, Oscar blinked and nodded “I will, regardless of how it goes”.
Lando’s eyes crinkled again and took Oscar’s hand into his and stressed a small almost unnoticeable kiss into Oscar’s fingers. Oscar turned beat red and his hand got lowered again. “I hope I’m able to make it good enough for you, so you’d give me another chance” and reluctantly walked away with a bright smile.
Oscar watched as he walked away, registering Liam’s awestruck face as he saw Lando walk to his table where Carlos, max f and Carmen were sitting and before he even sat down on the bench, Lando began to talk excitedly. It sent a flutter to Oscar’s stomach, how happy Lando had been during their short conversation.
Liam rubbed at his temple and waved a hand infront of Oscar’s face “mate what was that” liam sounded exasperated, as if it was obvious what “that” implied.
Oscar blinked back into focus “huh? What was what?”. Liam blinked back at him and brought his joined hands to his forehead as if he was begging a divine power to grant him patience.
“You like the bloke or not?” Liam asked, Oscar took a second to register the question, it was so stupid. Obviously he likes Lando, why else would he accept the promposal.
Oscar looked at Liam as if he had horns, and scoffed “mate, it’s just prom” Oscar did not think of it as just prom. This was life deciding. “He probably doesn’t even like me, he most likely asked for fun” Oscar fidgeted with his nails.
Liam’s head fell back as he groaned “you’re hopeless, I know your excited” and Oscar’s face betrayed him as his lips curled up at the corners slightly and his cheeks began to turn pink. “Maybe..”.
The suit was simple but elegant. His sister, Hattie had chosen it for him but he’d agreed with her taste, it was navy blue with darker navy embroidery at the cuffs and a bit at the hem. The undershirt had been white silk but it was more matte compared to the other silk Oscar owned. The tie was navy with the same pattern and the subtle lace at the lining.
Oscar had it hung to the very front of his closet and got a jolt of excitement every time he looked at it. He couldn’t believe he was going to prom with Lando.
If someone told Oscar he would be going to prom with Lando even a week ago he’d call them insane. Lando apparently never hated him which was the most shocking part.
After the football game, Oscar changed the unknown numbers name to ‘Lando’ and when Lando messaged him asking if he really did want to go to prom with Lando and he didn’t just say yes out of pressure. Oscar found it sweet how careful and hesitant Lando was being with him. Normally, Lando pranced around doing whatever without a care in the world, the shift was giving Oscar whiplash.
Oscar had responded to the message with confirmation that he did indeed mean it, and after a moment lando had sent a voice note. “Hey Oscar, I’m so glad you said yes I was really nervous, and I’ve had a crush on you since you first came to the school” he paused and then continued “I thought you were cute and really smart and stuff, but like anyways I uh wrote you notes, messaged you, tried to give hints and I know you don’t really reciprocate but I’m happy you said yes to give me this one chance”
lando on the other side took a shaky breath “and I really hope I can make it perfect for you, I hope that after prom… you’d still let me take you on a date?, but I’m thinking too far ahead, please don’t be creeped out”. Lando chuckled nervously before continuing again “okay I gotta go but I’m am so excited, bye!”.
Oscar had responded with “mate, don’t worry about it there’s no pressure” or something along those lines but far less composed. Oscar wanted to tread carefully, he told himself that this was Lando Norris and as much as Oscar craved and wanted it to be real, he was the same person Oscar wholeheartedly believed hated him and someone who Oscar “hated” well, as much as you can hate someone you cannot help but like.
Oscar had to keep reminding himself that maybe he underestimated Lando, he misread everything and Lando actually did like him. Or on the other side of things, Lando was using him as entertainment and would stand him up.
oscar tried to remain nonchalant and sort of indifferent to the whole thing so if it ultimately blows up in his face he’d have an easier time showing everyone he was okay.
He didn’t want to admit it out loud but if this wasn’t real, he would be devastated.
Oscar sat at his family dining table, he’d zoned out thinking about the day that awaited him. He was probably thinking too much for his own good but he couldn’t help but run through every scenario and he still couldn’t wrap his head around the face that Lando Norris never hated him.
How was that even possible, if Oscar knew that before, maybe they’d actually be dating by now.
His thoughts get interrupted by Hattie saying his name mid conversation, Oscar’s ears perked up. “-Oscar was so red! Like Lando had just spoken to him for at most five minutes and by the time Lando walked away, Oscar was the same color as this tomato!” She said with a mouth full of chicken while pointing to the tomato slice in the salad.
Oscar groaned and closed his eyes “no I wasn’t! How’d you even see that!” He was sure he was about the same color she had been referring to again. She laughed and rolled her eyes “I was skipping chemistry, I snuck into your lunch period because my friends have it too”.
”hah Oscar I thought you hated Lando, you folded under zero pressure” Edie added. His mother only laughed instead of putting an end to this madness. “Guys! He said he didn’t hate me though!” Oscar tried to sound nonchalant but his voice decided to crack mid sentence which did not help his case.
“how’s he getting here anyway, I want to take photos of you two before you leave” his mother said, a bit after the chaos calmed. She genuinely seemed happy for him regardless of the teasing. The day Oscar got asked, Oscar had sat on her bed as they went through Oscar’s yearbook because she wanted to see what Lando looked like. That ended up becoming a two hour stalking session of of all of Lando’s socials and his parents posts about him.
“Afterwards, if he wants to, he can sleep at our house too” she offhandedly suggested. Oscar Somehow turned a brighter shade of red as his sisters tried to suppress giggles. “I dunno, we’ll see” Oscar quickly said. He did not want to look into those implications.
Oscar opened his phone to scroll on TikTok after he brushed his teeth, he had been scrolling for about five minutes when he got a notification from Charles “image attached” Oscar immediately clicked on it and it was a screenshot.
the screenshot had been chats between Lando and Charles, Oscar’s heart started beating faster in fear of what he might see, preparing himself for the worst.
lando norizz (?)
Hey Charls
chalres
chaels
chalress
chalres
charles
charles.
One of the most common 7 letter names ever btw
cannot be this hard 😭
damn what’s got u in a mood
actually idc idc don’t tell me
what flowers does Oscar liike pls im so scared rn. Sned help
mate you’re the one who asked him to prom why are you asking me???
no pls, he doesn’t ljek me 😞😞😞 but fear not I’ll woo him, I’ll treat him like a princess.
Top ten things that arnet happening
jk jk
his favorite flowers are Lily’s I think, he likes the yellow ones but he looks for the ones closest to orange.
mate how’d u just know that, do I ahve competition????
nah, I knew it from the time we all went pottery painting and he went on an tangent about it.
I would listennn to it all day long if I had to😩
sybau😭
Oscar’s expression remained amused as he read the texts, he even let out a giggle. It soothed his conscience a bit to know that Lando was really committed to it.
Charles sent a rolling eyes emoji after the screenshots and Oscar hearted them. Reading the last few messages made Oscar go all fuzzy inside.
The next morning Oscar woke with a start. He had this horrible dream about Lando just repeating that it was a prank and Oscar foolishly thought that someone like him would be interested. Oscar reached for his phone and saw a new text from Lando, an hour ago.
“Good morning” “I’m so excited for today” Oscar’s heart rate increased as his face flushed. Oscar hearted the messages and replied “me too”.
Oscar had gotten out of the shower and rubbed at his eyes. He had spent two hours shaving every hair off his body, normally he shaved everything about every week because body hair made him itchy and made his clothes feel weird.But this time he was thorough.
Oscar put the suit on, it rested perfectly on his shoulders and it actually made him look good. It made Oscar feel grown.
Oscar attempted to comb his hair but it wouldn’t work so when Hattie walked by his door, she sighed and did it for him, and it looked good. It was parted differently but he looked more out together, especially cause Oscar never really cared what was going on atop his head.
Now, Oscar was sitting at the edge of his bed, waiting for the moment Lando Norris would knock on his door.
Oscars heart rate went from 90 to a million when he heard the doorbell ring. He practically leapt up from his bed and stumbled his way to his bedroom door. What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to open the door? Maybe if he hid in the bathroom, he’d save himself the embarrassment. Oh my goodness Lando Norris is taking me to prom, Oscar thought.
Before Oscar could even get his door fully open, he heard Eddie, greet Lando at the door. “Hey! You’re going with Oscar right?” She questioned. Oscar wanted nothing more than to be sniped right at that moment.
“yeah I am” Oscar could practically hear the smile in Lando’s face, it made his insides feel all fuzzy again. As he approached the front door, his she’s met Lando’s from across the room and Lando gave him the brightest smile Oscar had ever seen.
“Hi” Lando said in the softest tone Oscar’s ever heared him use, he was looking at Oscar like he couldn’t believe it. Oscar smiled so big his cheeks hurt and he glanced down and quietly said “hi”.
That moment, Oscar’s mom came trudging in with a camera and a smile that rivaled Lando and Oscar’s. She didn’t even warn the before she put it up and said “smile!” As Lando and Oscar snap out of their daze of just staring at eachother and look straight at the camera lense. Lando blinked and the began to laugh “oh my god, I must look horrid in that photo”.
Oscar giggles as he reached over to shut the door behind Lando, the sun was going down, sitting just above the horizon. Oscar’s mom instantly began fawning over Lando “my goodness, I thought it was too good to be true, Oscar never talks to anyone!” Oscar flushed at her words as his mom dragged him to the pretty arched window nook and positioned him and Lando side by side.
Oscar was deeply embarrassed by his family’s behavior, he briefly thought that they’d scare Lando away and he’d never talk to Oscar again. “Can you guys hug or something, why so stiff?” Mae asked, sipping her smoothie. Oscar glanced sideways at lando in a look that hopefully would let Lando know he was very very sorry for whatever was happening right now when Lando glanced back at him with an amused smile.
Landon’s arm immediately went round Oscar’s waist and tugged him closer. Oscar would not survive this.
A rumple of plastic interrupted Oscar’s plan on sinking into the ground, he glanced over and saw Eddie handing Lando a bouquet of the perfect shade of yellow Lilys where they looked almost orange. Oscar’s breath caught, how had he not seen those? “Where’d that come from?” Oscar asked “he handed to me when he came in” she shrugged.
was Oscar really that busy staring at Lando and how good his arms looked in that black suit, and how his tie sat just right, how the gold ring he had on contrasted the whole thing in the best way possible. Oscar had been so focused on the pockets of his suit which had elegant buttons which had a rose carved into them.
Wow, Oscar never thought he’d fold so easily.
Oscar almost didn’t notice Lando handing him the bouquet, if it Weren’t for the bright color. Oscar carefully took the flowers like they were the most fragile and important thing in the world. He held the bouquet using both his hands as his posture relaxed and he melted into Lando’s side, practically resting his head on his shoulder.
The camera flash went off a couple times and suddenly Mae told them to change the poses up a bit. Before Oscar knew it, a featherlight kiss was being pressed to his cheek.
safe to say, Oscar had reached new levels of red today.
By the time they finally got to Lando’s car, a (Lexus LC 500 convertible by the way) Lando held Oscar’s door open for him and then made his way to drivers side to Buckley himself in. “Woah, this car is insane” Oscar cringed at himself for ruining the moment with his dumb car interests Lando probably didn’t care about but Lando’s eyes lit up “yeah? This car doesn’t get as many compliments as the other one”.
“I think this one’s cooler, plus it’s more expensive, so I dunno why people would focus on the corvette way more ” Oscar shrugged.
Lando paused and in those five seconds he swore he saw their whole wedding, just when he thought he couldn’t be more obsessed.
“How far can this venue be?” Oscar asked. It had been about 35 minutes and they still hadn’t arrived. The sky darkened around the time they left Oscar’s house and by now, it was pitch black. Lando put the roof up for his car when he saw the clouds looming, and when it started to rain. Oscar winced at the concept of Lando’s luxury car being ruined by the rain.
”I don’t know, gps is fucked” Lando let out a frustrated sigh and turned to Oscar with the most apologetic expression he’d ever seen. The clouds rumbled and it had began to pour.
The visibility was so low, they had to pull over at the side of the road. That’s when Oscar finally took in their surroundings properly, they were surrounded by woods other than the narrow road they’d been on.There was a small building in the distance, illuminated by white lights, perhaps a small convenience store.
Oscar blinked and turned to look at Lando again, who slumped back onto his seat. “The hell?!” Lando immediately sat up, on high alert as he examined the tire pressure gauge. “Puncture”.
“Shit” Oscar said.
”shit indeed”