Chapter Text
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Oscar Piastri never got more than 10 messages in the span of two minutes unless someone had died/was dying, or he'd forgotten to get Logan Sargeant his trademark strawberry lemonade.
Fortunately, none of the people Oscar knew now were old enough for the hospice, and Logan was probably mulling over his Economics specimen papers back in the reading booth of Oxford Brookes University. Which made the situation even more confusing.
If anyone had told Oscar he'd be added to a random groupchat by accident on an uneventful Wednesday afternoon, he wouldn't have believed them. But if he was told the groupchat was named McTwinks, or that it was comprised of his fellow interns — he ... still wouldn't have believed them.
So when his phone kept buzzing in his jeans-pocket for five hours straight, he'd frozen in his tracks to see his WhatsApp glowing with 50+ messages.
All from unknown numbers.
He'd quickly pocketed it and tried to push it into the farthest mental compartment of his mind as he sat through lectures and program testing.
Oscar left the MTC Building just after 6 p.m., hoodie pulled up, headphones cradled around his neck, taking long strides to the block where his taxi stood. He'd slid into the vehicle, the pungent stench of burnt petrol invading his nostrils, as the driver whisked him dangerously fast towards Chobham Flats.
Staying in a three-storey boys' hostel considerably close to his internship centre had its advantages; the 1 hour 50 minute commute from Oxford to Woking had been reduced to just a 15 minute walk, and the neighborhood was quiet, trimmed, and tranquil.
Today, however, Oscar had come down with a nauseating migraine — exacerbated by the incessant chime of his phone — and he didn't have the energy to stagger back to the hostel in Chobham.
When the taxi coasted to a stop in front of the looming building, Oscar paid the driver and stumbled out, gripping his shoulder bag tightly. He slid in his key to the mahogany front door, took off his shoes by the rug, and bounded over the staircase, the thud of his footsteps muffled by the sound of—
"That's fucking cheating!"
Oscar sighed, locking himself into his room on the second floor, flipping the golden light on. His room was smaller than the other ones, mainly because it was meant for two while the other ones roomed four people. Oscar's previous roommate had left six weeks ago due to problems at home, leaving this room all to him. Serendipitous, if you asked him. He didn't know what he would do if someone shared the same room as him. It was clean, organized; a bunk bed in one corner, a long window sprawled across the right side of the room. Hooks with keys, hangers with ironed clothes, sticky notes with reminders. So unlike the rooms on the first floor, or even the main entrance.
Oscar's intern-mates were also Oxford Brookes students like him, in the same year. They'd all chosen to intern at McLaren Technology for their placement year, also like him. They were just quicker than him in that matter.
Alex Albon, the previous Deputy Head Boy, was doing Materials Science, while two of his friends went into Mechanical Engineering and Vehicle Dynamics: George Russell, the Head Boy and Computer Presentations Club Leader back at Oxford, and Lando Norris, Head of the Oxford Golf Club (and the unofficial Head fratboy).
They'd been at the MTC four months before Oscar had even arrived here first, already used to the dynamics and routines, having made acquaintances and favourites. Oscar didn't dislike them — no, he actually liked Alex. He just didn't like how noisy they were, how much of a mess they always created.
Or, if he was being specific, he didn't like Lando Norris.
Too loud, playful, dangerous. Flirtatious. Noisy. Buzzing with energy that tired Oscar.
He'd never seen Lando actually at work. Oscar wonders if Lando actually does work, apart from spending hours in the racing simulator rooms and golf courts. Even back at Oxford, Lando was too detached from everyone else, living in his own world, too happy.
After wolfing down the last of his omelette wrap, Oscar sank into his bed, opening his phone.
McTwinks
~lando created a group chat!
~lando added you to the group chat!
~lando added ~albono to the group chat!
~lando added ~George William Russell to the group chat!
~lando set the name to McTwinks
Lando
hello mfs
Alexander
I bet you said mfs bc you don't know how to spell it
Lando
fuck you
you know what
~ lando changed ~albono's nickname to marmot murderer
marmot murderer
fuck you
George
What is this?
Lando
what does it look like gorge
marmot murderer
george*
Lando
may u run over a kitten on your way to the mtc tomorrow
amen
marmot murderer
wow
WOW
George
Hello???
Lando? Alex? Daniel? What is this?
Lando
bless u gorge
what does it fucking look like
George
Is this another group-chat?
Lando
fym 'another'
yes it is einstein
and its js for us interns here
marmot murderer
so just the three of us
Lando
plus daniel
gone but not in memory
marmot murderer
he's not dead? 😭
Lando
he is to me
left me all alone with two dumbasses
George
Pretty rich coming from you.
marmot murderer
OUCH
Lando
AS I WAS SAYIGN
this chat is for us 3 + danny
bc the old GC is dead
and its only used by charles and max bc they dont know how to use private dms ig
marmot murderer
I shiver whenever I remember the sext-incident
George
Don't remind me.
Lando
eugh
so yah
talk abt whtv u want here
interns at mtc
marmot murderer
pray tell why have we christened the chat with such a name
Land
bc were all gay twinks duh
marmot murderer
pretty sure that's just you
Lando
gay?
marmot murderer
twink
Lando
u cannot make me ashamed of who iam
marmot murderer
sure buddy
George
So far our days here have been going good, right?
marmot murderer
georgie i don't think Lando meant to create this GC for us to talk about studies
Lando
tru
made this for us interns
to TALK
GOSSIP
not STUDY
marmot murderer
wait what about that new guy?
Lando
that new intenr?
George
I don't know how you mispelled "intern", Lando, but yes.
I think Alex is talking about the new intern.
Lando
alex get ur man b4 i get 2 him
marmot murderer
my man???
George
Lando.
Lando
oh not ts again
still in denial
speaking of denial
where's denial
George
Denial?
marmot murderer
Lando did you add daniel to this chat?
Lando
i did but hes either offlien or hes leaving us all on read
George
So did you add Oscar?
Lando
oscar?
marmot murderer
new guy?
George
Oscar Piastri, the Oxford intern here.
I think he's doing Data Analysis and Computer Science?
marmot murderer
how do you even know this 😭😭😭
Lando
oh you mean the hoodie guy
mr nonchalant
marmot murderer
pretty sure you called him cute this morning
Lando
cute mr nonchalant
cant decide wheather nerds are hot or boring
George
Lando.
Lando
wht???
chill george i dont want him
dont wanna date anyone ever again thank you
marmot murderer
Sainz when I catch you
Lando
:)
wait
~lando changed their nickname to lando
lando changed ~George William Russell's nickname to mr. ppt
mr. ppt
Lando!
marmot murderer
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHA
lando
what 😃
mr. ppt
Change it back, please.
lando
ima change it 2 smth else
dont blame me 4 the name im gonna give u
mr. ppt
Alex.
marmot murderer changed mr. ppt's nickname to borderline violence
lando
whipped
also
BAAHAHAHAHAHAHA ALEX
I CULD KISS U
marmot murderer
nah you ain't safe either
marmot murderer changed lando's nickname to little lando norris
little lando norris
die
prison
marmot murderer
bless you for spelling that right
little lando norris
fuck u
@You daniel help
danny
DANNY RIC
@You @You @You
oh so were ingoring me now i see
marmot murderer
this is funny
little lando norris
die
borderline violence
Guys, stop fighting.
little lando norris
yes mum
marmot murderer
yes mum
borderline violence
How about I order takeout for the three of us tonight?
little lando norris
THATS MORE LKE IT
but
no fish psl
pls
marmot murderer
immature
little lando norris
at least im happy
marmot murderer
do you guys hear that?
little lando norris
hear wht
borderline violence
Hear what?
marmot murderer
the lie detector going off
little lando norris
ha
ha
do u hear that alex
marmot murderer
what
little lando norris
that ticking unda ur bed isnt an alarm clock
borderline violence
😂
marmot murderer
GEORGE?
YOU TOO???
little lando norris
trouble in paradis
marmot murderer
the fuck is paradis
also
wdym "trouble in paradise"
we're just friends
borderline violence
Lando.
little lando norris
what???
borderline violence
Don't.
little lando norris
I DIDNT EVEN SAY ANYTHGIN
borderline violence
I could smell your text from a mile away.
marmot murderer
text about what??
don't say what???
borderline violence
Lando I will systematically dismember you.
little lando norris
yo chill i aint reading allat
plus
@marmot murderer shh summer child
u dont wanna know
marmot murderer
don't wanna know what? 😭😭
hello??
where have you two gone?
Lando and George
soooo
when r u FINALLY gonna tell him
Tell him what?
i didnt even say his name and u got who i meant
so u know who im talkign abt
I don't know what you mean.
sure sure lemme spell it out
WHEN.
THE.
FUCK.
ARE.
YIO.
GOINF.
TO.
CONFESS.
YOUR.
PATHETC.
FEELINGS.
TO.
Okay that's enough.
ALEX??????
...
im honeslty tired of seeing u both flirt and be fucking oblivious
its kinda sad seeing how sad u are
js confess bro
he wants u big time
First of all, he does not like me that way.
Second of all, no.
Third of all, let's not talk about me. Tell me what happened with Carlos.
oh deflection i see it
Good on you for spelling that right.
anwyyas
im going
leaving u to ur wallowing cz ur not confessing 2 a guy who looks at u like ur his god and savior
Wait.
He does?
Lando??
Lando!
Does Alex look at me that way?
He looks at me?
Lando I swear to God.
McTwinks
little lando norris
so denail sitll hasn't texted here right
marmot murderer
affirmative
little lando norris
oh so we're talking like george now
marmot murderer
oh so we're using punctuation marks correctly now
little lando norris
fuck u
honeslty
borderline violence
Lando, you still haven't answered me on private.
marmot murderer
you two ghosted me to go on private?
borderline violence
Oh.
No, of course not.
I just asked him something.
marmot murderer
what?
little lando norris
if u look at him with hearts in ur eyes. whic u do
🚫 This message has been deleted.
nothing
marmot murderer
what was that?
why did you delete that Lando?
borderline violence
I just asked him what happened with Carlos.
Lando and George
honestly js die in prisn
:)
McTwinks
marmot murderer
oh
yeah
I see
well we do need to discuss that
little lando norris
alex
marmot murderer
but
I WAS GOING TO SAY BUT.
i don't want to force Lando into reopening fresh wounds just because we want to.
he can take all the time he wants
we're by his side
whenever he's ready, if he's ready, we'll be there for him
otherwise i'm still happy with him and want him to heal over that piece of shit
borderline violence
Yes, Alex's right.
marmot murderer
thank you :)
little lando norris
🤮🤮
[marmot murderer reacted 🙄 to this message]
wow guys
thanks
honestly
but
js
he wasnt a peice of shit
i think i was
borderline violence
And who said that to you?
little lando norris
is takeout here?
borderline violence
@little lando norris We'll have this discussion later.
You cannot escape.
marmot murderer
*when he's ready for that
don't push him georgie
borderline violence
Oh
Okay
little lando norris
mans so whipped he forgot his trademark punctuation 😭😭😭
marmot murderer
wdym "whipped"
little lando norris
you see sunshine child
when a man and a man love each other...
🚫 This message has been deleted.
marmot murderer
why are you deleting your messages 😭😭
little lando norris
it certainly has nothing to do with a tall skinny ass british dude swearing to eviserate me in my dms
whtv that means
marmot murderer
george isn't skinny
he's
lean
like
perfectly built
you get what I mean?
Lando and George
you're welcome
Oh okay I-
So;
He thinks I'm perfectly built.
Wow, I.
So I don't need to change my workout routine then.
HOW THE FUCJ AM I MORE EXCITED ABT TS THAN YOU
Because I do not keyboard spam when I'm excited.
I do the opposite.
oh so forgetting punctatin marks
I feel sorry for your autocorrect.
js u wait bitch
Lando?
Lando don't you even dare.
Oh you would. Who am I kidding.
McTwinks
borderline violence
Alex turn off your notifications for a minute.
marmot murderer
what why??? 😭
little lando norris
chill bruh i wasnt gonna say anything
marmot murderer
WHY ARE YOU GUYS TALKING IN PRIVATE
little lando norris
jealous?
dw allie george can talk to u in private if u ask him to
borderline violence
I have prepared an entire PowerPoint presentation on why it's better to talk about previous toxic relationships if one wants to move on quickly.
little lando norris
...
low blow
marmot murderer
george!!!
dk if i should cry or laugh
@little lando norris u good?
landoooo
little lando norris
oh yea im fine
why wouldnt i be
also george i dont wanna date anyone again incase ur wondering
borderline violence
Good.
I'll keep that in mind the next time you open your mouth regarding our private messages in here.
marmot murderer
😭😭
wow
i feel so included!!!
borderline violence
Sorry Allie!
little lando norris
"allie" js kiss already n put me outta my misery
🚫 This message has been deleted.
yes, he threatened me again
control ur man alex
marmot murderer
he's not my man??? 😭
Lando and George
See?
He clearly does not want me.
It's so obvious.
I feel stupid for even imagining it.
Oh my god.
I hate you for making me delusional.
DUDE CALM TF DOWN WTH
HE SAID THAT CUZ U 2 AINT DATING
if u had asked him to be ur man in the main chat he wouldve said yes in a heartbeat
I'm not trusting you anymore.
fine
i was gonna fwd alex's priv msgs to u but
u seem happy without them
die in ur sorrow 😘
Hey!
What?
What private messages?
Did he talk about me?
Lando!!!
I will break your door down.
McTwinks
borderline violence
Takeout's here.
marmot murderer
yayyy
coming over
little lando norris
comig in 5
@You danny u joining on call?
marmot murderer
this is weird
@You daniellllllll
borderline violence
Guys, let him be.
He's probably tired or busy.
Timezones in Australia and all that.
Who knows, maybe his phone is off?
little lando norris
look at u mumming us around
marmot murderer
mumming?
little lando norris
verb form of mum
marmot murderer
you know what verbs are?
little lando norris
do u know what else i knwo?
borderline violence
DINNER TIME.
marmot murderer
geez you got georgie screaming
little lando norris
i bet you could too
🚫 This message has been deleted.
@borderline violence stopped by the store, u want drinks?
borderline violence
Apple juice for me, please.
little lando norris
@marmot murderer u???
marmot murderer
whatever george drinks i'll share with him
little lando norris
wonderful
cya later
marmot murderer
🤍
borderline violence
👋
little lando norris
🖕
That was the last, and most recent chat in this group. Oscar felt like his eyes were burning, his head was pounding, and his braincells had given up working. How was one supposed to react to this?
He'd been accidentally added to the Chess Club back at University, he'd even been added to a group called Lily's Bachelorette Party by mistake, but this felt like something else. A groupchat with history beyond the digital confines, stupid jokes, references, and three people he wanted nothing to do with. Okay, maybe two.
Or actually, just one.
Oscar wiped his egg-oily hands on the bedsheet and got up, groaning. His eyes burned with exhaustion, the migraine bad enough to make his vision swim. When the world stilled again, Oscar leaned forward and pulled out an unused notebook from his bag, clicked open a pen, and began writing.
"So, firstly," he said aloud, detangling his thoughts on paper. "I somehow got added to this group. And they all call me Danny. Daniel."
Oscar drew a bubble, penning down that vague idea.
"And this Daniel is in Australia. My SIM number is Australian too."
An arrow drawn.
"And I was added by Lando Norris. Who's more often drunk than not. So he maybe mistakenly took me for this Daniel."
A flowchart was coming into existence.
"And this group has the McLaren interns — by some stupid stroke of badluck, they're also from Oxford. Even worse, they know me."
Oscar paused.
"On an entirely different note, one of them thinks I'm cute. One of them has my entire identity saved somwhere in his database. One of them couldn't care less about me."
Now Oscar was going off-track.
The mystery was solved.
"I was accidentally added to this chat." There.
All he had to do was leave.
Right?
But why couldn't he?
"And Lando was dating Carlos from Philosophy," Oscar blurted, recalling seeing the two of them huddled together in cafes and bars and schoolgrounds. "And … they broke up."
"Something happened. Maybe Carlos blamed Lando. Maybe Lando cheated? He is a fuckboy, after all. He doesn't know how to stay committed."
Oscar didn't know why he was so invested.
He was meant to be curious for fluctuating lines, numbers, graphs. He was meant to spend his minutes reviewing code, testing on simulations, checking emails.
He wasn't meant to be engrossed in the lovelife of another intern — especially not Lando Norris. He wasn't meant to be added to this group, either.
It wouldn't be a lie if he admitted that he'd gotten a fair share of information (okay, gossip) from just one day of conversation in a groupchat.
"Okay, so I just want to stay in this groupchat for the entertainment."
Oscar tried to convince the trees.
The cupboard.
The bedsheets.
Most importantly, himself.
"As soon as I get all the gossip, I'll leave."
He returned to his diagram, turning a new page.
"Ground rules," he wrote.
-
No growing close to the interns.
-
No talking frequently on the GC.
-
No being too friendly with any of them
-
No private messages with any of them.
-
No revealing my real identity.
-
No growing attached to any of them.
-
No sharing secrets of my own.
-
No showing any sign of me being in this groupchat when I'm with them.
Oscar sat back and sighed, running a hand through his hair. This was definitely not what he had in mind when picking this route of career.
Not that he'd be mistaken for a fellow Aussie and be added to a chat where two people were definitely in love with each other, while one was trying to move on.
He didn't want to get involved in their lives — especially not Lando; loud, boring, generic, silly on purpose, performative. He wonders if he even is ever true to anyone.
If he actually has a personality of his own.
Maybe this is his chance of finding out—
"No," Oscar interrupted his thoughts, locking his phone and throwing it onto the bedside table. "I'm only going to spectate quietly. No interactions with any of them."
He stripped off his shirt, letting it drape over the back of his chair, and snuggled deeper into the bedsheets, trying not to think of three people in the same apartment bickering over dinner.
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