Chapter Text
It’s 7 o’clock in the morning and Lando Norris would rather be anywhere else than the crowded buffet breakfast area on the bottom floor of the hotel.
Important people with lanyards were rushing around the tables, others talked loudly on the phone and the weather reporters voice droned from the TV, all adding up to a pounding headache.
He felt a tap on the left shoulder. What now? He thought. It was one of the junior McLaren engineers.
“Lando, have you seen it?”
“Seen what?” he replied.
“The video”
Lando gave him a questioning look.
“It’s all everyone is talking about”. Lando tried to suppress his annoyance. He couldn’t care less about whatever video this was but didn’t want to sound rude.
“Alright show me”.
The engineer reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone and pulls up an Insta reel.
The video started with a group of teenagers presumably in high school, as all of them were in neatly ironed school uniforms, gathering in a crowd the common room of the school boarding house.
The camera zoomed in on one student and a middle-aged balding man, supposedly the school headmaster, in a heated argument.
The boy had a rather messy mullet that came down to his shoulders and wore a rugby sweater with the Haileybury College school logo that was pulled tightly across his chest.
A smirk crept up the boy’s face and his stance was confident, cocky even, as if he was loving every moment of this argument.
Surely that’s not Oscar Lando thought. No, it can’t be. Oscar could never be that bold he convinced himself.
The video continued to play. The boy and the principal were now both yelling at each other and a proper crowd had formed around them.
The boy rolled up his sleeves revealing the veins on his forearms and stepped forwards, looking the man in the eye. He swung a fisted hand directly to the headmaster’s jaw, resulting in a sickening crack. The man stumbled backwards and eventually fell down on the floor.
The boy turned and faced the camera with a smug grin on his face.
Oscar.
There was no denying it. It was definitely him. Only younger and way more confident.
Lando sat stunned for a minute. He rewatched the video again and again unable to believe his eyes.
Lando hated that he loved this side of Oscar. A side he didn’t even realise existed.
He had always thought Oscar was too reserved and quiet. Boring even. He was always so polite and would never try to make a scene. But this? Punching his principal in the face? He could have never imagined him doing something like this.
He supposed it made sense. Why else did Oscar leave for England so young? He thought. Lando had always assumed it was for racing, not due to getting expelled.
Lando needed to know if this was real. He saw it with his own eyes but needed the confirmation. He was also desperate to see the look on Oscar face when he asks him.
He texts whipped out his phone immediately sent a message to Oscar, ‘you up?’.
The response came within seconds. ‘I’m coming down to the hotel breakfast now’.
~~~
Lando tapped his feet eagerly on the legs of the chair. The engineer had left and now he was waiting alone for Oscar to show up.
He looked up and noticed Oscar walking over to his table. Lando couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face.
“What are you so happy about?” asked Oscar, dropping into the seat across from him.
“Oh, nothing” Lando smiles again.
“Oh shut up. There’s something you want to tell me isn’t there?”
Lando grinned. He pulled up the video and handed his phone to Oscar.
Oscar felt the smile completely drop from his face. He recognised the video instantly.
Shit.
Oscar knew EXACTLY what this was. He recalled the moment clearly in his head.
For years had prayed no one would ever find out about this. It would ruin his entire reputation. And now it was posted online for anyone and everyone to see.
It already had 500k likes and was only posted an hour ago.
Shit.
This could NOT be happening.