Chapter Text
Oscar couldn’t believe he’d ended up here.
His usual Thursdays were spent in front of a TV, watching whatever series he was binge watching at the moment. Maybe, if he felt confined in his small apartment, he’d take a walk through the campus.
But never this.
—
The day had started normal. He’d only had two lectures today: a statistics class early in the morning, and architecture at 1. The classes would go by quickly, and his hope was to spend the rest of the night finishing work that had started to pile up. Maybe he’d take a walk.
He’d gotten too caught up in the library, and by the time he realized, he only had ten minutes till architecture started. It was a fifteen minute walk.
So he’d run, ignoring the way his chest felt like it would explode with every step that landed on the pavement. He couldn’t be late– he could already imagine the look on his professor’s face as he threw open the door to the lecture hall, mumbling an apology, only to be met with a half glance of distaste. The pre-mortification of the situation made him run faster.
He’d arrived with a minute to spare, panting and swearing never to do this to himself again. To keep from drawing more attention to himself, he’d slipped into the first open seat to the left of the entrance. It was next to a guy he’d never noticed in the class before, who offered a small smile as Oscar sat. He gave a polite smile in return.
As the lecture droned on, he tried to pay attention. But seeing as they’d just had an exam last week, and he’d barely recovered from that, his mind wandered to anywhere else. It was after a few minutes with his chin resting in his palm, that he’d drifted off.
A light tap on his shoulder jolted him awake, and his head shot up from where it was resting on the table. It took him a moment to realize that the lecture had ended, and everyone was shuffling around him to leave. He then realized the guy next to him was the one to tap his shoulder, who was now watching with an amused smile.
“Thought you might want to leave with the rest of the class,” He teased, “Thankfully, I don’t think the professor noticed you snoring back here.”
Oscar wiped his thumb over his bottom lip, where he’d drooled in his sleep. He glanced to where the professor was still preoccupied in a discussion with the TA, and then turned back to the stranger. “Yeah… thanks.”
Sensing the awkwardness, his classmate stuck out his hand. “I’m Charles.”
“Oscar,” He took the hand, shaking it before pulling away, “Nice to meet you.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen you here before,” Charles chirped, “Did you just enroll in this class?”
Oscar felt his face flush before shaking his head. “No, uh, I usually sit closer to the front. I was just… late today.”
That got a small laugh from Charles. “I kinda got that vibe from you. But I’m glad you sat back here today– I’ve been needing a friend in this class anyway. The exams are brutal.”
“You’re telling me,” He sighed, “I barely passed the last one.”
“Me too!” Charles gaped, “How am I supposed to memorize all the architecture theorists since the beginning of time? I can barely keep track of what year it is.”
A student shuffled past their seats to get to the entrance, and it reminded Oscar that the lecture was over. They needed to leave before the next class came in. Charles seemed to be thinking the same thing, and slipped his laptop into his backpack before pushing his chair back. He turned back to Oscar. “You coming?”
He nodded, gathering his own supplies in his bag, before leading the way out of the hall. Charles had continued talking as they left, and Oscar learned that he was a marketing major with a minor in architecture. He’d wanted to major in it like Oscar, but his mother had begged him to choose a major that could lead to a “beneficial” career. He agreed, and chose to pursue a minor that still held some of his passion. In the end, he’d begun to love marketing, even if it hadn’t been his first choice.
Oscar had also learned that marketing had led Charles to meet his group of friends, who he’d been with since freshman year. His first year had been in a dorm with a guy named Alex, who shared the same major. Alex had then introduced him to his boyfriend George, a finance major, which led to being introduced to George’s dorm neighbors, Max and Lando. By the way Charles spoke about Max, Oscar assumed the two were something. He spoke in a soft tone, seemingly only reserved for that boy. It made Oscar both smile and ache: seems like people could actually make real relationships at school…so what the hell had he been doing for the last year?
“Actually, you’d get along well with Max,” Charles gave him a smile, “I think I need to introduce you two.”
Right after he finished saying that, his face lit up. “Oh my god. You need to come tonight.”
“Tonight?” Oscar echoed, but Charles was already pulling out his phone and motioning for him to do the same. He complied, and Charles took his phone quickly. After typing, he handed it back.
Glancing down, Oscar saw that Charles had put his number into his phone. He looked up, confused at why Charles seemed so excited by this. Were Max and him not actually together?
“Alex is hosting a party tonight at our apartment, and you’re coming,” Charles explained, “You can meet Max, and the rest of our group. I really think you’ll get along.”
“I’m not sure–”
“No excuses,” Charles cut him off, “You can’t be that busy to come by for an hour. Please?”
His new friend gave him a pleading look with his brown eyes, and Oscar let out a sigh. “Fine. I’ll try to come by.”
Charles perked up, giving him a giant grin. “Great! I’ll send you the address. Don’t be late!”
And then he hurried off to his next lecture, leaving Oscar standing there awkwardly with phone in hand and new plans for the night. So much for spending it catching up on work.
—
So now Oscar was here, standing outside the apartment of a guy he’d met today. He could hear the music pounding through the door, and the loud chatter of voices already inside. Part of him wanted to turn around and leave, but he thought about the hurt look on Charles’ face when they saw each other in lecture again next week. Not only would he hurt his only budding friendship, but also the opportunity for more friends. Charles said Max and him would get along– maybe he’d have somewhere to go after classes, with people who wanted to spend time with him. He wouldn’t spend his college days watching shitty television, alone.
Right as he lifted his fist to knock, the door swung open. He was greeted by a guy slightly taller than him, with piercing blue eyes. Oscar felt his nerves come back in full force, and he took a step backwards. But the guy didn’t seem to mind, instead looking Oscar over before raising an eyebrow. “You here for the party?”
He nodded, running a hand through his hair to slow his nerves. “Yeah… Charles invited me? I’m Oscar.”
The guy’s eyes seemed to widen in recognition, and his cool demeanor was replaced with a warmer smile. Like Charles had, he stuck out his hand in greeting. “I’m George. He told us to keep an eye out for an awkward guy from his architecture class, and I’m assuming that’s you?”
Oscar couldn’t stop his eyes from rolling, which made George chuckle. “Charles has the social anxiety of a child. He says it exactly how he sees it.”
“Yeah…I got that vibe from him.”
George opened the door further, beckoning Oscar in. After the door closed behind them, Oscar glanced around. The music had multiplied from what is was outside, and there were more people than he’d expected. He couldn’t see Charles anywhere.
However, he didn’t have time to worry, because George had wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Let’s get you a drink, and then I’ll take you to the group.”
He let himself be led into the kitchen, where a red solo cup was shoved into his awaiting hands. Afterwards, George steered them to the living room. Oscar saw Charles on the couch next to a taller guy, who had his arm around him. There was another guy with dark hair curled up on a chair next to them, nursing a beer in his hand with an amused smile on his face as he looked at the guy in front of him.
Oscar’s eyes fell to the final guy, leaning against the bottom of the chair and talking animatedly. He had brown curls falling down the front of his face, which he had to brush out of his face every few seconds as he spoke. Oscar could see the soft watercolor of his eyes, lighting up while he whipped his head around to look at the group that surrounded him. And then his eyes fell onto the door, where the two had entered.
It felt like his breath caught in his throat when their eyes met. They’d been beautiful in the few seconds he’d watched them flicker through the group of friends, but now with their focus on him, he felt a wave of nervousness rise in his throat. His eyes narrowed for a second as he took the new figure in, before flicking to teasing as he looked at George.
“And who’s this, Georgie?”
All eyes were on Oscar now, and Charles broke into a wide smile. “Oscar, you came!”
He jumped up, taking him from under George’s arm and engulfing him in a hug. Oscar returned it slowly, before Charles pulled away slightly, but still grabbed his arm. “Come meet everyone!”
Oscar was then seated on the couch next to Charles.
“You already met George,” Charles explained, “Next to me is Max.”
The blonde gave him a nod, which he returned.
“That’s my roommate, Alex, on the chair,” Alex gave him a wave, “And that’s Lando on the ground.”
“So you’re the friend that falls asleep in class,” Lando mused, and Oscar felt his face flush in embarrassment. Laughter scattered through the group, but Charles looked offended.
“I told you he fell asleep today, that doesn’t mean it’s a constant thing!” He whined, “Don’t be rude to my new friend. We only met today.”
Charles then leaned over to Oscar’s ear. “I promise he is only joking. Lando is our little comedian.”
Oscar nodded, letting his eyes trail back to where Lando was staring up at him. He had a twinkle in his eyes, and Oscar could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Lando could’ve said that joke and meant it rudely, yet he wouldn’t have cared if it meant his attention was on him. He wanted the attention from Lando, in a way he’d never felt about anyone else before. Part of him felt silly–it had only been a minute since they met–but that feeling melted as soon as Lando gave him a smile. Shit.
“I am joking,” Lando assured him, “Nice to meet you, Osc.”
“Anyways,” Alex cut in, shooting his friend a look, “Charles said you’re in architecture with him? I’m guessing that’s your major?”
“Yeah, I’m in my second year.”
“Where are you living?” Max questioned, “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here.”
“I’m off-campus, probably twenty minutes from here?” Oscar shrugged, “It was the best I could do if I wanted a single room.”
“Did you walk here?” George’s eyebrows creased when he nodded, “Mate, it’s pouring!”
Oscar shrunk under the burning gaze of the five looking at him, and chose the meekest response. “I… have an umbrella?”
“I didn’t know you lived so far, I could’ve driven you!” Charles cried out, like this was the worst thing he could’ve admitted, “You’re gonna catch a cold!”
“I’m okay,” Oscar promised, but was drowned out by Charles’ anguish. Everyone else seemed amused by his reaction.
“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you get a ride home,” Max promised, clasping a hand on Oscar’s shoulder over the crumpled stature of Charles, “Least we can do for a new friend.”
Friend.
Oscar could feel warmth running through his body, and had to fight the stupid smile that wanted to erupt on his face. They’d just met him, but this group wanted him as a friend. He hadn’t messed up and embarrassed himself, and besides Charles’ panicked reaction, everyone else seemed fine. They weren’t disappointed by his awkward manner, like ‘friends’ he’d had before.
The night continued, with drinks and laughter flowing between the six. He learned that Max and Lando were both journalism majors, with Max pursuing investigative reporting and Lando wanting to do sports. George was thankful to have another outlier in the group, and complained how ostracized he felt for the past year. (“No one wants to talk about the business model with me, and I’m tired of pretending I care about product research!” He’d whined, which led to Alex looking at his boyfriend fondly before saying, “No one wants to talk classes with you anyway, because you always brag about your perfect GPA”). Oscar had laughed, before trying to cover it by taking a sip of his cup when he saw the betrayal on George’s expression. He hadn’t laughed this often since… he didn’t even know. It had been that long.
At some point, it seemed like the night had reached its end. Alex had disappeared a while ago with George to make sure the party was running smoothly, and Charles was snoring softly against Max’s shoulder. Oscar was tired as well, but didn’t want to be the first to leave. He hadn’t forgotten either how Max had promised a ride home at the end of the night, although he was too anxious to ask.
Thankfully, it seemed like Charles’ sleepiness triggered the end. Max had shaken him awake softly, with a fond look warming in his eyes. “Charles, I think you should get to bed.”
Charles made a noncommittal noise, snuggling closer to Max. “Mm. I wanna stay here with you.”
Max rolled his eyes, but Oscar could see a faint blush on his cheeks. “I have to get Oscar home. I promised.”
Oscar suddenly felt like an inconvenience. “Max, it’s fine, I can just–”
“I’ll drive him,” Lando cut in, and Oscar’s eyes shot to look at him. Their eyes met, with the now familiar rush of nervousness flooding through under his gaze. Lando gave him a small shrug. “That’s only if you don’t mind.”
Max turned to Oscar as well, raising an eyebrow.
“No– I mean, yeah! That’d be great,” He squeaked out, mentally kicking himself for the break in his voice, “Thanks, Lando.”
“We can head out now if you’d like?” Lando added, to which he quickly nodded.
After saying goodbye to Max, and promising to text Charles when he got home safe, the two walked through the apartment to find Alex and George. They shared a similar goodbye, and then suddenly, Oscar was in the passenger seat of Lando’s car, watching the streets blur past. All he could see was the dewy layer on the lawns they passed, and the lights of the homes fly by. A soft song played on the radio, as Lando hummed along.
Oscar looked away from the window to take in the form of Lando next to him. Most of him was lost in the darkness of the night, but a sliver of his face was illuminated by the passing streetlights. He could see his eyes even better like this, unconstrained by the limitations of a social setting. Lando looked softer like this: his eyes scanning the road, his right-hand index finger tapping the wheel where he gripped it casually with one hand, and the slightly-off tune humming as he tried to follow along with the song. The gentleness of this moment made Oscar smile, frozen in watching the scene unfold in front of him.
Almost like Lando could feel him staring, his eyes left the road to meet Oscar’s. It felt like his world shifted as their eyes met, and some part of him wished he could lean over and interlock their hands. Even though they’d just met, there was something soothing about this. The familiarity of Lando was nothing he’d ever had before.
Lando kept his eyes trained on Oscar for a second, before giving him a gentle smile. It stayed like this, and then as if he remembered where they were, his eyes quickly snapped back to the road. Oscar turned his gaze back to the window, resuming his position in watching the houses pass.
But the moment stayed buried in his heart, even in the years to come.
Because that was the moment he’d realized he was in love with Lando Norris.
Your smile (mm-mm)
Miles wide