Chapter Text
Oscar nearly melts into the seat as soon as his back touches it.
Same day as any other. If anything, he thinks his days are getting worse. Most people often say that better days are coming, but in his case, it should be said that worse days are coming.
And in the past few weeks of his life, it seems to be true.
He doesn't know what to think anymore. He just doesn't.
He tries to relax for a bit. It'll take the bus at least half an hour to reach his stop. He can definitely get some rest.
Definitely.
Sitting across from him are three young men, roughly around Oscar's age. Oscar isn't meaning to look at them, he is just so tired that he zones out without thinking, and unfortunately, it had to be in their direction.
The middle one perks up. " He's looking at me."
The words bring Oscar back to the realm of consciousness. He realizes that he was looking at a literal stranger while zoning out.
" I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm just... yeah..." He laughs awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
He looks at the young men. Two of them are tall, one blond and the other is brunette.
The short one, the middle one, has curly brown hair that falls over his forehead.
Cute.
Oscar's world comes to a screeching halt.
Not the right time, Piastri.
The tall, blond man gives him a sympathetic look.
" It's alright, man. Exam season, right?"
Oscar's body sags again. " Yeah."
" This little guy here also. Going through the same thing. Good thing his exams ended today. That's why he's so wasted."
Oscar takes a closer look at the man and realizes that he is, in fact, drunk.
" Georgie!" The man squeaks. " Look there's a—"
" Yeah that's enough." Georgie— which Oscar presumes isn't his real name— puts a hand over his mouth.
The brunette speaks up. " I told you this was a bad idea. I don't even remember how many shots he took. And now this."
He points at the beer can in the drunk man's hand.
" Alex. Calm down. Panicking isn't gonna help anyone."
" George. You are panicking. Please."
" I'm not."
" You are!"
While the two men are bickering, the drunk man escapes from their middle and settles down on the seat next to Oscar.
He looks at Oscar for a ridiculously long time, his gaze uncertain. After he is done scanning Oscar with his eyes, he looks at him with a grin. Oscar shifts uncomfortably.
" Fancy a beer?"
He waves the beer can which God knows how long he's been holding.
" Nah, mate. I'm good."
Then—
He tries to hand Oscar a dollar bill. Seeing the confusion on his face, the drunk man speaks up.
" I saw that man took your dollar before." He points. " That's really fucked up, mate."
And for the first time in two weeks, Oscar feels slightly amused.
" You mean the bus driver?" He almost snorts.
This is so absurd.
" Don't worry about it, mate. He takes a dollar from everyone."
The man looks confused. " But he didn't take one from me."
That is probably because your friends paid for you.
" Lando!" The blondie, George, calls out. " Why are you there? Oh my God! I'm so sorry. He gets very weird when he's drunk."
" He's always weird." The brunette, Alex, provides unhelpfully.
That triggers him — the drunk man. Lando.
" Shut up, Alex. You're weird. You—" his words start getting slurred again.
George curses under his breath.
He drags Lando to his original seat and doesn't let him move again. When the trio gets off the bus, George once again apologizes profusely to Oscar. Oscar says it's alright.
He doesn't miss the way Lando's eyes never leave his face till he is shoved out by Alex.
He smiles.
Weird.
But.
Cute.
His smile falls.
___________________
If you ask Oscar's friends what he is like, they'll probably say one thing.
Boring.
Oscar Piastri is boring.
And he takes no shame is that.
The Sun rises in the east. Sets in the west. The moon causes tidal waves. Oscar Piastri is boring.
It is just a fact of the world. Something that doesn't change.
And he's at peace with that. He doesn't try to make himself interesting for people who won't try to be boring for him.
So that's that. He thinks he did try to be interesting at some point of his life, probably during some stupid teenage phase. But he's not a teenager anymore.
He's 22, and that's pretty grown up, he thinks. So he's changed with time. Making peace with his real self.
He thinks that changing continents and settling in a whole new country may also have played a factor in that change.
Oh, and if you asked his friends another thing about him, they'd say that he hates changing.
He loathes change. Ever since he was a kid, he has hated change. Hated people leaving, circumstances changing, and his life changing. His hate for change led him to take the biggest change in his life.
Moving away from home. As soon as he finished high school, he pulled a few strings ( well, his father actually—) and left the country. He got into a good university in the US, and picked up a few shifts at the local supermarket.
His father still supports him financially. He doesn't really talk to him anymore. Nor to his mother, or his sisters.
He doesn't actually know what he is doing with his life.
Engineering? He never thought about it. Was always more of a literature guy. But look where life has lead him to. Honestly, he cannot complain. With him, you can never know what will happen. It is a miracle that he is doing a decent degree in a decent university. If it was up to him, he may as well have been dead. But oh well.
Some things just don't change no matter how much you contemplate them. Oscar learnt it the hard way, unfortunately.
He is pulled out of his thoughts by the familiar beep of the metal detector. It's a slow day. Makes sense, it is weekend after all. Usually by this time, the supermarket is crowded with school kids. Today, he thinks it will start crowding after 7 pm. It is 3pm now. His shift will be over now. Thank God.
A customer checks in the counter. He mindlessly scans his items when his gaze sweeps over his face.
Holy shit.
It's that drunk man- the one who tried to give Oscar a dollar in the bus. Oscar snorts at the memory.
He sees recognition settles in the man's eyes, and his face turns a bright red. Oscar did not know that a person's face could do that.
Coincidentally, the item that Oscar is scanning right now is a beer can. He almost laughs.
" Not sure if you should be drinking, mate". He waves the can in his face.
" You- you remember."
" That was the most eventful thing that happened to me all day, mate. You kinda made my day. Hard to forget that." He laughs.It feels good.
When the man- Lando- he remembers his name now-tries to pay by card, the machine stops working for some God forsaken reason. Oscar fiddles with a little, but it's no use.
" Sorry man. You, uh, will probably have to pay by cash."
Lando curses under his breath. " How much is it?"
" 21 dollars."
Lando produces a 20 dollar bill from his wallet. He looks miserable.
" That's all the cash I have now." He says, sheepishly.
Oscar grins. " Maybe I could give you a dollar today."
Lando looks like he wants to die. " Man..."
" Don't worry. You're all in the clear." He hands Lando his bag.
" Thanks."
The man had seem quite on going on the bus, but maybe that was just the alcohol talking. He's quieter now. Just as he's leaving, he shouts:
" Don't drink and get on the bus again!"
" Fuck you!" Lando says, which makes Oscar grin. Maybe he'll say him around some other day.
Hopefully.
Hope is the only thing that keeps the wheel of life moving, after all.
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