Oscar Piastri was never supposed to matter. Quiet. Precise. Sharp. He moved through the world like a straight line-disciplined, steady, predictable. He didn't chase anyone. He didn't flirt. He didn't smile unless necessary. And yet, he kept finding Lando. A chocolate bar left on a desk. A sticky note in looping handwriting. A soft voice beside Lando's ear. "This is for you. Eat, please." Lando hated it. Hated the way Oscar seemed to anticipate his next move. Hated the hand that appeared just to shield him from bumping into corners. Hated the look in Oscar's eyes-slow, deliberate, almost gentle. One afternoon, under a sunlit tree, Oscar said, "Your star hairclip suits you. You look cute today." No one had ever watched Lando that closely. No one had seen past the showmanship, past the bravado. He pulled away. Snapped. Ran. Heart pounding, throat tight. And Oscar? He stayed. Patient. Quiet. Collecting the pieces of Lando's chaos like it was natural. The strangest thing, when others got too close to Oscar, Lando stiffened. His tone sharpened. "Why him? He doesn't even look at you properly." Oscar's voice was soft, patient. "Lando, why do you care?" "I... I don't. Just forget it," Lando muttered, looking away. He didn't care. But Oscar kept choosing him. In small ways, unnoticed ways, the kind that made Lando's chest tighten. If Oscar was pretending, Lando's heart might not survive. But if he wasn't, then maybe Lando was already falling. Hard. And he wasn't sure he wanted to stop.

When Lando meets Oscar for the first time, he thinks he dislikes Oscar, the rookie bringing back memories from Lando's past, which he had vowed to never think about again. Being near him is hard, and he has trouble hiding his dislike. When the fans and the media notice, McLaren is quick to step in, making both driver's sign a contract to be in a fake relationship for the reminder of the season. As Lando struggles with his past, Oscar is always by his side and despite the Australian causing him to confront his past, he can't help but realize that the hate he believed to feel when he first met Oscar, wasn't hate after all. It was the complete opposite and Lando has to learn to feel again, when the last time he allowed someone into his heart, he was hurt badly. ----- TW: mentions of physical abuse, mentions of sexual assault, panic attacks, mentions of psychological abuse

Lando has always been McLaren's golden boy, their leader, their future. But after a season where Oscar proved himself time and time again, doubt starts to creep in. Is he still the priority? Is McLaren still his team? For Oscar, the season was a test in patience. He played his role, followed the plan, allowed the team to back Lando when it mattered. But now, with the fight for 2025 looming, he wonders, should he stop waiting for his moment? Should he take it? Friendship, rivalry, ambition. Two teammates, one team, and a battle for dominance that can only be settled on track.

"You wanna try?" Said the curly-haired boy with a helmet in one hand and Oscar's fate in the other. They were supposed to make it to F1 together. And technically? They did. But now Lando can't stand to look at him. And Oscar? He's still trying to fix something he never meant to break. Or: the one where Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were childhood best friends, maybe something more, until everything exploded-and now they're stuck side by side, pretending they don't remember every second of what they lost.