Driven by Desire

7 ~ Zandvoort

The summer break had finally come and Oscar had some much needed time to himself. The whole kiss debacle got far too much for him and it led to a depressive stage over the weekend. His performance was one of his better ones, qualifying and finishing 2nd in the Sprint but a Lap 1 collision forced him out of the Grand Prix.

Oscar returned to his home in London. He informed Zak and the communications team at McLaren to email him rather than text and he powered off his phone. Freedom had come.

He spent the first few days of his break catching up on the Netflix shows he had been missing whilst he was racing, whilst cuddled up in a big hoodie and warm blanket, indulging in all the food that he could.

The first week had passed and Oscar was starting to feel better mentally. He had a time to think about who he was, and whether gay Oscar was the Oscar that the F1 World needed to know. He powered his phone back on.

Lando - 10 missed calls
Logie - 11 missed calls
Charles Leclerc - 8 missed calls

Lando  - Are you okay?
Logie - Answer the phone please!
Charles Leclerc - Oscar, are you good?

Lando - New Snap
Lando - New Chat
Lando - New Chat
Logan - New Chat
Logan - New Chat
Logan - New Chat
Logan - New Chat

O - Fuck!

Panic set through Oscar. Had something happened? He quickly rings Lando.

O - Come on Lando, pick up!

No Answer. He tries Logan.

O - Come on Logan...

L - Oscar? Are you okay? Where have you been?

O - I've been at home the last week. Why?

L - You missed the drivers' dinner. Everyone is so worried about you now.

O - Shit, I forgot about that. I powered my phone off.

L - We figured. Osc, I'm coming to you.

O - Wait why?

L - I need to see you. Urgently.

O - But my house is a mess.

L - I don't care.

Logan quickly puts the phone down. Oscar knew he didn't have long to tidy up before Logan got to his house. He frantically ran around, clearing up the mess that had built up over the week since he had been outside. Just ten minutes later, a knock on the front door sounded. Oscar opens it to see Logan beaming.

L - Oscar! I've missed you so much!

Logan dives onto Oscar, squeezing him in a hug.

O - I am so sorry for everything that I've done. I know this is all my fault and I totally accept you hating me.

L - I don't hate you. I was just very upset and I shouldn't have said what I said.

O - We have to protect Lando though... he's at a real risk of being found out now. We have to protect each other.

L - I know. Lando told me. I saw him at the dinner and we had a heart-to-heart and explained pretty much everything.

O - Oh. Is he okay?

L - He's fine. He's stayed in Belgium for the summer with his family. I don't know what he's going to do, but he reassured me he was going to be okay.

O - Good. I'm glad he's okay.

L - What about you? Are you okay? What are you gonna do?

O - I'm fine now, I needed a rest. Everything was getting too much for me and then this happened.

L - What do you wanna do?

O - I'm not ready to come out. For now, I have to focus on my driving, without distractions.

L - I totally understand that. I am the same. But I'm here to support you, as your friend.

O - I know you are mate.

The pair continued to catch up with Logan informing Oscar about all the drama that kicked off at the drivers' dinner. Just over an hour later, Logan went home and Oscar resumed his Netflix show.

Race weekend in Zandvoort rolled around. Oscar was usually an early bird to the circuit on Thursday morning to get setup and settled. It was so early that the catering staff hadn't even arrived yet, so Oscar had to indulge in a granola bar that has been sitting in his bag for over a month because he was so hungry. As Oscar got into his driver room, he was met with a surprise. A random Lando Norris sat on his massage table just staring at him.

L - You're late.

O - What the fuck, Lando?

L - Sorry I scared you.

O - It's half 6 in the morning, why are you hear so early?

L - I've missed you Osc...

O - Oh, I should have messaged you. I'm sorry. I needed the time off. How are you doing?

L - I'm feeling better. 

O - Good.

Oscar pulls Lando into a hug. Like the best friends they are.

O - I spoke to Logan during the break. I told him we need to protect each other. 

L - Logan is the nicest person, I spoke to him at the dinner because I didn't know if you were okay. He genuinely cares about you. If you like him, pursue him.

O - Lando, I don't want to hurt him. I saw how upset he was in Belgium when the media found out. I don't want to hurt him because I care so much about him. I want to protect him, but as my friend.

L - Okay. Fair enough. I'll shut up about it.

O - No, I know what you was trying to say. I do like Logan, but now isn't the time.

L - But when will be the right time?

O - I don't know.

L - The longer you wait, the longer you hurt yourself.

Those words stuck with Oscar. What was he going to do?