Your parents had been friends with the Norris family for as long as you could remember. Birthdays, BBQs, vacations where you got dragged along to some villa while the adults drank wine and laughed about stories you didn’t understand — he was always there. Lando.

When you were little, he was just annoying. The boy who cannon-balled into the pool the second you’d gotten comfortable on a floatie, the one who’d steal the last marshmallow and smirk when you complained, the kid who’d call you “kiddo” in the most infuriating way. Your parents would laugh, say, “Oh, you two fight like siblings” — which made you want to sink into the ground.

But then time went on. You didn’t see him every weekend anymore. He was busy chasing his dream, traveling around the world, becoming Lando Norris the driver instead of just Lando from the backyard BBQ. Your parents still mentioned him sometimes — proud, casual updates — but for you, he just faded into this blurry old family friend category.

Until recently.

When your parents announced you’d all be going to dinner with the Norris family, you almost groaned. You expected the same old routine: polite hugs, your parents catching up, you stuck in awkward small talk. But when you walked in and saw him… yeah, no. That wasn’t the same Lando.

He was taller, sharper, his curls falling in that perfect messy way that looked like he meant for it to be that way. His voice was deeper too, playful in the same old way but… different. He pulled your chair out like a joke, then sat next to you, his knee brushing yours under the table. Every time your parents laughed about childhood stories — like the time he pushed you into the pool and you swore you’d never speak to him again — you caught his eyes across the table, both of you silently saying, God, they really don’t get it.

And maybe you were imagining it, but he leaned a little closer than he had to. His hand brushed yours when he passed the bread basket. He smirked when you laughed, like it was just for him.

By the time dessert rolled around, you were both pretending to listen to the adults, sneaking looks at each other instead. Something electric sat in the space between you, unspoken but buzzing.

That night, when you finally got home, you threw yourself onto your bed, scrolling your phone to distract yourself. And then — the notification.

Instagram.

Lando Norris has sent you a message.

You froze. Stared. Opened it.

crazy seeing u tonight lol feels like we’re 10 again except you don’t look 10 at all

Your stomach flipped. You typed back before you could overthink it.

yeah you grew up too didn’t expect that

A bubble appeared instantly.

what? expected me to still push u in the pool? ngl kinda wanna do it again

You rolled your eyes, but your cheeks burned anyway. He didn’t stop there.

do it and i’m blocking u

Your heart went thump so loud it felt like it echoed in your room. You set the phone down, picked it up again, typed and deleted three different replies. Because suddenly, this wasn’t Lando the family friend anymore. This was Lando, the boy who used to ruin your pool float, sliding into your DMs like he’d been waiting years to do it.

And the wildest part? You kind of wanted to see where it would go.