Chapter Text
Ok, this wasn't what he thought he would be doing at 19. Don't judge him, being the prince of England was supposed to mean he wouldn't have to worry about his future, that was what he believed at least.
Yet here he is, in the gardens of this fancy school in the middle of Europe because his parents thought that he needed a “good and appropriate education”. Whatever, this was not necessary! He was not the crown prince! King's things and learning how to rule a country was his brother's duty not Lando's.
He was very pissed, he wanted to spend the summer playing videogames with his friends and doing nothing, not with presumptuous princes and princesses. Especially not with princesses.
A part of all of this was that his parents want him to marry a good girl, from a good family and Lando does not agree on this, mostly because he isn't interested in girls at all. He never told anyone that he is gay, he's not sure if his parents would be okay with it.
The only good part of this thing is that he knew his two best friends, Alex and George would be with him during the time he needed to stay there, a period of time that his parents did not specify which was scary. He has a good relationship with his parents, they've always been nice and good parents but this time he was very angry at them for good reasons. Doing all of this, without his approval! They've been very selfish this time.
Of course, Lando was not the perfect son, he, like every other person, had his ups and downs with his parents but he was also committed to all his duties as a prince. He had very few problems with the press and the rumours that surrounded him and his parents were very proud about that. Lando was trying to understand why they did this to him.
He checked the hour on his watch because phones were banned in this school, and realised that George and Alex must be already in their room. He hadn't seen the room yet, he knew that it was big, it was for three people so it needed to be big, but he didn't even know where the rooms were.
No one was in the gardens but him so he didn't have anyone he could ask about the rooms.
“Hey!” he heard a voice behind him.
When he turned, he saw two men, they were around the same height but they didn't look alike.
“We don't want to disturb you but, do you know where the rooms are? We arrived a few minutes ago and no one told us anything,” said the guy with brown hair.
The blond guy next to him looked like he was enjoying this situation because Lando could tell he was laughing at his friend.
“I'm sorry but actually I wanted to look for someone that could answer that same question,” Lando told the boys.
“I told you we should have asked my father!” exclaimed the blond one.
“Max, no offence,” replied his friend, “but I very much prefer being lost than ask your father something”
Lando was a bit confused because these two guys were arguing in front of his face and he didn't know if he should go or stay.
“Daniel, could you stop talking for a minute,” said the one named Max, “I'm sure we can find the rooms ourselves, do you want to come with us…”
Lando realised that they were again talking to him and Max was asking for his name.
“Lando,” he said, “my name's Lando”
Both of them looked at him, it seemed like they recognized him but neither of them said anything about that, instead, they told Lando about themselves. Max was the prince of Netherlands, like Lando, not the crown Prince but in his case, it was because of his sister. He and Lando had many things in common: they both liked video games and spending time with friends. Daniel on the other side came from a rich family in Australia and was 3 years older than Max and 5 years older than Lando. He liked sports and going out. Lando thought they were really nice and funny.
The three of them spent half an hour looking for the rooms. They found theirs on the higher floor of the school.
“If I have to climb all those stairs every fucking day, I will end up dying,” Max said dramatically.
Daniel looked at him with a smile on his face, “I can believe this is how I get you to exercise.”
Max punched him on the arm, also laughing. Lando thought that they've been friends probably for a long time, maybe like him and George and Alex. Which reminded him:
“You have a room for the two of you?” He asked them a bit confused because his parents told him that every room was for three people.
“Nop, we share with another guy,” Daniel replied, “we can meet later in the dining room! So you can meet him and we can meet your friends!”
Daniel was a lovable guy, all the time they were speaking he was smiling and doing jokes. He was glad he found them, he used to have problems making friends when he was younger.
Lando nodded and said goodbye to them because his room was in another hallway. The school was massive and too elegant. It looked like the Palace of Versailles, with so many paintings on every ceiling and mirrors on nearly every wall. He didn't like it, everything made him feel small and insignificant and for that he already had himself.
When he finally found his room, he realised that he did not have the key. Maybe he should have asked for it somewhere but it was late for that now. He hoped that Alex and George were still there. He didn't have to leave his clothes in the room, the personal working there did it for him but he still wanted to see the room before going to dinner. He knocked on the door hoping his friends would answer.
“It's open!” He heard George's voice from inside and felt relieved.
When he opened the door Alex went to hug him, they hadn't seen each other for a long time due to Alex duties in Thailand. Alex, like George, was not a prince but had an important role in their countries. Most of the time they were seen like princes because their families were popular around the world.
“Alex, it's only Lando,” George said, “you can let him go.”
Alex let him go but in response hit George on the head, which made Lando laugh.
“I did miss you too Alex,” Lando said.
The three of them have known each other since they were kids. They were Lando's only friends for a long time. He used to think that finding friends similar to him in his life would be difficult because all the people he met ended up being stupid and arrogant. When he met Alex and George, he thought they must be a gift from someone because around them he didn't have to pretend being someone he wasn't, they accepted him without problems.
“What took you so long?” George asked.
“I met two guys and we were talking as we tried to find the rooms,” Lando answered.
“You made other friends?!” Alex exclaimed, “Are you going to leave us for them? I can't believe this Lando, after all these years.”
Lando rolled his eyes as Alex and George laughed at him.
“Say what you want but they want to meet you at dinner.”
Lando looked around inspecting the room. It was big, with three beds, three desks, a couch, a big closet and a bathroom.
“This room is amazing,” he said.
“It is but stop looking and go shower, dinner is at 9,” George replied.
He picked up a nice shirt and a pair of jeans and went to the bathroom. It was also big, with a bathtub. He thought he didn't need all of this; he was a fan of quick showers and bathtubs were a little uncomfortable for that. After showering and dressing up, George and Alex were already waiting for him.
“Last as always,” George said, “you'll be late for your own funeral.”
“Shut up.”
They went downstairs and ended up in a huge dining room. It reminded Lando of the Harry Potter's movies. He saw Daniel waving at him so he told Alex and George and the three of them headed to him.
When they arrived, he introduced their friends to Daniel and Max and they did the same with the guys next to them.
“He is Charles, he is the prince of Monaco,” Daniel said pointing at a tall guy, very handsome, “and next to him is—”
“I'm Carlos, I like to introduce myself.”
Carlos was taller than Lando, he had big brown eyes and beautiful brown hair. If Lando thought Charles was handsome Carlos was the next thing. He was dressed with an elegant white shirt and a pair of beige jeans. He was the definition of what everyone thought when they imagined a prince.
Lando realised that he had his hand ready for a handshake and he shyly took it.
“I'm Lando,” he said.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lando.”
The way his name sounded in Carlos' mouth, with his accent that he didn't know where it came from made Lando shudder.
“I hope we will be good friends,” and his smile killed Lando for a second.