Smoochin???
On monday, after school, Keith decided to go to the coach and talk to him about taking a break. Most players are, since it’ll be the off season but he usually makes keith continue to practice. He walked to his office and knocked before walking in.
”Yes? Oh—hey Keith—what’s up?”
”Uh—I was just um, wanting to talk about something—“
He nodded and sighed “It’s about what James said in that video, isn’t it? Don’t worry, he’s being punished accordingly. And I want you to know it’s your skill alone that made me choose you to be the quarterback and captain. You’re extremely talented and I know you’ll go far in your future because of it.”
Keith stood there for a moment, a little bombarded. He thought this would be easy. He’s gonna get mad if he says he needs a break now.
”Uh—thanks…“
”And uh, since you’re here, I actually have some news for you” he motioned to the seat in front of the desk and keith sat down, a little scared. He’s never had ‘news’ for Keith.
”During the last game, some analysts and scouts were there.” He smiled “And with their recommendations, you’ve been rated as a five star recruit on some very popular recruiting websites”
It took him a moment to register what he said. And when he did—he felt weirdly calm. He used to think about this day and imagine being really happy and telling his dad…and his mom…
But he……well, he just doesn’t really care.
He nodded, wanting to leave “Uh—cool”
”This isn’t just ‘cool’—this is really great for your career, not many high schoolers have 5 stars”
”Uh, yeah, I know” he felt his phone vibrate so he looked down at it and saw a text from lance.
Lance (3:26 P.M.)
hey I have a question and I saw you go into the coaches office so I’ll wait at your locker
sorry if that’s weird I’m just impatient
and it’s not that important so take your time
He felt himself start to smile so he stopped before it was noticeable. Then he looked up at the coach, who looked confused.
”Uh—I have to go but uh—thanks”
”Okay—I’m really proud of you and I look forward to seeing your success”
He nodded and stood up and smiled a little before leaving. He walked to his locker and saw lance leaning against it. He looked up from his phone and smiled when he saw Keith. Keith’s heart started to beat faster.
He put his phone in his bag and Keith stopped in front of him, waiting for him to speak first.
”Like I said, it’s not a super important question but I wanted to know if you still do the practice…stuff…?” He laughed “Sorry, I don’t know anything about that”
Keith smiled a little “Uh—yeah, I’m done for a few weeks”
He looked excited at that “So, do you maybe wanna meet up to read the book earlier then? My mom’s starting to get annoyed at me leaving so late”
He didn’t hold back his smile this time “Yeah, sure”
Lance smiled back and after what felt like a way too long second of them just smiling at each other—Pidge showed up out of nowhere, startling both of them.
”Whatcha doin’?”
”You need to stop doing that!” Lance put his hand over his chest and Pidge rolled her eyes “You need to tell me where you put my—“
”Actually, me and Keith were just about to leave” he grabbed Keith’s arm and started walking—not letting Keith say anything “We have a whole bunch of reading to do”
Pidge yelled at them “I won’t forget about it!”
Lance just kept walking, still holding on to Keith’s arm. When they walked around the corner, lance let go “Sorry, I borrowed socks from her and I don’t wanna tell her I lost them”
He nodded, still a little shaken at lance smiling at him like that.
”And I just said the reading thing to get away, I wasn’t just like, making plans without asking” he laughed and Keith shrugged “I mean, if you’re free, I am too”
Lance raised his eyebrows and smiled again “Oh—okay then, yeah, I don’t have anything to do today”
“Alright, do you want to come to my house again?”
”Yeah, lemme text my mom” he pulled his phone out and Keith realized he was staring at him a little too late. He doesn’t think Lance noticed though. He looked up at him, smiling “Alright, let’s go, I don’t know if Pidge will walk up here”
They walked outside and since lance was driven to school, Keith offered to drive him to his house. It was raining so he took the truck anyway.
Lance got in, looking around “So your dads friend gave it back?”
He nodded and started driving. Lance kept looking around “It’s a lot cleaner then Louis’ truck—and nicer” he laughed “If he heard me say that he’d go crazy”
”My dad likes cars and trucks and stuff—I think it’s too big”
Lance shrugged “I like it—makes me feel super manly just sitting here”
Keith laughed “Manly?”
“Yeah, you look even more manly driving it” He kept looking around and luckily because keith was definitely blushing.
He seemed to get tired of looking so he looked at Keith “So what were you doing in your coach’s office for?”
Keith sighed, not really wanting to talk about it “Nothing important”
Lance nodded, looking a little disappointed. He looked out the window and Keith kind of felt bad for not telling him.
“Do you think we’ll finish the book soon?”
Keith shrugged “I think so”
”I hope so, I’m getting kind of sick of marlon”
Keith smiled and for a second thought about what would happen if they don’t have an excuse to hang out. Will they just…stop?
Maybe that’s for the best, I mean these weird feelings he has, he doesn’t think are going anywhere. Maybe he needs to get over it. Well, he knows he needs to. He just doesn’t know how and it’s not like he can ask anyone.
Tuesday and Wednesday, they also went to Keith’s house after school. Now it’s Thursday, and they plan on doing the same thing. Keith is just waiting for Lance to get everything out his locker.
”Why do you bring so much stuff anyway”
Lance scoffed “I’m prepared”
”For what? A disaster?”
”Maybe”
He finally finished and suddenly pulled out his phone. He frowned and texted something that Keith didn’t bother looking at. He doesn’t want to be nosy.
Then he looked at Keith “My mom is saying I can’t go to your house because I have chores I haven’t done”
Trying not to show his disappointment, he nodded, smiling “Then maybe next time, do all your chores”
He rolled his eyes and pushed his arm “Be quiet”
He looked at his phone again “Well, she said you could come to my house but there’s like, a whole lot of people and I never get any privacy so you probably wouldn’t like it there—“
”I don’t mind” he didn’t mean to say that so fast. But lance smiled “Really?”
”Yeah, sure”
Lance looked down at his phone for a second and then back up at Keith “Okay then—you’re still driving”
The whole drive to his house, lance told Keith about his whole family and how they act and what he should expect etc.
He tried to tell him a few times that he doesn’t really care how overbearing his family might be but lance didn’t listen. It’s fine, he likes hearing him talk anyway.
He tuned back into reality when he thought that because what the hell. Since when does he think things like that??
He finally got to his house and they both got out. Before lance unlocked the door he stopped, looking, what Keith thinks, is embarrassed. He leaned on the door “You don’t have to come inside of you don’t want to—seriously, we probably won’t even be able to read especially since Nadia—“
The door opened suddenly, making lance trip. The girl who opened the door laughed “Woah! Sorry—Oh! Hey, who’s this?”
Lance stood up straight and gestured towards Keith “Rachel, Keith—Keith, Rachel”
”It’s nice to meet you—I remember Louis talking about some new friend you had—he looks just as cool as he described”
Now also embarrassed, keith just smiled awkwardly. Lance moved her out of the way and walked inside. Keith followed him, not really knowing what else to do.
”We’re going to my room—we have to finish a school thing”
”Oh! Can I help?” She smiled at him and lance smiled back, sarcastically “No~”
He grabbed Keith’s arm and pulled him towards the stairs. Rachel said bye happily and lance didn’t give keith enough time to say it back. Great, she probably thinks he’s rude now.
They got up the stairs and lance didn’t let go of his arm until they were at his door. “Sorry, she would’ve never stopped talking if we didn’t leave”
”So it’s a family trait?”
Lance smiled and nodded and then realized what he said “Hey!”
He pushed his arm before opening the door and walking in. When keith was inside, lance shut the door and pulled the book out from his bag.
Keith looked around, seeing posters and different things on his wall. And he noticed a balcony which was pretty cool.
Lance sat down on his bed “I can read myself if you don’t wanna read again”
Keith sat down next to him, putting his bag on the floor “I don’t mind reading”
”Are you sure?”
”Yeah”
After that, they moved back and Keith started reading the book.
And after a few minutes, he heard loud talking coming from outside the room. He didn’t stop reading though, thinking it was just someone passing.
But the door opened suddenly and it was an older woman, saying something in Spanish. It startled both of them and she stopped talking when she looked at Keith.
”Oh—hello!” She looked back at lance and continued talking in Spanish. Lance replied also in Spanish and Keith couldn’t understand him but hearing it made his heart flutter.
“Okay mamá, hold on—“ he looked at Keith “I have to finish those chores before reading—are you alright with waiting?”
Still a little flustered he just nodded and lance got up and apologized before leaving the room. Keith put the bookmark on their page and shut the book.
He looked around and saw a few Polaroids on his wall. One was of him and allura smiling. Another was of just Pidge, who was upside down, laying on his bed making a kissy face. And the one of hunk was like the one of him and allura, only he’s in his football gear and he looks sick—and caught off guard.
“Who are you?”
He jumped, not expecting to hear a child talking to him randomly. He took a second and a deep breath to compose himself before replying “Huh?” Maybe he should’ve taken a bit longer.
”Why are you in lances room?” She look confused and a little worried. He kind felt the same though. Oh god, he hates talking to kids.
”Uh—we’re working on a school…thing”
”I’m in kindergarten! What grade are you in?”
Usually, he wouldn’t even reply to a kid talking to him but since this is lances niece, he’ll be nice. Plus, she’s not being annoying.
”Uh, 12th grade” he would say he’s a senior but he doesn’t think she would know what that means.
”You’re so old! I wanna be that old!”
”Um…you will one day” he smiled, albeit a bit awkwardly, but she smiled back and sat down in front of him on the bed “My favorite subject is reading—what’s yours?”
”Uh…I don’t—I don’t really have one”
She looked beyond confused and then smiled again “Silvio likes soccer but I don’t like it”
He nodded, not knowing at all what to say “I play football…?” That’s really the only thing he can say about himself.
”Really?? Papa watches football games sometimes. He yells when they throw the ball”
She leaned closer and whispered “Sometimes he cusses and mama gets upset with him” she giggled and Keith actually smiled—alright, maybe some kids aren’t horrible to talk to.
”You have really pretty hair” she looked up at him and he felt a little self conscious “Uh—Thanks…”
”Can I style it?”
He had a quick freak out moment because if he says no, she’ll be upset and that’s another bad first impression—if he says yes, she could make him look ridiculous and then if someone else walks in, that’s another bad first impression and if lance sees him looking stupid, he’ll get embarrassed and then make a fool out of himself twice—
“Pleeeeasee?” She smiled at him and he’s never understood the ‘puppy dog eyes’ thing until now. Because how the hell is he supposed to crush this little girls dreams?!
”Um……sure” she got up quickly “I’ll go get a brush!”
She ran out the room and he sighed, trying to find the silver lining. Maybe……well………no there’s none. He’ll just deal with it.
She got back and pointed to the floor “You sit there since you’re taller than me”
He didn’t want to, but he got up. But hey, at least this is making him feel taller than he is? Silver lining!
He sat down and leaned against the bed. She sat behind him and started brushing his hair. He’s extremely glad lance isn’t here because he’s sure he looks bad.
”Lance taught me how to braid so I’ll do that”
He imagined lance braiding his hair for a second and smiled, feeling a little indulgent. But he shouldn’t think about that here—at lances house.
”I like when my mama brushes my hair”
He smiled again, remembering his mom brushing his hair. He’d always let it grow long just because he liked the feeling. Now, he just can’t be bothered to cut it.
He felt her start to do something to his hair and he looked down at the book and saw the Dora bookmark sticking out. He hopes she won’t see and want it back. Only because he doesn’t want to lose their spot.
Seeing that made him remember saying that she liked some new show—hey, maybe he can mention it?
”So…lance mentioned that you like some show…?” He forgot the name—something about a bar?
She gasped, excitedly “Maria la del barrio???”
He nodded “That’s the one”
”Do you like it too??”
”I haven’t seen it—maybe you can tell me about it?”
She giggled again and started talking about the show. Which is good because now he doesn’t have to talk too much.
But the more she talks about it, the more confused he’s getting about the plot and what’s going on. Because…it’s a lot. He doesn’t know how a 6 year old can understand it.
At some point she stopped messing with his hair and just kept talking about the show. And honestly, Keith is pretty invested. He’s still sitting on the ground, which is starting to get a little uncomfortable but he doesn’t really mind.
“She killed her mom??”
She nodded like it was normal and opened her mouth to continue talking but Lance walked in. He looked at both of them and smiled “What’s going on?”
”I styled Keith’s hair and told him about Maria la del barrio”
He looked at Keith, still smiling “It’s crazy, right?”
Keith tried his best to stop his smile, not really being that successful, and nodded “Yeah”
“Alright nads, we gotta finish our project—thanks for keeping him company”
She smiled and got off the bed “Bye Keith!”
He waved as she left and lance shut the door before walking over to the bed. Keith didn’t move from the floor since he’d gotten comfortable already. He picked up the book and felt lance sit on the bed next to him “Sorry about her, she likes meeting new people”
“It’s fine” He looked down, trying to fix his hair so he didn’t look too bad.
Without warning, lance reached down and touched his hair, laughing “You look great”
He smiled “My stylist just left”
”She’s good—but let me make it even better—“ he started messing with his hair, which made Keiths day a little better. But the feeling in his chest a lot worse.
“There—it’s perfect”
Started to feel…blushy…keith looked down and ran his fingers through his hair to make it look normal.
”How much did she make you talk?”
Keith laughed as he got up “not that much—she talked about that show the whole time”
Lance chuckled as he moved over “Still wanna read?”
Keith sat down next to him “Yeah—if you want to”
He nodded, sighing “Yeah, someone already turned in their paper”
Keith opened the book and started reading, trying his best to ignore how close lance moved next to him.
After who knows how long, someone opened his door. Keith stopped reading and lance had laid down so he sat up. It was Veronica, who had come to say hi earlier. He laid back down.
”It’s 5, and you’ve been in here the whole time, would you like something to drink?” She smiled at Keith and he shook his head “Uh, no thank you”
She frowned “I’ll bring you water—you don’t have to drink it”
She said something in Spanish to lance, who waved a hand at her dismissively. She smiled and left and lance looked up at Keith “Why did we have to get the longest book ever”
”We didn’t really have a choice”
”Yeah…” he sighed and turned around to lay on his stomach “Do you want me to read for a bit? You should give your voice a rest”
Keith didn’t really mind reading more but he’s kind of exhausted and the thought of Lance reading to him was overpowering any objections. He shrugged “Okay”
Lance sat up and Keith handed him the book. “Tell me if I’m reading too fast”
Keith nodded and he started reading. After a few minutes, Veronica came back with the water and handed it to Keith. He thanked her and she left, smiling at them weirdly.
He held onto the glass but didn’t drink it. Lance looked at him “You should drink it, you’ve been reading nonstop for a long time”
”I’m fine”
Lance smiled “Your scratchy voice says otherwise”
Keith frowned “I don’t have a scratchy voice”
”You do”
”Just read”
Lance squinted at him but just continued reading.
After a while, Keith, reluctantly, decided to drink some of the water. He saw lance glance at him and smile but he didn’t say anything.
Turns out letting lance read to him was a horrible idea. Because of how great it is. All doubts he had of his crush are gone—he’s gone for this guy.
He looked at his phone, not being able to handle how he feels. Lance looked at him and Keith sat up from the comfortable position he didn’t realize he was in “It’s late—I should probably go”
Lance nodded “Okay, I’ll walk you out”
They got up and Keith got his bag before walking out with lance. They passed some people and they said bye.
When they got outside, they both stopped because the sun was setting and it was really pretty. ‘It’, to Keith, would be lance. In the golden hour lighting, he looks really pretty.
He wishes he could take a picture. But it would be really weird if he did. Lance looked at him and Keith managed to look away. They walked to his truck and said their goodbyes before Keith left.
When he got home, he wanted to sleep before he could think about Lance any more but he needs to take a shower.
Maybe it’ll help him even metaphorically wash away how he feels…?
Once he was in the shower, he made sure to have no thoughts. The only thing he’s thinking about is that he’s not thinking about anything.
He started to wash his hair and very suddenly started thinking about lances hands going through his hair. He looked up at the water, trying to clear that weird thought but closing his eyes made it worse.
Once again, very suddenly, the shower door opened and lance stood there, looking unrealistically beautiful. Keith smiled as he walked into the cramped shower and closed the door. He pressed against him and ran his fingers through his hair. He kissed his cheek before whispering “Turn around” he did and—
He dropped the shampoo bottle and opened his eyes quickly. Okay this is becoming a problem.
He rinsed his hair and got out, scared of where his mind will wander next.
He went to his room and put his hair up before laying down. Luckily tonight, he didn’t have a dream.
Keith obviously has had weird dreams before—about lance. But it’s a little different when it’s a daydream. Because they usually mean a bit more.
And in Keith’s case—it absolutely did.
And—something he never thought he would need—he needs to talk about it. And allura is the only person who he can talk to about this certain topic so……he’s walking towards her, hoping to get to her before her first class.
”Hey I need to talk to you” He was stopped by nyma, who looked concerned. He looked at her, a bit annoyed.
”What”
”So……apparently at that party, some people saw us and word got to rolo and he’s pissed”
He shook his head, still annoyed “What?”
”He’s like—really pissed” she bit her lip and Keith shrugged “I don’t care?”
”Well, he only knows I kissed someone but he’s been saying he’s gonna kick their ass once he finds out”
He rolled his eyes and sighed “Ok—whatever, I have to do something—“ he turned around and—allura was gone.
”Seriously Keith, he’s really mad”
He sighed again, looking back at her “Look, I really don’t care”
”What’s up with you today? You seem mad” she frowned and he shook his head “Nothings wrong I just don’t care if he’s mad at me”
”Well…I heard what some people were saying about what happened…”
”Nothing happened”
”People are saying we were kissing on the couch—and I remember it—and I wanted to warn you”
”We weren’t”
”Weren’t you drunk?” She looked weirdly disappointed.
”No?”
”Oh…so nothing happened with us…?”
He shook his head and she suddenly looked worried “Who did I kiss then??!”
”You kissed someone and you can’t even remember who they are?”
She shook her head “I was drunk, I can’t remember!”
“Did you even kiss anyone?” He doesn’t care but…he honestly doesn’t really know why he’s asking.
”Yeah, I remember—I gave him my lipstick because I think he was saying how pretty it would be on his friend…which is kind of weird now that I think about it”
Oh god. It was lance. He knows nyma—unfortunately—but she can’t ever keep her mouth shut—if she finds out it was lance she’ll say something. And he obviously doesn’t want rolo fighting lance. God! Why would he do that?
”It was me”
She froze, looking confused. Then she rolled her eyes “Stop joking”
He remembered putting the lipstick in his bag after lance tried to put more on. Maybe he still has it.
He looked through his bag and nyma watched, obviously confused.
He felt it and paused—if it were anyone else, he would leave it alone and not care. But he knows how crazy rolo can get. He’d rather it be directed towards him.
”This is it, right?” He handed her the lipstick and she didn’t grab it—just staring at it. She looked up at him, a little mortified “We—what??”
”Yeah, I remember now, I drank a little. My memory is just a little foggy”
”So…” she grabbed the lipstick “What about your girlfriend?”
This time, he froze. He forgot he was ‘dating’ allura. Now everyone will hear about him kissing nyma and all his new friends will think he cheated on her. He could just tell them about their deal? No, because then he’d out himself.
”Keith?”
He looked at her “I have to go” he turned around to walk away but bumped into someone “Sorry—“
It’s Luka—one of alluras friends, she mentioned her a few times. She also just so happens to be one of the most gossipy people in school. And she looks pissed.
“I’ll let you know I heard all of that”
”Uh—sorry—“ he left quickly and kind of forgot where he was going. He should be in class. Obviously if she said people already saw them on the couch and are talking about it, they’re probably already talking about who she kissed. He really hates how fast gossip goes around in this school. Especially from Luka.
He just hopes lance doesn’t find out before their next class. Or Pidge—especially Pidge.
He decided to just skip his first class because so many things are going on in his head right now. At least it happened on a Friday so he wouldn’t have to deal with it all week. But it’s still happening which sucks.
He went to the bathroom and went in a stall. Okay, first, he’s realizing how bad his crush on lance is—second, lance will definitely hate him if he thinks he cheated on allura—third, he can’t even explain himself because it is gay to lie about kissing a girl to stop a guy from trying to fight your guy friend because you would rather get hurt then see them get hurt?
He sat there for a bit but heard the door open and kind of impulsively, he put his legs up so they wouldn’t see him. They were whispering something but he heard “I guess it locked when someone shut it—that happens sometimes”
Another guy spoke really quietly—he could barely hear him “I really need to talk to you but not—“
He heard a thunk and then he heard—oh shit. They’re kissing. Keith tried his hardest to stay completely still and silent.
They whispered something again but all Keith heard was “not here” and “meet up at—“
One guy seemed a bit persistent “Come on, I wanna meet up more often”
”I know, but—“
Keiths phone went off and it scared him so he dropped one of his legs. One guy ran outside quickly and the other one stood there “Who’s in there? I swear if you don’t come out I’ll—“
Keith opened the door and poked his head out the stall to look at who it was. It’s…James?? Alright, he’s not as worried anymore.
James looked furious “You say anything and I’ll make your life hell”
He left and Keith couldn’t help but laugh. That was…something. Still doesn’t help his situation though.
He saw people staring at him as he walked to his next class. People already know? Okay that’s just comical.
He walked in his next class, ignoring everyone and sat down where he usually does. Lance wasn’t there yet. He’s kind of hoping he’s not here today. But of course, that’s not the case and lance walked in.
He didn’t look at Keith because he was talking to someone else. The other person sat down and he walked to his seat next to Keith. He didn’t look at him. He knows. He usually smiles at him.
But maybe he’s just…not…today…like maybe he forgot or something. Everyone was seated now so the teacher started talking. After a few minutes, Keith decided to say something.
About the fact that he hasn’t written anything down—which he usually does.
”Do you have a pencil?”
”No”
Keith felt a little hopeful with the honest answer “Do you want one of mine?”
”No”
Well there goes that hope. He sighed “So you heard?”
”Yep”
Keith moved a little closer to him “Can I explain?”
”No”
”But—“
Lance looked at him, angry “You weren’t even drunk. It would be at least kind of forgivable if you were. But you weren’t”
”I didn’t—“
”Can you two please keep it down?” The teacher said and they both stopped talking.
Lance looked away and Keith moved closer to whisper “Just let me explain—“
”No, you don’t need to”
”I do—I really do” he laughed, finding it a little funny that it was lance who actually kissed her. But it’s not funny that lance is upset.
Lance looked at him again “You know, I really thought you were different but I guess I was wrong”
”You won’t even let me explain”
”Because there’s no valid reason to hurt someone like allura”
”I’m not—“
”Lance—move over there” the teacher pointed to an empty seat and lance angrily got up and walked over there.
He heard some people whisper about him being friends with allura and that’s probably why he’s mad. He really needs to talk to allura. And luckily, after this class, he has lunch.
Lance left way before Keith could even try to talk to him. He walked outside and even more people were looking at him, mostly with disgust. He gets why, I mean, for all they know, he cheated on a really nice girl with another girl who has a boyfriend.
He saw allura at her locker and he didn’t even need to say anything because she looked over at him and smiled “Come on”
They walked outside and to her car. Once they got in, she sighed. Then she started laughing. He looked at her and smiled, also finding this whole thing kind of funny.
”This means they believe us”
He shrugged, still smiling “Yeah, I guess so”
She turned towards him, looking a bit guilty “But people still think you’re a cheater though”
”I don’t care, just as long as they don’t think I’m gay”
She laughed again and nodded “Yeah”
He sighed, thinking about lance. That still sucks. Not just the fact that he wouldn’t give him the benefit of the doubt, but the fact that he’s stupidly into him.
”Maybe it’s time for us to break up then” allura said, smiling at Keith. He chuckled “Yeah, I guess so”
”Still friends?” She held out her hand and he rolled his eyes before shaking it “Obviously”
”So Luka told me that you said you kissed her? Why? Cause I know you didn’t”
”Because it was lance”
She froze “What”
”Lance kissed her—he had lipstick that night and she said she gave the guy she kissed lipstick and I took the lipstick from lance because he kept trying to put it on and I gave it to her”
“Oh…Then we should tell Lance, he’s probably real mad”
He smiled and nodded “Yeah”
”We’ll also tell Pidge and hunk that it was lance so we don’t have to tell them about us—“
Someone suddenly hit the window on Keith’s side and they looked and saw Pidge—who didn’t look as mad as he thought she would. Allura unlocked the doors and she got in the back.
Allura and Keith turned to look back at them. “Where’s Lance?” Keith asked, but Pidge didn’t answer that. Instead she held out her hand like she was asking for something “I’ll give you one chance to explain yourself before I kill you”
”Lance kissed her—he told nyma it was him so rolo wouldn’t go crazy on lance.”
Pidge nodded and smiled “Oh, alright then—thanks!”
Ignoring how easily she just believed her, he asked again “So where is he?”
She shrugged “I dunno”
”We’ll explain this to him later, we have news—not pertaining to this situation—though it may seem related”
”Ok, fancy, spit it out” Pidge leaned up to listen.
”Me and Keith are breaking up”
She nodded “Alright, cool—we still friends or do we hate him”
”We’re still friends”
”Cool but I still hate you—both of you”
”You don’t hate us~” allura reached back to try to hug her but Pidge pulled away “I hate everyone”
”Except for us”
She was all the way in the back seat now and Pidge pursed her lips “………Alright fine, I love you guys” she hugged her back and Pidge pointed at Keith ”You’re next”
”I have somewhere I need to be—“
Allura gasped “No! Come here and hug us!”
”This is weird” he didn’t hold back his smile.
Allura leaned up and hugged him and he rolled his eyes but hugged her back. She let go and Pidge jumped up and hugged him too.
”Are you wearing cologne?” He frowned and she shrugged “Yeah—I like it”
He shrugged too and hugged her “It smells nice”
After school, he just dealt with everyone hating him all day—they’ll probably forget about it by tomorrow anyway—and he walked up to allura, still wanting to talk to her about the whole lance thing.
”Hey” she smiled at him and he leaned against the locker next to hers “Are you doing anything? I really need to talk about something”
She looked at him “Yeah, of course—“she gasped “We can have a sleepover!”
He frowned “A sleepover?”
”What? You call them slumber parties?”
He rolled his eyes and she shut her locker “You can come to my house if you want—make sure to bring pajamas because I’m sure you don’t want to wear mine”
”You sure?” He smiled and she rolled her eyes “Okay then, don’t bring anything—I’ll lend you a bra, too”
”Can’t wait to feel supported”
She shook her head “If that’s what you think bras feel like, you have a lot to learn”
”I’m glad I’ll never know then”
They started walking to the door and they were stopped by someone “Hey!”
They turned around and saw Luka, who still looked mad. She stopped in front of them “You’re still with him? Look, I trust your judgment but he’s—“
”Luka, it was a misunderstanding—I’ll explain later, okay?”
She crossed her arms and squinted at Keith “Okay…fine—I’ll see you later”
She left and Allura looked at Keith “Alright, meet me at my house at 6, I have a few piano lessons but after, we can talk—don’t forget pajamas!”
He nodded and they both left. As Keith drove home, he felt like his heart was sinking—where? He has no clue. But it’s going somewhere.
And even though he did this to help lance, he still feels bad for it. He obviously feels bad that he acted in a way that would make Lance believe he’s capable of doing something like this.
And he just really hopes lance will forgive him. Though, on the other hand, maybe if he doesn’t he won’t have to deal with the sinking feeling of the fact he’ll never have a chance with him?
Whatever—he’s probably not even gonna tell allura about him. He’s her friend so what if it makes things awkward? It’s probably just a bad idea all around.
As he knocked on her door, he tried to prepare himself for how her mom might react to him. The last time they saw each other it wasn’t the most pleasant thing in the world.
The door opened and it was her dad again. He, surprisingly, smiled “Oh! come in”
He walked in and he heard someone playing the piano. It’s really pretty. It stopped and he heard talking—he couldn’t make it out though. But the other person sounded young. And it was obviously allura talking to them.
”Shes finishing up a lesson—it ran a little late—here, sit down, I’ll make some tea”
”Uh—Thank you” he sat down and almost immediately, a cat walked over to him and jumped on the couch. He held out his hand and the cat rubbed his head on him. Then it sat down next to him, purring.
”That’s Kova—she’s not usually this nice to strangers” Her dad came back and handed him a cup. He sat down on the couch next to the one Keith was on.
”So…I never got to thank you for standing up to that guy for Allura”
He looked down at his cup, feeling a little awkward “Uh…no problem…”
”And you seem like a good guy so I won’t go crazy like my wife did” he laughed and Keith laughed too, still feeling awkward. He drank some of the tea and it was really good. He always thought British people would make really good tea though so he’s not surprised.
He heard allura and the kid talking louder now and walking towards the door. She looked towards the living room and smiled and waved at Keith before doing the same for the kid, who walked outside.
She waved to the kid one more time before shutting the door and walking towards them. She smiled “Kova likes you”
She pet her and then looked at Keith “Let’s go up to my room now—sorry I had go over a few more things with her”
He stood up and her dad said bye before they left.
When they were upstairs, they walked in her room and she shut her door “Don’t worry, they aren’t weird with that stuff. My mother gave me ‘the talk’ the day after I got my first period”
”Isn’t she a doctor?”
She nodded “Yeah, she wanted me to know everything about what’ll happen to me—some of it was completely unneeded but at least she was thorough”
He smiled and sat down, sighing and drinking some more of the tea. She sat down next to him “It’s good right?”
He nodded and kept drinking it.
”So what did you want to talk about?”
He kind of forgot that he said he wanted to talk about something. He had planned on telling her about lance but now he doesn’t want to.
”Uh…I don’t know…”
She frowned and he smiled “I guess I just wanted an excuse to hang out”
He looked at the cup, embarrassed that he said that. But she hugged him “That’s super sweet—for future reference though, we can hang out whenever, you never need an excuse”
He smiled and sighed “Was that you playing?”
She nodded, still hugging him.
He laughed “It was really pretty”
”Thank you, that’s what years practice get you—“ she put on a sales voice “And for $10 dollars an hour, you too can sound like me”
”You should charge more—some people pay hundreds of dollars for that”
She shook her head “No, I just want to share my experience with people who can’t afford thousand dollar sessions”
”That’s nice”
”What can I say, I’m just a nice person”
”I would still charge more if it were me though”
She laughed “Then you’re just money hungry aren’t you?”
”Yeah, absolutely—who knows how expensive things will be in the future”
”You’ll be in the nfl, you’ll be set anyway”
”Maybe—apparently I am a ‘five star recruit’ now.”
She stopped hugging him and looked serious “What?”
He looked at her, now worried he shouldn’t have said that “What?”
”Thats amazing, Keith, why didn’t you say anything sooner?” She smiled and he shrugged “It’s whatever”
”You’re crazy—not a lot of people are that good.”
He sighed and she put her hand on his shoulder ”You don’t want to be?”
He shook his head “I don’t know—I just don’t like football like I used to. I’ve liked it a little more recently but only because you guys have been there”
She hugged him again “Then maybe you just needed a support system”
He put his head on hers and smiled “Yeah”
”That’s still super awesome that you have five stars”
He laughed “I know” he feels a bit more excited about it now.
She sat up and smiled ”Alright, I’ll go get snacks and we’re gonna watch a movie—you can choose—unless it’s some weird action movie—or sixteen candles, god, I hate that movie”
She showed him where her movies were and he sat down to go through them since there was a lot. There were a whole bunch of chick flicks, which he’s already seen. Kind of embarrassingly.
He still likes them though so he decided to choose one. He’s never seen that 16 candles movie but he’s guessing it’s not that good.
After a while of him going through them, she came back and shut the door with her foot and set down the snacks on her bed.
”So? What are we watching?”
He kept browsing and shrugged “Something with Tom cruise”
“I love you—let’s watch jerry maguire—because you know, football—sports and all that…and Tom cruise”
”Good idea” he got it and gave it to her before cleaning up the cases and put them back where she had them. He got on the bed and she played the movie and turned the lights off before sitting on the bed next to him.
They were both laying down now, watching the movie. They had already changed into their pajamas because Allura insisted that ‘it wasn’t a real sleepover without pajamas’.
The movie only halfway done but they already finished eating all the snacks she brought. And since he’s seen this movie before, he didn’t really bother focusing too hard on it. But now he’s getting kind of tired.
They were both on their stomachs so he laid his head down on his arms. Allura turned on her side and pushed him “You’re going to sleep?”
He turned his head “No, my head just hurts”
”You need medicine?”
He shook his head and looked back at the tv. She moved closer to him and poked his arm “A kissing scene is coming up~”
He smiled and looked at her “You seem more excited about it”
”I mean, yeah, it’s Tom cruise”
He looked at the tv and they started to kiss and, of course, he thought about lance. And he’s tired—both physically and mentally.
”I wanted to tell you something…” He put his head back down, looking at her. “about lance”
She laughed “Don’t worry, once I explain, he won’t be upset anymore, he just c—“
”I think I like him” I mean, he knows but he’s not ready to completely admit it out loud.
She stopped talking and looked at him. She lowered her voice “Really?”
He nodded and he kind of thought for a moment she was upset. But she smiled “Really”
He sat up and looked down at her “And I can’t get it to go away”
She turned on her back and frowned “Why would you want it go away”
He frowned back “Take a wild guess”
She sat up and smiled “So when did it start?”
”You’re asking like it’s a symptom to a disease”
“My mom is a doctor”
He laid back and sighed “I don’t know when it started”
She laid next to him “Was it in the van?”
He frowned and looked at her “What?”
She laughed “You kissed him”
”I was high”
”So your inhibitions were lowered”
”No, my inhibitions were normal”
”So you would normally kiss him?”
”I barely even kissed him”
“So, you still kissed him”
”You’re not helping”
”I never offered help”
”Fine I’ll just go to sleep then” he turned on his side and she laughed and hugged him “Nooo, I’m sorry, okay, I’ll help you”
He turned around and she didn’t stop hugging him “I really do need it to go away”
”Why? It’s just a small crush?”
He nodded, feeling weird. But yeah, it’s just a small crush, it won’t change anything. He probably shouldn’t have even said anything. “Yeah”
“What?”
He looked at her, shaking his head “I don’t know, I’m tired”
She smiled “Let’s go to sleep then”
He smiled back tiredly…but after a few seconds, frowned “Are you gonna let go now?”
She hugged him tighter “No—you’re still warm”
He just hugged her back “Okay”
When he woke up, allura tried to rush him out before her mom woke up but she was already making breakfast for them.
It was nice and they talked about what happened and she apologized for how she acted that night, which was nice but Keith understood why.
When he left, he was left to deal with the embarrassment that he actually told allura he liked lance.
Because obviously, in hindsight, it was a terrible idea. Just awful.
But maybe if he never mentions it again and tries to forget about it, he can get over the dumb crush, and the embarrassment.
Maybe even like a girl whiles he’s at it too because that’s just as believable.
Luckily though, he’s actually got stuff to do today so his mind will be preoccupied with homework for this chemistry class, and replacing a few things on his bike. He doesn’t want to chance breaking down again and he’s getting sick of driving the truck.
He actually went back to sleep when he got home—he should probably have a better sleep schedule but whatever—and by the time he was done with his homework and working on his bike—his dad was pulling into the driveway.
Keith stopped and watched him get out of the car, not bothering to stand up. He looked at him and smiled before walking towards the garage. He stopped in front of him, still smiling “So, did you have fun at alluras?”
He never told him so he doesn’t know how he knew he was there “How—“
”Her mother texted me, don’t worry, I’m not mad—just tell me next time, alright?”
He nodded and sighed, looking back at the bike. “What’s wrong?”
He looked back at him “What? Oh—nothing, I’m just……thinking”
Heith smiled and leaned back on the wall “About what?”
Keith continued working on the bike “Nothing”
”Look, uh—“ he walked closer to him and crouched down “Im uh, proud of you for talking about your mom last weekend—I never really got the chance to say anything since your friend has been coming over and I didn’t want to interrupt you” he chuckled “And I guess work keeps me away from home too”
Keith just nodded, not looking at him.
”And…just—if you ever need to talk about anything, you can talk to me. I know it may not seem like it but I’m a pretty good listener”
Keith just smiled, wanting to be alone now.
”Alright…do you want anything to eat? Drink?”
He shook his head and his dad left and Keith sat there for a moment, feeling a lot of different things. Things he doesn’t feel like feeling right now. He just continued to work on the bike until he was done. He was almost done anyway so it didn’t take that much time.
When he went inside, he needed a moment to calm down. He’s been wanting to say that for a while. But Keith never wants to talk about her. He understands though and he doesn’t want to push him.
He saw him crying in the kitchen with allura that one day and he can’t decide whether or not to feel bad that he was crying to allura and not him or good that he has someone to cry to.
Well, obviously he hates that he’s crying but he guesses he’s just happy he can talk to someone. He hopes that he can talk to all his new friends like that. He knows how important support can be and heith hasn’t really been that supportive since Krolia…
But he’ll get better and Keith’s new friends seem good. That Lance kid though…there’s something…weird…about him…besides the fact he was feeling up his son while he was sleeping. And hugging him both times…maybe he should say something to Keith? They seem to be getting a lot closer and heith doesn’t want anything…weird…happening to Keith.
And he really needs a way to ask if allura is his girlfriend without making it awkward. Because if she spends the night again, he can’t let them shut his door!
The next day, Keith slept in until about 5. But that’s not that unusual. Sometimes he just sleeps all weekend, only getting up to use the bathroom or eat.
There was a note on the kitchen table asking Keith to get some things from the store which Keith really didn’t want to do but will anyway.
He got dressed and decided to take the bike since he just fixed it up.
As he drove to the store, his head was truly empty. He would have drove with his helmet off but he’s gotten pulled over for it before and he doesn’t want another safety talk from his dad.
It took him a bit to get everything because nothing was in the same area of the store, which sucked. But once he was done, he walked outside and put everything up.
As he got on, he remembered that he needed gas so he started driving to the nearest gas station. Which also sucks because it’s dark and the only one near is sketchy as hell. And it’s raining now, which is like the cherry on the top of the suckyness.
He parked and as he was walking to the door, he heard people talking from the side of the building but didn’t listen.
All he heard was “Really? I was drunk—“
He walked inside and since he was thirsty, and wanted anything but water, he got chocolate milk. Then he told the cashier what he needed and paid.
He walked out still heard the people talking. He wouldn’t have cared if it didn’t sound…off. He stopped and listened and got a really weird feeling in his chest when he heard the other person struggling. He was hoping he was misinterpreting the sound but started actively freaking out when he heard a quieter “Please stop”
He quickly walked to the side of building and saw one guy pinning another guy to the wall, holding his head to the side in a pretty forceful manner.
Keith isn’t and has never been shy so he confidently said “Is everything alright?” It’s dark so he can’t see the aggressive guys face but it all started to click into place when he said “What the fuck—Keith?!”
Keith squinted and saw that the man was James and the man he was holding looked over and Keith felt every bit of his soul leave his body. It’s Lance, and he’s crying.
He quickly walked up to him and James let go, stepping back.
”What’s going on” He glared at James, feeling angrier than he’s ever been. James scoffed “That’s none of your business—come on, let’s go”
He grabbed lances arm again and keith grabbed James arm and pushed it away “Don’t touch him”
”Lance come on”
Lance rubbed where James was holding his face and looked down. James scoffed “Fine, find your own way home” he went to his car and quickly drove away and they just watched.
Keith looked at lance, who just looked terrified. He was staring off into the distance so Keith spoke quietly “Are you alright..?”
Lance looked at him and immediately started crying. Now freaking out even more and not knowing what to do, he hugged him.
Lance didn’t hug back and kept crying.
”I-I’m—sor…I…I’m sorr—“
Keith shook his head and hugged him tighter.
He kept hugging him until he stopped crying. It was for a few minutes but it felt like hours. Days even.
“I’ll take you home”
Lance nodded, not saying anything and they walked to his bike.
”I’m on E so I still have to uh…yeah”
Lance nodded again and Keith stopped before getting the pump. He took off his jacket and handed it to lance “It doesn’t have a hood but it’s better than nothing”
Lance shook his head “No, you can kee—“
”Please just take it” he felt him shivering when he was hugging him.
Lance took it and Keith filled up the tank as he put it on. When he was done, Keith held out the chocolate milk “I uh, also got this if you want it”
Lance looked at it and smiled, which was extremely relieving. He took it “You don’t seem like a chocolate milk guy”
”Well, I am”
They both got on and Keith started driving, making sure to go slow and be careful since it’s raining.
Lance asked him to park where no one would see them so he could sneak in so he parked near the woods.
It wasn’t raining as much anymore which was good but Keith barely noticed. Lance got off before him and they both stood next to the bike, quietly. Keith’s head was still empty as he drove so he still couldn’t fully comprehend what just happened.
Lance rubbed his face and looked down “I’m sorry, he just…” he saw his eyes start to water and Keith kind of stopped breathing when he started crying again.
”Sorry—I just—I don’t wanna—I’m not—“
”Hey” he stopped lance and smiled at him, hating that he doesn’t know what to do. Driven by pure emotion, Keith reached his hand up and wiped the tears off his cheek. His hand lingered a second too long and lance reached up and grabbed it.
Keith barely had time to think before lance was using his other hand to cup his cheek and leaning down a little to kiss him.
Keith froze, really not expecting it. Once again, a second felt like an hour and…just as keith was about to close his eyes and kiss back, lance pulled away “Uh—I’m sorry—I think I misunderstood the situation” he started at him, wide eyed, for another long second “I’m sorry—“ he turned around and walked away really fast.
Keith was way too awestruck to chase him. He just stood there for a while before realizing that he has to bring this stuff back home. He blinked back to earth and touched his lips, still feeling the kiss. He looked at his house and took a deep breath before getting back on his bike and driving home.
Fuck.
When he got home, he saw his dads car. Honestly, he doesn’t care. His mind is all over the place.
He parked in the garage and got the stuff before going inside. His dad was sitting on the couch and looked up at him “Hey! I was wondering where you were”
Keith held up the bag, showing him where he’s been and his dad stood up “You’re soaking wet, did you not bring a jacket?”
He thought about lance wearing it—and then the kiss—and then what James did. Immediately overwhelmed by so many emotions, his eyes started to water.
His dad got up and walked over to him “what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
He started to cry more, thinking more. He just shook his head and rubbed his eyes, trying to force himself to stop.
”Hey, you can talk to me…what going on?”
He looked up at him “I’m…” he thought for a second about telling him about what really happened. That he saw his friend being harassed by a guy (again) and the friend was a guy and he kissed him and Keith likes this guy so he wanted to kiss him back but……obviously there’s a lot to that and he’s not ready for it. And he’s not ready for his dads reaction to it.
And he already looks sad and worried and it’s making Keith feel worse. So, since Keith never cries he’s obviously gotta tell a bit of the truth. He looked down “I miss mom”
His dads face changed from sad and worried to just sad. He hugged him and Keith didn’t really have the energy to hug back. But now he’s thinking more about his mom and about what she would say if he told her the truth.
The thought of her being disappointed in him made him cry more. The thought of her possibly being supportive also made him feel worse. Because if his dad isn’t, he’ll have lost another parent. If shiro isn’t, he’ll be alone.
Why does he have to be this way? Why can’t he just fake it until he maybe starts feeling normal? Why did he have to become friends with someone like lance who’s kind of impossible to hate? Impossible to not like. Impossible for Keith not to like.
His dad pulled away and smiled softly at him “Me too. But I still have you and you’ll always have me”
Keith immediately started crying again. He hugged his dad, feeling guilty for being such a disappointment. For not being the son he expects him to be. For being the reason they might not have a relationship in the future.
His dad hugged him and Keith’s heart started to beat faster. He can’t lose his dad too.
He pulled away again, smiling softy “Sorry about all the stuff I needed, I want to start fixing up that red truck”
Keith rubbed his eyes and nodded, knowing he’ll cry again if he talks. He handed him the bag and his dad put his hand on his shoulder “Seriously, if you ever want to talk, I’m here for you”
Keith nodded “Thank you”
Heith nodded back and Keith and walked to his room. He took off his wet clothes and laid down. He tried his best to sleep but couldn’t, thinking about everything.
The next day came and now he’s terrified. And feeling less guilty about being gay and more guilty about not kissing back. What if he didn’t kiss back fast enough and lance thinks he doesn’t like him and doesn’t want to be his friend anymore?
And what if people find out?
What if James says something?
What if James is there?
His first class, neither of them are in, so he doesn’t know but when his second class came around, he waited very impatiently for lance to come.
He’s sure Allura explained the whole nyma situation to him so hopefully he’s not mad. At worst, it’ll probably be a little awkward because of the kiss.
But…he never showed up.
Which really freaked Keith out. Is he okay? Maybe he can ask allura or Pidge. She doesn’t tutor him anymore so he doesn’t know when he can talk to her about it. Or maybe he shouldn’t at all because he doesn’t want her to know that he kissed him…or that he’s gay…
Oh god, he probably just kissed him because he was there and he was sad…oh shit what if it’s a bad idea for Keith to say anything? Should he even say anything to anyone? He can pretend it never happened?
All day, that’s what he thought about. How lance doesn’t actually like him, he’s going crazy, and being gay is probably bad anyway so he should get over it while he can? He’s probably already going to hell anyway though…
He never had a chance to talk to anyone about it and the next day was the same. Lance still wasn’t there which was starting to stress him out.
But as he was leaving to eat lunch in shiros classroom, the coach pulled him in his office, which was frustrating.
He walked in and right as he closed the door, he remembered that he never really asked him to take a break. Shit.
”I let you by for a week but it’s time to start conditioning again—the playoffs are very soon”
They’re not but he just sat down and agreed to practice more. Not that he cared, but it won’t be just him practicing this time. Some other players also are. But that does mean they have to practice on the field and not in a gym. But once again, he doesn’t care.
He went to shiros classroom and when he opened the door shiro laughed “Long time no see”
He didn’t eat with him yesterday because he needed to be alone. And he hasn’t as much recently since he started eating lunch with everyone else.
Keith just smiled and closed the door. He sat down and shiro sighed “Jusy kidding, I know you’re busy hanging out with your new friends”
”Sorry”
He shook his head “No, it’s good! It’s great you have new friends! And they’re good friends too”
He’s already told him about them and he’s already teased him enough about it. Shiro looked a bit more serious “What’s up with this cheating rumor though—I hear things”
”It’s not true”
Shiro nodded “Obviously, but what’s it about?”
He told him what happened—leaving a few specific details because obviously—and then once lunch was over, he went through the whole day, overthinking everything.
The next day, he saw lance in the hallway and right when they made eye contact, lance walked away. And during the class they’re in together, he sat in a different seat.
And that’s how it went for the rest of the week.
So not only did he have to deal with Lance completely avoiding him, he’s been practicing again every day. And he can’t talk to anyone about it because he’s in none of Pidge or hunks classes, and he’s kind of been avoiding allura because he knows he’ll tell her and he doesn’t want to.
And obviously he’s not telling shiro or his dad.
During the weekend, he mostly slept but when he wasn’t sleeping, he was freaking out so he’d rather sleep.
He needs weed
It’s been a few days and nothing has changed. He’s tutoring with pidge today though which is an excuse to see if she hates him? Because what if Keith did something wrong and that’s why lance is avoiding him? And what about their book? How are they going to finish it if he won’t talk to him?
“I told Lance about the misunderstanding so why is he avoiding you?” They were in the hallway talking and Keith shrugged “I don’t know”
”He won’t talk to me either—did something happen?”
He shrugged again “I don’t know”
”What’s up with you? Did he say something to you?”
He frowned “No”
”Did you say something to him…?” She looked hesitant to say that but Keith shook his head “I don’t think so”
They both had to leave and the next class, Keith couldn’t pay attention at all. But now it’s lunch time and he’s going to the old theatre room to meet up with pidge.
He opened the door and she glanced up at him before continuing writing something down. He closed the door and sat down next to her. Something felt……awkward. He thinks she’s upset with him.
”Um…” he took out his binder and put it on the table and took out the papers he needed help with. Pidge looked at it and put her chin on her hand and sighed.
He looked at her and she looked tired “Look, I’ve been friends with lance longer than everyone so I know what happened” she looked at him, not angry but serious.
Now even more nervous, he said “I, uh, I don’t know if I did something wrong or if he just feels awkward or something for the kiss but I really don’t know why he’s avoiding me”
She sighed “He’s scared you’ll tell people”
”Tell people…?”
“I’m gonna be real with you—we all know he’s gay, we just wanted to wait for him to tell you himself—just don’t worry about outing him to any of us—he’s already told us”
He frowned and she smiled “Just give him some time, he’ll come to you—when he does, just be normal”
”Normal?”
”Yeah, he doesn’t want you seeing him differently—cause homophobia and all that”
He looked down again, feeling his cheeks get warm “Uh…yeah”
”I’m only telling you all this because I trust you, alright? You’re like, weirdly a lot like me and that’s cool”
He couldn’t help but smile “So if he never talks to me again, we’ll still be friends?”
She smiled “He will but yes”
”Cool”
”By the way, you don’t need tutoring anymore” she leaned back “So once Lance processes everything, we should all eat lunch together. Somehow we all have it at the same time”
He laughed and she laughed “And since I’m not allowed to eat in this room, we can eat in Mr. Shiroganes room—you do that a lot and I want to be a part of that. He used to be my favorite teacher”
He smiled and nodded “He’d probably love that”
”So what’s up with you two? I know he was a family friend but you two seem close”
Keith sighed “It’s a long story—and it’ll probably bum you out”
”Bum me out then, we have time”
He told her everything about shiro and how he lived with him for a few years after his mom died. And everything in between.
It’s the next day and Keith and pidge are walking to shiros room to eat lunch. He knows he’ll say yes but he’s gonna ask permission anyway.
He opened the door and shiro looked up at both of them, smiling “Hey!”
They walked in and Keith asked “Can she eat in here with us?”
Shiro frowned “You could invite the whole school in here if you wanted” he paused “Don’t though—just close friends”
Pidge smiled and he looked at her laughing “I remember you—you were my favorite student”
Her eyes got wide “You were my favorite teacher”
”And now you’re still my favorite student because you’re friends with Keith”
”You’re now my favorite teacher cause you’re his brother uncle thing!”
Keith sat down, a little weirded out.
“That’s what he have in common then—school, and keith”
”Love that” Pidge sat down and they talked about school and keith. Their only two common interests apparently.
But it was nice. It’ll probably be nicer with everyone else.
Friday, nothing really happened except for allura joining them in shiros room.
And before practice, they talked about lance again since it’s been two weeks of him ignoring pretty much everyone but especially Keith.
But now he’s actually in practice, doing regular drills and being yelled at for not being fast enough, agile enough, strong enough, just not good enough in general.
Finally being able to sit down he tried his best to catch his breath. Practice before the playoffs are always more intense so it’s not surprising.
It still sucks though.
He watched the other players work on their footing and thought about his future—weirdly.
Recently, he’s been enjoying football more and he’s starting to get more excited about doing it as a career. But it’s still tough because, well, how many gay football players are there, you know? He just knows that’s all people will care about.
And who knows what it’ll do to his scouting opportunities if he did come out.
He got caught off guard by a silent “Um” coming from in front of him. He looked and froze when he saw Lance. He was holding his jacket.
He held it out “Uh…here”
Keith looked at him for a second then grabbed it slowly and lance also held out a piece of paper “And I finished the paper, you can go over it if you want—I used your notes for your opinion”
Keith grabbed the paper too and looked at it and read the first sentence. He glanced up and saw lance walking away. He quickly got up “Wait!”
Lance didn’t stop walking—he actually walked faster. Keith ran up to him and gently grabbed his arm “Hey—“
Lance stopped and looked behind him, looking really sad. He let go of his arm “Can we talk?”
”Um—“ he looked at the other players and Keith glanced behind him before taking his arm again—making sure to be gentle. He walked behind the bleachers and let go again “No one will hear us now”
Lance looked down “Look, I uh, I don’t really know what came over me—“ he laughed awkwardly, shaking his head “I’m like, not even into guys so—“
Keith frowned at him and lance sighed and looked down “So….yeah…uh…I’m uh…sorry…for….” He mumbled the last part, which Keith assumed was “kissing you”
”I don’t care about that”
Lance looked up at him, nervous “What?”
”I don’t care if you’re gay or whatever”
Lance moved closer to him “Be quiet!”
Keith rolled his eyes “No one is here”
Lance frowned, and looked up, seeing there were no one on the bleachers. He sighed “You don’t think it’s weird or anything?”
Keith shook his head “No, I don’t think it matters.” Keith smiled “You’re a good person, who cares if you like dick”
Lance opened his mouth, shocked. He put his hands on his hips “You are vulgar”
”Im honest”
Lance shrugged “Yeah, I guess so”
Keith smiled again and looked back at the players “It you want to wait, I can go get my stuff and we can review what you wrote?”
Lance smiled back “Okay—I’ll be waiting near the door”
They went to lances car to go over the paper. Weirdly, keith noticed that his car smells like his house. It’s nice.
”So Maurice was a woman disguised as a guard and she fell in love with the princess?”
Lance nodded “Crazy plot twist”
”I wish I could’ve read it” he looked at lance and lance pouted “I was going through something”
Keith smiled “I know, I don’t really mind” he just read the book to hang out with lance. But he’s not saying that.
As he read the rest of the paper, lance spoke again, quietly “I really am sorry about the…kiss…” Keith looked at him and lance shook his head “I swear it didn’t mean anything”
Keith nodded, feeling a little crushed “No, I get it, you were in the moment”
Lance nodded and Keith looked back at the paper, not really able to read it anymore. He nodded “It’s good”
”Just good? Not great?”
”Amazing”
”Thats what I thought”
Keith handed him back the paper and lance sighed “So…I think we’ll probably be the last people to submit it”
”That’s fine”
Lance nodded, looking out the window. Keith unintentionally started staring at him. And now speaking “Are you okay?”
Lance looked at him and smiled “Yeah, why?”
”That situation with James seemed pretty serious”
Lance stopped smiling and looked at the steering wheel. He shrugged “It’s whatever”
Keith frowned “It’s not ‘whatever’.”
Lance looked at him “I know…Thank you for stopping him by the way”
”Of course” they looked at each other for a moment but lance looked away. Then he smiled and looked down “And I’m sorry for the whole other kiss situation”
”You’re lucky I took the lipstick from you”
He laughed “You’re lucky rolo isn’t as tough as he likes to believe he is”
Kieth smiled “Im still waiting for an ass kicking”
Lance looked at him, smiling in a different, more soft way “Thank you”
Keith had to look away or he’d do something stupid. They’re probably way better as friends anyway. If he says he likes him now it’ll just mess up everything again.
”So I heard you and allura broke up—what’s up with that?”
”She didn’t tell you?”
Lance shook his head and Keith smiled “We’re just better as friends”
Lance smiled “That’s cute”
Keith laughed and took a deep breath, trying to gather some courage to say something. When he had it, he spoke “Since there’s no book I guess we just have to hang out regularly now”
Lance chuckled and sighed, acting like he was disappointed “Ugh, I guess so”