Chapter Text
She observed carefully the board that announced the first 100 students with outstanding grades from the institution on the first semester, with a single name as a goal, she knew beforehand that even with her help it would be a complex task to get there, but she still had the hope that his only friend, outside of his older brother and Shiro, would have managed to get it that year.
Altea High School was a renowned institution, which, although it had more years of preparation for the degree, gave birth to hundreds of brilliant minds that helped in the growth of natural and social sciences for humanity, and every year, it was a constant struggle to get the best outstanding grades to attract the attention of a sponsor who wants to work with them in the near future. That entailed generating a large amount of income and influence at the time of graduation with only 20 years, that is why people began their competitive career even before opting for income, in which thousands of people struggled for enrollment, and only 1,000 students achieved that feat every year. Not only did it cover outstanding grades, but it evaluated 7 different types of intelligence.
The need for high school was not only aimed at creating mathematical geniuses, but people integrated in all their cognitive essence. And that was something Katie Holt had marveled at first since she heard about it, her whole family had studied there, and therefore, she was also going to give her best not to disappoint them and show her abilities inherited from the she felt so proud, studying hard from the first years in high school to secure her enrollment in the academy, that's why Keith had turned to her in the first place.
However, he didn’t need to boast or demonstrate his skills to the world, what Keith wanted, was simply to give his mother a reason to be proud of him, a reason that Katie completely fell in love with when she inquired why his friend had come to her in the first place instead of Shiro, who had a much closer relationship that he earned for several years, so he had decided to accept his request to help him in the final exams.
It had been an exhausting and stressful month, but it helped to strengthen their relationship in a way she had never imagined before with the king of emos and the most secretive person she had ever met in her life. It was no secret that from the moment he was introduced to that guy with his hair three years ago, thanks to Shiro's insistence that he should interact more with people his age, his heart had accelerated in the same way she saw the constellations with the telescope given by his father. Only on that occasion didn’t see stars, but the bright and mysterious light of eyes so blue, that in a certain light could be mistaken for a deep purple. Although he was forced to be with her every time, they visited her house, he didn’t speak at all until Katie, in an inadvertent argument with Matt, had mentioned that at five she had the clear memory of having seen Mothman in the forest.
The same eyes with which she was delighted from the first moment, were placed on her throughout the evening. The second thing that Katie discovered that same night, was that his smile could accelerate her pulse in less than a second, like the sighting of a comet.
His family was the first to notice the mood swings that the girl had when she was close to Shiro's protege, but only Matt made jokes alluding to his shame and possible youthful love, for fun of his mother and regret for his father.
Katie at least appreciated that he did it when Shiro and Keith weren’t at home. Or that would have left her as an only child.
Remembering his moments during the past month, his heart was painfully compressed. Katie had stayed over at Keith's house more than once to make the most of his study time. It is not as if I hadn’t done it years ago, but the intimate atmosphere that was created when they were alone in their room for more than 8 hours, with Krolia arriving late at night because of their work, had generated a context comfortable, almost inadequate in more than a moment when by mistake his hands were touched pointing certain notes, or his eyes were observed for long seconds when one of the two had to explain an incorrect equation. There were times when Katie was sure that she had felt Keith's breath too close to her neck, but she hadn’t been braved enough to face it, and like a shameful secret, she enjoyed it in a strange way to act on it and stop it abruptly.
Certainly, nothing had happened between them, but something had changed since Keith had entered high school, and the last few nights had only confirmed Katie's suspicions.
She didn’t know how to take it, and she hated not being able to let it pass as of the many peculiarities of his closest friend.
Catching at number 84 began to tire and lose interest, soon the bell would ring giving a break from the third block and the corridors would be filled with first year students looking for their names on the board, so it would be an overwhelming task to find a few words between a sea of people. As fast as she got to the number 100, she heard his escape exit and sat on the seats facing the aisles as fast as she could. The large number of students who joined immediately in that area gave her a sense of panic, she hated the crowds, but his goal was already complete. She could go home directly, knowing it would be Keith's first destination as soon as he left class.
A hand on her shoulder distracted her from his thoughts.
‘’Hey, babe. You mustn’t be from the academy, because I would remember that beautiful long hair anywhere. ‘’ She frowned as quickly as the boy in question sat as if she had given him permission to do so, giving him a quick look all over his body. Had he scanned it? ‘’ Are you interested in entering Altea? If you are as intelligent as beautiful, that will be very easy for you, darling.’’
‘’Do you take out your flirtatious phrases from a children's program?’’ She would have smiled at the despondent face that placed the boy in question, but a strong laugh deconcentrated completely.
‘’That did have to hurt.’’
‘’Hunk! You are not helping!’’
‘’Hunk? ‘’ That name caught her attention, not remembering where she had heard it in the first place. The one mentioned watched her carefully.
‘’I have seen you before? You make me very familiar ...’’
‘’Who knows. ‘’ It was the only quick response that came to mind while withdrawing the hand of the subject who had invaded his personal space in the first place. She got up to iron the folds of her dress and take a quick look around, she had to leave the establishment before her father saw her in the corridors and she would scold him for skipping high school classes, again. ‘’Anyway, I should go.’’
‘’Pidge?’’
Any hurry to escape stopped as soon as those intense eyes again observed her, not knowing whether to remain in surprise or in the emotion of finding her in the least expected place of all. The happiness and nervousness impregnated in her skin won any rational idea that could hold at that moment and without thinking, ran to give a strong hug to Keith, who quickly passed from the surprise to correspond with force. She felt a loud gasp in her back, but it was quickly forgotten in her memory as Keith's smile appeared before her, warm, comforting.
‘’Thanks to you I got- ‘’
‘’The number 99. ’’She smiled when he saw his perplexed face. ‘’ I saw it before the break.’’
‘’Of course, because you always win the craving.’’
‘’Hey, in my defense I am also part of that achievement, I helped you even on my working days.’’
‘’And I really appreciate it, Katie. ‘’ A loud throat clearing disconcerted them for a moment, seeing both boys with a face that clearly demanded explanations. They had to move away a few inches, not realizing when they had come so close in the first place.
‘’Should we be offended? You never mentioned to us that you had a girlfriend! One too pretty for you!’’
‘’Why am I supposed to say it, especially you?’’ He questioned, strongly emphasizing the latter. Lance clearly showed outrage at the response.
‘’Clearly because we are friends, we even had a bonding moment!’’
‘’Bonding? ‘’ Katie repeated watching Keith, this one just rolled his eyes crossing his arms. ‘’Ok, first of all, I'm not his girlfriend, I'm Keith's friend for quite some time thanks to Shiro. My name is Katie Holt, but you can tell me Pidge. ‘’She answered raising his arm as a sign of affection, Hunk was the first to shake hands.
‘’My name is Hunk, you say your name is Holt? Are you a relative of Lieutenant Sammuel Holt?’’ He asked curious, Katie just laughed lightly, but before continuing, Keith was placed in the middle.
‘’It's her father. And you have to leave before he sees you near, or Lance starts to harass you.’’
‘’He already did.’’
‘’Hey!’’
The quick look Keith gave Lance didn’t go unnoticed by Katie. In a few seconds she could realize that those two boys were undoubtedly close to him, given the little or lacking sense of humor he had, it was strange for him to joke with people of his own age, which generated a contradictory feeling of calm and envy.
Strangely, she wanted to be part of that circle.
As quickly as they reached the entrance to the academy, Keith's friends retreated inside at Keith's request, giving them a moment of privacy.
‘’You made good friends.’’
‘’They're a pain in the ass most of the time, but yes. ‘’ He smiled. ‘’ They keep me sane. ‘’ Katie hugged him gently before realizing it, longing to feel the warmth of her body again.
‘’Congratulations for achieving the rank you wanted.’’
A slight thank you reluctantly came out of his lips before he wrapped his arms around her. They didn’t usually show affection most of the time, but the hard work and the mishmash of emotions that crackled around them in recent weeks longed for that closeness.
‘’You know? I wouldn’t have achieved it without your help. ‘’ Katie laughed on his chest.
‘’You could give me some kind of reward for being so wonderfully kind, don’t you think? ‘’ She felt on his fingers as Keith's back tensed at his words. ‘’ Could it be a one-year dowry of peanut butter, or give me some information to enter the data of the high school, or maybe a project in which they are working as top secret, you are still good at stealth, no? ‘’Before continuing to ramble on his ideas, she didn’t notice, the moment Keith took his face to kiss her lips, shutting it completely, it was so light and fleeting that for a moment she felt that he had imagined it. But his face flushed, with a grimace of shame in which it seemed that soon break to mourn gave reality to this event. Keith had kissed her, the same Keith she had been in love with for so long. Before saying anything, she heard bells in the distance.
‘’I'll see you in the night Pidge.’’
A quick assent marked Keith's flight, as she watched him walk away, felt the warmth of his face rise up to his ears, even if she could no longer see it, and a feeling sprung up inside her in which no constellation or planet could be compared.
His feelings had been reciprocated.