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Out here no one could bother him, surely the loud screeches of laughter or even the crying of small children could be annoying, but they didn’t necessarily bother him. They didn’t come near him, and the kids’ parents would normally take them away if they were being too much of a nuisance. The breeze was always nice. It calmed him when the volume was too loud. Swinging back and forth on the swings, headphones in trying to avoid the smallest of sounds. Normally he would stay at the park until the street lights started to turn on. By then he only had a few short minutes before he would be locked out for the night. Unless they forgot to shut and lock his window, but that hardly happened. Tonight though, he felt like taking the long walk back instead of his usual route. Starting to get up he noticed that he surprisingly wasn't the only one at the park this late. There was a girl and a boy sitting on top of the monkey bars presumably waiting to watch the sun set, probably on a date. As he started to walk back to the place he called home he looked back at the two. While doing so he made eye contact with the mystery boy. They held eye contact before the other looked away. Wishing the blue eyed boy would look back, he waited a second. Hoping to see those eyes for a second time, but the boy didn’t turn. So instead Keith turned. Focusing back on the road ahead. Making sure to take the correct turns to return to his house. He always regretted needing to return. Ever since Shiro aged out he had been moving from home to home much faster. At the rate it’s been going he would probably be at the next city by the end of the month. Unless for some reason these fosters decided to keep him longer. Decided that the check was more than worth putting up with him. As he approached the home he waited, and listened. He could hear the TV through the walls of the house. Always so loud. Waiting for the clear sound of soft footsteps going upstairs, if the other kids in the house were heading upstairs it would be easy enough for him to slip in and it’d be as though he was never gone. Soon enough the footsteps came and he opened the door, entering the house.
Walking up the stairs his mind started to wander back to the boy with blue eyes. Did he normally show up at the park? Was the park claimed by him? He was in new territory, it could be possible that the park was claimed. Eventually he made it to his room. The one he shared with the youngest child. The small boy was already fast asleep. Probably dreaming of false ideas, such as his parents coming back. Or some secret relative claiming him. Laying in bed Keith wondered what he was to do when he aged out. These next two years would be important, but then again it's not like he ever was in one place long enough for it to make a difference. The highschool curriculum has always been weird and no school ever lined up with what you need to graduate. As he continued to think about what he was going to do, he began to drift to sleep.
The following day had been similar to the previous. Him trying to finish his chores as soon as possible, and then getting out of dodge. He wandered town before he eventually ended back at the same park as the night before. Sitting on the swing he remembered the boy with the blue eyes, wondering if he would be here again tonight. Feeling the breeze on his face while he swung on the swing was calming, it led him to almost believe that he was flying. He had always wanted to travel. Wanting to see the world, to be able to experience new cultures, and see new things. That was one advantage of being in the system. He was able to see different places. Even if he didn’t always go somewhere cool or interesting, it was almost always new. The orange sky is what brought him back to the present. He noticed that no one was on the monkey bars. For some reason he felt disappointed by that fact. As Keith started to get up to go back home he felt someone's eyes on him. He turned to look where it was coming from and saw the boy with the blue eyes. Near the tree by the picnic table. Confused as to whether he should turn and go or approach him, he hadn’t realized that the boy had started to approach him. Before Keith had realized he was nearly face to face with the blue eyed boy.
“Do you want to take a picture, it would probably last longer.” As Keith was told this, he could feel his face heat up. He was sure he was as red as a tomato.
“ I- um, I should go” Keith was stumbling over his words looking around to try and see if he could just leave. Turning to leave he feels something grab his wrist. Turning he saw that the boy was holding his wrist.
“Wait, I’m Lance. Lance Mcclain. I didn’t mean to offend you, I just. I just like to mess around.” Keith just nodded, still not knowing what to do while in this situation. Looking up at the sky he realized that if he didn’t start heading home soon he wouldn’t be able to get back in. He looked back at the boy, Lance who was looking at him expectantly, Looking back at the sky he took a deep breath.
“ I-, I got to go.” he said hesitantly as he turned to head back home. Before he made it across the street he looked back, at the boy with the now sad blue eyes, and said “My name's Keith” and with that he turned and ran back