Chapter Text
Lance
“Can you believe tomorrow’s the graduation ball already?”
I turned to look at Hunk, the teddy bear-like man, standing at a whole three inches above me, looking taller even though both of us were sitting on cafeteria benches. He’d been looking at his phone, and even spoke about the ball like an item was being removed from a store they rarely went to. It was nothing like that.
“Veronica’s freaking out because she didn’t buy a gown.” I said, looking back at her panic scrolling of random dresses from different shops across town. “And don’t tell me you’re not pissed that they’re doing prom two weeks before our finals. Two weeks, Hunk!”
Hunk chuckled like he was in a children’s TV show. “I thought Veronica allowed you to not go this time.”
“But that’s the problem, Hunk! I have to go! It’s a McClain tradition…” It wasn’t, and I’d always been reluctant on going, up until those stupid hormones that made nearly everyone that went attractive as hell.
“Whatever you say, buddy. Just tell me if you’re going to the library when it happens. I’ll come over.”
Well, he in fact, did not come over, as exactly 24 hours after the ‘promise’, I’d already holed up with physics and astronomy textbooks, and two coffees that were meant for a horrible friend, who turned up late, then zoomed off when he had a so called emergency, which turned out to be his friend’s pet gerbils’ birth of four children.
The news of course made me more pissed. Rex’s gerbils – Tim and Tam – were the stars of Hunk’s little group of friends, and when I heard the news of Tam’s pregnancy, there was not a chance that I’d miss out on it. Yet, here I was, sulking in a corner of the school library, while Hunk was too busy cooing at baby gerbils to accompany me in my finals cramming session.
I, of course, couldn’t help but be distracted, as some fellow faithful patron of this library had smacked his head with a book in the American History section, only a row away from the isle I’ve been facing.
The mop of hair, the violet eyes that was briefly shown, the familiar voice that gave out a curse all came out to me. For once in his life, I’d probably not call him a mullet-head like I’d do behind his back, with Hunk and Pidge.
But as he’d hissed in pain while bending down to pick up the book he’d been prodding to take, it was just too much.
“Mullet-head, need help?”
Keith got up and looked around, before pointing towards himself, his eyes wide to show those rare purple eyes once again. Not wanting to feel exposed to them, I swallowed the swirling feeling within my stomach and smirked.
“Yeah, you.”
Keith scowled. “It’s not a mullet. And I tied it up.”
“Whatever, mullet. Why are you even here? I thought you’d be at the ball.” Where Shiro, who Keith was a right hand man of, would have the highest change of becoming prom king along with his girlfriend as the queen. The proverbial power couple that everyone had been obsessing over after they'd gone all romantic within the school.
“Just because Shiro’s graduating doesn’t mean I’d be there.” Keith said, the scowl lightening up into a lesser frown. “Why are you interested anyway? I don’t even know your name.”
“Name’s Lance, mullet.”
“Still. I don’t know you.” He said, with a strangely serious tone for a sixteen year old.
“We’re in the same class.”
“So?”
My heart could not take that many strikes. It was one thing for your crush to not know who you are, but it was another for them to not care. But Keith Kogane of all people could never know that I had a massive crush on him. Not even a hint. God knows what the to-be-captain would do to a guy crushing on him.
“Just wanna hang out. Talk a little bit.”
“Final’s in two weeks. Stop bothering people and study.”
Keith was still in that serious tone, that face still frowning, and his hand still covering the spot that the book had hit him, conveniently covering his left eye.
“But are you alright? Looked like a hard hit on your eye, there.” I said, trying not to sound desperate for conversation. It was worth the try.
But Keith marched off, probably to the other bunch of tables across the library after ignoring my offer. He would probably be thinking nothing about it, the spot healing a few minutes after while I moped for the entire studying session. First it was Shiro, then Allura, and now Keith.
When they say third time’s a charm, they really didn’t mean it about crushes, huh.
***
Hunk (cookies): I am so sorry!!!
I frowned. This wasn’t the first time Hunk had ditched me. I could even count how many times it was. Six. Six times since fifth grade when we’d first met. But I knew very well that Remorseful Hunk was a hard person to beat.
So, cut to the chase.
Me: It’s fine, Hunk, but you better have cookies ready this weekend…
Hunk (cookies): Of course!! And we’ll get extra chocolate chip for your batch
Me: God, its so hard to hate you. Even if you left me with mullethead
Hunk (cookies): THAT mullet head? Did you ask him out?
Me: Ok I think I am overestimating your loveliness
Hunk (cookies): loool but did you???
Me: He hates me.
Hunk returned with a frown emoji, which I related way too much. Another prom, another lonesome year.
How could I have even thought there was going to be anything different? Especially as the finals were just right around the corner?
The world was going to move on, and I’d be graduating in a year, never experiencing that fantasy of high school love I’d dreamed of as a freshman. But was that not the part of coming of age? Dreams, ambition and the ideal life all begin to collapse, leaving nothing but a hollow reality for me and the others to spend the rest of our lives in.
Hunk (cookies): I doubt it, he probably was just in a bad day
Then there was people like Hunk. Forever the optimist. Maybe I could be a person like that, to have hope in everything including my own future. If only…
If only.