Chapter Text
The knife missed, hitting the brick wall next to his face and causing a few bits of it to crumble to the cement. His chest heaved as he raised his leg and kicked the guy away a few feet. He felt the brick jab into his back, he knew it could potentially make him bleed but he had more pressing issues at the moment; such as the guy trying to beat the crap out of him right now.
“Your aim sucks,” He said, yanking the knife out of the wall.
The guy spat some blood out, “You have nothing on me, what are you going to do?” The guy taunted, lunging at him. Keith dodged it, moving to the side and using the knife to barely graze his arm; a warning cut.
He turned and flipped the knife in his hand; reverse grip with the blade in, like his mom had taught him. “Unlike you, I don’t miss,” Keith said.
Harlow’s eyes glared through him, his chest rising and falling as anger seeped through his body, his chest rose and fell as he clenched his teeth. He clutched his arm, the blood staining his white shirt. Keith smirked at the sight of his eyes widening.
Then he heard a car pull up behind him, the familiar sound of tires causing him to turn around. He heard Harlow run at the sight of the police car, the sound of his weight against the pebbled floor dissipating the further he went.
Keith tossed the knife to the side and placed his hands behind his head, closing his eyes against the red and blue lights.
“Again Kogane? Second time this week that you’re getting a disorderly conduct charge,” The officer said as she got out of the car. “You’re not a cop,” She said as she placed the cuffs onto Keith’s wrist one at a time.
“No one else was trying to get this guy,” He said, rolling his eyes as he was escorted to the back of the police car. It was common for him to end up in the back of a cop car on a Thursday night.
“We don’t have enough evidence. Keep up this vigilante act and your brother will have both our heads.”
—
Walking into the station, Keith received a few waves and a few eye rolls. He did the usual stuff, another mugshot (his second of the month), taking his phone, house keys, and pocket knife, and checking his fingerprints.
“Have anything else on you? I don’t feel like doing a full body search,” The officer said, placing her hands on her hips.
He sat on a chair in an interrogation room, the cup of water in front of him swayed a little as he adjusted his still-cuffed hands on the table. He sat slumped, staring up at the light in the center of the room. It was hot in there, he could feel small droplets of sweat sticking the parts of his bangs to his forehead.
“I carry the same three things,” He said, keeping his eyes fixed on the light.
“If only all arrests were like you, maybe less frequent,” she chuckled a little, “I am going to grab your brother, pray to whatever god you believe in,” She said.
He zoned out while staring at the light, fiddling with his snake bites with his teeth.
Harlow .
He had assaulted yet another girl, but because the evidence was severely lacking, they couldn’t take legal action. Seventh girl he had traumatized and Keith has been going after him since the fourth. Today, he had found him standing outside a park and Keith trailed him to that alley. He could’ve caught him if it weren’t for Lieutenant Palacios.
He knew better than to run from the cops. His brother was a captain and would have his head on a pike if he ever even thought about running.
“Keith.”
He glanced his head up and saw his brother standing there with his arms crossed, holding onto his backpack and looking down at him with disappointment.
“Hi Shiro,” He greeted. He held his wrists up, “Wanna take these off?” he asked.
Shiro rolled his eyes as he dropped the backpack onto the table and began to unlock each wrist. “I have half the mind to leave you here for the night,” He muttered.
“You wouldn’t.”
“I should.”
It was silent between them, all the way to their small two-bedroom apartment. It was at the top of the building, Keith trudging just a foot behind Shiro, who walked with the top part of his uniform over his shoulder. Keith was mentally preparing himself for the lecture he was going to receive the moment they walked into the door.
“Shiro–” He began the moment the door closed and the shoes were off.
“Go to your room.”
“But Shiro–”
“Don’t argue-”
“Listen to me-”
“Keith!” He shouted and Keith froze. Shiro took a deep breath, “Go to your room, I will talk to you in a few minutes,” He said and without another word, or even sound, Keith went to his room, carefully shutting the door behind him.
He dropped his backpack on the floor, staring down at the carpet as he stood there. The moment he closed his eyes, he simply flopped forward on his bed, not bothering to change or even adjust himself from the stiff position he was in. He felt the fluff of his black great pyrenees.
“Hi Kosmo,” He said, his voice muffled into his pillow. The dog jumped onto the bed and rested his head on Keith’s leg. He tilted his head to the side and reached down, petting him a little.
His room was dark- as per usual. He couldn’t see the band posters that he had half-hung on his walls, but he could feel the soft black sheets under his fingertips. He could smell the eucalyptus air freshener that Shiro had a small addiction to spraying around their apartment.
He heard his door crack open– he didn’t bother moving– and he felt the weight of his bed shift as Shiro sat down next to him.
“Keith, I’m sorry for snapping,” He said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I worry about you, you’re my brother– my little brother. If you were to get hurt doing something irresponsible–”
“It’s not irresponsible,” He said, his voice muffled in the mattress.
“It is dangerous,” He corrected, “You’re seventeen Keith, you’re not supposed to be out crime fighting. If you got hurt, I would never forgive myself. Your parents would never forgive me,”
“They’re dead, their forgiveness isn’t important and they wouldn’t blame you even if they were alive,” He muttered as he began sitting up. The light filtered in from the hallway, and he could see a cup of tea sitting on the counter, probably where Shiro was sitting.
“Your mom’s rap sheet is nothing compared to yours. I think, if anything, she’d be impressed– not my point,” Shiro said. “You need to be careful and safe. This isn’t a debatable topic either, if I catch you, or if anyone catches you again, you’ll end up in juvie.”
“I know,” Keith said, looking to the side. “I’ll be more careful.”
“Thank you,” He said, standing up. He patted his shoulder, “I love you, kid, don’t forget about your Chemistry test tomorrow,” He said as he turned to leave.
“Crap,” He mumbled.
“You forgot?” Shiro questioned, quickly turning around.
Keith smiled half-assed, “Maybe,” He said, slowly pulling out his chemistry textbook from under his bed. He has used it for every assignment since the semester started (about two months ago) and decided to keep it there for easy access.
“Do you understand the content?”
“Mostly– to be fair, Mr. Holt just skimmed over extensive and intensive properties, so I’ll just look at those.”
“It’s unlike Sam to just skim over things, I can give him a call–”
“No, thank you-” Keith said as he found the page, “I can figure it out on my own.” He said, slightly muttering to himself and using his finger to follow along the words.
Shiro sighed, looking down at Keith with a small smile, “You always do. Come get me if you need anything.”
Keith nodded, waving him off as he skimmed over the definition and examples.
—
He was half-asleep walking into his first period, energy drink in one hand and phone in the other. He was skimming over his notifications as he sat at his desk– the one in the far back, with a slightly wobbly chair and scribbles and inappropriate engravings all over the desk. He also enjoyed it because the desks surrounding him were empty. They were partner desks and luckily for him, he only had one friend.
“Did you sleep?”
“Did you ?” Keith asked as Pidge dropped her bag and plopped into the seat next to him, her energy drink was the same brand as his, Monster Energy , his was the Ultra Red while hers was the Ultra Paradise. They became friends over this.
“Touche,” Pidge muttered. “Study?” She asked, placing her headphones back into their case.
“Reviewed extensive and intensive properties, I do not understand the difference but I’ll still pass the test without it,” Keith said as he began to play Plants Vs. Zombies on his phone.
“My dad told me that you got arrested again last night,” She said under her breath. Keith huffed as he continued to play his game. More students filtered into the classroom, sitting in their designated seats. “What did you do this time?”
“Saw Harlow at a park last night, trailed him to an alleyway, and…” He motioned to the bruise on his upper arm. It barely peeked through his shirt and if any of his teachers didn’t know his disciplinary record, they would think he’s being abused with the amount of bruises he shows up with.
“Did you get him?” She asked, pulling out her calculator.
“All I got was another misdemeanor,” He muttered. “Shiro said if I get another I’ll be classified as a repeat offender and end up in juvie,” He said as he won that round and closed off his phone.
He pulled out his calculator as well as she watched his movements carefully. “That would suck,” She said, adjusting her round glasses, he nodded in agreement. The bell rang, but students continued talking.
“On a positive note,” She started and Keith glanced over at her with a curious look. “My dad said our next unit is heavily physics-based.”
“We’re starting the nuclear unit?” He asked as the corner of his lip quirked up.
She nodded, “With half-lives and everything ,” She said. He tapped the tips of his fingers on his thighs. “Massive emo nerd,” She muttered.
“ I’m the nerd? Have you met yourself?”
“I’m a genius, not a nerd.”
“Only nerds skip two entire grades.”
“Only nerds get excited about nuclear chemistry.”
“I hate you.”
“I hate you too,” She grinned as her father tapped on the board a few times to catch the students' attention. He was scruffy, a slight beard growing which he fiddled with. He glanced to the side and then to Keith and Pidge in the far back. His eyes moved to the paper in his hand.
“Okay, so I don’t feel like giving a test today–” A few whispers erupted. “ So instead we will be doing makeup work because the majority of you are missing assignments from this unit,” Mr. Holt glanced at a few certain students, “The test is being moved to Monday so you all have the weekend to study, because most of you didn’t.”
“Mr. Holt, I did,” A student said and Mr. Holt rolled his eyes.
“I’m sure you did,” He muttered, flipping through the papers in his hand. “I’ll be grading, so feel free to come up and–” He was cut off by the door suddenly flying open. A tall guy walked in, his hands in the air, an even taller, stocky guy followed behind him, recording him with a phone. He strode toward the teacher with full confidence, the other guy following behind.
He turned around with a large grin. “Hi, name’s Lance, that’s Hunk, we’re the transfers,” He said, holding his hand out for Mr. Holt, who stood in shock.
Once the shock passed, Mr. Holt held his hand in front of the camera, “You’re not allowed to record on campus, please delete that footage,” He said. Hunk quickly put his phone away, shoving it into his pocket. “Let me check my roster, do you two have a schedule?” He asked, heading back to his desk.
“The counselor said that she would send them to you,” Hunk said, as Lance looked around the classroom. He turned back and nodded. Keith glanced over at Pidge, who was intensely staring at them.
“It seems to me that she did,” Mr. Holt glanced at the class, his glasses sitting at the tip of his nose, “Get to work, or else I’ll double the questions on the test,” He threatened. The students quickly began working on whatever was in front of them.
“That was obnoxious,” Pidge muttered as she pulled out her laptop. Keith nodded, skimming over his study guide.
“To say the least,” He muttered, glancing up and seeing that Pidge was now playing Minecraft on her computer.
“Oh actually, do you remember the significant figures division and multiplication rules?” She asked. “I can’t find my notes from that day and my dad refuses to give them to me,” She muttered, side-eyeing her dad who was now printing schedules.
“Yeah, the answer should have the same amount of significant figures as the smallest number that is being divided…” He trailed off when he saw the two loud students begin to sit at the desk in front of them.
“So the same thing as addition and subtraction?” She questioned, still focused on her game. “Damn Creepers,” She muttered as one blew up next to her.
He fiddled with the corners of the paper. His eyes were looking down at it but he was not reading it, “No, for addition and subtraction, it’s the one with the smallest amount of decimal spaces,” He said.
“Ah, that’s the only thing I was missing from my study guide,” She said, jotting down a few things on the paper next to her computer.
“So, who are you guys?” The taller one turned around. What was his name again? Langley? Landon? Something like that.
Keith glanced up and then looked back down.
“Uh, hello?” He repeated. The other guy tapped his shoulder.
“I don’t think they want to talk to you buddy,” He said.
“Everyone wants to talk to me, Hunk. I’m Lance friggin’ McClain,” He said. Oh, his name is Lance. Right. He leaned in closer and looked at the paper Keith was. “That’s a lot of numbers and big words.”
Keith slid the paper closer to himself and backed up a bit. He glanced up and saw his eyes staring directly at him. Bright and blue and just below were freckles dancing along the sunkissed skin.
“Can I help you?” He asked, backing up even more.
“Yes, I’m looking for a number,” He said. Keith scrunched his brows and saw the other guy put his face in his hands.
“A number? For what?”
“Your number. To talk to you.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Keith mumbled, returning to his review.
“Yes it does!” He said. Keith ignored him. “I think I know you,” He continued, resting his head on his palms.
“No, you don’t.”
“What middle school did you go to?”
Keith stayed quiet, willfully ignoring him.
“Was it Garrison Middle? I went there before I moved.”
No response. Keith just continued looking over the differences between extensive and intensive.
“I think you did, I would remember that haircut from anywhere.”
“I'm surprised you could think,” Keith muttered, earning a chuckle from Pidge.
“Why were you recording?” Pidge asked, noticing they were unrelenting in their attempts to talk to them.
“I’m famous,” Lance grinned, grinning from ear to ear.
“He’s about to reach five hundred thousand followers,” Hunk added.
“And soon, it’ll be a million,” He said, crossing his arms.
“Very cool,” Keith said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
Lance huffed, “Anyway, what’re you doing?” He asked, leaning over the desk once again. “What’s precipitate?” He asked.
“You don’t know?” Keith said, not bothering to glance up. He bit his bottom lip, fidgeting with the snakebites once more.
“No, of course I do!” He said, furrowing his brows, “It’s…” He glanced down at Keith’s paper, “It’s an aquatic solution,” He confidently said.
“You mean aqueous ?”
“No!” He said, glancing again at the paper. “I mean, yeah! That!” He said, raising his voice. Hunk face-palmed again.
“Pidge, stop playing Minecraft!” Mr. Holt said from his desk. Pidge immediately glanced to the side with a nervous smile, her hands floating above the keys. She closed out the tab and opened one with some random assignment.
“How’d he know?” Hunk whispered.
“He calls it his dad-lepathy,” Pidge grumbled.
“Dad-lepathy?” Hunk questioned.
“Dad plus telepathy, hence dad-lepathy,” Pidge said.
“He’s your dad?!” Lance asked. “I love DILFs,” He said, looking over at Mr. Holt. Pidge gagged, suddenly finding interest in her work.
“He is also your teacher ,” Hunk pointed out.
“I don’t see how that’s relevant,” Lance said, waving him off. “Anyway, is this for a test or something? Mr. Hot–”
“ Holt ,” Pidge corrected.
“No, I meant what I said,” She rolled her eyes as Lance continued talking. “He mentioned a test, but we’re excused because we just joined,” He said, smiling wide.
“Lucky you,” Keith said sarcastically. His eyes skimmed over the same section, over and over again. He’ll get the differences down before Monday hopefully.
“He did give us a study guide so we have the content for the midterms,” Hunk said, holding up the piece of paper that he had already started working on.
“Yeah, but it’ll be no problem,” He swiped his hand through the air, “I’ll breeze through it, atoms and matter are the easiest by far,” He said.
“Do you ever stop talking?” Keith asked, glaring up at him.
Lance placed a hand on his chest, an offended look on his face. “No, I don’t.”
“He really doesn’t,” Hunk added. “He talks enough for both of us, honestly.”
Keith heard him continue talking but actively ignored it. He started thinking about Harlow again, what he could be doing right now. If he could devise a plan and get him arrested without getting arrested, he could avoid juvie and get justice for those girls.
He just needed an excuse to leave the apartment tonight.
“Pidge, are you busy tonight?” He turned, interrupting whatever Lance was saying about his skin routine.
Lance rested his cheek onto his pond and stared at Keith. “I’m not,” He said with a smirk. Keith ignored him once again.
“No, why?” She asked. “I know Matt and ‘lura are going over,” She said, typing away at one of her English assignments. Passion Protect: Why are we exploring the seas when the skies exist? And Keith saw multiple pages written so far. “Do you wanna hangout?” She asked before he could say anything else.
“Yes,” Keith said in a certain tone, which he hoped Pidge understood.
“Okay,” She said, dragging out the ‘Y’. “I’ll sneak in Matt’s car or something,” She said, giving him a side eye.
“Can I come?” Lance asked.
“No,” Keith said.
“Great, I’ll be there at six.”
“You don’t know where I live– I don’t know you.”
“You can get to know me,” He smirked.
“I’m fine.”
Lance looked him up and down, “Yes, you are.”
Keith rolled his eyes and began ignoring him once more.