Chapter Text
We're going to be late, we're going to be late! The thought pounded in his head relentlessly, a storm mixing and creating a torrential downpour of anxiety that left him sick. This could not be happening. Except it was, and that wasn't the only thing on his panicked mind. "I'm sorry! Lance, please man, say something!" The two barely squeezed through the door—it felt like they were in a cartoon, both trying to leave at the same time—and burst into the empty hallway. "Seriously, I didn't mean to! But you know how I am; I thought you'd be okay with it!" Normally, Lance had a moderate temper; not quite gentle or the most patient, but not always bursting with fiery anger either. Hunk especially had a hard time angering him, but as it turned out, this seemed to be one of the few occasions he might have.
"Hunk, please, now is not the time," Lance yawned out as he stopped his phone from falling out of his pocket. He picked up speed as they started running down the hallway of their dorm. "We've got a couple hours break between classes, we'll discuss the bad idea then, alright?" Lance didn't like being annoyed with his best friend turned dorm mate, but right now he was tired and somewhat unprepared for his first class of the year. "Look, I get out first so I’m going to practice a bit on the indoor basketball court until you get a break, meet me there, man." Now he was talking really fast, trying to keep up with the pace they were moving.
Hunk inwardly flinched but didn't push any further. It was obvious doing so would just make it worse. "Fine, fine." He should argue—how was it a bad idea? He thought it had been pretty efficient. But doing so now wouldn't be a good idea. Lance was already angry and they were going to be late if they didn't hurry.
They rounded the corner, sprinting down a small hall before rounding another. Silver elevator doors gleamed from the end of the hall along with the stairwell door, only catching black hair before it swung closed. "Elevator or stairs?"
Lance glanced over at Hunk, eyebrow raised. "Elevator; some dude is going down the stairs and I would not be above bulldozing him over right now," he half muttered as he slammed the down button kind of rocking on his heels, ready to jump in when the door opened, and doing just that, pushing the first floor button almost too fast, checking his phone. "We should have enough time if we bolt when it gets down."
"Right." Although at this point the idea of Lance bulldozing the poor person down wasn't as much of an issue to him as being late, he didn't want to argue or get the person hurt regardless. So he chose to stay silent, following him into the elevator. "I hope you're right about that. I don't want to be late." But Lance knew that, of course he knew that. How couldn't he with what had just happened? "We could be kicked out! And then we'd be stuck waiting in the hall for the whole class, or we're scolded in front of everyone. It—Maybe it would be kind of funny though." There was no heart to his tone as he chuckled weakly, quickly trailing off as the elevator halted. "Wait that wouldn't happen... right?"
Lance let out a sigh, relaxing a bit, "Nah, they wouldn't do that to us.” He grinned and winked, "Besides, I'm sure I could use this face to charm anyone to let us get to our first classes and be punished later, if not just let us off completely." He joked for the first time that morning.
He held his hand up for a fist bump when they got off the elevator. "Look, we'll talk about dorm rules later but for now let’s wish each other luck and get to class before we get stuck next to the annoying students in class."
The heaviness in Hunk's chest lifted at that, although the prickling in his stomach remained, connecting his own fist to Lance's. "Alright. Good luck and see you after class then, buddy." They didn't have to split up until they got to their first academic building, but it was good to get that off his chest.
Lance nodded, patting Hunk on the back before he picked up speed heading toward the buildings, "We'll do great, you got accepted on your own for studying, and I got in because people know I can beat any team, especially if I have to play against Mr. Showoff in the big field of games now." He grinned, determined now as they ran on toward their splitting part. He checked his watch again, "We have about fifteen minutes, I think we'll make it."
"Hopefully. And if not, I guess I better hope the professor isn't like Mr. Iverson from middle school. Do you remember him?" His breathing hitched, gasps interlacing some of his words, but not altogether uncomfortable. It had been a while since he last kept up the exercise routine he had in high school. Between moving and getting settled and finding a job, he really hadn't had time to. "Mean, scary, strict like a military sergeant; who always locked us out if we were late one time and was responsible for my only detention ever since elementary school?"
Lance visibly shivered at the mention of their old teacher, "Man, I hope not, I'd drop the class right then and there if any of them are like that. Thankfully I know my coach isn't going to be that bad." He slowed down his running a little bit, honestly being a bit out of shape as well. "Alright Hunk, we're around where we split ways for now, try to find the vending machine and get a bottle of water, it's college, they won't mind. You need it for your nerves and our running. We'll hang out, and make roommate rules later, good luck."
Hunk slowed down too. "Alright man. Good luck too, and Lance?" Raising an eyebrow, he grinned, a fair bit calmer now than he had been and even teasingly playful too, "Try to pay attention and not get in trouble. I'm not going to be there to bail you out this time." He rubbed the back of his head, "Or, well. Technically I bailed us out, but it was always your idea and, well...you know."
Lance laughed, waving at him as he headed off, "Hey I'll be fine, I don't know enough people here yet to get in trouble with them around," he reassured him. He glanced back and smiled, "Worry once I find someone cute to impress, or have a game against our old 'friend' alright? Good luck!"
Hunk nodded and waved back, turning away himself and starting to head towards a white building opposite of Lance's. "Got it. See you later." The bright smile dimmed once he was certain that Lance couldn't see. Although not quite happy, his smile wasn't sad either, merely weakened and doubtful. Would their old friend show up again? What if he wasn't playing basketball anymore? What would they do then? He didn't know, the idea upsetting, but not overly so. From that fateful, final game and their parting thereafter, he had already set himself on the path to move on. It was easier that way.
Lance glanced back once after he'd headed out in his direction, wanting to check on Hunk, but smiled when he saw he'd turned to head out. Lance took a deep breath then headed back off, ready to pay attention, do well in classes to play on the team. He'd be fine when got there, he was sure. He was okay enough to admit...he would feel better when practicing.
In the large white academic building, down the first hall to his left, past the first four doors on his right. Room 445. This is what Hunk repeated in his head, a mantra to ensure he didn't miss his first class of the day. It was okay. He wasn't late. There were a few minutes left until class started. He was fine. He was fine. He was—
The realization that the teacher wasn't there yet wasn't the first thing that hit him when he opened the door. In fact it was more of an afterthought as his mind tried to process the familiar presence of a woman with light brown hair and dark brown skin, blotted with tan. "S-Shay?!"
She turned, startled out of her conversation with a fellow student. Yellowish-amber eyes brightened, staring at Hunk with as much shock and familiarity that he felt. "Hunk?!"
Conversing, Hunk and Shay walked out of their classroom and towards the exit of the building. It was the perfect time to finish catching up, or to try to at least. As they were, however, a buzz in Hunk's pocket interrupted them. A text from Lance. Speaking of Lance... "I can't wait for you to meet Lance. I'm sure you'll love him. He should be in the library. Apparently there wasn't practice today because of some seniors throwing a party."
She smiled. "From the stories you've been telling me, I'm sure he and I will be friends as well," she assured him. "I'm actually really happy that it gives me people to spend time with here,” she added as they headed into the library, glancing up when she saw someone laying over a chair in the school’s basketball jersey, "Oh, uhm, would that happen to be your friend?"
Lance was sprawled out in a sofa chair in the library, legs over one of the arms, head over the other, reading some book, clearly dozing on and off slightly, with a pout on his face, slight mutterings of "Could have waited until a Saturday..." and "Seniors today are my enemy like alarms."
Hunk slowed down then, frowning a little at Lance's muttering. That's right. They were supposed to discuss the alarm issue. "Yeah, that's him. Hey, would you mind waiting here a second Shay?" It would be easier discussing it just privately between the two of them. "It'll just take a second."
She nodded, "It's completely fine, Hunk," she glanced back over at his friend, "He seems like he may need someone to talk to for a moment. I'll go check and see if they have a copy of a book I've been meaning to read, I'll come over to you both afterwards."
Lance sort of finally glanced up when caught onto Hunk's voice. He yawned and waved at him, not moving from his position in the chair, "Hey there buddy."
"Hey." Hunk smiled and fidgeted with one of the straps of his bag. "You...wanted to talk about this morning, didn't you?" Lance had said it was okay, but even still... He couldn't shake off the nervousness.
"I did, and look man, I know I was grumpy about it this morning, still annoyed a bit," Lance yawned mid-remark, "We've got to work on the rules for our room. We both have cell phones, I get you’re worried about them not going off so we'll figure out something, but dude, that many alarms before we had to get up.... it's gunna effect our sleep big time."
"Yeah, yeah I know." He brushed the back of his head and stared at the ground. "Sorry, just...you know. I panicked. It's a new place, new school. I'm...still kind of nervous about it actually. Really nervous. Do you really think there's a better way to do this?"
"Sure there is, maybe our phones set for when we have to get up, and then an actual alarm clock ten minutes later set across the room so we have to get up," Lance suggested, "that's how my brother and I used to do it back home before he headed out for college."
He gave it some thought, debating heavily for a few minutes, "You know. That might just work. Thanks, man." Hunk smiled widely and rubbed the back of his head again, "I'm sorry again for this morning. I really overreacted, huh?"
"You did," Lance agreed, shifting in his chair more comfortably, "You pay for pizza tonight and play me one on one on the outdoor basketball court this weekend, and you're forgiven." He smiled then pointed his thumb toward the library's checkout desk. "Your friend over there is staring at us worried, invite her over here?"
"Alright, sounds good." And, with the brightest, dorkiest smile, one that seemed to envelope the sun itself, Hunk turned towards where he left Shay. "Hey! You can come over now." A chorus of "shhhs" greeted his call, causing him to blush sheepishly, as if they were a part of a cartoon. "Sorry," he said to no one in particular, as those who shushed him had returned to their work, no longer paying attention.
Lance just cracked up, closing the book he'd been pseudo-reading, winking jokingly at Hunk's friend as she made her way over. He fake whispered to Hunk, "Embarrassing yourself that much in front of me and this lovely lady, you only have to pay for two thirds of our dinner." Before turning to Hunk's friend, "Nice to meet you."
Shay held back a slight laugh as she approached them, "Hello there, I hope I'm not in the way, even though you said it was fine for me to come over," she said a bit shyly as she sat in another of the chairs near them.
"Shay, this is Lance. Lance, this is Shay. Y'know, the childhood friend I've talked about before. Well, now that I've introduced you two, why don't we figure out something to do? We don't really have any homework yet aside from the required reading, so a studying session feels like a waste." What could they do? "Oh! Let's go grab some lunch." They had gone through two classes already, making it around lunch time any ways. And he, at least, didn't have any more classes for another few hours.
Lance and Shay greeted each other properly, then waiting to see if she'd agree to spend time with them for lunch, Lance packed up his things. "That sounds good to me, we need a lot of food to handle the rest of this afternoon. I think one of the campus cafes is nearby, the food smelled good on the way here so it’s worth a shot." He looked at Hunk and grinned, "Shay and I can bond over embarrassing stories, huh buddy? We can also tell her about how we were really good at high school basketball, even my main rival was scared of us." Lance was aware he was exaggerating a bit on that last part, but hey if it made the story more fun.
Hunk chuckled as they strolled out of the library, drawing out the first word of his reply. "Right, embarrassing stories...let's just keep that to a minimum. Unless that means I'm suddenly allowed to talk about all the times you embarrassed yourself flirting.”
Lance frowned, looking a way, face a bit red, "People just don't always seem to understand where I'm coming from with my flirting ways, who knows, maybe people here on campus will... or something..."
Shay just smiled at them, turning to Hunk, "I'm so glad you've found a friend this close to you Hunk."
"Yeah, well..." Hunk averted his attention back to Shay, ignoring Lance's trailed off mumbling. "I-I'm glad too, but I'm happy to see you too."
She smiled back at him and the group of three continued on into the cool evening air. Haloing them, light poured out behind them as they walked, and eventually they made it to the cafe. There, they grabbed their food—Hunk breaking out into a rant about how sporks were clearly superior when their conversation turned towards cutlery—and caught up.
---
The boredom that permeated the room was like a sickness, only a few immune to its wake. A particular student, located far back in the lecture hall, was no exception as they absentmindedly sketched in the margins of their notes. He hated this. Why did he have to take this awful class? So that he could be thrown into some stuffy suit with a tight collar and scratchy clothes if his art career didn't take off? No thanks. Sure he needed a backup plan, but business management? He should have chosen something like astrophysics or astrology or something. Anything would be better than this.
He sighed, pressing his pencil down hard enough to leave angry black marks as the professor droned on about the meticulous nature of financing. The ticking of the clock filled his head, counting down to when he'd finally be released from this monotonous hell. Tick. -Tap-. Tick. -Tap-. Tick. -Tap-.
"Mr. Altearia, can you please stop that incessant tapping of yours?"
Ah. It took him a second to comprehend what was said, and another to start inwardly—and maybe outwardly too—seething. Not only was the pronunciation wrong, the professor had left off the one part of his last name that actually belonged to him. "It's Altearia, not Altearia. And you left off the other half." He snapped under his breath. "Yeah, sure." This time he responded loud enough for the professor to hear him, along the annoyance in his tone. The professor knew about his ~quirks~ —he quietly gagged at the thought of his stims being described in such a way, but at this point it was obvious that his councilor wasn’t going to budge on this, and he really didn't want to get expelled over such an argument. Not when he had already fought this and failed before. So he dropped the subject. Besides, it was more fruitful and satisfying by making the disability department’s life a living hell when it came to him versus the alternative. It strengthened his point.
Another person declaring the end of class and the professor concluding their thought interrupted his thoughts and prompted him to start gathering his things. Quietly he debated confronting the professor before deciding against it as a yawn bubbled up in his throat. If it was an issue again later, he'd confront them. But for now he was too tired and wanted to get home.
He slipped out of the room full of students making plans, solitude enveloping him well into the night.
--
It was when he was back in his dorm when his phone buzzed in his pants pocket. "...Hello?"
"Hey, it's Shiro," the voice on the other end of the line spoke, "Just got off work and haven't spoken to anyone yet. Wanted to call and see how day one of classes went, and see how you've settled in your dorm."
"Shiro?" His voice lifted while he tossed his bag down by his bunk bed and flopped onto the mattress. It squeaked under him. "Hey, it's been a while." Or at least felt like it. "Today's been what you expect it. Average. Kind of boring, actually. We haven't started anything in my art class yet, so there's that. Oh. And Business Management is probably one of the worse choices I've ever made for a minor. Already day one and I hate the teacher and one of the courses."
Shiro huffed out a laugh, "You'll get the hang of it, Keith, and maybe they have another teacher for it you can transfer to, if it doesn't affect your major," he encouraged. "Try to relax if you can, get to know some of the other students, oh and I forgot to mention, you know you can call any of us here if you need something. We could be there in an hour tops."
"Mm..." Rolling onto his stomach, Keith hugged the pillow with one arm and rested his head. "You sound like a mother." A half laugh, if not a little faint, muffled by the pillow and stifled by something stuck in his throat. He shifted again and cleared his throat. "Anyways, you know me; I'm not just going to switch out of a class 'cause of a teacher. And no I haven't met or talked to anyone yet. I might be getting a roommate, though. Not sure. Apparently they're a special case, so they're not here yet, and I don't know their name."
"Why does everyone say something like that when I worry..." Shiro laughed back, "But yes, I know you're like that, so good luck, be sure to take pictures of what you make when the art classes start. Also, don't forget to check in once in a while just to call." His 'mother' tone came back, "Try to explore a bit though when you are more used to being there, make friends, who knows, maybe a more than friend?" his tone turned teasing with that last part.
"Yes Mom. Though I'm still not sure about the whole friend thing," he replied. "Wait, what?!" His face heated up, "C'mon, really? You know that's not going to happen." He wasn't interested at the moment. "I just want to focus on art."
"I know, I know," Shiro conceded, "But the friends thing, just try it out if you find people you would enjoy spending time with, but yes, focus on your art. It's your passion and it's why you're there. Do your best and enjoy those classes when they start."
Keith sighed softly, closing his eyes, "Right. Alright. Oh c'mon Shiro, you know me. I was the top of my classes." Even the boring ones, no matter how hard it was to concentrate. A chuckle, "I'll be fine."
"You're right," Shiro agreed, "You will be, but still, any trouble and call." he reminded him again. "I'm going to let you go soon. Let you get settled and eat dinner, that's another thing, make sure to eat and stay hydrated! Anything you need before we end call?"
"Yeah yeah. I will." It wasn't that Shiro was overbearing, or truly like a parental figure; he just tended to...over worry. "Mmm, nope. Just tell everyone that I'm alright and that I'll see everyone for Thanksgiving."
"Don't worry, I will, and make sure to call or text everyone also," Shiro added, "when you get time of course. Oh, and if you decide to come to visit a weekend before then, let me know so I can try to get off work." He paused then laughed, "Make sure to try out the gym not too far from campus if you get a chance."
"Will do. And I'll call everyone tomorrow." Keith yawned, "I'll talk to you later. G'night, Shiro."
"Alright, good night Keith," Shiro bid him well, "Get some rest, and good luck with the teacher giving you trouble."
He clicked the phone off and laid there for a while, trying to summon the energy to move. Finally he pushed himself up and headed over to the microwave and mini fridge, taking out a TV dinner. If this was how life was going to be from now on, then it definitely was going to be interesting.
---
Lance grabbed a bag of chips and sodas from their shelf and fridge respectively. "Okay, snacks and caffeine ready on my end. Now, where is that textbook I needed..." he muttered the last part to himself as he dug around, finding his English book and science books folded together somehow inside his basketball jersey. He shrugged and shoved them into his bag. "Alright Hunk, ready to head down to the study group?"
Hunk hoisted a bag over his shoulder, "Yup, ready. Hopefully they're both not there already."
Lance smiled as they headed down, "Eh it'll be fine! Shay doesn't mind when we're a bit late, and the new kid'll just glare at us over their glasses and complain not to help us study today."
"True." There was a pause, although the silence was not unwelcome or awkward. "Speaking of—I still can't believe they're that young. Like... How old were they again? 14? 15? When I was that age, I was still freaking out about whether or not our team was gonna make the cut for the basketball tournament."
"Think bordering on 15," Lance confirmed, then nodded. "You're telling me man; that was about the time we got our biggest competitor too. Such simple times for us, and here we are headed out to be taught by an actual kid genius." He laughed at that part as they headed out. "And seriously don't worry about it being too late, the meeting place is like a block away."
"Yeah. I never thought I'd see the day." A soft smile graced Hunk's lips at that, "Alright. Though I think something could still make us late...."
Lance just shrugged as they walked, "Nah, we'll be fine, as long as no one attractive comes into our path. If so then I apologize buddy but I have to at least say hi and let them know I exist."
Hunk laughed, "Sorry, but if that happens I'm leaving you behind."
"Oh don't be that mean;" Lance laughed with him, "but don't worry I know these stuffy groups are important for all of us."
Hunk reached into his pocket and pulled out a granola bar, taking a bite. "Hey, we all know that when you start flirting, it's nearly impossible to get your attention again."
"Okay, but only if the person is really sweet AND really pretty or handsome at the same time, you can't deny me that chance," Lance grinned, offering him one of the drinks he packed as they got closer to the study group's meeting place, "Besides, we're almost there and I've not flirted with anyone yet."
"Oh, I'm not. Like I said, I'll just go on ahead and tell everyone that you'll be late while you get a date." Hunk shrugged, "But yeah, true. I will give you that."
Lance just smiled at him, "See? That's the spirit buddy," he blinked then looked at the clock on his phone, "all joking aside, we really are going to be late, come on."
"Ah, right! Coming!" Anxiety prickling away, twisting in his gut and shaking his hands, Hunk ended up leading as they started hurrying along.
Lance nodded, following after him, patting his back, "Don't worry Hunk, if we miss any of the study time we can do extra when back to dorm later."
Hunk smiled at his friend's attempt at reassurance, "Alright."
---
"Yeah they just went to a study group." A chair swiveled, gliding across wooden flooring as its occupant searched for tubes of paint. "And before you say anything, I didn't go because I'm not in the same classes. Besides, you know I study better alone."
There was light laughter from the other end of the phone, "I'm aware of that, Keith. When I would try to help you study, you'd tell me right quickly to leave it be." the person paused for a moment, "but if they ask you to hang out otherwise, do say yes if you feel up to it."
He shifted the phone and cradled it between his shoulder and ear, watching as he mixed vibrant hues of yellow, silver, and bronze. "Yeah, yeah sure. I'll probably be too busy though. The school hosts an annual art show and contest so it's going to take up most of my time."
"You'll have to let everyone know when they'll be on display," was heard through the phone, "I may not be able to get to the contest, but I'd love to be able to see it in school's gallery one of the days! At the very least I want pictures taken of it hanging up!"
Keith chuckled lightly and dipped his paintbrush, "Yeah, will do. I'll have to check how long they stay up though. I think it's about a month?"
"Oh that's wonderful, I'll be able to come by on a day off then, hopefully everyone else can come with me," the person said cheerfully, "Maybe I can meet your roommate, they sound very nice!"
"I'm not sure nice is the right word..." Keith set down his brush, "But yeah I'm sure you'll like them. Hopefully anyways. Just be careful with what you say, or they might throw it back at you," he chuckled again.
"I... I'm not quite sure how to respond to that," there was confusion in the person's voice, "however I am positive I will enjoy having them tell me things you are most likely leaving out when I ask about your college experiences."
"Don't worry about it. You'll see what I mean later." Keith leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, "Well, be prepared to be disappointed then. I'm not leaving anything out." Then again, there was nothing to leave out yet.
There was another light laugh, "I don't think you're hiding anything, I just know sometimes others may notice little interesting facts that you don't notice yourself. That would be fun to hear about I think."
He raised an eyebrow. "What? Like what?"
"Nothing much, like your sleep pattern or if you work on your art way too late," were a few teasing suggestions given, but it was clear they were also a bit serious, "I'll admit we're all a bit worried, like everyone was when I headed to college for my first semester."
Something in him tugged at that. "Don't worry," he said with a frown. "I'll be fine. This isn't like my first day of high school, you know. I haven't yelled at a professor. I haven't gotten suspended. No one has docked my grades because I was being too..." he hesitated, "hot-headed. I'm older now, and, well, I'm just more suited for the college life. All of my classes are in the morning, one or two in the afternoon, they're all mainly art and science related, and my roommate lets me have my space. Although, sometimes we do watch alien movies with each other."
"Then I am truly happy that you are doing so well! And that's so great that you and your roommate have found a common interest," there was laughter in the person's voice again, "I'm sure you have a lot of interesting conversations thanks to that."
Keith huffed out a laugh as well, "Yeah. Yeah I suppose we do. We...may or may not have had a few conversations discussing on whether or not aliens exists. I'm not going to get into specifics here," after all, if he did he'd probably go on about it for quite some time, "but if it's brought up when you visit, well there's your context for that."
"Hmm, I think I know well enough where you stand on if they exist or not." there was still a smile in the other's voice, "It will be fun to see how you two agree and differ on it."
"Warning, you'll be sitting there for hours," Keith stretched out in his chair and smiled. "Anyways, I think it's time I get back to my art. Talk to you later."
"Alright, get back to it then, I'll call you again soon. Good luck."
--
Shay blinked as she looked up from her textbook to Lance and Hunk where Lance was explaining why they were late. "Right, I still do not see how you discussing possibly running into someone cute, made you five minutes late to meet with us," she laughed, having gotten used to their antics by now.
"Heh heh, y-yeah..." Hunk rubbed the back of his head, freezing as their short friend spoke next.
"Somehow, I'm not surprised." They cracked out a smile and their eyes twinkled under thin-rimmed glasses. "Don't worry about it. Just don't be late next time."
Lance rolled his eyes at them, but was grinning as he laid out his books, passing out sodas and snacks, "Oh lay off Pidge, we're not that bad. Besides, we come bearing gifts!"
Pidge picked up a small bag of pretzels, inspecting it. "Are we even allowed to have food in here?" They've had study groups here before, but normally they didn't have snacks with them.
"Y-yeah. At least I think so. That's what the librarian said when we asked... Right? We did ask her, right?" Hunk twiddled his thumbs in front of him, "Yeah, yeah we did. We just couldn't eat around the computers, right?"
Lance just waved his hand in a dismissive manner, "Oh don't worry about all that, the librarian thinks I'm adorable," he explained as he got a few pretzels, "As long as it's nothing messy we're fine."
Shay nodded, "Well if you two are sure...." she hesitated before getting a couple of the pretzels herself.
Shrugging, Pidge grabbed their own bag and opened it, tossing a few into their mouth. “If you say so. Now, let’s get started.”
"Alright, let’s start studying then," Lance agreed as he finally settled down between them and Hunk, "So about this..."
--
A few weeks later, Lance was dribbling the ball a bit on his own, trying to toss a few baskets after the rest of the team had left practice. He was really good, but there were members of his team and other teams that were better. He also wanted to be ready if he ever competed against their old rival from middle and high school. He sighed to himself as he packed up to head out. He paused with drinking his water, when he saw what looked like the hair of aforementioned rival go past one of the windows. "I.... I'm nuts.... oh boy I have to tell Hunk about this. He's going to tease me but I have to...." he mumbled to himself as he ran out toward where the group was meeting to study.
--
“Lance?”
Hunk stared at his friend as, next to him, Pidge and Shay slowly stood up from their chairs. Watching Lance huff out trembling breaths, Hunk slowly walked towards his friend and laid a hand on his shoulder. Deep, trembling sapphire eyes met his own, shooting swirling questions into his head. Faintly, Hunk heard Pidge speak up, but didn't catch all of what they had said.
“—kay? Did you run all the way here?”
"I....fine...." Lance panted as he rested an arm on the side of Hunk's shoulder to catch his breath, then he looked up still wide eyed, "Saw....hair....Hunk! After practice.... saw walking..." he paused to guzzle down a bottle of water Shay had handed him. He took a breath then spoke very quickly, "Hunk help, I'm going crazy, no way he's here, saw hallucination go past window outside of gym!"
“Whoa, whoa, calm down buddy. Here,” Hunk took Lance’s hand off his shoulders, holding both his arms in his firm grip. “I’m going to take him aside to calm down, we’ll be right back.” With nods from both of their friends, Hunk led his friend off to the corner of the library and sat him down in one of the beanbag chairs. “Lance, breathe. What are you talking about? What did you see?”
Lance nodded, leaning into the beanbag a bit, finally catching his breath, "Okay, okay so.... I was finishing solo practice as everyone left. I was getting something to drink, and that's when I saw it! Longer but I saw his hair man!" he said in a screaming tone but quiet voice. "There is no way he is here, but I saw him!!!" He paused, blinking, "Okay so I was maybe thinking about him.....and then like I think my mind created an illusion, but I totally saw him!"
Hunk crossed his arms, leaning back, “Okay, for one that’s not how that works. Two," now he leaned forwards, "are we talking about Keith? Like the Keith? Mullet-man Keith? And you legitimately saw him?” There was no possible way he was there—last time they talked, Keith hadn’t even said anything about college—and yet here they were, discussing the possibility that Lance just saw their long lost friend. “No way, there’s no way dude. What are even the chances that he would have attended the same school as us? Last time we saw him, he hadn’t even decided on a college! And we hadn’t even told him which college we were going to!” He raised his arms in exasperation before bringing them down so his hands pushed squarely down on his thighs.
Lance nodded along to everything Hunk said, then pointed at him. "Exactly! That's exactly my point and why it was an illusion or something! Like I know I'd recognize Keith anywhere, right? So that had to be it, because he can't have come to this school. If he was going here, he'd have been to the gym at least. Even if like somehow his skills didn't get him on the team, he'd be playing for fun or something!" Lance stopped for a moment and sighed, "I'm telling ya man, it's gotta be me hallucinating him since I haven’t found the team he's playing for yet!"
Putting a hand to his chin, Hunk closed his eyes with a frown, “Well you are the right age… No.” He sighed. “Lance, do you know how rare those kind of hallucinations are? You probably just saw someone that looked like him. But I’ll look out for him, and if you notice any drastic change in your own behavior or something, tell me. I’m still only a student but I can at least consult my teacher.”
"Right....yeah that's probably it...." Lance thought for a minute, then shook his head. "Going to keep a look out on my part also though. I'm telling ya I know that hair style and color! I know his head profile shape...whatever." Lance explained, completely missing how almost stalkerish that sounded. "We'll work together, yeah? And, let’s not tell Pidge and Shay in detail about this, especially Pidge... They'll tease me non-stop about it!"
“Agreed. And I know, I know buddy. If he is here, I want to know why he gave up basketball.” Hunk pushed himself up, “Wasn’t he, like, super passionate about it once we hit our last year of middle school and then all throughout high school?”
"Yes! He was so good at changing plans when he needed to!" Lance beamed, "We were so good against him and him against us. I need to play against him again, and if he's here that means I can't so we have to figure this out! I am positive it's him!"
“Couldn’t you play an unofficial one-on-one game with him? Though if he’s here and not playing basketball then maybe that’s really not possible?” What if he no longer liked it?
"Okay yeah, that's....yeah that would work!" Lance reasoned, "So for now we look out for him, maybe see if we can find him, sure his name is somewhere in a pic on his uniform...." He smiled over at Hunk, "On our down time, and days we don't have study group, we will look into this!"
Hunk nodded, “Yeah. Yeah sounds good. Now let's get back before they start to worry.”
Lance nodded, relaxing a bit as they headed back over to the others, and he'd not admit to Hunk, but he may be secretly looking around and through any window nearby for Keith.