Idol Love : After Hours

Chapter 15

Once they're back in the dressing room, and the doors are closed, Lance breaks down. Not in tears though, just panic. He runs his hands through his hair and takes a deep breath trying to breathe. The pacing begins and he starts to ramble, "I'm sorry, I panicked. I didn't know how to explain and I-"

"Lance," Keith calls out, trying to stop the rambling.

"Keith, I panicked again and I-"

He grabs Lance's hands and holds them tight, "Breathe," They take a deep breath together, "I'm still here, I'm still wearing the ring, we're still together. I know you panicked and that's fine."

"It is?"

"Yes," Keith stares into Lance's eyes.

"You're not mad?"

Keith smiles, a gentle warm feeling radiating off of him, "No."

The other raises a cautious brow, "Really?"

"Really," He nods and pulls the other into a hug.

Lance cautiously wraps his arms around Keith's figure. He takes in a deep measured breath. His mind begins to wander, but it doesn't wander to a good place. His head fills with the negative which sends him into a panic again, "What about the tabloids? The gossip articles are gonna twist everything into something negative and-"

"We'll deal with it when we need to."

"But they're gonna write about how I hesitated on answering-"

"They're going to write articles about what we do regardless," Keith explains, "Lance just breathe and let it go."

"Easy for you to say."

Keith rolls his eyes, "Don't get mad at me."

"I'm not mad.. just.."

"Worried?"

"I guess? I don't know," Lance untangles himself from Keith and looks down, "I just don't like this."

"What do you mean by this?"

"I don't know."

Keith sighs and gives up on pushing for answers. Walking over to the makeup counter he grabs his stuff and puts it into his bag that Lance got him on Rodeo. He looks up in the mirror towards Lance who has wandered over to the couch and grabbed their coats. He shakes his head and turns to the pop star, "Lance.."

"What?"

He opens his mouth to say something then just drops it, "Nevermind.." He walks towards him and grabs his jacket. Slipping it on and grabbing his bag, he says, "Let's just go home."

Keith takes the lead as they leave the dressing room. They slip through the bustling backstage and out through the back door of the set. They head to the front of the filming studio and step out into the slightly chilly LA night. Lance is still having his silent panic while Keith pulls out his phone and texts Hunk to come pick them up. They'd rather not get swarmed by paparazzi anytime soon.

Propping a hand on his hip, Keith shifts his weight and impatiently taps his foot against the concrete sidewalk. He glances over to Lance and asks, "You still freaking out over nothing?"

Lance glares and crosses his arms over his chest, "Shut up."

Keith rolls his eyes, "Y'know, once you stop worrying the press won't care. They thrive off of controversy and drama."

"I know that."

"Doesn't seem like it."

Lance turns his attention to Keith, "Are you trying to piss me off?"

"No."

"Well then quit lecturing me about how I'm supposed to feel and deal with things. I thought we worked this out the other night."

"So did I, but clearly being engaged is still bugging you."

"The public knowing that I'm bisexual is what's bugging me."

"Really? Because every time you're asked if you regret proposing you freeze."

"I- I can't help it. I don't regret it but like how it happened wasn't ideal."

"Why can't you say that to the press? Next time they ask you if you regret wanting to marry me, tell them, 'no', instead of freezing."

"I want to but I can't."

Keith shakes his head in disbelief. He's tired of having the same conversation over and over, "You can but you choose not to," They fall silent for a second before he continues with a softer tone, "I know you can do it. You stood up to your own family over us getting married. I'm sure if you can do that you can tell a nobody reporter that you don't regret a thing."

Lance lets out a heavy sigh and murmurs, "What if I regret some of it?"

"Speak up."

"What if I.. regret some of it?" He says a bit louder. His eyes stay glued to the floor.

Keith doesn't want to jump to conclusions or anything but hearing Lance regrets something involving them being engaged has his heart rate steadily increasing. He studies Lance for a moment before questioning him, "What do you regret?"

"Proposing on stage. I don't know what got into me. Like in the moment I was like, yeah this is a great idea. Kill two birds with one stone, right? But then the next morning when the adrenaline and alcohol wore off I started to think more about what I did and how this could mess everything up."

"Lance, it's 20XX," The other sighs, "Literally no one cares."

"But some people do."

"And those are small-minded people that, trust me, don't deserve any of your time or love," Keith reaches out and grabs the front of the other's jacket. He tugs him closer, "Caring about them is just a huge waste of energy."

"But-"

"Nope. I don't wanna hear any of the excuses. We are done talking about this. We are going to move on from this and never speak of it again."

"Okay never is a very strong word."

"NE-VER."

"Okay, alright," Lance throws his hands up in defeat, "We're done talking about this. Happy?"

"No."

Lance looks around real quick to make sure that no one is looking at them before he gives Keith a quick peck on the lips, "You happy now?"

Keith blinks a few times before looking at Lance confused, "No... Rather I'm confused. How did we go from arguing about you being all insecure over the public's opinion to you kissing me?"

"I don't know, fan service?"

"What?"

"It's nothing," Lance pulls him into a hug.

"Okay then."