Andromeda {Klance}

Chapter 1

All it takes is a moment.

A moment of inscience. A moment where body overrules mind, where tongues speak and muscles move without the much needed help of a brain.

This is impulse.

In all frankness, though, it seemed as though Keith's uncouth behavior wasn't the prime factor of mass destruction in his life.

He never met his mother, though she provided for him more than his father ever could. Somewhere off in Korea, she owned a software company, as well as a makeup brand. Though early on in his life, Mrs. Kogane died, due to an alleged car crash, being that her driver purposefully drove off the side of a bridge. Keith's father, Alan, didn't believe any of it, though Keith never trusted his credibility.

Throughout his life, Keith had been home schooled, usually while his father dealt with business regarding his late wife's company. Keith, being an only child, usually didn't make friends, and during the few occasions that he could, he would simply shy away from any advancements coming in from other children.

His father was able to continue manning the company, but stocks plummeted, leaving Mr. Kogane and his son in a somewhat financial recession, though still maintaining a somewhat high status. To keep the economic dilemma from getting any further, Keith was sent to a private school in his last few weeks of freshman year.

During the first few weeks, Keith managed to maneuver without running into much trouble. Of course, there were the occasional whispers, though nothing more than the pecuniary slump, which Keith didn't care much for. It was likely that he still had more money than everyone in the school anyway.

A week into this endeavor, he observed people giving him glares. Students with grades as high as their place in society would grumble about him, going on about how self centered he was, and how much of a psycho his mother was, and that his father was a drunk cunt.

That week, Keith functioned purely on anger and fatigue. Although his grades were generally exceptional (nothing below a 95%, typically), all assignments that week would barely surpass a an 80%. He'd lash out at people who wouldn't know him, and get into at least a few fights here and there. The more people he interacted with, the more the ever-growing vines of hatred would spread. Eventually, he became an inside joke.

There was eventually an end of the year party, near a river within the proximity of the school. Keith, generally not wanting to see his father glare at him shamefully made the decision to go. It was his last day before summer, and since he'd have three more years with his peers, he might as well attempt to make amends.

As the sun set hastily, glowsticks were passed, and the music turned up. Couples held hands and danced under the orange tinted sky. Intense shadows of trees were cast upon the waters, the smell of the forest made the scene nostalgic as ever. Keith may not have necessarily liked the people, the indifference corresponding, though he enjoyed what he saw.

"Want a glowstick?"

Keith turned to see the infamous Takashi Shirogane, JPL intern and piano prodigy. Mostly known as Shiro, he was loved by all, and one of the few people who didn't hate Keith, though he didn't exactly know him either. At least, Keith wanted to believe that. Perpetually everyone's heard of the rumors by now.

"Keith, right?,"Shiro inquires as Keith takes the glowstick with a mutter of thanks. "I'm Shiro."

"So I've heard," Keith snaps the glowsticks, "You have your own fanclub."

"Seriously?," Shiro laughs. Keith simply stares at him.

"You're kidding."

"I honestly didn't know!"

The two talked the night away, drowning in soda and chatter. The conversation went by in "a blur- all that mattered was that Keith was recognized and not hated. He had a friend. And Keith liked it.

But why didn't he have more?

He was able to keep up a conversation. As many obloquies would be thrown at him, they weren't things that he hadn't heard before, though his treatment in general happened to be at an all time low, as if that weren't obvious enough.

"-what your dad said doesn't get to you."

Keith snaps out of his trance, "What do you mean?"

"I'm not completely sure," Shiro replied cautiously, "but I've heard rumors about your dad got drunk and started bragging about his company at a party with some of the 'elite' families in the school. I didn't want to bring it up because it'd be uncomfortable to talk about, but I guess you didn't-"

"Shiro," Keith stopped him.  He couldn't take it anymore.

A blur of trees. Incoherent, yet evidently perturbed calls of a friend-no- an acquaintance. Ostensibly burning tears streaming down his face. His father was selfish. Had he no respect for himself? Had he no respect for Keith? His wife? His family? Various arrays of thoughts and ideas ran throughout his head as he finally made it to a desolated area by the river. No glowsticks. No celebration.

Eventually, a group of boys from his school would find him there. Why didn't matter. What they were to do to him didn't matter. Their voices, their words, were nothing but broken records degraded to white noise degraded to silence. He didn't hear it, didn't need to hear it, but he wanted them to stop. Shut up. They only made it worse.

So he threw a punch. And another. And another.

Do you really think you're all that? Do you think you can actually make friends? Your own father doesn't love you, and your mother's nothing but a broken legacy. You are nothing and will amount to nothing.

Whose words were these? His? The boy in front of him? Or was it the world, the cold, clammy undisguised waters of reality that revealed to Keith that he might as well die?

To be continued...

Author's Note

Well, there's my first chapter! I'm sorry if a bit of it seems extremely Sheith-esque, but don't worry, Lance is in the next chapter ;)

I've yet to start on Chapter 2, butHOOOOBOY I'm excited :D

-Reena