Drummer Boy «Klance»

|Chapt.3|

After that night, Lance tries to find any and every excuse to go to the bar. It's worrisome, really, but he can't seem to stop himself. He goes out for walks in the middle of the week and somehow ends up there, a little surprised with himself. He goes in and sits at the bar, sometimes chatting with Shiro, sometimes even doing his homework.

He feels like he is losing his mind. Every time he walks in he glances around for Keith, but he is mostly never there. If he is there, he is practicing in the back room with his band, and Lance isn't sure if he is ready to face drummer Keith yet.

He feels like he is sneaking around behind his friend's backs. He's an adult and he can go wherever he pleases, but it all feels like he shouldn't be doing it. Like he should be guilty for something.

But talking with Shiro has been an experience all in itself, because it turns out Shiro knows Keith pretty damn well. And if Shiro is weirded out by Lance's obsession with finding out more about Keith, he doesn't show it. Lance is thankful for that. It makes him feel less like he is insane.

He learns that Keith started playing drums when he was ten, because he had a horrible temper and needed an outlet so he would stop biting people in class. Shiro practically raised Keith, as his older brother. He learned that Keith's favorite food is Cheetos and he had a horrible emo phase where he wore black eyeliner almost every day. Shiro was laughing so hard at that, saying the Keith used to steal their mom's eyeliner from her dresser and Shiro had to cover for him so many times.

He learns that Keith had always been temperamental, and his first boyfriend was twice his size and covered in tattoos, with piercings all over his face. Keith was only in ninth grade. But according to Shiro, ever since an early age he was always able to make anyone crazy for him. "It's just something about how he talks to people," Shiro said, "He's always been like that. Just super flirtatious." Keith broke up with him over something really stupid, like the toppings he liked on his burrito.

"He has very strong beliefs", Shiro had said, chuckling, "he gets really frustrated when people disagree with him."

Over the course of a couple of weeks, Lance learns so much about Keith, and a certain fondness grows inside of him that he wasn't expecting. Even though half the things he learns are about how fucked up he is, Lance can't help but be more and more curious. Keith is just such a mystery to him. He is so confident, so open about his sexuality, so promiscuous, and yet he watches alien documentaries. And he had an emo phase. Lance is so pleasantly surprised every time he learns something new.

When he gets back to his apartment, Kate is usually there waiting for him. They talk about the normal stuff; work, Hunk's crush of his friend Shay, exams, their families. They sit on the couch, make out, eat popcorn, make out again. Lance realizes that for how long they have been dating, he really doesn't know as much about Kate as he should. But he doesn't know how to go about having those conversations with her. It is almost like there is something uncomfortable about having that level of conversation with her.

So Lance keeps bringing his laptop to the bar, even while the sun is still in the sky and the bar is practically empty. Shiro looks up every time like he expects him, smirking a little underneath his kind smile.

______________________________________________________________________

Lance is sitting at a round table in the middle of the bar on Friday night. He tells Kate and Hunk that he has a fraternity meeting and that he is going out with his friends after. But truthfully, he just wants some alone time after a rough week. He sees a look of understanding on Hunk's face, because Hunk can read him better than anyone and probably knows Lance isn't completely telling the truth. Kate just shrugs a little, looking annoyed.