Yesss first chappy :D enjoy!! or not i dont really care...
Lance woke up with tired eyes.
Just like he does every morning.
Stretching until he heard a satisfying snap, he yawned, his face mask crumbling up and his eye mask hanging on one side.
Just like it does every morning.
He ran his finger through his disheveled brown hair and stood up from his refuge. The place where he could hide from the crude comments and try to contemplate why he was even on the earth, or should I say in space, in the first place. The place where he could sleep and wish that he wouldn't wake up.
Just like he does every morning. Every night.
Every .
Second.
Of .
The.
Day.
As lance stood up, a loud voice rang out from the intercom right above him. "Lance, where are you?" Allura's voice seemed irritated and slightly angry at the poor boy. "All the paladins are already up and we're waiting for you!" Lance nods to himself and looks up at the ceiling.
"I'm sorry princess, I'll be right out. Save a seat for me so I can sit next to you~" Lance teases, and since no one could see him he didn't smile. He didn't even mean it.
He earns a groan from the paladins as the intercom clicks off.
Just like they do everyday.
He sighs and grabs a white towel from a random chair, wets it under the sink, and starts rubbing at his face mask. After he's done with his "face routine" the one he's continued for so long, the only excuse to stay in his room longer, the only excuse to stay away from them, he pulls on a dark shirt and some jeans.
Just like he does everyday.
His face was grim as he appeared in front of the mirror.
You're worthless.
No one cares.
You don't matter.
You're just a stand-in.
You don't belong.
Still, you need to SMILE.
You need to make them PROUD.
Lance sighs and mumbles some incoherent words to himself while trying to smile.
Like he does everyday.
Smile Lance, put on your act.
It'll be fine, you're only crumbling on the inside.
Not on the outside.
Put on your act and make. them. proud.
"You can do this lance. Smile." he says to himself, finally succeeding the task. Everyday he has to put on an act. An act so great that it's become a daily routine and everyone believes it. It used to come natural. The bubbly, teasing Lance. The one everyone hated. Why does he still do it?
Well, my dear readers, Lance didn't want to break down in front of the team. He didn't want them to see him cry. Lance thought this was expected of him, he thought that he was the one to hold the team up when they were down or the one to crack a joke when they had lost a fight. All because he wanted to help.
He wanted to help them so bad and be a part of something that he put his common sense behind to force on a petty act. And what did they do in return? Annoyed sighs, eye rolls and scolding. They made Lance feel worthless because he wasn't as serious as them. Shiro and Allura would yell at him if he messed up, they would compare him with Keith, point out every single one of his flaws and all Lance could do was just sit there and listen. Only to wake up the next day and have the same treatment.
Lance headed towards the door and put his hand on it. He lingered there for a moment and sniffed, wiping his face to check any tears. Once he made sure his face was tear free, the boy walked out to the 'dining room'. "Hey guys," Lance smiled and waved. It was fine. It was just a normal day. The team didn't even acknowledge his existence.
"So... How everyone doing this morning? Especially you, princess?" Lance asked with another dazzling smile. The team rolled their eyes as he sat down in his usual chair. The chair he sat in everyday... The one where he would wish he was dead. Erased. Gone.
Lance looked at Shiro first. Him, Coran and Allura were making plans for the next fight and how they were so close to taking the empire back. Then, Lance's gaze went to Keith. He was cleaning his blade with a stoic expression as the ravenette listened to Hunk and Pidge. They talked about strategies and new ideas, Lance wanted so bad to join and add his own input. Just so he could be a part of something. Anything.
But, to no avail, no one seemed to care. It was like Lance took the burden on his shoulders for the whole team even though it seemed as if he did nothing. Lance was nothing.
"Okay, so we'll come in from the side while Keith and the blade search the area for any possible quintessence... Pidge, you and Hunk will hack into their systems and gather as much information as you can and we'll attack as soon as possible, got it?" Shiro announced, crossing his arms after standing up. The team nods in agreement. Everyone except for Lance. He wanted to say something... To speak up and let them know that he was still part of the team. All he had to say was "What about me?" But, considering the team's previous reactions to the boy, it didn't seem like too good of an idea.
Lance lowered his head slowly. This was all a lost cause for him, becoming a paladin.
After all,
he was just a boy from Cuba.
