Blackout (A Keith Fanfiction)

Chapter 5

    "That's all you remember?" Shiro asks, almost nervously.

    "Sorry... Maybe if I tried to stay-" I look down at the table, away from everyone.

    "No," Allura cuts me off. "That's alright."

    "If that's what a small flashback did to you, it's better that you got out of it quicker," Pidge assures.

    "Too much at once could make it worse," Shiro agrees.

    "I guess..." I mutter.

    Hunk slides a plate of food goo to me, "You should eat. I imagine it took a lot outta you." I look up at him and smile thankfully, accepting the dish. They all make their way out of the room and when I assume they're all gone, I let out a sigh, resting my forehead in my hands and pressing my thumbs into my temples.

    "Are you sure you're ok?" Keith's unexpected voice makes me jumps slightly.

    "Of course," I try to sound confident, but I definitely do not sound ok. Keith leans against the chair waiting. Persistence. "It's frustrating... that's all. I just seem to be getting more questions than answers."

    "Shiro would always tell me 'patience yields focus'," Keith says after a moment of silence. "It kinda seemed stupid then, but... it actually stuck with me..." I don't watch him leave, but I hear his footsteps move towards the door then get farther away.

    'Patience yields focus'. The phrase strikes me with a sense of deja vu that I quickly brush aside because the last thing I need at the moment is more of a headache.

There are no dancing shadows to watch or even the slightest pixel of light to stare at as I try to fall asleep. I'm completely encased in darkness. A pitch black void that seems to stretch out infinitely, even though I know the walls that surround me aren't any farther than 5 meters from each other. But, I guess sometimes seeing is believing.

I roll onto my back and close my eyes. Naturally, I go to think of a possible solution to the problem of sleeping, but I don't know where to start. What would I normally do? That methods out of the question. Unfortunately my case of amnesia wasn't as kind as to allow me to remember these small things. I don't know anything really, do I? I go through a mental list of what I know. Not to be optimistic, but because it seems to be a significantly smaller list.

My name is Valerie... I don't know my last name... I have blonde hair and gray eyes... that's only something I know because I've looked in a mirror... I'm human... I was imprisoned or something by the Galra... I woke up on a spaceship of two royal Alteans, a sort-of adult, and four kids who fly lions that form into giant robot... now I just sound crazy.

This only seems to make my case worse. With each fact, about a million new questions pop up. I stand up and try my best to navigate myself to the door in the darkness. I squint as my door opens and floods my room with the light from the hallway. I don't really have a plan or any idea where I'm going, but I keep walking through the halls of the castle.

"You're up late..." I hear a voice behind me. I turn quickly, with a slight jump. I relax when I match the voice to the face of Shiro. He chuckles, softly, "Sorry... didn't mean to scare you..."

"You're up too," I point out with a small shrug.

"Can't sleep?" His face shows genuine concern, and I wonder why he was so quick to decide I'm worth worrying about.

"It's a bit difficult with a massive headache," I explain. I'm not lying... just not telling the whole truth. "I'll be alright, though." I turn my gaze to the floor, playing with the hem of my shirt.

After a short silence that I can't decide if it was comfortable or not, Shiro speaks up, "I can't sleep either... join me for a late night snack?"

I smile at his offer and give a nod, "Ok." I follow him into the kitchen and watch as he prepares something unknown. 

He slides a mug of steaming liquid to me, "It may not look very appetizing, but Hunk told me it's just like hot chocolate..."

He's right... the green liquid looks like I'm drinking a swamp. I hesitantly raise the mug to my lips and try some. Shiro watches me, anticipating my reaction. It doesn't taste like a swamp... not that I know what a swamp tastes like...

A memory resurfaces just enough to be comforting. That's a first. It's a small one. Just me leaning on a kitchen counter with a mug of what I'm assuming is hot chocolate. I close my eyes and let out a breathy sigh, "I love hot chocolate... It's kinda vague, but I remember that... I guess it's something..." I look back at Shiro with an almost teasing, curious look, "How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess?" he shrugs.

I don't really think much about what I'm doing before I suddenly ask, "Why do you trust me?"

The question catches Shiro off guard, "W-what?"

"What reason have I given you to trust me...?" I reiterate.

Shiro hesitates, thinking for a moment, then a sad look flickers across his face. He quickly covers it with a smile, but not fast enough for me to miss it. "What reason have you given me to not trust you?" He takes the opportunity to make that cliche exit after a vague answer.

Word Count: 931

Ok... close enough to a full sized chapter... right? Sorry it took a while. School's been hell recently. I don't really want to, but I might have to speed up this part of the story. I dunno, what do y'all think? (In general terms of the story/chapter) I'm open to feedback.

Thanks for reading!!