Lance took a deep breath before entering the school. Just one more week until school lets out. He could last. He kept his head down, making his way down the halls with his book bag over his shoulder. He'd just made it to his locker when he felt a hand on his shoulder."Lance! I can't believe it, only one more week of school!"Lance turned to see his buddy Hunk next to him, beaming with delight. He nodded, smiling as he unlocked his locker. "Yeah, just one more week before we can get outta this hole.""The part that sucks, though," Hunk sighed, shifting his books under his arm, "is that we still have a History final today."Lance smiled, closing his locker and heading to homeroom with Hunk. "I don't really mind," he replied casually. "I actually like History.""That's because your boyfriend is in that class," Hunk smirked, walking into the classroom.Lance blushed. "He's not my boyfriend! I just... He's just a good friend, alright?""Relax, Lance, I'm just messing with you," Hunk laughed, taking his usual seat next to Lance. The big guy always liked to tease Lance about Keith, another of their friends. Lance admires the way Keith doesn't care what anyone thinks about him and will stand up to someone for doing something wrong. Hunk enjoys making fun of Lance for it.Time passes, and 6th period rolls around: History. Hunk had History next period, so Lance was going in this alone. Well, somewhat alone."Hey, Lance!"Lance sat next to Keith, setting his books aside. "You ready for this?"Keith laughed. "Me? Ready for a test? Never. But I'm gonna take it head on and kick its butt, as usual."Lance shook his head, smiling. "You can be so rash, Keith. Unlike you, I actually studied last night.""Oh, shocker!" Keith mocked, a fake surprised look on his face. Lance punched him in the arm."Stop it, I can't help that I want to pass 10th grade.""Hey, I want to pass too! Or maybe not, then I'd be that cool kid with friends in the grade above.""No you wouldn't! You'd be seen as the idiot who couldn't pass a History exam because he didn't study."Keith thought for a moment, smirking. "How about this: let's make a deal. If I get a good grade, like a 90 or higher, you have to get me ice cream. If I get anything lower, I get you ice cream. If I fail 10th grade History, I'll do whatever you want." He held out his hand. "Deal?""Deal," Lance replied, taking his hand.The teacher, Mr. Coran, came into the room carrying a large stack of papers. "Good morning students," he greeted cheerfully. "Time for your History exam!"〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰"Looks like you owe me ice cream," Lance smirked, crossing his arms. It was the last day of school, and Mr. Coran had passed out the History exams. Lance had gotten a 97, while Keith had gotten an 89."I was one point off!" He frowned, handing his exam back to Mr. Coran. Lance laughed, turning in his results as well."How about you get me ice cream, and I'll get some for you, to be fair. You get me mine first, though."Keith shrugged, picking up his books. "Alright, I can live with that. Do you want to invite Hunk and Pidge too?""Sure, that sounds good. See ya after school.""See ya!"Lance headed for his locker to exchange books. He pulled out his phone and texted Hunk:
_bluecubanspacegeek_: Hey we got our history results
TopCook: Im guessing u aced it?_bluecubanspacegeek_: yep and Keith got a 89TopCook: ha, he has to get u ice cream
_bluecubanspacegeek_: well yea but I said we could just get some for each other since he was only one point of
_bluecubanspacegeek_: *offTopCook: ooh rlly?😏_bluecubanspacegeek_: shut up! Anyways do u wanna come?
TopCook: I can't I have after school cooking class today
_bluecubanspacegeek_: o ok that sucks but see u l8tr then
TopCook: c uLance shut off his phone, sticking it back in his pocket. 〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰FREEDOM!!!" Keith took a deep breath, taking in the scent of summer air. Lance laughed, holding his blue bike."So Pidge couldn't make it either?" he asked, getting on.Keith shook his head, getting on his red bike. "Nah, they had robotics. Oh well, we can still have fun on our own.""Yeah! Say, wanna race to KICK's?""Bring it on, I'm gonna cream you!""That's hilarious."They peddled for the ice cream shop, racing to see who could get there first. Lance was ahead, but Keith sped up last minute, passing him as he slowed down. They were both out of breath as they set their bikes on the bike rack."See," Keith panted, opening the door. "I totally crushed you.""No you didn't, I was right behind you!"A cool chill blasted the boys in the face as they entered Kristen's Ice Cream Korner. They walked up to the counter, looking at the items listed above. KICK's had a large variety of choices, many that most shops didn't have. It just made it that much harder to choose. "How can I help you?" the cashier asked, waiting patiently for their orders."Hello, Allura," Lance greeted, reading her name tag. "I'd like a medium cotton candy milkshake, please."She smiled, taking his order. "Which colors? We have blue, pink, yellow, green, and white.""Blue please." She nodded and looked over to Keith."What would you like?"He searched the menu before nodding in decision. "I'd like a medium New York strawberry cheesecake blizzard, please."Allura nodded, writing his order down on a notepad. "Coming right up boys. Make yourself comfortable!"The ice cream shop was a decent size, with high ceilings and vibrantly painted walls. There was even a kid's corner with children's toys and a chalkboard wall. Light fixtures hung from the ceiling, and added with the tall front windows, the shop had a natural glow to it, part of it's charm. The boys decided to sit at a small table outside under the shade of an umbrella. An order window was right next to them to retrieve their treats when ready."I didn't know you like New York cheesecake," Lance commented, leaning back in his chair.Keith shrugged. "I've actually never had cheesecake, but the blizzards are amazing."Lance's eyes widened. "Really? You've never tried cheesecake? Like, ever?" Keith shook his head. "Bro, you have to come to my house. My Ma's cheesecake is the best.""That sounds great," he replied, smiling.Allura leaned out the window, holding out two cups, one with a straw and the other with a spoon. "Here you go, that'll be $8.56, boys."Lance nodded, pulling out his wallet. Keith was about to argue, but Lance held up a hand, giving Allura a $10 bill. "Keep the change," he grinned, winking. She rolled her eyes, though smiling, before shutting the window to take another order.Lance caught Keith shaking his head. "What?""You paid for both of us. I thought we agreed to pay for each other's. Plus, if anyone should've paid for both, it should've been me."Lance shrugged, taking a sip of his milkshake. "It's fine. I can just think of a way for you to pay me later.""Whatever," Keith sighed, eating a spoonful of his blizzard. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying the other's company. It was Keith who broke that silence. "I just realized something."Lance, who had been studying the details to a fire hydrant, looked over to him. "What?""I got a C+ on a test I didn't study very much on."Lance blinked before laughing. "You just noticed? Are you serious?""Yeah! I mean, I was actually really nervous I would flunk it. The relief just hit me.""Wow. I have no other words, just wow. Maybe if you studied-""Noooooooo," Keith groaned, crossing his arms. "We are not having this conversation again."Lance shrugged, taking one last sip of his milkshake before throwing it into a nearby trash can. "I just trying to help." He noticed Keith frowning a bit. "What is it?""You didn't share your milkshake." You see, the boys had a tradition of sharing at least one bite or sip of their ice cream anytime they came here. Lance, however, had been distracted and accidentally drank all of it. After thinking for a moment, he had an idea. It was risky, very very risky, but he decided to give it a try."I know how you can pay me back and taste my milkshake," Lance announced, blushing slightly to the idea.Keith tilted his head questioningly. "How?"Lance leaned close to Keith, placing a hand on his cheek and the other on his shoulder. Keith stared at Lance with wide eyes, red creeping into his cheeks. Their lips were mere centimeters apart. "This," he replied, closing the space between them and giving Keith a light kiss. Their lips touched only for a moment, but that was enough to send shivers up Lance's spine. Did I really just do that? he thought, looking away from Keith and removing his hands."I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, that was so dumb if me," Lance rambled, his face flushed. Why did he do it? He merely admired Keith. What brought him to the point of actually wanting to kiss him? He mentally slapped himself. After all of Hunk's teasing and his conversations with Keith, he'd grown to actually appreciate the guy more. Much more, apparently. He just never really realized that he liked Keith that way until now.Lance felt a hand on his shoulder and paused his fumbling words. He dared a glance over to see Keith, face crimson, smiling shyly at him. Lance had never seen Keith like this and found himself thinking this was absolutely adorable. "I-its okay, Lance," he spoke quietly, so hushed Lance almost didn't hear him.He took a breath. "I wasn't expecting it, but.. it was kinda nice."Lance smiled slightly. "Keith," he began, "I've always admired the way you don't care what anyone thinks of you and how you stand up for your friend's. I've always thought of you as a great friend and a goal for my future. Only, recently I've realized that apparently my feelings go beyond that. I-I really like you Keith." He stopped, unsure of how to go on.Keith, sensing this, asked, "What do you like about me? I'm just a normal guy.""What? No way!" Lance argued. "You're not normal. You're sweet and smart, when you feel like it at least." This earned a chuckle from Keith. "You're brave and outgoing. When you're nervous, you always have this glimmer in your eye and you fiddle with whatever you're holding." He motioned to the spoon Keith was playing with as example. "You get really energetic when you're excited, and your smile could brighten up anyone's day. You stand up for whatever you believe to be right with no hesitation. You're cool, brave, fun, and.. cute," he added, looking away.For a moment, nothing happened. Lance was worried that he'd overstepped the boundaries. Uuuugh what have I gotten myself into? He probably hates me now and thinks I'm a dumb, weird, creepy-A pair of arms wrapped around Lance, interrupting his thoughts. To his surprise, he saw Keith hugging him, his head on Lance's shoulder. "Thank you, Lance. I never thought of myself that way." He paused."And I like you too. I like how you always look at the bright side of things. I like how you're always there for your friend's, no matter what. I like how you help people as much as possible. You look at random objects when you're nervous or embarrassed. You bite your lip when your scared. You swing your arms when you're happy. You're smart, kind, caring, gentle, and adorable."Keith looked up, letting go of Lance. "I've liked you for months, but I always thought it was one-sided. I'm glad to see I was wrong."Lance smiled. He tilted up Keith's chin, looking him in the eyes. "Definitely wrong. Can I...?" After a slight nod from Keith, the two boys kissed again, moving against the others lips in sync. This kiss was much longer and deeper than the first, only broken when they parted for air.Panting lightly, Lance wrapped an arm around Keith's shoulders, leaning his head against the other's. Keith melted into the embrace. The two boys sat outside the ice cream shop, brought together by a cotton candy milkshake, and they couldn't be happier.Lance suddenly realized something. "If it's the last day of school, how do Hunk and Pidge have after school activities?"〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰Around the corner of KICK's, Hunk sighed, tossing pebbles across the concrete. "Can we go yet? I hate spying on them.""No," Pidge insisted, peeking around said corner. "My ship has finally become canon! My OTP! And you expect me to just leave?" She glanced at him, shaking her head like he was nuts."Whatever, I'm going home. Call me if something happens. Something important.""Yeah, yeah, skidaddle," Pidge grumbled. As Hunk left, Pidge whipped out her phone and began snapping pictures.
