The Space Between Us // Klance *UNDER REVISION*

Chapter 11: Lance

Zarkon's forces were abruptly hushed after Lotor's official concord to stay loyal to the coalition. The Galra had been quiet before, but never had only static buzzed in our ears.

The lack of defending left us all uncertain and impatient of what to do next. Improvisation thus became the product of eager minds with nothing to do: Matt and Pidge binged television series and attempted to coordinate their dad's location with the new, generous time they had been given, Hunk experimented as he pleased in the kitchen, Keith and Lotor were both busy studying the blade, and Coran and Allura were off with intergalactic diplomacy. Everyone kept themselves busy with tasks ranging from mediocrity to the uttermost importance, but to me this change had only brought about an itching boredom and a scratching anxiety. So when alarming and profound yelping exploded from Shiro's side of the castle ship, I was hyper aware of my gut's logic: something was wrong.

I presumed that I was the only one to hear such nasty, violent vociferations. Everyone else had been off to their own devices to fill in the empty space in their schedules, but the intensity seemed to project throughout the entire spacecraft. The treachery of Shiro's broken voice began to tear at my eardrums, inciting curiosity and disregarding my ennui.

I meticulously planned for the worst possible situation that could prevail. Once in my room, I flung my jacket off to hit its wall to eliminate any extra, unneeded weight for the chance I'd be hot and sweat; I rummaged through my drawers in search of my bayard, which had been previously wielded by Keith.

Looking at my bedroom's mirror, I stared at my face, my eyes falling down to the scar on my lip and then back up to make eye contact with the boy that stared back at me. I smiled at him because for once I recognized my reflection, but as compelling as it would have been for me to continue to admire my image, I took in a heavy breath and let my carbon dioxide lead the way to where Shiro was.

I dashed on over, following the sound, which in hindsight was not a very wise choice on my part. The tapping of my shoes was unnecessarily noisy and I was out of breath once I reached the entryway. I had to let my panting slow down to reclaim back my composure, allowing for seconds to pass before I turned to face the door that belonged to the omniscient space. As I cautiously brushed my fingertips across the entrance button, the screams quickly subsided and I gulped hard.

The luring, echoing screams had coaxed my arrival. It was as if they were artificially programmed for my ears only. Sirens could compete against Shiro's song for help and lose tragically. It was then, stunned at the sight I saw, when Shiro's and Keith's eyes both widened with unnerving delight at my arrival.

Keith was more Galran than Lotor ever emulated and Shiro was something taken out of from a nightmare. Their full, yellow eyes spoke volumes. It was a resonate warning much like the call that summoned me here now.

I was paralyzed with fear, frozen and still and quaking internally. Shiro lunged at me, attempting to hit me with his Galra robotic arm. It lit up a magenta color as it reached out towards my face. I prayed for my legs to break free from what kept them so stuck, fearing that I couldn't send the message fast enough to my brain. Snapping back into reality as well as utilizing my fight-or-flight response, I managed to dodged the attack.

Keith stood by watching our movements. I was distracted by his presence, him seemingly calm and unbothered by the blows and punching Shiro flung at me. My curled brows and the glistening salt water droplets found in the crevice of eyes begged for his help. I choked his name, "Keith."

Gawking over at my rival proved to be pernicious. Shiro took advantage of my inattentive nature, knocking me down to the cold ground. I tried worming my way through under Shiro's large arms, but he wouldn't let me budge. A grin formed on his distorted, mad face.