Flower Boy - Klance | completed |

Ch. Fourteen

Ch. Fourteen

"At the mall today," Lance spoke in a soft voice, and Keith lifted his head from where it had been resting on his folded knees to meet his eyes. "When we fought. Before the... Before the thing with Oliver."

Keith nodded to show he was listening, casting a glance to the couch adjacent to theirs where Sebastián was comfortably draped across it, Dominic already beginning to doze off, cuddled securely into his side, while Oliver lay his chest, arms looped around his neck. Though Dom and Oliver both were half-asleep, Sebastián was intently focused on the TV screen at the front of the room, blasting pop music from 2015 as Natalia and Anton screamed into their microphones, equally as off-pitch and off-beat as the other.

The rest of their daring adventure to the mall had been cut short when the security guard had, none too kindly, asked them to leave. Sebastián had interrogated both Oliver and Dom in the car, but it ended with Dominic bursting into sobs again and Sebastián tugging him into his lap so he could try to manage his breathing a bit easier. Oliver had also started quietly sniffling, but had tried his best not to show it by gazing out of the window, facing away from Sebastián. He'd almost instantly caught on, however, and that's how Oliver found himself comfortably tucked into Seb's side the entire rest of the ride home.

"Why did you seem so jealous?" Lance asked at last, breaking Keith's concentration and forcing him to meet his inquisitive gaze. Chris had stepped out of the room to grab a water, and after he hadn't been back for ten minutes, they'd both assumed he was captured by Camila and couldn't return because he was just too polite to excuse himself.

Keith didn't know how to phrase a response to Lance's question, exactly. Should he lie? God knows he couldn't tell Lance about his big, fat, gay-ass crush on him while they sat there, practically nose to nose. At last, he decided to tell the truth. Or, at the very least, part of it.

He turned so he was facing Lance, shoulder on the backrest with his legs pulled together in criss-cross-applesauce. Lance mimicked his position, and there was a beat of silence before Keith drew in a long, calm breath. "Chris and I went out, for like, three years. We just broke up a few months ago."

Lance didn't flinch, expression remaining neutral, though his eyebrows raised almost imperceptibly. "Wait, what?"

Keith nodded, keenly aware of the way Lance shifted so they were eye to eye. "Yeah. I just... I don't know. I was overwhelmed, and whenever I'm panicking, I say things I don't mean and it's just... It's just a mess."

"Do you still like him?" Lance asked, pulling his knees to his chest. "Wait, why did you guys break up in the first place?"

There was the question Keith had been waiting for. He tried to smile, though he knew Lance could see right through it. "Yeah, that's the thing. I don't actually know. I thought everything was going fine, but then it just... It just ended, I guess."

Lance searched his eyes for a few seconds, but Keith cut him off when he opened his mouth. "I don't want pity. That's the last thing I want, believe me. I'm over him, I promise. Go for it, man." He reached forward to flick him in the forehead. "You officially have my blessing."

Lance was quiet, but Keith couldn't read the emotion on his face. He spent a few moments studying the other boy, but they both jumped in their seats when Natalia let out a particularly screeching note, prompting Anton to burst into giggles and miss his lines.

The song came to an end, and Sebastián clapped quietly, pausing when Dominic stirred. Keith and Lance both joined him, exchanging quick smiles as Natalia bowed, Anton copying his big sister with the largest, goofiest smile lighting his face. The ten-year-old bounced over to where Keith and Lance were sitting, holding out his microphone to the former impatiently. "Keith! Keith, your turn!"