Butterflies Can Fly, Right?

Chapter 4

Keith's P.O.V
I groaned, not wanting to wake up.
"Go away, Shiro." I said.
I heard giggling, and realized it wasn't Shiro. I snapped awake, sitting up at the speed of light.
"Well, Good morning to you too." Lance said.
I sighed and relaxed, almost immediately.
Just Lance.
That's when I panicked, realizing my predicament. I had no clothes.
I think Lance realized this as well.
"You can borrow a t-shirt if you want. You don't have to, though! We could stop at your house on the way to school." He said worriedly.
I shook my head and headed to his closet, knowing he was already gonna tell me to look there.
The height and weight difference was gonna effect the way the shirt fit. I grabbed one of the bigger ones and put it on. It fit perfectly.
I looked to see which one I had grabbed. It was an MCR tee.
"You like this band?" I said, looking at the graphic.
"Y-yeah. I do."
He sounded embarrassed. I shook my head and grinned. This dude was too doubtful for his own good.
Lance's P.O.V
Keith and I headed out the door, I was carrying our bags as he put the jacket I made him on.
"I feel bad for not completing Shiro's.."
Keith rolled his eyes and took his bag.
"I think he'll understand. It was 3 A.M., Lance. And I'm 99% sure you were drinking Monster to stay up. Do you pull all-nighters often?"
I nodded my head, looking for Hunk since we usually met up around here.
I was startled when I felt something smack me lightly in the back of the head. I turned around to see it was Keith's hand.
"Dude! Why'd you do that?"
It didn't really hurt, but I was curious why he'd hit me.
"Don't stay up late, dumbass. It's bad for your health."
I snickered but agreed. We walked the rest of the trip without seeing Hunk. I was confused, but headed to first hour.
Everything was going good now that Keith was here.
Time skip (about 2 months)
No One's P.O.V
Keith and Lance were a thing now, and constantly hung out. People tried to give Keith shit, but he had a backbone and could stand up for himself.
When they couldn't bully Keith, they bullied Lance worse. It was more physical and less verbal, even though there was more snide comments. It pissed Keith off when Lance got hurt.
Voltron hung out as a big group now.
Keith's P.O.V
It was third hour, and I was anxious. I didn't have Lance in this class or the last, but I had him next hour at lunch.
The bullying on his end had gotten worse now that we're together officially. It didn't happen to me, since I stood up for myself, and even beat the shit out of a few kids to get my point across.
But, Lance was very submissive. He barely had a spine to walk with, let alone defend himself.
Every day, Lance had a new bruise or band snap. If you didn't know what a band snap was, it's where they take a rubber band and pull it back as far as it will go and then release.
He felt bad because he thought he was causing me trouble. He apologized to me for getting hurt.
The bell rung, and I practically bolted out of my seat. I ran to the cafeteria and waited for Lance to appear.
When I saw him, I was angry. There was a group of assholes around him, harassing him. When they saw me, they scattered.
Lance sat down at the table with a heavy sigh.
"Sorry." He said with closed eyes.
"Lance, you did nothing wrong." I said, trying to comfort him.
"Yeah, I know. But I don't want to cause you problems."
I gave him a hug, which he returned. Soon, the others gathered around us. Normal chatter went on as lunch continued.
Lance's P.O.V
I hated causing Keith so many problems.
Should I tell him about the bruises that my shirt covers?... No.
I sighed and looked at him. His eyes always looked so sharp and calm. They were nice to look at.
"Keith, who's house today?" I asked.
"Mine." He replied.
I nodded my head. Every night we hung out and slept over. There wasn't a schedule, just whoever they felt like hanging out with.
The rest of the day flew by, and Keith and I were walking home, with Shiro in front of us.
When we arrived at his house, the clutter of his room comforted me.
His room was always messy, but it's that feature that made you relax. I sat down on his bed and closed my eyes.
"Hey, Keith."
He hummed in response.
"What do you think happens after death?" I asked.
"Nothing. We're just gone, like a forever peace. What do you think happens?" He said.
I opened my eyes, and spoke with excitement in my voice.
"I think we turn into butterflies."
He looked at me and questioned as to why I thought this.
"Butterflies are too pretty to be just insects. It's people that wander the earth to remind us that death can be beautiful." I continued, "Then there are the people who rip butterflies' wings off, but even then, butterflies are forgiving and poise." I said.
He nodded, as if it made sense. He joined me on his bed, pulling me closer to him as he sat down.
I leaned into him, enjoying the warmth he gave off.
"You have intriguing thoughts. Your outlook on almost everything is optimistic." He said as he nuzzled into my hair.
I stayed put, and eventually we drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up, I checked the time.
5:32.
I groaned but wiggled out of Keith's bed and headed to the shower. Since I'd been over here so often, I didn't feel uncomfortable using it.
I quickly washed off and got dressed. When I headed back to the room, Keith said he didn't feel well. I checked his forehead, and he was burning.
"Keith, stay home and I'll collect your homework."
He tried to protest, but I put him back in bed. I put some ibuprofen and water on his bed side and left for school.
When everybody soon realized Keith wasn't with me, the bullying was worse.
At the end of the day, I was exhausted. But, I went around and collected Keith's papers, and started heading out the building. A bunch of upper class men stopped me dead in my tracks.
"Hey, Fag. If we can't get your boyfriend, we'll have to teach you the lesson!"
They started to close in on me. I tried to run, but one of them grabbed me.
They hit me, kicked me, and did other things. One of them had a lighter, so they burned me. I screamed in agony, but my whimpers of pain only fueled their fire.
After I was left with my body trembling in my own pool of blood, they left. I shakily stood up, forgetting the papers.
I needed some help, but my mom would call the police. I had no choice but to go to Keith.
I walked up our street, my legs shaking violently in protest at my actions. I reached his house and rang the doorbell before sliding down the door, unable to hold my weight.
When whoever opened the door, I tumbled in. I'm guessing it was Shiro, because he called for Keith and quickly dragged me in.
Keith's P.O.V
Shiro yelled for me. I ran down the stairs, and stopped dead when I saw Lance.
I ran faster over to him, grabbing his face and stroking his hair.
"Lance, Babe, What happened?"
He coughed. "When I got your papers, a whole group of upper class men cornered me. Don't call anyone, though."
I picked him up and carried him to the bathroom. I took off his shirt, revealing various bruises and... burn marks?
Oh, now I was pissed. They had burned him?!
"Lance, did they burn you?" I said in a deadly calm voice.
When he nodded, I slammed my fist against the counter, causing him to jump.
I pulled out a med kit and tended to his injuries.
"You really should go to a hospital for those burns, Lance." Shiro said softly.
He just shook his head again, wincing as I dabbed some hydrogen peroxide on his cuts.
It hurt me to see my boyfriend in this state, I just wish I had been there. If I had gone to school, this wouldn't have happened.
"Hey, it's not your fault." He spoke softly, making the tension leave me face.
I sighed and wrapped him up with medical tape. I picked him up and sat him in my bed. For a long time we just lay there in silence, appreciating each other's presence.
Lance's P.O.V
It hurt to move, my body was sore and burning from the hydrogen peroxide and overall beating.
"I won't leave you alone again." Keith said, breaking the heavy silence.
And I just nestled into him, accepting the tiredness that washed over my body.