Where are you now? (Keith x Reader) [discontinued]

31|| A New Friendship

Jared's POV

I heard a loud BOOM, and looked back to see every ship explode, as well as the Marmora base. I looked up, trying not to cry. If Jade wasn't dead then, she certainly was now. How could I let her do this? I know this attack was because of her, but she had sacrificed herself in the process. Oh God. How would everyone else react to this? Kekini, Hunk, Lance. I had to be strong. For them.

We reached the castle, and I landed my pod. When I set foot back on the castle, it seemed like the shock truly hit. I sank to the ground, the tears finally coming. 

I shouldn't have left her there. She would've been fine had I taken her. But then I remembered, she didn't want to be protected. She wanted to help the team in a way she saw fit, even if it meant sacrifice.

I felt an arm on my shoulder, and looked up to see Kekini. She didn't know yet.

"W-Where's J-Jade?"

The truth hurt, but she of all people deserved to know.

"Kekini, I-I'm so sorry, she's dead."

Out of everyone's reaction, hers had to be the worst. Her eyes widened in shock, she sank to the ground and let out a bloodcurdling scream. She went into hysterics... literally. After a few minutes of her screaming bloody murder, I knew we had both had enough. I wrapped my arms around her, as if to hug her.

"I'm sorry for this," I whispered, and knocked her out. She went limp in my arms, and I picked her up to take her to her room. Maybe when she woke up, she wouldn't be as shocked, or maybe she would be this way for life. The team came running, except for Keith. Lance took her from me.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!" He roared, the shock of everything making him hostile.

"I told her the news... it was too much for her," I said sorrowfully. Lance's expression softened, tears rolling down his face. I put an arm on his shoulder. "Go get some rest, I'll take Kekini to her room."

"N-No," Lance's voice cracked. "I'll d-do it."

He walked out with her in his arms, and Allura walked over to me. She opened her mouth to speak, but I shook my head. I wanted to be alone right now.

I walked through the corridors of the castle, but now they seemed... empty, meaningless. My footsteps echoed in the silent halls, reminding me painfully of when Jade and I would walk through here together. Why did she have to do it? There must've been an alternative. But... she may have succeeded. Haggar might be dead, meaning we would have won. The war could be over because of her. But then... where would I go? 

I had been planning to return to Earth with Jade, and then maybe we'd go live with Kekini. Without Jade, who was I? 

I walked to her room, wanting to remember her. When I walked in, I saw Keith sitting on the bed. He was staring at a picture of them laughing, tears rolling down his face... but he was smiling. No. He still had feelings for her, and he wasn't going to let her go.

"What are you doing in here?" I snarled. Keith looked up at me, smile fading.

"I might ask you the same thing," he said without emotion.

"She's dead because of you."

"What makes you say that?"

"She cared too much about you. She was willing to lay down her life, for you," I growled.

"If you just want to fight, then all you have to do is say it," Keith growled. "You don't realize that she didn't just belong to you. We both lost someone we loved today, Jared, so just swallow your pride for one second and think about what she would want. She wouldn't want her death to tear us apart. She would want us to finish her job and win this damn war."

 I said nothing, but glared at him. I hated the fact that he was right, hated the fact that he cared about her, hated him. But he was right. I sighed, backing away. Keith smiled at me.

"Look, when I first saw you, I hated you too. I thought Jade would be my lover, she didn't exactly hide her feelings very well. But then you came into the picture. When she attacked me, that was you keeping me away from her. When she said she didn't care for me, that was you hoping I would leave. Ever since I met her, we've been fighting for her affection, but I realized: she would chose who she thought was worthy. And if I wanted to win her love, I had to respect that."

"How are you so goddamn calm about this?!" I yelled. "It's almost as if you didn't care about her!"

Keith just sighed. "Jared, I've been broken for a long, long time. My mother left me when I was a baby, my dad died when I was a kid. Loss doesn't affect me as much as it used to. Of course I'm sad that Jade is gone, you heard me back at the base. But like Kolivan says: mission before emotion. I need to put my mission before my heart right now, and you should too. Mourning over her won't bring her back. Hurting me won't bring her back. Winning this war would make her proud. So make Jade proud."

I was shocked. When Keith had left, he was so much more immature. Hotheaded, if you will. Now he seemed... wiser. Smarter. Keith stood up.

"I have to go, Kolivan still wants me to go on another mission, but if you ever need to talk, I'll always be here," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. He started walking to the door, but I grabbed his arm, pulling him in for a quick hug.

"Thank you," I said, letting him go. "Now go kick some Galra ass."

Keith smiled, which I returned. The door closed, and I saw he had left the picture on the bed. I picked it up, noticing that it wasn't Keith and Jade. It was Jade and I. We were laughing over who knows what, but Keith seemed so fond of it. Did he really consider me as a friend? A brother?

 I looked at the picture, set it back down on the bed, and left the room, hoping that whoever found it would think fondly of Jade.

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I know what you're thinking: HOW IS THIS GONNA WORK OUT IF JADE IS DEAD!!!1!1!1!1!1!1!1!111!!!!!!!!

Let me just tell you this: Yes, Jade is dead. But remember what happened to Shiro? How he died and came back to life? I'm just gonna leave you with this thought.

I have no idea how this book is going to end.

Welp, see you in the next Chap!

-Moon <3