Stealing the World

Chapter 12: Tracking

Lance dialed Keith's number for what felt like the millionth time.
Still, no answer. Lance was about worried out of his skin. Of course, he was a little mad at Keith, but he was worried.
Why did this have to happen? I thought we could've been friends... Lance was disappointed.
He could be hurt. He gets wreckless when he's mad!  Lance realized he had been hypervenulating. His hands were shaking as he still clutched his phone by his side. Did  I do something wrong to anger him?
Lance groaned in frustration. Something bad like this always seemed to happen when he was with Keith. He decided the best thing to do would be to just go back inside to think about where he could've gone.

Lance sipped his coffee he had just ordered as he was deep in thought. He decided to try calling Keith again.
"Hi. This is Keith. Sorry I couldn't pick up. Just leave a message after the call. Beep."  Voicemail. Maybe Keith had fallen asleep somewhere. It was 3 in the morning all. He called Shiro. It went to voicemail too.
Maybe I shouldn't have been so assertive. I could've been a bit gentler,  he thought. But he couldn't dwell on his regrets now. All that mattered was making sure Keith was safe. He decided to call Pidge. Maybe Keith had gone over to them.
After a few rings, she finally picked up. "Lance, what the heck? It's like, 3 in the morning," She mumbled groggily. "I don't care," Lance said fastly. "So, you know how me and Keith went to McDonald's earlier?" "Yeah." "Well, Keith kinda got mad because Shiro kept calling him so he ran away..." There was a pause from the other side of the call. "Lance, what the f-" Lance cut her off quickly. "I just need you to help me. Please." Pidge sighed. "I don't know how much I can help you... I'll try. Just give me a second." Then, she hang up.
Lance let out a sigh of relief. He could only hope Pidge would succeed in finding Keith.

Lance almost started to doze off when his phone rang on the table.
It was Pidge. "Oh, thank God," He breathed. "Pidge! Did you find him?" He was eager to find out where Keith was. "Not yet," Pidge muttered. Lance groaned in frustration.
Then why did you call me?  He thought, but wouldn't say out loud. "I think I've almost got him. You gotta give me a second. Also, don't be so loud. Hunk's still asleep, and if I wake him, he'll have a heart attack." "So... no idea at all where he is?" Lancee whined. He heard Pidge sigh. Clearly, she was just as stressed as he was. "Just try him and Shiro's dorm. If I get anything new, I'll contact you. Okay?" Lance nodded, then realized she couldn't tell. "Yeah. That's fine. Good luck." And with that, he hung up. They were going to find Keith before the night was over.

Lance reached the college dorms after what felt like forever. He bolted up the stairs and down the hall to Keith and Shiro's dorm.
"Come in," A groggy, deep voice muttered. Lance opened the door to see it was unlocked, and saw Shiro sitting on his bead with his head in his hands. It surprised Lance. He had always seen Shiro as the strongest, most confident guy ever. Heck, he dated the headmaster's daughter and he was captain of the football team!
"Oh. It's you." Shiro said when he looked up to see Lance. He didn't seem particularly happy to see him, nut his expression was blank.
"Um... hi," Lance responded, feeling awkward. "So... I take it Keith didn't come back here, did he?" "No," Shiro answered. He looked beyond tired, from staying up late and worrying about Keith.
"Listen," Lance started. "We're going to find him. He won't be missing very long, trust me. I have Pidge helping, too," Shiro looked a little relieved. "She'll find him by the end of the night," He paused. "Listen, Shiro... don't take this the wrong way, but... maybe you should just stay here. You definitely need to rest, and he might come back," To his surprise, Shiro didn't get mad. He just nodded slowly in understanding.
"That's fine," He said. "Whatever you think is better." Lance smiled softly. he liked it when people counted on him. It made him feel important.
Now is not the time,  he riminded himself. This was a serious situation. But they could fix it.

Lance and Shiro just sat on the bed in silence, waiting for something to happen. Anything. Then, it did.
Lance's phone started to ring. It was Pidge.
"Pidge!" Lance cried. "Yeah, yeah. Love you too. Anyway, I've got something. I tracked Keith's phone, and it says he's at the Holiday Inn on the other side of town," Pidge informed him. Lance was about to jump up and down with excitement. He had been so worried about Keith the past several hours, and he could finally go get him! "Thank you so much, Pidge," He told her. "Lance... are you crying or something?" Lance groaned in annoyance. "I am not that emotional about this!" He shouted into the phone. he could just hear Shiro chuckling beside him. "Ugh. I'm on my way to go get him. He'll be back soon." He said, to both Pidge and Shiro. And with that, he raced out of the room, down the hallway, and down the stairs to his bike. He was going to find Keith.

AUTHORS NOTE
So sorry this chapter's kinda short, but I hope ya'll are still happy with it. I don't really know what else to say, sooo... bye I guess?