Our Paradise

7

Ever since the day in the field, Lance had been around a bit more but still kept his interactions with Keith to a minimum. He had agreed one day to confront his dealer with Keith and stop buying from him, so they did. There'd still be a day where he'd sneak a smoke every once in a while, but he soon coaxed himself off of them.

    Though Lance preferred to keep away from Keith after the awkward tension and mom-like supervision he had over him, he was still curious about something. What exactly had he told Keith by the stream? The pot he'd smoked that day had really gotten to his head and clouded up his memory, so he was at a loss. And it's not like he could just ask someone else. They were alone.

    Putting his pride aside, he decided he'd ask. It was their lunch bell, so Lance knew he'd have time to talk.

    He approached Keith's table quietly, a couple people staring as he went. Hunk, out of instinct, winced slightly and scooted closer to Shay just in case. Pidge shifted slightly in her seat but otherwise ignored him.

    Keith stared at his friends for a moment before making eye contact with him, a small apologetic smile on his lips.

    "Hey, Lance. What's up?"

    "I, uhh... can we talk?"

    Pidge narrowed her eyes slightly, glancing up at Keith so only he could see her.

    Keith shrugged. "Yeah, I guess that's fi--" Pidge kicked his leg under the table. "Ow! Hey!" Keith glared at the small girl as if to give a warning.

    Pidge grit her teeth together, barely forming her words. "Lunchtime is our time."

    Despite her efforts to keep quiet, Lance overheard her, stepping back and glancing at his shoes. "Nevermind. I'll catch you later, I guess."

    Keith gave one final glare to Pidge before standing up. "No, it's fine. Let's go."

    Pidge rested her forehead on her propped up hand, staring at the table. "People are staring, Keith."

    "Then let them stare, Pidge. Lay off." He gave a small tug at Lance's sleeve and began walking away from the table. "Come on, let's go talk."

    The two continued to walk towards the cafeteria doors ignoring the occasional whistle or stare. Eventually, they'd finally made their way outside the cafeteria. Keith's face already had a slightly red tint due to people's quiet comments, but he shook it off, instead focusing on their soon-to-be discussion.

    "So...what's up?"

    "Well... it's about the other day."

    Keith furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. "Don't think I'm backing out on my promise. I swear to you, I won't."

Lance shook his head rapidly. "No! No, it's not that. It's just... what did I say?"

Keith gave a confused look, tilting his head slightly. "What did you say..?"

"The other day in the field when we talked. What did I say?"

Keith pondered the question for a moment, still obviously confused. "I mean, you shared stuff about your sense of self-worth. How you thought no one really cared about you..." Lance gulped but stayed quiet, eager for more answers. "You mentioned some stuff I already knew about your home life from Leanna, an--"

"Wait, she told you about that?"

"I-I, yeah..."

Lance's eyes narrowed slightly and Keith could already feel their process backtracking. "How much do you know, exactly?" His tone was harsh and cold as he spoke.