The Small Town

You're a stupid, dumb, idiot.

Lance had immediately sobered up at the sight of Keith in the fight. He held Keith upright and followed Pidge and Hunk outside. Hunk had placed Pidge on his shoulders to keep her with the rest of them, and they pushed through the crowd.

"Out of the way!" Pidge hollered. She kept looking back at Keith with a concerned expression, and each time Keith gave her a bloody smile and thumbs up. He could feel the bruises forming on his chin and cheek bone.

When the four of them made it outside, Keith was loaded into the back seat of the van. Hunk slipped into the driver's seat, being the only functional one with a license. Lance was preparing to climb into the passenger's seat when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"You good?" It was Lotor's voice. Through blurry vision, Keith could see Pidge and Lance glaring at the tanned boy. Lance threw Lotor's hand off of him.

"We were until you showed up," Pidge retorted. Keith laughed slightly and watched through the tinted window.

"Oh, little Katie," Lotor purred, placing his hand on Pidge's chin and raising it slightly. "So tough. So small." He sighed. "So many things you think you can do. And so many things you can't. You think you can beat me? What are you trying to gain? I could give you the world, if only you came with me."

Pidge tore her face from his grip and kicked him in the groin. He fell to the ground and groaned in pain. Keith cheered inside.

"Nah. I'm good. Unlike them," she gestured to the group behind Lotor, "You can't buy me. See you later Lotor. And maybe ice that."

Pidge slid into the car next to Keith and he placed his head on her shoulder, while muttering, "good job." His face was brighter red than the blood dripping from his nose and he hoped that no one noticed.

"Lance, we are never going to another party. Ever. Again," Hunk stated firmly. Lance sighed.

"Not with Keith at least," he grumbled. Pidge sighed and ran her hand through Keith's hair, toying with the ends of it. Keith's blush grew, and he was thankful for the darkness in the now moving car.

"You shouldn't have done that, you idiot," she sighed, continuing to play with Keith's hair. Seeming to notice what she was doing, Pidge pulled her hand back and rested it in her lap with the other one. Keith was visibly disappointed.

"What? Did you like that?" she teased him. "Jeez, you're like a cat." She rested her hand on the top of his head once more and continued to stroke his hair.

"Where are we going?" asked Hunk. Keith's nose was still dripping blood, so Pidge took the end of her sleeve and started dabbing at the mess, trying not to injure him further.

"Hospital?" suggested Lance. Pidge shrugged.

"Maybe. We should make sure he doesn't have a broken nose or internal damage. Left here, Hunk," she said. That was the last thing Keith heard before he fell limp, his head in Pidge's lap and his eyes closed.

Keith stirred awake and realized he was in a brightly lit room. Something warm rested in his hand, and when his finally cracked his eyes open he saw sitting Lance at the end of his bed, scrolling through his phone. He looked over at Keith and his face lit up.

"Where-?" Keith was cut off by Lance's finger on his mouth, silencing him. Lance pointed down to the edge of the bed, where Pidge was sleeping. She was in a chair facing Keith's hospital bed. She was leaning forward on the bed and using her arm as a pillow. Her other hand had slipped through Keith's and he felt a blush creep up his neck and to the tips of his ears. Lance chuckled.

"Hunk is out getting us food. We haven't told any of our parents, or your brother. You've been here for about an hour. Hunk and I carried you into the ER, while Pidge convinced the nurses to let us stay with you until you were dispatched. She also got your medical records up. That wasn't your first fist fight, was it? Oh, and you have nothing broken, no lasting damage, and a couple of bruises on your face and knees. Nothing too bad. You should be out by midnight, they just want to make sure you don't have a seizure or anything after they gave you pain killers and stuff." Lance quietly answered all of Keith's questions.

Keith nodded.

"What time is it now?" Keith asked. After checking his phone, the Cuban boy confirmed that it was ten to midnight.

"Good, we can leave soon." He sighed and looked down at the small girl at the edge of his bed. He smiled softly and removed his hand from her to caress her hair carefully.

"Don't wake her up. She rarely sleeps as it is," Lance informed him.

"I know. I lived with her for the summer."

"So are you going to our school? She, Hunk and I are all going to the junior year. Surprising, cause she's a year younger than us all. I think she skipped grade two, but I'm not sure." Lance's voice was tinged with jealousy at Pidge's intelligence. This made Keith chuckle internally.

"Lance?" Pidge yawned. "Is Hunk back?" She sat up and rubbed her eyes, and looked to Lance. Lance shook his head.

"No, mi amor. But Keith is awake." Lance motioned towards where Keith rested, and Pidge immediately launched herself into Keith's arms. She buried her face in his chest and his rested in her hair, similar to the way they had sat earlier that day.

"You're an idiot. You're a stupid, dumb, idiot. What the hell? I had it under control and you scared the shit out of me. You idiot," she mumbled against his neck.

"It's okay. I'm here. I'm not dead. I'm sorry," said Keith.

"Dios mío. Necesitas conseguir una habitación. Te gusta demasiado. En serio, está bien," muttered Lance.

Pidge broke from their hug and glared at Lance.

"Says you," she snapped. "You and Hunk were on the verge of tears when he collapsed. I kept my sanity, so I am allowed to give the damn boy a hug. Cabeza de pene."

"What did he say?" Keith asked. He had picked up a few Spanish phrases from Lance and his family, but wasn't as fluent as Lance, or even Pidge and Hunk. He was aware, however of what Pidge had called Lance. It made him smile.

Hunk walked through the door and threw the bags of fast food he had in his hands onto the table next to the bed.

"Keith! You're awake," he said, smiling widely. "You had us worried for a bit."

"Glad to hear you all care. What'd you get?" Keith asked, nodding towards the bags of food on the table. He threw off the blankets and tried to stand up, but was stopped by Pidge's small hands pushing him back down.

"We can eat in the car. The nurse should be here in a minute to give you the go ahead to leave. I promised my parents we'd be back by one," she explained.

On cue, the nurse walked in. She checked Keith over once and performed the usual check up procedure, before allowing him to leave alongside his friends.

"Mr. Kogane? Are you out of high school yet?" the nurse asked, twirling her hair around her finger.

"Bye!" said Pidge as she pushed the three boys from the room.

Once in the car, Hunk passed them each a bag of food. Pidge and Keith both got a six piece chicken nugget and fries, while Lance and Hunk got double patty burgers. Hunk had left their drinks in the car, so they were slightly warm. Even in the middle of the night, Texas summers were really warm.

Against Lance's wishes, Hunk had gotten Lance and himself water, while he got Keith a ginger ale and Pidge a Sprite. To her disappointment, it wasn't Sprite Cranberry.

They gobbled down their food quickly in the hospital parking lot. They made it to Lance's house after they finished eating and said goodbye. Pidge wasn't too keen on letting Keith drive his motorcycle, but he convinced her to let him drive. 

They reached Pidge's house in under ten minutes, and Keith went straight to his new room after watching Pidge hop the fence from his yard to hers. She waved at him through her bedroom window.

Keith understood why she told him to take the downstairs room. Their windows lined up perfectly, so they could see each other. Keith threw himself onto his bed and passed out fairly quickly.