Realizing || Klance fanfic || Highschool AU

Speech

"It's a packed house," Lance said as he peeked beyond the red curtains. 

All the chairs that were meant for the audience were filled. Some people had to stand and watch the boy poke his head out. 

There were reserved seats for the actors' families.

He spotted Pidge's folks who seemed happy and cheerful. There were only 3 people, Matt, Ryner, and someone he didn't recognize. In a strange way, they all looked like copies of Pidge.

Next, Lance saw Hunk's parents and siblings. They were either chefs or training to become professional cooks. The food they and Hunk himself would create were amazing!

Then, he saw his own group. NO MEMBER of his family was quiet. There were his two brothers, Marco and Luis, and sister, Veronica. His Cuban parents were there too. Then of course... his nieces and nephews were playing in their seats.

Finally, he looked around and observed Keith's family.

There was his mother along with another woman. For the first time, Lance got to see Keith's sister,  Axca. That was all the people of his family he saw.

Lance looked away and started to search for his friends. When he went backstage, everyone was bundled up together in the middle of the room. He peered over his fellow students to find them.

Suddenly, Lance located Keith who was sitting by himself in the dark.

He kept inhaling deeply and playing with his thumbs. Once in a while, he would remove his plastic crown and flip his hair. His right leg was taking rapid, small jumps. He seemed timid or scared... or probably both.

"Hey," Lance muttered. He sat down next to Keith, "You nervous?"

The jittery boy nodded. His head seemed to flinch and tilt. 

"Baby please calm down..." he rubbed his back in slow motion.

Now both of his legs were jumpy. He leaned forward then back and looked up at the ceiling.

"Keith..!" Lance kneeled in front of him. 

The teen never calmed down.

Then a light bulb lit on top of his head.

Lance got up and bolted to the storage room. Everyone's belongings were inside this small capacity. 

He opened the door and looked for a big, red backpack with black straps and a tree-palm keychain. After a few seconds of looking, he found it under a pile of materials for the play. He moved the extra stuff to the side and dug into Keith's bag.

Inside were a few objects. There was lotion, a fake blade, PE clothes, a wallet, his partner's favorite book, and more. Then he spotted a pair of headphones. 

Lance immediately brought his phone out and plugged the earbuds in.  He went on Spotify and put on a playlist of calming music.

He ran outside the room and rushed back to Keith who was curled up into a ball. 

Lance slowed down and sat down in front of him. He tapped his shoulder which made his boyfriend lift up his head. He showed him the music that was playing and looked at him concerningly. Keith nodded his head once again. 

The caring high schooler put the headphones in his lover's ears. He secured them and lowered the volume of the song that was playing.

Thanks to the comforting noise produced by the melody, he became relaxed.

Keith fluttered his eyes and sighed, "Hey... can I ask you something?"

Lance smiled, "Sure, what's up?"

"Do you think I'll mess up? I mean I've never played a role like this. I've always been a dressed up prop in the back. I don't really think I'll be able to pull this off..."

"Keith, I'm positive that you'll do an awesome job! We've been practicing and you're a natural!"

"But what if I make a mistake?"

"Then you bust out those improv skills!"

"Heh, I remember that well."

"Me too. I think Pidge is still mad at us for putting him in the position of a little kid."

"But that was hilarious!"

"I know, right?"

The two of them giggled.

"Do you feel any better?" Lance asked.

Keith smiled brightly, "A bit yeah, thanks for cheering me up."

"That's what I'm here for."

The two of them leaned in and kissed passionately. It was very sweet and slow. Keith seemed calm and didn't want to use any force. Lance was quite okay with this.

"EVERYONE, GATHER AROUND!" Shiro yelled as he waved his arms in the air.

The two teens stood up and walked to him. Their friends, Hunk and Pidge were there along with many other actors. People were wearing gowns, cardboard armor, suits, dresses, ragged clothing, etc. In total, there were 32 performers.

"Today is the day of the play!" The man announced. "I have had the greatest time working with each and every one of you. I've watched you all evolve into beautiful people. Some of you made new friends..."

At that moment, members started to glance at each other with hopeful eyes.

"Some of you found your true identity..."

Hunk turned and hugged Pidge.

"And some of you... even found love."

Keith and Lance connected hands and kissed again. Students in the background let out an "Awe!" which made them blush.

Shiro continued to speak, "Everyone here has a purpose! You all have a part in this play and are very important to us. In this class, no one is and will never be alone. You are all strong and powerful in your own special ways, never forget that! Acting is in our blood! So tonight, let's do our best!"

All the students cheered and applauded their teacher. People raised their fists and yelled cheerfully. Everyone was pumped up and fully prepared.

"Is everyone ready?" Shiro asked.

"YEAH!" All the pupils shouted.

Pidge took a picture of everyone in the club.

"Then let the show begin!"