the culprit | keith kogane

III | thursday

pidgeon 🤖 | 3:42 p.m.
still at his house. . . matt's
taking his sweet time, i guess.

y/n | 3:43 p.m.
seems like matt, haha.

—

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING AT," I huffed, closing my eyes and looking to the side. I kept tossing a pocket knife up into the air, twirling it and catching it easily. If Shiro was here, I'd be dead just for the simple action. Pidge set her elbow on the couch's arm, spreading her legs on the rest of it. Even then, her legs barely brushed the other side unlike mine.

Kosmo, who laid across my legs, yawned and looked up at Pidge. "I don't know if you're acting or you're genuinely senseless when it comes to these things," She muttered, her tone coming off as disappointed as she said it under her breath. I caught the knife, my wrist flicking as I did so, catching my dog's attention.

The canine turned his head, blinking at my hand before settling his head back onto his paws. "Am I supposed to feel insulted?" I questioned, my eyes piercing into hers. Pidge was unfazed by my stare. She was one of the ones that had grown used to it, unlike most of the students in our school. Pidge shrugged, "Take it as you want."

"However," Her honey colored eyes stared at me. "How you don't realize it will always baffle me. If need be, I'll tell you later." She picked herself up off the couch, going to the door even though the doorbell hadn't rung and there was no knock. "Pidge—" I started, but stopped when the door let out a solid knocking sound.

I was slightly irritated at her eerie statements and standoffish nature. She glanced at her phone silently before staring at me, giving a brief explanation to me. "Matt's always four minutes late," Pidge turned back to the door, opening it with a swift twist and click of the doorknob. Matt stumbled in, seemingly leaning on the door casually.

He offered a box, an embarrassed and sheepish grin on his face. His face pinked in the slightest, but we didn't really bother. Kosmo eventually distracted him, leaping off the couch and jumping, his paws brushing Matt's chest and thighs continuously as he barked, tail wagging rapidly. I slowly dragged myself off the couch, setting my elbows on my knees.

Pidge nodded at me before waving at her brother, "There's cookies in the kitchen," She said nonchalantly, her brother heading into the kitchen. I smirked lightly, following after her since she had the equipment. "I thought you'd be set on taking the cookies for yourself," I chimed, closing the door behind me.

She smirked, snorting. "Matt's hungry and wants some kind of payment, which are the cookies, in this sense. However," She paused, wagging her index finger in the air. "He absolutely despises sugar cookies." I snorted when I heard an angry yell from the kitchen. "PIDGE! THESE ARE SUGAR COOKIES!"

Taking the box from her, I set it on the table and opened it with the box cutter that was laid beside it. Tearing it open and grabbing the item, I sighed and looked back at the array of tools that hung from the wall. Grabbing a wrench, I popped the hood again and got to work. If I was lucky, this'll take an hour.

If I wasn't, it'll take two hours.

Time's passed and it hasn't even been a full two hours of me working on this mess. Lance had barged in at one point, loudly knocking on the door and questioning the fact of whether or not I had taken his soccer equipment. Honestly, I don't know if he got blinder or stupider by the day. It was a line that laid in between both sides.

Eventually, Matt had to take him back to his house since Lance's stupid self had sprinted a full mile to accuse me of stealing his things. Matt texted Pidge later, saying on how they found that Lance's sibling had stolen it to practice and be like Lance. I wonder how many brain cells that kid lost while attempting to act like his older brother.

Pidge was currently on top of my work table, but made sure to avoid the slight spill of engine oil on it. Her legs swung back and forth in a rhythmic motion and even if she had Bluetooth headphones, I'm completely sure she wasn't listening to any music. Pidge and I had similar music taste, so if she wanted to play music, she could hook it up to the speakers.

The silence was kinda comforting, the occasional cranking of metal and movement from me being the only noises in the room. Not to mention Pidge's leg hissing in pain sometimes when her leg bumped into the edge of the table. Stretching her arms back briefly to loosen her muscles, she broke the silence, seemingly continue the conversation about Y/n's odd behavior.

"She likes you,"

"She what now?" I blinked rapidly and I'm sure my onyx eyes showed some sort of panic. Pidge fidgeted with her sleeves, as if she was spilling something that she wasn't supposed to. I didn't understand girls, nor did I understand their girl codes, but I'm sure that there was a part of her that even slightly regretted what she said.

Pidge glanced at me, "I thought it was obvious. I reckoned you'd pick up the signs," My brows furrowed. She's lying. She must be lying. Why in the hell would my best friend like me? Of all people? Nonetheless, we've been attached at the hip since we were babies and not once had she pulled a move, ever.

Y/n wasn't like that and she definitely didn't like me either. As much as I considered Pidge one of my closest friends, I really doubted her right now. Pidge sighed, knowing I didn't believe the words that just left her mouth. "It's whatever, really. Just don't tell her I told you this," Taking a tool, she tossed it towards me.

I clicked my tongue, sparing a look at her and catching the item before pulling the bottom of my shirt to wipe the sweat and engine oil off my face. "Yeah, it really is whatever."