beaming | keith kogane

VII | liar

☀

—

"LIAR," She suddenly slammed a bag of chips in front of my face. I flinched, suddenly looking up from my phone to give her a disinterested glare. However, seeing who it was, my expression visibly softened briefly before the usual stoic expression returned. "You're not eating," Y/n frowned, crossing her arms as she stared at me.

I blinked, once, twice. "You can't force me to eat." The retort slipped past my lips as I glared at her, returning my gaze to my phone. She pouted, pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth. The girl chewed on it, as if contemplating briefly. Deeming the action as nothing, but a waste of my time, I looked back on my phone and ignored her presence.

Suddenly, an object flung against my head, making a loud popping sound. "Hey, what the—" She crossed her arms at me, raising a brow challengingly. I squinted my eyes at her back, sizing her up briefly. "Oh, you want to play that game too?" I threw the potato chip bag back, the bag opening up as chips spilled into the air, raining down on other students too.

From across the hall, another student shouted. "FOOD FIGHT!" Instantly, it was pure chaos. People were using their sprites, going berserk as food flung everywhere. Sandwiches, tacos, and whatever godforsaken food they called lunch caked the walls, painting it a blur of colors. Usually, I'd be annoyed, but I turned to my left, catching hints of laughter.

Y/n was laughing, holding her abdomen. "You really started this! I didn't think you'd have it in you, honestly." I averted my eyes, sighing. I wouldn't be surprised if I got suspended over this. Instead, I looked over in Pidge's direction as the short female lightly punched me in the arm. "Thanks for doing that, now I can test out my latest invention."

I blinked briefly as she suddenly tossed a small ball into a crowd, screaming shortly after. "FOOD BOMB!" A splatter of green goo exploded, covering students, walls, and the ceiling itself. Y/n blinked with wide eyes, taking a step back. She waved her hands, "Nope, I'm not taking the blame for that—"

Her sentence ended shortly as her foot slipped on some food, the girl unfortunately landing straight on her ass. Instantly, snickers left my lips and she took a moment to register what just happened. Soon enough, Y/n turned to me and grinned slightly. She mocked me, "Oh, you want to play that game too?"

She picked up a glob of the goo, tossing it at me as it ruined my red t-shirt. I immediately cursed at her, doing the same to her. Suddenly, the cafeteria doors opened, revealing a startled Allura, slightly ticked off Shiro, and disappointed Alfor. "Alright, who started it?!" He yelled, the cafeteria turned to chaos once more, unsure as to who to blame.

A hand latched onto my wrist suddenly, pulling me backwards. For a second, I was panicked and confused, my sclera turning yellow. Turning my head, my yellow eye clashed with an e/c one and I instantly calmed down. She gave me a grin, pulling me along the hallway until skidding to a stop at a water cooler. "Won't they see the goo trail?" I teased, looking at the green gunk.

Y/n smiled lightly, "They can't put the entire cafeteria in detention." I rolled my eyes, taking off my sneaker and slapping whatever food was in it out. My sock was wet, the most uncomfortable feeling in the world creeping up on me. "Alfor's the head of the academy, he can pretty much do whatever he pleases." I muttered under my breath, the girl laughing softly.

"Still," Her e/c eyes twinkled, my heart skipping a beat at the sight. "I'm sure Alfor has a heart. He was nice when I transferred, at least." I shook my head with a low chuckle. There was no denying it. As much power as Alfor had, he was pretty lenient when it came to the students. To him, our health came first.

Y/n sighed under her breath, "It's okay to live a little sometimes, Keith," I tensed instantly, blinking incredulously at her. This felt weird. I don't like people calling me out like this; especially when I have no idea what my own emotions are. They shouldn't be able to read me like a fucking book if I can't read my own in the first place.

She slid against the wall, resting her butt against the floor. "If we get in trouble, so be it. Sometimes, you get in trouble, but for reasons that are actually worth it. Not, y'know, fighting." She emphasized, clicking her tongue teasingly at me. I rolled my eyes, messing with my fingers and running them over my still slightly bruised knuckles.

I stopped for a second, my right leg fidgeting underneath me as I copied her pose, sitting across from her as my back hit the wall. "Hold on," I glanced up at her, our eyes meeting again. "Did you do this on purpose?" Y/n averted her eyes silently, not saying anything. She opened her mouth before closing it, heavily resembling a fish.

She messed with her own fingers, pulling at them quietly. As if coming to a conclusion, she tilted her head up to look at me. The girl cheekily winked, "Maybe? This is one of the fun reasons for getting detention." Y/n giggled. Her h/c hair brushed against her waist as her eyes stared up at the ceiling.

"That and I've never 'experienced' a food fight. I wanted to see what it was like, y'know?"

I deadpanned at her, staring. "No, not at all," I stood up, brushing the remnants of pizza crusts, goo, and whatever else was thrown at that fight off my pants. "Getting my clothes and others dirty doesn't sound fun." I emphasized on the word, finding out her true motivation on the entire situation.

The girl tilted her head, blinking. "What if it wasn't for fun? Maybe I just wanted to see you genuinely laugh or smile?" A grin stretched across her lips. "And as far as I know, I achieved that goal." I blinked, my cheeks warming under her playful gaze. As I opened my mouth to respond, we were interrupted by the squeaking of wheels.

Our janitor, Coran, stood in the middle of the hallway, moving the mop bucket as he mopped away the mess that we left. He stared, studied, and paused before mustering an answer. He grinned widely, sending us a thumbs up. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."