distance // klance internet friends au

Chapter 14

Lance's pov

I felt a few tears make their way down my face as Hunk pulled up outside my house.

"Hey man, do you want help with your stuff?" Hunk asked, getting ready to get out of the car.

I shook my head, and wiped the tears from my face. I needed to at least pretend to be strong.

"It's cool man. I'm sure you're both eager to go home and unpack and stuff. I'll be able to manage."

Pidge and Hunk exchanged a glance. I could tell they were worried. I had been quiet almost the entire car ride home.

Under normal circumstances, I would have been chatting their ears off the entire ride, talking about the trip, and of course, pining after Keith.

I grabbed my stuff from Hunk's car and made my way to the front door. I walked inside and was immediately greeted by my parents, who wrapped me into a big hug.

"So, how was the trip?" My mom asked once they let go.

"It was great mom, but honestly, I'm pretty tired, so I'm going to go get some sleep." I said.

And without another word, I made my way up to my room. I closed the door and collapsed onto my bed. Finally being alone, I let the tears fall.

I sobbed and sobbed, and didn't stop until I heard a soft knock at the door. I sat up and quickly dried my face.

I took a quick look in the mirror. I looked like absolute shit. My hair was stuck up and all different angles, and my eyes were bloodshot from crying so much. Tear stains covered my face.

I walked over to the door, not daring to open it. As soon as whoever was behind the door saw me they would know something was wrong.

"Who is it?" I yelled.

"Lance...it's Veronica. Can I come in?" Her voice was soft, and laced with concern.

"Can't you just say what you need to through the door?" I asked, cringing at how my voice cracked.

"Lance, something's wrong, I can tell. I can hear your sobs all the way down the hallway. Please, let me in."

I sighed, pulling up my hood and sat back on my bed, facing the wall. I was silent for a little while.

Fine, come on in." I said at last.

I heard the door open and shut, and the bed sank a little where Veronica had sat beside me.

"What happened Lance? I thought you'd be happy after finally getting to meet Keith."

I shook my head and buried my face in her chest and sobbed.

After she got over her surprise, her arms wrapped around me. "Woah, it's ok. What happened?" Her voice held a more urgent and worried tone now that I had burst out crying.

I sniffed a few times and removed myself from her grasp. Tears were still pouring from my eyes, but not as much as before.

"Well, we went to New York, and we went to the museum where we were supposed to meet. When I got to the meeting place, Keith wasn't there. But his boyfriend was. He told me to stay away from Keith, to stop talking to him, that I was just making his life worse, and that if I did talk to Keith it could end badly for someone, probably me. So, I told Keith I had to go home early, but Keith saw me in the street, and then he was texting me, and I told him I wouldn't be able to talk for a while. Ronnie, I don't know what to do. I don't want anyone to get hurt." I took a few gasping breaths, as I had tried to get it out as fast as I could.

"Lance-"

But she didn't get to finish. There was another knock at my door.

"Lance? Ronnie? Mom says it's almost time for dinner, and that you two should hurry up and come down." My brother Marco said from the hall.

Veronica told me to wait as she got up to talk to Marco.

They talked in hushed whispers, and I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I could tell they were talking about me.

After a little while, she came back over to me.

"I told Marco to tell Mom that you're not feeling well, and that I was going to take care of you, so Mom doesn't have to worry." I sighed, wiping my face.

"Ronnie, go ahead and eat. I don't want you to go hungry because of me."

She smirked. "Who said I was going to go hungry?"

I raised an eyebrow as she stood up and left the room, muttering a quick "I'll be right back" before going.

I sat on my bed, picking at the sheets, waiting for her to come back. My thoughts wandered back to Keith, and a few fresh tears made their way down my face.

I wanted nothing more than to call him and explain my lies and avoidance. But I didn't want him or anyone else to get hurt. And I had a feeling someone would get hurt if James found out I had explained what had happened. And I doubted Keith would believe me, James was his boyfriend.

I jumped as my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I had forgotten I had put it there. I pulled it out to see who had called me, and almost threw the phone across the room when I saw.

Incoming call from Keith_Kogane

More tears streamed down my face as I pressed decline. A few seconds went by, before Keith called again.

I sighed and picked it up, making sure the camera was facing the ceiling so he didn't see the condition I was in.

As soon as it connected, he started talking.

"Lance? Thank god you picked up. I know you don't want to explain, but I'm worried. First, you lie about leaving New York, then, you say you're not going to be online. Lance, if I did something, please tell me so I can make it right. Please, you're one of the best friends I've ever had, and I don't want to lose you."

He stopped talking, but I didn't say anything. I didn't trust myself to say anything without crying more than I was already.

I heard him sigh, before he started talking again. "Lance, please, at least give me a sign that you're actually there?"

Now it was my turn to sigh. I waved my hand over the camera a little, then retracted it again.

A small smile made itself evident on his face.

"At least you're there. But still, please tell me what I did wrong."

I took a breath to prepare myself to speak. I waited a few seconds, and I began.

"Keith...I'm sorry I can't give you the explanation you deserve. But believe me...you'll be better off without me. You have good friends...a good...boyfriend...and you deserve so much better than the friendship I gave you. We live 3 hours apart, why did you think this was going to work?"

Tears streamed down my face, and I had to choke back several sobs.

"Lance..."

I didn't have to look at the phone to know he was crying. I could hear it in his voice. It broke my heart to know that he was crying because of me.

"Just forget about me Keith. It's not worth the effort. Go back to living your life. With Shiro and Adam. With Axca. With...James." I choked out.

"Lance, please don't do this. We made our friendship work for so long, despite the time difference. Please Lance...please..."

"Goodbye Keith." I said, and I ended the call.