I Love You Keith

Bad News

James POV

The last few months had passed quickly. Christmas was next week, and excitement was in the air. Keith's birthday had come and gone, and for it, me him and Adam had gone stargazing with the hover bikes. He tried not to make a big deal out of it, cause Shiro wasn't there, but we still got him little gifts. A little hippo keychain, a few bucks, and lots of Sour Patch Kids and Hot Cheetos. He apparently really liked the jacket I had gotten him for Christmas, and had fallen into the habit of wearing it almost everyday. We were all doing pretty good in our classes, but we hung out with Pidge, Hunk and Lance less. We were mostly with Kinkade, Veronica, Rizavi and Ina. They were still making the jokes, but we mostly ignored them. Keith hadn't done that again, but we still were all "lovey dovey" all the time. (Pidge's words, not mine.)

Anyway, Iverson had called the entire Garrison to the cafeteria for a special assembly. No one knew what it was for, not even Adam. As we went to sit down, Keith, Adam and Pidge were pulled aside. They were seated in the front, along with Mrs.Holt. Me and Kinkade shared a questioning look, and sat behind them. Veonica, Lance, Hunk, Rizavi and Ina sat with us. After everyone was seated, Iverson stepped to the podium. You knew the second you saw his face that it was bad news. He had bags under his eyes, and in his eyes were layers of pain and sadness. "Good evening Cadets. I-I have some bad news." He took a deep breath and wiped at his eyes. "As of a week ago, we lost, we lost contact with the Kerberos mission." You could tell that Iverson was holding back tears, and a gasp went up from the crowd. They hadn't made contact in a week? That could only mean one thing. "Our, our team tried contacting them numerous times to no avail. They managed to access the cameras, and saw no one. The cameras on the outside showed, um, they showed reckage. It is believed that there was an pilot error, and the ship crashed. There were no signs of astronauts Shirogane, Matthew or Holt. they're believed to be..." He took a shakey breath "They're believed to be-to be dead." A silence fell over the crowd, and Iverson's face broke. Tears fell down his face, and he stared down at the podium. "I-I'm so sorry for the families and friends of the astronauts. And, and due to the- the distance, and-and apparent danger of going there, we cannot send a spacecraft to retrieve the bodies. I-I'm, I'm so sorry." He stuttered out, and left the podium. I stared in shock. Shiro, Matt and Mr.Holt were gone? No, no no no no. I looked at Keith and Pidge, and they looked like they had just been shot. Adam had leaned over, and had his face buried in his hands. His shoulders were shaking, and I realized that he was crying. Mrs.Holt rubbed his back, tears streaming down her face. Me and the others exchanged a look. This changed everything. 

They wouldn't be coming home. Ever. And we had to comfort our friends.People started leaving, probably to process this information. But the Holts, Adam and Keith stayed in place. I think they were in too much shock to move. I stepped through the chairs and sat next to Keith. "Keith?" He looked up at me, and my heart felt like it was breaking. His normally bright eyes were shining with unshed tears, the light inside then gone, replaced with sadness and pain, and he was shaking a bit. "He-he's g-gone. James, Shiro's g-gone." He leaned into my shoulder, and I pulled him into a hug. I just held him silently, rubbing his back soothingly as he cried into my shirt. Adam and Mrs.Holt were in a similar position, holding on to each other and crying. Veronica and Hunk were comforting Pidge, as the others stood to the side. "Oh my god." Kinkade whispered. "Keith I'm so sorry." Keith didn't respond. He had stopped crying for now, but he was still clinging to me, like he was afraid that I'd leave too. Lance placed his hand on Kinkade's shoulder. "Lets leave them alone for now. I think James, Ronny and Hunk got this." Kinkade nodded, and him, Lance, Rizavi and Ina left. I sighed, still holding Keith "I'm sorry." He nodded into my shoulder, but remained silent. 

This year had started off great, and it had looked like everything was going to go right. Shiro would come back, we'd become fighter pilots. But then this happened. And I knew that things would never be the same. Everything was about to change.