I Love You Keith

Summer

James POV

I didn't sleep. At all. Lucky for me, it wasn't that noticeable. And I only had one more day of school this year, the I could go home and drown my sorrows in junk food and laziness. I planned on eating only sugar and sitting on the couch for hours. My dad had told me he wanted to do a movie marathon, so no matter what, that was what my first few days of summer vacation would be.

The next two days went quickly. I hardly remember them at all. We played games and joked around, but I can't recall any specifics. When we finally said our goodbyes, I was silent. Lance still didn't know that me and Keith were dating, so when I was acting grump, he kept poking me, saying "Lighten up! It's the last day of school!" I just glared at him until he left me alone.  I didn't feel like celebrating. The others pretty much left me alone, since they kew what was wrong. But Kinkade, like the good friend he was, kept trying to cheer me up. He made fun of Lance a bit, which made everyone laugh, told a funny story about his brother, and shot me little smiles. He had spent the most time with me and Keith, so he had a better idea of how important we were to each other. When we said goodbye, he hugged me and whispered in my ear"You good buddy?" I nodded, pulling back. "Yeah, just tired. I'll be fine." He looked at me doubtedly, but nodded. He knew not to press me. When me and Veronica said goodbye, she whispered. "Don't worry, my Mami and Abuela will make Lance miserable. And so will I." I smiled. "Thanks Veronica." Hunk and Pidge gave me sympathetic looks, and Rizavi smacked my shoulder. "Lighten up, you'll see him soon."'But what surprised me was what Ina did. She just walked up to me and gave me a hug, saying- "It's okay to be sad sometimes. You don't have to pretend around us. We're your family." I nodded silently, a small smile on my face. "I know that this is affecting you more than you're willing to admit, and you need to talk to someone about it. By holding it in, you're hurting yourself." She said. I nodded. "Okay, I will." Someday, I thought. Seemingly satisfied with my answer, she left. And with that, all of my friends were gone.

About half an hour later, my dad's car pulled up. I put my bags in the back and climbed into the front. "Hey son. Sorry I'm late. Traffic was murder." He said with a smile. Then he saw me, and it fell. "James, son, are you alright?" I nodded, looking out the window. "Are you sure? Do you wanna talk about it?" I shook my head again. "James, something is wrong. Will you please tell me? Is it about Keith?" I nodded silently. "What happened?" He asked. "I don't wanna talk about it. Not right now." I said. I don't care what Ina said, I don't wanna talk about it. "Okaay. SO how was school? You know, before." I shrugged. "It was good. I'm third in fighter pilot class." "Good! That's good! What else?" I sat up. "Well, uh, we went star gazing for Keith's birthday. And for Pidges, we, well, Veronica and Hunk, helped her build and program a robot. Then she chased her dog and us with it." "Well that was nice. What about Kinkade?" "He's good. He said he'd probably do photography camp again this year." My dad nodded. "Good for him. Anything else?" I shook my head. "No, not that I can think of. Oh, wait, Pidge thinks its all a government cover-up for an alien abduction." I said. "WhAt? A cover-up?" My dad asked, looking at me for a second, "Yeah. Shiro was the best pilot of his generation, and her dad and Matt were some of the best computer engineers ever. They don't just "accidently" crash without saying something. She said that she's gonna hack the Garrison database and prove it." "Isn't that a federal offense?" He asked, and I smiled. "Not if she doesn't get caught. All of their equipment is still in their rooms, and it's no secret that Pidge helped them design it. So she know all the passwords and stuff. It's only a matter of time." He nodded, and we drove the rest of the way in silence.

The first few days we were home, he stayed with me, and we watched all of the Star Wars and Avengers movies in order, joking around and eating junk food. Then he had to go back to work. I went to my mom's for two or three weekends, but I mostly stayed with my dad. I couch surfed mostly, but I worked out at the local gym too. According to my dad, I was being very "mopey", and didn't seem like myself.  But I brushed him off, insisting that I was fine.

One day, in July, a few days before my birthday, he walked in with a huge smile. ( because he has no official birthday, I'm making it mine, July 27th.) "Pack a bag, we're going on a trip." He said. I nearly fell off the couch. "Wait,what? A trip? Really?" I said, and he nodded. "Yep! Its a few hours away, but I know that you'll love it! Now hurry up! We have to be there by tomorrow!" I jumped up and ran to my room, and began stuffing my stuff in a bag. we were going on a trip! We never went on a vacation! Him and my mom always had work, or didn't have the time. I continued packing, excitement growing by the second. 

"Where are we going?" I asked as I walked out, trying to find my charger. "It's a surprise." He said, still smiling. "Really? You can't just tell me? How will I know what I need?" He continued smiling. "Well, if I tell you, it won't be a surprise. But you need a swimsuit." My eyes lit up "Are we going to the beach?!" He nodded. "Yep. We won't be home for a few days." I ran to and hugged him, smiling brightly. "Thanks dad!" He smiled, hugging me back. "No problem. Now hurry, I want to get there sometime today." I nodded and released him, running back to my room. Not only were we going on a trip, we were going to the beach, AND we'd be staying for a few days! I was the happiest that I'd been the entire summer.

Not too long after, we were in his car, starting the drive to the beach. "Where exactly are we going?" I asked, bouncing in my seat. I was acting like a fucking four year old, but I couldn't help it! I was so happy! My dad chuckled. "Settle down James. We're going to Corpus. You mom told me how much you enjoyed going last year, so I figured we should go this year." I smiled. "Yeah! It was really fun! Me, Keith and Adam got ice cream, and played in the water, and we threw sand at Adam!" "Hahaha! Oh, Adam must not have liked that." I smiled "He didn't. He chased us with a water gun, and nearly plowed over some old lady. She started yelling at him, and he was apologizing forever." "Hahahaha! James, you're gonna get in trouble for that someday." My dad said with a smile. I shrugged. "Only if I get caught." I said with a smile.

That's how it went for the rest of the ride. We joked around, talking about random things. We stopped at a Bucky's,got some drinks and chips, then continued on our way. At some point, I fell asleep, and my dad had to wake me up. "James. James. James. JAMES!" He said, poking my sides. I opened my eyes groggily. "Hmm? Yeah?" He smiled. "We're here. grab your stuff." I nodded sleepily and stepped out of the car. We went in the hotel and checked in. My dad kept checking his phone, like he was expecting something. He got a call, and stepped into the hall. "Huh? Really? Okay, we'll wait for a little bit. Yeah, he's been doing that to. Alright. See you soon."  Then he came back in. "Well, how about we stay in here for  a little bit? It's still pretty hot and crowded, and if we wait, we might se the stars." I nodded, jumping on one of the beds. "Okay." And turned on the TV. "So who were you talking to?" I asked. My dad shrugged and sat on the other bed. "A friend. He has a moody teen too, and he might meet us here." I groaned "Is this a business trip?" He shook his head, smiling "No. We just might see some friends."