Willow|| Klance Single Dad AU

Chapter 3: Creep

TW: slight mentions of legal usage of marijuana
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Lance's car came to a rough stop, the old vehicle shaking about and making an awful squeaking noise that was caused by the breaks. He let out an exhausted sigh, unbuckling his seat belt and yanking the keys out of the engine. Lance let his head fall forward, resting against the steering wheel. His eyes drifted shut, another sigh parting his lips.

The boy was extremely tired, just returning home from an eleven-hour shift. Lance had been awake since six in the morning, but he had no one to blame his exhaustion on except himself. He picked up a couple of different shifts, more than he was used to. Lance only worked overtime because he needed the extra money, Willow needed it.

Money was always tight for Lance, things had been that way since he was little. Growing up in a big family where he was the youngest out of four children meant everything he owned was once owned by his older brothers. The only occasion Lance got something new and of his own was Christmas or his birthday. His parents were both immigrants that owned a small restaurant in Rockford. You'd think that would bring in a lot of income, but it was the complete opposite. To sum things up, Lance was used to living a lower-class lifestyle.

Even so, he didn't want the same for his daughter. Lance wanted to make sure he could give Willow everything she needed and more. He wanted Willow to have the best childhood she possibly could, and that was already difficult enough when she only had one parent. Lance never struggled with simple things like food, clothing, and other necessities. He did struggle with other things like nice housing, funding for school activities, and gifts for Willow. No matter how much he struggled, he still did and got everything Willow wanted. He spoiled his baby girl and Lance wasn't ashamed of it, but sometimes he did wish he had the money to go to college and get a higher education. Maybe if he did have a secondary education he'd have a better career and could make more money to support his daughter.

Lance didn't stress it much though, being grateful for what he did have. He knew that there were plenty of people that had far less than he did, and thinking about that made him sad. So Lance was happy with what he earned and the life he built for himself and his daughter. Though he was only human, and everybody wished they had more. Wanting was human instinct, so Lance couldn't help the fact that he wished he had more to give.

He huffed, leaning back in the car seat to stare at the ceiling. Lance took a second to collect his thoughts and calm his hyper mind before grabbing his backpack out of the backseat. He pulled open the car door, the hinges making an awful creaking noise. Lance stepped out of his truck, slamming the door shut and hitting the lock button on the key fob.

The second Lance's feet met the pavement, a scent began to invade his nostrils. A prominent scent, one he was familiar with but hadn't had the luxury of smelling in a while. His nose filled with the intoxicating smell, making his eyebrows knit together in question. Lance's nose twitched, scrunching it up, forgetting how much he hated that smell. The smell of marijuana, to be exact.

His head began to dart in all different directions, trying to determine where exactly that horrid smell was coming from. One thing about the smell of weed is that it tends to linger after a while because of how distinct it was, even if you were to be smoking it outside. It also traveled very quickly, quicker than most people would expect. Even so, Lance knew better than that. The smell seemed far too close and far too distinguishable.

It was when Lance looked above him, eyes drifting across the balconies close to his own. The balcony next to his, well technically next to his, is where Lance's eyes landed. He stared up at his neighbor, the one who he had a confrontation with this morning.