Stepping Out of Me

7

LANCE

"You really are sick," Lance remarked as Halle lay in her bed with a towel over her forehead.

There was a bucket next to her, filled with what he assumed were snot tissues. He scrunched his nose as he noticed some on the bed next to her.

"My head hurts so badly," Halle whined. "Plus I'm going to miss school. I have a project due today."

Lance repositioned himself so his back leaned on the door frame. "You'll be fine. Just get a doctor's letter."

Halle groaned. "I can't. There are other people in my group. Can you bring it for me? And give it to either Kiera or Josey. Whichever one you see first." Before Lance could respond she continued. "Ugh, Kiera. I was supposed to pick her up this morning cause something's wrong with her car again."

"Hmm," Lance replied. He felt the urge to suggest a brilliant idea but knew she wouldn't accept it if he did. As usual, she'd suspect him of ulterior motives whenever it came to her friends. So he waited for her to figure it out herself. "Yea, that sucks."

It took a while but she said it. "Or you could pick up Kiera for me?"

Lance folded one arm and used the other to stroke his chin. "Now how would doing this benefit me? You want me to become a chauffeur."

"Lance, this is serious. Can't you just do a favor for your sister? What do you even need out of this?"

He chuckled to himself. He would've eventually said yes but he wanted to make her sweat a bit. Of course, he'd pick up the quiet new girl who seemed to hate his guts. Or maybe he was just annoying. Whichever one it was, he was still a bit nervous even though he was intrigued by her.

"Nothing. I'll do it," Lance replied. "Where's the project?"

Halle pointed to her desk. "The purple folder. They have to present it so please remember to give it to Kiera."

Lance took up the folder and was about to leave but stopped. "Wait. I don't know where Kiera lives."

"I'll send it on the map so you can put the address in. Go now. All this talking is making my headache worse." Halle waved him off.

Lance shook his head at his sister then gently closed the door behind him. He grabbed his backpack and keys from his room and headed downstairs. There he found Sheree stirring something on the stove. He tried to make it to the door without her noticing him but she soon turned around.

As Sheree poured some liquid into a bowl she looked up. "Oh Lance, you're leaving." 

"Yep, I'm heading out," Lance replied. 

"Did you check on your sister? She's not asleep, right? I'm making her some soup." Sheree informed him. She hissed as her hand brushed the hot metal. 

"No, she's awake." Sheree wasn't all bad. She was sometimes a caring mother to Halle. "You should put some antibiotic cream on that," Lance told her. "Later." He walked out the door before she could respond. 

After he opened the garage door, Lance tossed his bag into the back seat and hopped into the driver's seat. He started the car, pulled out his phone, and drove towards Kiera's house. Halle told Lance that Kiera usually came outside so he didn't have to knock at the door and she knew what time Halle usually arrived. So with that, he parked in front of the house. It wasn't any different from the rest of the houses on Santos. They were all huge and had the same shades. It was a scheme after all.

He didn't have to wait long until the front door opened and Kiera stepped out. He would've got out and opened the car door for her but knew that probably wouldn't go over well. Today her hair was pulled down and back into a bun. Lance shook his head and smiled at the dark grey band t-shirt she wore. She seemed to have a lot of those. Her gaze was focused on the ground as she walked down the step so she didn't notice him at first.