Lance lost track of time the longer he sat on the floor. He knew that Hunk and Pidge had joined the three of them and he knew that they were talking to him but their voices were muffled. It felt as though he was listening to his friends talk underwater. Their voices morphing together, Lance not being able to decipher who was talking. His throat felt tight and his lungs burned, was he breathing? Lance didn’t know yet he figured he wasn't when his vision started to cloud over. But did Lance know about anything? Was he actually safe from Rolo? Was he actually in love with Keith? Was he actually doing what he wanted?
“Lance! You need to breath!” Hunk shook his fiend a few times, hoping to bring him back to reality, panicking when it failed. Lance attempted to look at the person who shook him, his eyes failing him. What did they say? He blinked his eyes, ignoring the pain that consumed his lungs.
“What are we supposed to do?!” Hunk looked at his friends desperately, his eyes falling on Keith.
Keith swallowed, slowly falling down on his knees next Lance, taking his hands in his. Keith had no idea what he was really doing but he followed his instincts and started to rub small circles on the back of Lance’s palms. “Shhh Lance it’s going to be okay, you just need to breath for us.” He placed his forehead on the tanners boys, letting the heat flow between the two of them.
Who is this? Lance focused on the heat that touched his body, letting it ground him. He heard a voice talking to him but he couldn't out a name to it just yet. I have to breath , he filled his lungs with air, falling into a fit of coughs as his lungs stuttered with the new oxygen.
He coughed a few more times, blinking rapidly as his vision slowly cleared up, letting him see Keith's face perfectly. He looked worried and slightly stressed, Lance wanted to kiss the worry marks off his face but held himself back when Hunk started babbling about him being okay or something like that.
“I thought you were going to die! I didn't know what I would do if you died!”
“Relaxe Hunk, he wasn't going to die.” Pidge crossed their arms as they kneeled down next to Lance, watching the shakes slowly leave their body. “Lance, I’m so sorry for what happened, I didn’t realize that I deleted the entire folder instead of just the picture. I’m so sorry for this.” They hung their head low and Lance patted their hand.
“How could I be upset with you Pidge? You deleted the picture, so what if all the others pictures were deleted with it. You got rid of the most important one.” Lance gave his friend a small smile and started to pull himself up, taking Keith’s hand to help him the rest of the way.
He mumbled a small thanks to the raven haired boy and looked at his friends, shaking his arms out. I’m still alive, I’m not dead. His hand slowly traveled up to his neck of his shirt where Rolo grabbed him and he swallowed slightly. I’m not hurt either, I’m still okay. He looked at the ground, but what did Rolo mean when he said I would regret it? He has no power over me.
“Lance,” Shay gently touched his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts, “are you okay?”
Lance nodded, “yeah I’m okay. Sorry he just gave me a fright for a second.” He cracked a smile at all of his friends. “I seriously can’t thank you all enough for doing this for me. I know it didn’t turn out perfect but Rolo has no power over me, I don’t have to listen to him anymore.” Relief flooded his veins and he couldn’t help but smile.
Hunk wiped his eyes and wrapped his arms around his friend, “awe Lance! We would do anything for you! I think I speak for all of us when I say that we were happy to help you!”
Lance laughed and hugged his friend back, feeling more arms wrap around him, Shay, Pidge and yes even Keith. Lance felt safe, he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he couldn’t keep a smile off his face. Grinning at all of his friends.
“Lance? Oh Lance there you are, Mr. Altea is looking for you.” A taller women, with long red hair and cat eyes turned the corner, smiling at Lance.
Lance pulled away from his friends, “Coran wants to see me?”
She nodded and Lance gave his friends once last look, the nerves slowly coming back before following her down the hall, hoping none of them were caught.
---
Lance sat stiffly as he looked at Coran from across his desk. Coran looked tired, dark bags hung under his eyes and he moved slightly slower than usual. “Lance, are you feeling okay? I know that you were assaulted.”
Lance laughed slightly, “I wouldn’t call it an assault really.”
Coran gave him a small smile, “it still technically is according to the handbook.”
Lance nodded, “but I’m feeling fine, I was a little shaken up but I'm all better now.”
Coran hummed in reply and pulled a notebook out of his desk, much like when Lance was there for punching Keith. “Now Lance, I need to ask you some questions. Rolo didn’t say much, only saying that you deleted his pictures, yet I was talking with you in the hallway so I highly doubt you were the cause of what happened.” Coran paused, rereading his notes, “you didn’t delete the pictures, right?”
“Correct, I was in the hallway talking to Keith the entire time.” Lance twirled his fingers together, looking at the picture on Corans desk of him and a darker skinned women in a military uniform. I’ve never noticed that before. I wonder who that is?
Coran nodded, expecting that answer from Lance. “When I asked Rolo why he believed that you deleted the picture all he said was ‘we have history together’, can you elaborate on that?”
Lance felt sweat drip down his back, how much did Rolo tell him? How much should I say? He swallowed around the lump in his throat and forced the words out. “Him and I have been...talking.” Lance ignored the confused looked Coran gave him and continued on. “Ever since I found out about Keith being my soulmate, Rolo came to me with advice on how to fight it I guess. He did help my sister after all, but I stopped listening to him and started talking with Keith so I don’t think he liked that. That’s all I know sir.” Lance prayed that Coran didn’t pry any further, please I don’t want to keep stretching the truth. Lance knew he wasn’t technically lying but he looked up to Coran and he hated hiding things from him.
Coran smiled and put his notebook away, “so you and Keith are friends now?” He leaned forward in his chair slightly, propping his head on his hands, like they were two teenage girls at a slumber party.
Lance laughed slightly, his face breaking out into a smile. “Yeah I suppose we are. But you can’t say anything to my parents! They don’t know about it.” Lance frantically waved his arms in the air and Coran frowned slightly.
“I know that this isn't really my place to ask so feel free to ignore this but are your parents still….agains-”
“Yes, completely.” Lance felt bile move up his throat but kept it down. Am I still like that? Am I actually against it? He frowned slightly, I don’t think I am.
The older gentleman sighed and leaned back in his chair. “That is truly unfortunate, have you heard from your sister at all?”
Lance nodded, “yeah I’ve talked to her a few times. She seems to be doing good.” His gaze was turned towards the ground.
“Is that another secret?” Corans voice was barely above a whisper and Lance nodded in response. “Well do not fret my boy, I won’t tell a soul.”
Lance smiled, his eyes scanning the room. He knew he should get back to class, it was 9th period after all. He would be heading home soon but he wasn’t ready to face people yet. His eyes were drawn back to the picture and Lance reached out and grabbed it. “Who is this?”
Coran smiled, staring at the girl fondly. “Allura. She’s my ‘niece’ not by blood but I’ve been friends of her father for years.”
Lance nodded as he absorbed the new information. “She’s very pretty, and is that a military uniform?”
Bobbed his head, “yes, she’s a member of the Garrison.”
Lance couldn’t help his expression, his eyes went wide and his mouth hung open. The Garrison?! “Wow..that’s a huge job. Good for her. Keith’s brother is in that, I think.” He thought back to the conversation he had with Keith the night prior.
“Yes, Takashi Shirogane, Allura is very found of him and his boyfriend. They make a great couple as she puts it.” Coran smiled again and Lance put the picture back.
“Has she met her soulmate yet?”
Coran shook his head, “not yet, but she’s not discouraged. She wants to focus on her work not on a relationship right now. Too much stress as she says.”
Lance chuckled slightly, “you got that right. Well I hope that she doesn't have a problem when she meet her soul mate.”
“As do I, now Lance I think it's time for you to return to class. Make sure you're not missing any important work.” Coran stood from his chair, motioning for Lance to follow. Lance hesitantly stood, not sure why he was so nervous.
Why do I still feel like this? Everything is fine, everything is better. Why am I still upset? He waited for Coran to open the door for him, walking halfway out before stopping and turning to face him. “Coran, what did you do to Rolo?”
Coran paused, contemplating what he could say to Lance without breaking the rules, before opening his mouth. “I sent him home for a while. Two day suspension, nothing major but hopefully he will learn his lesson.”
Lance laughed, “whatever you say Coran. Well have a nice day!” Lance left the office.
---
Last period ended quickly and Lance stood outside the school with all of his friends. He had texted his mom telling her that he was catching a ride with Hunk, his smile falling when his mom didn’t reply and he stood next to Keith as they all walked to Hunk’s vehicle. They all climbed in his car, Hunk in the driver's seat, Shay in the front. Pidge perched themselves on the seat behind Hunk, Keith sat in the middle and Lance was behind Shay.
“I can’t believe that Rolo is finally out of our hair.” Keith crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, slightly leaning into Lance.
“Oh I know, this issue went on too long for my taste.” Lance leaned his head back on the seat, enjoying the small amount of heat given off by Keith.
“You know, I have to say it. Lance I’m very impressed with you, you handled the situation better than what I could have done. I don’t know how you dealt with this all by yourself before we came into help.” Shay's voice was light as she stared at the passing trees.
“Believe me, it was no walk in the park. It was pretty tough but I won’t go into details.” Lance leaned his head against the window, closing his eyes.
Pidge started to talk to Keith about something and Hunk was asking Shay about her plans for the weekend and Lance looked at his friends. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t realize this sooner but in that moment it struck him that he was unbelievably lucky. He had been a complete asshole to Keith and yet here he is, treating Lance like a human and wanting to talk to him. Hunk, Shay nor Pidge had left him, only supporting him and keeping him part of the friend group despite their differences. I really have grown a lot. He glanced over at Pidge, if someone told him that Katie would be Pidge and Lance would be okay with it last year, he would have laughed in their face. But now? Lance didn’t care, sure it was weird at first but maybe he had learned a thing or two since meeting Keith. He was more open minded and even if he didn’t support everything or believe in everything he could still live with it right? “Hey Keith?”
Keith turned his head towards the tanner boy, “yeah?”
“Thank you.”
Keith blinked a few times, “what for? I haven’t done anything.”
Lance felt the car stop as Hunk parked in his driveway. He swung the door opened and turned towards Keith, “yes, yes you have. Bye everyone! Thanks for the ride!” He watched Hunk drive down the street and walked to his front door, glancing at the cars in the driveway. Mother and Father are both home. This can’t be a good sign. Lance knew he should have walked away from the house, he knew he should have stayed at Hunk and yet he didn’t. Instead he slowly turned the doorknob, his stomach turning with it. He pushed the door opened and immediately saw his mother crying on the couch and his father pacing the room, his eyes digging into Lance as soon as he saw him.
He stopped his pacing and pointed at the seat opposite of the couch. “Sit down.” His voice held no emotion except anger and Lance dropped his bag, rushing to the seat. He kept his back straight as he stared at his parents wide eye, his throat already closing.
“Ye-yes father?” Lance didn’t even attempted to hide the shake in his voice, he was terrified. What’s going on?
“Tell me that this isn’t real.” His mother sounded broken as she wiped her eyes.
“That what isn’t real?”
“That my eldest son is a faggot.” His father slammed his hand on the coffee table.
Lance broke out into a cold sweat, what are they talking about? What information do they have? “What do you mean? I’m not a foggot or gay!” His voice shook slightly and he felt his body break out into shakes. Shit, shit, shit, shit,shit.
His father reached into his breast pocket, pulling out something small. Something rectangular and thin. “You have the audacity to sit in my house and tell me that you are not a foggot or gay and yet you kiss another male like it’s normal?!” He threw something on the table and Lance felt his mouth go dry.
It can’t be, it was the picture. The same God damn picture that Lance had just gotten rid of, that Pidge had just deleted. The same picture that had the power to destroy his life was now in his house and his parents had seen it. “Where did you get this?” Lance’s voice was small and he fought back the urge to run.
“Rolo, he stopped by about 45 minutes ago, he said that he needed to show us something.” His mother broke off into more sobs, “tell me this isn’t real. Tell me he forced you to do this! Tell me he leaned down and you never wanted it!”
Lance could bring himself to talk, he was too shocked to bring words up or even think about what to say. His stomach flip and he felt everything become small as every fiber in his body closed in on him. His ribs felt like they shrunk, squeezing everything uncomfortably close to him.
“Why would you do this to us?!” A deep voice rumbled through Lance and he felt himself shrink under his father's gaze. “You know what we believe in and what God wants! Why did you end up like your sister?!”
Lance couldn’t breath, everything he had just built was destroyed in a few seconds. No no no this can’t be happening to me! This can’t be real, this isn’t real. He looked at his parents, his mother was still crying and his father was saying something to him, a Bible in his hands.
“Do you love him?”
Lance looked up, he didn’t know the answer so what should he say? He couldn’t deny it any longer, but this was the question that Lance didn’t have the answer for. Shit, shit, shit. “I don’t know.”
What do you mean you don't know? Do you love him or God?”
“I- d-don’t know. This i-isn’t what I wanted!”
“The kiss or having us find out about this?” His father stepped closer to Lance and he sunk down lower in his chair.
“I don’t know!”
“Do you know anything?! I thought you were smarter than this! You are my son after all! I will not tolerate this type of behavior in my house, in my family or in my life!!”
Lance felt tears burn behind his eyes and looked towards his mom of any type of support but found none as she ripped up the picture. Lance felt his legs shake, he wanted to run he wanted to scream back but he couldn’t do anything and soon the doorbell filled the room.
“Who could that be?” His mother wiped his eyes once more timed and made her way towards the door, his father straighten up and looking at the door, the doorbell ringing a few more times followed by pounding on the door.
“Hell-what are you doing here?” Her voice was heavy with negativity and Lance nearly snapped his neck swinging his head towards the door. It was Keith, standing at the door, his hands clenched into fist. He looked slightly out of breath, his hair was scattered and his eyes were filled with rage.
“I need to see Lance.” He craned his head into the house, spotting Lance in the chair.
“You’re not welcomed in this house, after what you did to our son!” Lance’s father took a few steps towards Keith and Lance shot to his feet.
“You think I did something to Lance? The only thing I did was love him when you assholes wouldn’t.” Keith barely gave Lance’s parents a second glance, his eyes going straight towards the younger boy. He softened up slightly as he looked at Lance but his features immediately harden as he turned back towards the adults in the room.
“You damaged him!” The female voice that Lance once knew as loving was filled with nothing but hatred and disgust.
“He didn’t damage me mom.” All eye were on him and Lance shifted on his feet, walking towards the door. “I kissed him alright! I’m the one that leaned down and I'm the one that made the first move.He didn’t forced me to do anything, alright? Keith didn’t damage me! I wanted to kiss him.” Lance walked towards the door, his mom stepping away from him.
Nobody said anything, all staring at each other until his father stepped forward. “What do you want Lance? You can only have one, him or us.”
Lance looked at the ground, I don’t know. He looked at everyone in the room. He loved Keith he really did, yet he loved his family too. Lance wasn’t sure if he could live without his family, he couldn’t be disowned. So who was more important? His soulmate who he’s only known a short amount of time? Or his family who he grew with? No matter who Lance chose, his relationship with them would be different, it wouldn’t be the same.
“Please Lance, we can get you help! They have conversion therapy and books to read. We will go to church more and talk to our pastor more, just don't leave!” Lance had never heard his mother sound more heartbroken in his life and he felt his heart drop.
Lance knew what he had to do and he looked at Keith then back at his parents. He took his time looking at each one, debating what he wanted, weighing each options as though his life depended on it. Lance shook his head, he knew what he needed to do and he knew his answer. He looked around, his eyes falling at one place, feeling his heart break as he met their eyes. “I’m sorry,” and with that he closed the door.