Lance stood up and threw a rock, skipping about 11 times, a little over half the distance of the lake. "Beat that, mullet!" Lance laughed and looked in my direction.
Seeing Lance looking at my direction, I turned my head a bit and smirked, "I could do double that easy." I actually don't think I've ever skipped a stone across a river that skipped more than 6 times, but seeing Lance so cheeky made me feel happy beyond belief. For once, I just wanted to make him something other than annoyed.
"Feeling awfully confident, aren't you? I was only getting started." Lance grinned, his eyes with a spark in them.
As I stood up with a flat stone I'd picked up, my knees immediately buckled, sending me falling back down, my head reeling. After coughing up so much blood earlier, I was a bit anemic despite my efforts to keep it under control.
Seeing me fall, gasping, Lance instinctively went to my side. As someone who had little siblings, he didn't think of it at all as he immediately put the back of his hand on Keith's forehead, feeling for a fever. "God, don't push yourself so much, idiot." He sighed out, exasperated.
I couldn't find any words to say, my mind running a complete blank as Lance pushed back my hair to feel my forehead better. Observing Lance's face, he wore an expression of worry as he pulled his hand away. "You don't have a fever but your face looks really red. Are you okay?" Lance had completely forgot about skipping stones, his attention entirely on Keith. I couldn't answer his question, only able to look at his face.
Standing up and brushing himself off, Lance mumbled, "Hang on," leaving me on the ground. I threw myself up, my elbows on my thighs, and my face found its way into my hands. It felt as if my heart would burst any moment.
Before I had time to wonder where Lance had gone, he made his way back with a glass of water and some food. He sat down beside me and gave me the glass of water, "Drink that." He set the food down between us.
Lance stared at me and averted his gaze when I looked back at him, his face flushed in embarrassment and from him frantically running around to get the water and food. Noticing I hadn't drank the water yet, just looking at him, Lance turned back to me and sighed. "Seriously, drink it before I make you do it." I felt my face get hot realizing I'd been staring. Coming out of my daze, I drank a sip of the water.
Weakly, my voice shaky, I mumbled, "Thanks, Lance."
Lance turned his face away, faking annoyance but failing, "Whatever, just eat something too," His hand gestured to the plate which contained way too much food upon realization. Though he'd never admit it, Lance ran around the party getting just about all the food he could get his hands on out of concern for Keith.
For the next 10 minutes, Lance refused to touch the food, insisting Keith needed it more. This attention from Lance was everything in Keith's eyes. He felt himself falling for the blue paladin even more than he had before. This side of Lance filled him with a shred of hope.
Trying to convince himself he was braver than he was, Keith spoke hesitantly, "Why are you doing this for me?" My eyes faced the lake, nervous beyond belief.
Turning to me, Lance looked back at the lake before speaking, "It's the least I can do. We're teammates after all."
Letting out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding, I looked at him to see his face beet red. I had expected him to brush it off but he didn't.
"I thought..." Keith hesitated, almost scared that if he said it, he'd ruin this.
"Thought what?" Lance said turning back to Keith. Keith averted his gaze before mumbling a "forget it."
"No way, tell me," Lance pressed.
Surrendering, Keith said more hesitantly than he wished he had, "I thought you hated me. I just don't understand why you're doing this."
Lance's face contorted as he thought of what to say. He'd never hated Keith. He'd been jealous of him, absolutely, but he never hated him. If anything, he wished he could be more like him.
The silence stayed for about 20 seconds and I knew I had messed up. Lance is questioning it. He's going to leave, I thought in panic. I've ruined this! My throat began to burn but I stayed still, unable to will myself to move.
About to retort something about how Keith was dull, Lance stopped himself when he saw Keith's expression. He looked scared. Lance realized that he never wanted to see Keith look that way. So he sighed, turning away once again, unable to take in more of Keith's expression, "I've never hated you, Keith."
The burning eased til there was nothing. I looked at Lance as he bit his cheek. "You look like you're feeling better so let's get back to the party. It ends soon anyway."
Lance made his leave and I sat a little while longer looking out at the water. After about 5 minutes, I sat up and brushed myself off. A small smile went over my features as I softly touched my forehead. Lance...doesn't hate me. That's a start.
I loved writing this, ha ha! Finally some development, woo hoo! I am honestly worried that very few people will be willing to wait long enough for this development, but oh well. I'm having a lot of fun writing this and it's my first fan fiction so cut me a break. ':) Thank you for reading! I appreciate everyone's feedback!