Butterfly - Klance Fanfiction, a voltron: legendary defender fanfic

"Perhaps the BUTTERFLY is proof that you can go

through a great deal of DARKNESS, yet become

something BEAUTIFUL."

-UNKNOWN

Butterfly

Klance Fanfiction By Lumen

Trigger Warnings

Homophobia/Biphobia

Blood/Violence

Language

Self Harm

(Them/they pronouns for Pidge)

(Major angst)

(BTW the dance machine in the arcade was made up help me ghjskbckhdfnbjkghdkg)

(Also I'm a freshman idk how prom works I'm sorry)

I do not own Voltron or any of its characters. All rights go to the original and respective owners. I do own the characters I made up. Any ideas represented in this fanfiction do not in any way represent the ideas or intentions of the creators.

Wednesday

"Will they ever shut the fuck up?" Keith scowled, watching a group of kids across the lunchroom glance at him, talking and snickering.

"I doubt it," Shiro stated simply, sitting down across from Keith. Scooting over, Pidge gave a short laugh and said, "They'll talk about you, Keith. I mean, come on. Not everyone agrees on the same thing. It's fine, drop it."

"Uh. No, I'm not going to drop it. This has been going on for a full year and a half. They can get over it."

Lance aimed a kick at Keith under the table. "Oh, please. They're probably not even joking about your sexuality. I bet they're talking about your mullet."

Keith punched Lance in the arm. "Screw you, McClain!"

"Ow!" Lance complained.

"Keith, you could just beat their asses," Pidge pointed out.

"Alright, enough," Shiro intervened, his voice stern. "No one is beating anybody up, especially not Lance and Keith."

The two had been catfighting, and when Shiro spoke, they looked up at him sheepishly.

Keith scooted to the end of the table.

"Oh, go fuck yourself, Kogane…"

Keith scowled at Lance and got up to go to the restroom.

On his way out, he ran into a couple of the guys who had been laughing about him earlier. "Watch where you're going, faggot." One of them smirked. Keith let a low growl escape his throat as he pushed past the boys.

The others noticed his dark expression as he sat back down. "It was those boys again…?" Lance asked, eyebrows furrowed. Keith nodded, staring at the floor.

Then, to his surprise, Lance stood right up and walked off. "Where do you think you're going?" Shiro barked. He stood as well and went after Lance.

A couple of minutes later, Shiro was back with Lance trailing behind in a huff.

"What was that about?" Pidge frowned, their fingers drumming on the table. "Hitting people is Keith's job."

Lance snorted.

Keith's mind was whirling. Did Lance just mad? And go after those boys?

He sighed. "See you guys later."

Keith stepped into the dark and empty auditorium right as the bell rang. He found his favorite spot by the stairs and sat down, closing his eyes.

It wasn't fair.

In Sophomore year, he was bullied for being the transfer student. Everyone made fun of his Asian ancestry, squishing up their eyes and catcalling him. And from last year to now, he was bullied for being…

Well, gay.

Ever so slowly, he pushed up the sleeve of his sweater and traced his thumb over the inside of his arm, over his wrist.

Over his scars.

Keith had depression issues, and took anxiety medicine. He attempted suicide in eighth grade.

He'd promised himself he'd never do it again.

Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through his apps. Passing over Twitter and Crunchyroll, he got on Netflix. Right as he was plugging his earbuds in, the phone dinged. It was Pidge.

PIDGE: hey are you ok

KEITH: yeah I'm fine

PIDGE: good, we were worried

KEITH: were you now

PIDGE: yea even Lance was

KEITH: I'm surprised. Shouldn't you be paying attention in class

PIDGE: what the teacher doesn't know won't hurt him

Keith smirked. Then he got back on Netflix and proceeded to watch Stranger Things until the dismissal bell rang.

Walking through the auditorium doors, he heard a shout behind him. "Oi! Mullet!"

Keith turned to see Lance walking towards him with Hunk at his side. "Don't call me that."

"But you answered to it." Lance shot him an evil look. Keith rolled his eyes. "Whatever. What do you want?"

"Pidge and Hunk were wondering if you wanted to go to the arcade out by the mall."

"Right now?"

"Later. Like, at five."

Keith shrugged. "Sure."

"Alright," Lance said. Then he turned his head and shouted, "Pidge! Get your ass over here!" A couple of moments later, Pidge appeared, adjusting their glasses. "What ass?"

Lance smirked. "Keith's going."

"Oh, okay. Also, does everyone have their own money for tokens? 'Cause I'm not buying anyone else's crap."

Keith hated himself. Why'd he let himself get dragged into this noisy place surrounded by noisy people? He pondered the meaning of life as the four of them stood on a lit up floor in front of a machine playing annoying music.

They were actually doing this.

Lance, of course, insisted on picking the songs. Keith (and Pidge) groaned as he selected 'Single Ladies' by Beyonce.

"Seriously? You pick the most annoying songs." Keith scowled.

"Hell yeah!" Lance cackled. "And I'm gonna beat all of you!"

Keith decided he'd at least try to beat Lance - he wasn't super fond of getting one-upped by that kid.

As it turned out, Lance was actually really good at dancing. Pidge and Hunk dropped out after the second song, and Keith was left to fight his own battle against Lance, who was again choosing the music.

"Okay. What the fuck, Lance?" Keith snapped as Lance settled on 'Hips Don't Lie' by Shakira. The taller boy only laughed again as they got ready.

"Get him, Keith!" Hunk grinned.

"Aw, come on Hunk!" Lance complained as he started moving. "Where's the team spirit?"

Keith wasn't really trying, but he didn't want to give up, either. He just kind of moved his feet around. Lance, on the other hand, was really getting into it. He wasn't even following the on-screen choreography - he was doing his own thing, throwing his hips around and feet stepping to the beat. Keith would never say it out loud but… he looked good.

"Whatcha starin' at, Keith?" Came Lance's call. Keith's face heated up and he turned away. "Not you," he growled, walking off the dance floor.

"Come on," Pidge smirked as Hunk chuckled, "Let's go before Keith spontaneously combusts."

As they left the arcade and adjusted to the light outside, Lance said, "I'm so buying Just Dance now. All of them."

"Surprised you haven't already," Hunk grinned.

Keith rolled his eyes, inwardly smirking at Lance's dorkiness.

"Anyways, you guys hungry?" Hunk asked the group. " 'Cause I am."

"Same here." Pidge agreed. "There's that Old Chicago place down the road, you wanna go there?"

"Yes," Lance said. Keith shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

Hunk opened the door of his car and said, "Pizza it is, then. Besides, I've been in the mood for calzones for a week."

"Good," Pidge snorted, getting in the car, the other two following suit. "Because they have big-ass calzones."

Keith sat on his bed later that night, exhausted and irritated. All the way home, him and Lance had been bickering about the night's football match, because one of the plays should have been fouled and it wasn't. They also fought about why Keith refused to eat.

Again, arguing about stupid stuff.

His phone dinged. Keith sighed and picked it up.

PIDGE: why do you two fight so much

KEITH: uh, bc Lance is an ass

PIDGE: hm. He did have a point, tho. Why didnt you eat?

KEITH: no reason. And he didnt have a point about anything

PIDGE: oh come on. You two could make the perfect couple, actually

KEITH: NO Pidge, forget it you know he flirts with every girl he sees

PIDGE: ooo someone has a crush

KEITH: I DONT LIKE HIM PIDGE. SHUT UP

Keith angrily threw his phone at his bed. It hit a pillow and slid to the floor. Keith flopped onto his bed, his face warm. Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I like Lance. Lance. Of all people!

Keith shook his head and closed his eyes.

Pidge, you are an asshole.

Thursday

The next day was spent with Keith glaring at everyone while Pidge winked at him every so often. Finally Shiro took notice.

"Pidge, if you're doing something to aggravate Keith, stop." Shiro frowned.

Pidge smiled. "Sure thing, dad."

Shiro sighed and turned back to conversate with Hunk, who was, of course, clueless.

I'm going to tease you for eternity, Pidge mouthed at Keith.

Lance made his way over to their table, and when he got there, he sang, "Guess who got an ear piercing yesterday?"

"Whoa, really? Cool!"

Everyone was up and admiring the new silver stud in Lance's left ear. "Looks good," Shiro grinned. "Yeah," Keith agreed. Pidge just shook their head. "Isn't that against dress code?"

"Aw, Pidge, don't do that…"

Keith made his way to calculus (which was a third-period class none of his friends took except Pidge. And of course that little shit took every subject in the fucking school) and reluctantly sat down at his desk. He pulled out his homework and a pencil.

Suddenly someone strode by, and with a sweep of their hand, knocked everything off Keith's desk.

Keith glared up, only to see the boy at the very top of his mental I-Dislike-This-Person list.

It was Ryan.

Braces flashed at Keith as the other boy grinned spitefully. Keith ignored the idiot and picked up his things.

He managed to get through the period, although Ryan was shooting snide remarks at him the whole time. Keith pretended not to hear it.

The real trouble started when the bell rang.

Ryan caught up to Keith in the hallway. "Ignoring me now, fag?" He jerked Keith around by the arm and slammed him into the locker. Other kids in the hall turned their way, eyes wide.

"Yes," Keith growled defiantly. "Only Lance gets to throw rude comments at me."

"Oh, who's Lance, your boyfriend?"

Keith felt his anger reach a boiling point. "Actually, train tracks, he isn't. Sorry to disappoint."

Ryan froze. His eyes flashed dangerously. "What did you just say?"

"Choo choo, bitch."

Ryan punched Keith in the stomach as hard as he could. Keith doubled over, coughing. Ryan was about to hit him again, but noticed a teacher coming. He ran off.

Professor Coran helped Keith up. "Are you alright, Mr. Kogane?"

"I'm fine," Keith got out.

The man twirled his mustache. "Well, okay then. If you ever need help, talk to us. This was Ryan's second offense…" Keith nodded. "Thanks." He sped away from the worried teacher and the crowd of students watching.

Keith sat in the auditorium. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife he'd bought a few months ago. Angrily, he flipped it open and stared at it for a good five minutes. "You," he told himself, "Are a good-for-nothing dumbass that can't even take a hit or a couple of names." Keith proceeded to slice into his arm with the blade, carving the word, 'Freak' in big, shaky block letters.

Sadly, Keith did this a lot. He did it to let out bottled-up emotional pain, and sometimes just to punish himself. He didn't eat. He couldn't sleep. He knew he needed to stop, but it was addicting.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Shiro and Hunk entered. Keith jumped and shoved the knife in his pocket, whipping his sleeve over his injury.

"Hey, man. We heard what happened." Shiro sighed and sat next to Keith. Hunk sat by Shiro. "Yeah. Sounded pretty bad."

Keith shrugged, eyes down.

Shiro's brow furrowed and he said, "Keith. You're like my little brother. You know I won't hesitate to kick their butts."

Keith shook his head. "I'll be okay. You guys don't need to get in trouble for me."

Damn it, his arm burned.

Just then, Lance came in, Pidge in tow.

"What the hell…" Lance muttered, sitting on the other side of Keith. "Ryan needs to go to hell with his shit."

"Well, Keith just established that we shouldn't get into trouble for him, so." Hunk stated.

Keith always felt awkward with his friends standing up for him, especially Lance. Then again, they got along pretty well when they weren't fighting.

Pidge pushed their glasses up with an index finger. "Maybe… maybe there's a way for us to get Ryan in trouble without all of us confronting him."

"What's that?" Keith asked. Everyone looked at Pidge expectantly.

"Well, I haven't got all of it down yet, but I was sort of thinking we might be able to get him on video. Which, of course, means he'll probably be picking a fight with Keith again. So," Pidge looked at the boy, "You won't be able to fight back."

Keith protested. "But-"

"You'll get in trouble too," Lance interrupted.

"Right," Pidge said. "Also, I need one of you guys to help me. Someone needs to be with me just in case the situation with Ryan gets physical."

"I volunteer Lance or Shiro." Hunk said nervously. Shiro sighed. "Lance'll have to do it. If you're doing it tomorrow, Pidge-"

"I am."

"Then I'll be at a baby shower. I'm sorry."

Keith wasn't too happy about that, but they were getting Ryan busted.

"So we'll be behind you a ways. Run into Ryan on accident or something, and I'll get a video of you two." Pidge concluded their plain.

"Cool." Lance shrugged.

"You guys, I can handle Ryan…" Keith muttered.

"Nope, we're gonna help you." Shiro gave a half smile.

Hunk smiled as well. "I doubt you wanna get hit again, either."

Keith looked at them all.

"Thank you…"

Friday

The next day, Pidge and Lance followed Keith in the hall. They took their phone out, and after seeing a good luck message from Shiro, Lance pointed Ryan out and Pidge held up their phone.

Once Keith bumped into Ryan, the video began.

They could hear endless obscenities from Ryan, but none, thankfully, from Keith. And Pidge got every single word of it.

Lance walked up to the two when Ryan began to push Keith. Backing off, Ryan snarled, "Don't worry, bitch! I'll get you. I'll beat you and your faggot boyfriend's asses!"

Keith and Lance walked towards Pidge, who ended the video. "Gotcha," they muttered gleefully. "Did you get it?" Keith asked, a bit shakily.

"Every bit of it." Pidge grinned. "Let's go."

The three went to the front office with the phone.

"Professor Allura!" Pidge said. "We need to show you something!"

They showed the principal the video.

"How disgraceful." Allura's kaleidoscope eyes widened. "This is his final offense… I will have a talk with him right now. Don't worry about him, Keith, Lance. He'll be straightened out in ISS." She walked to the door. "And Pidge," she turned to them with a slight smile, "Remember, no phones in the hallways."

Pidge grinned sheepishly and the professor went off to find Ryan.

Pidge and Lance high-fived. "We did it!"

Keith smiled and shook his head. "Yeah well, your plans always work, so."

"Hey," Lance told him, "We're always gonna help you, even me. Besides, Ryan is an asshole. It doesn't help he has better hair than me." Keith laughed a little at that.

Pidge smirked at the two, then said, "Alright guys. Let's get outta here."

They didn't see Ryan for the rest of the day, though some of his friends were glaring in Keith's direction.

There was still some teasing from Pidge, but lately they had been making fun of Shiro.

"Guys!" At lunch Pidge plopped down at their table excitedly. "Shiro is so busted, it's not even funny."

"What? Shiro never gets in trouble." Hunk raised an eyebrow.

"He's not in trouble! Turns out, he has this like, weird crush on the principal!"

"No fucking way," Lance cackled "That's great!"

"The fucking principal?!" Keith grinned.

"Yes! Professor Allura!" Pidge screeched happily. Hunk snickered as well, spotting yours truly walking over with a face so flushed even the color red would have been jealous.

Shiro scowled. "Pidge," he began, "I do not like her. She's way older than me, that's weird!"

"Aw, come on, man." Lance shot a shit-eating grin at him, "It's not that bad. She is very pretty."

"Not that bad?" Pidge snorted. "It's hilarious!"

"Yeah, well, at least he doesn't try to flirt with her like Lance did that one time." Keith was trying not to laugh now.

"Oh, shut up, Keith." Lance's face darkened and he sat back, a frown playing across his lips. "I did not flirt with her."

"Oh yes you did," Keith protested. "What was that one thing about Tennessee?"

"I said shut up!"

Now both Shiro and Lance's faces were bright red, and the rest of the group were practically dying.

"Anyways," Lance growled. "I've gotta drop by my mom's store and pick up some groceries for her, and I might need help carrying it. Anyone wanna come with?"

Pidge's brain leaped back into let's-tease-Lance-and-Keith mode. "I volunteer Keith as tribute," they said, pushing their glasses up.

"I object. Hunk can go." Keith countered.

Lance chuckled, a gleam in his eye. "No, he's met my mom. I think it's your turn, mullet."

Keith rolled his eyes. Then the bell rang.

"Come on."

Keith groaned, shot a dirty look at Pidge, and followed Lance out.

"So, we taking my car?" The brown-haired boy questioned.

Keith shrugged. "Sure. I got a ride here, so we probably have to..."

They got in Lance's car (which was actually clean, for the scatterbrained boy he was) and in a couple of minutes they had pulled out of the school's lot and onto a side street. It was a shortcut, Lance explained.

They rode in an awkward silence for about eight minutes before Lance, being Lance, decided to break the ice by saying, "Do you ever take a shit and look at it, and then just go like, 'Well damn, that's the size of the dick I could take' ?"

"What the actual fuck?" Keith yelped, trying not to burst out in laughter. "No?!"

Lance laughed gleefully.

They pulled into a small parking lot of an old, run-down convenience store.

As they opened the door, Lance called out, "Mama? I'm here to get the groceries!"

A small woman stepped out from behind a row of shelves. "Ah, gracias, Lance. And who's this?" The woman stopped in front of them, smiling.

She looked a lot like Lance, with the same blue eyes and the same nose and dark skin. She was a lot shorter though, with a round figure. She also had long black hair and a spray of freckles across her nose.

"This is Keith. He's a friend of mine."

Keith gave a small smile. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. McClain."

The woman beamed at him. "Please, call me Lana," she said kindly. "And Lance," she said, turning to her son. "The grocery list is on my desk, mijo."

"Sí, mama." Lance scurried off to his mother's counter and returned with a piece of paper a few moments later. "Okay, let's get this done."

Half an hour later, Lance was loading the last of the bags into his car when Keith said, "So I thought you said your parents are mean?"

Lance smiled a bit. "Well, okay. My mom is actually super fucking nice." Then his smile faded.

"And your dad...?" Keith asked hesitantly. Lance sighed. "My papa… he… we don't see him much. He always works late night shifts, and he's gone before we wake up again. He's, uh… he's an asshole."

Keith didn't push him for information. At least he had a good mom.

A few minutes later, Lance said, "Do you want me to drop you off at your place?"

"That's fine."

Keith gave Lance his address and within the next ten minutes, they were at the apartment buildings.

"Thanks," Keith said.

"No problem," Lance told him. "See ya Monday, mullet."

"What the hell, Lance. We were having a bonding moment, actually not bickering, and you call me that."

"Okay," Lance grinned. "I guess I screwed that up. See you Monday, Keith."

Keith got out of the car. "See you," he said before shutting the door. He shook his head as Lance sped off, and went to his apartment.

Saturday

The next morning, Keith woke up to his phone. Opening it, he saw a text message.

LANCE: guess who got Just Dance :)

KEITH: really

LANCE: yES

Keith rolled his eyes and sent a text to Shiro, who he hadn't texted in a while.

KEITH: Shiro i need help

SHIRO: What is it?

KEITH: Lance fucking bought Just dance and i need protection from it

SHIRO: Oh, lol

Keith sighed. He turned off his phone and went back under the covers.

Friday

The next week went by pretty uneventfully, until that Friday afternoon when Lance basically kidnapped Keith so he would play the stupid Just Dance game with him. Thankfully, he was with Shiro, who agreed to go with them and save Keith's ass from humiliation.

"And my mama says you can spend the night if you want," Lance added. "She was all like, 'Ah, mijo, a boy's night sounds fun'!" He made a face.

Keith snorted. "A boy's night? What are we, ten?"

Thirty minutes later, Lance was blabbering about the game again. "I just wish this game had every single song ever like that arcade game did," he said as he opened the front door of his house.

Two small kids ran toward him, one with a backpack still on his shoulders.

"Lance!" They screeched. "Hey guys!" Lance laughed and hugged them. "We missed you," one of the boys said. "You saw me this morning, silly," Lance replied. Keith got a closer look at them and saw they were twins, no older than six.

"Who are they?" The other boy asked, pointing at Shiro and Keith. Lance introduced the two to his little brothers. "And guys," he said, turning to his friends, "These two troublemakers are Carlos and Gustavo."

"Ah, hola, Lance!" Lana came in and greeted her son. "And I see you've brought Keith and another friend?"

"Sí, mama. This is Shiro." Shiro smiled. "Well, don't let me ruin your fun," Lana beamed. Lance grinned. "We'll be upstairs!" He was such a kid.

The three started up the stairs when Lana suddenly said, "Lance? Come here a moment. I need to talk to you."

"You two just go on up," Lance said, turning back to face his mother.

Keith lagged behind Shiro ascending the stairs so that he had enough time to hear Lana tell Lance, "Mijo, understand if your papa comes home early your friends will need to leave, okay? He's been in a mood lately…" Her voice trailed off as Keith turned the corner.

A couple of minutes later Lance entered his room looking worried, but as soon as he saw his friends staring at him he broke into a grin and said, "Well? You guys up for a dance battle or not?"

He put the disc into the Wii and passed out controllers. Naturally, Lance just had to buy the first Just Dance game ever, and of course he picked the songs as well. He chose the worst ones, like Wannabe and Le Freak, all of which Keith didn't try very hard on. The only song he really danced to was Dare by the Gorillaz, a band he actually really liked.

An hour and a half later, the Wii was off and the three of them were sitting there sweating and clutching water bottles like lifelines.

Shiro pulled out his phone. "How about we play Truth or Dare or something?"

Lance chuckled evilly, playing with the stud in his ear. "Sure. I'm in the mood for a dirty game."

"Finally something worth playing," Keith added.

"I meant regular Truth or Dare, you two," Shiro scolded, his brow furrowed. "Sorry, father." Keith mocked him.

"Okay, fine," Lance sighed. "Oi, Keith, truth or dare?"

Keith rolled his eyes and shot back, "Dare."

Shiro clicked on his phone screen and read, "Fill your mouth with water. Each player has to try to make them laugh. If they do, they have to eat a spoonful of dirt."

"Isn't that a different game entirely?" Keith protested.

"You have to do it!" Lance grinned. Keith growled. "Fine." He took a swig of water.

Shiro started. "Hey Lance, you know I started a new restaurant called Karma? There's no menu, they just give you what you deserve."

Keith fought a smile and shook his head. Lance's eyes gleamed. "Shiro, why can't you hear a pterodactyl in the bathroom?"

Shiro grinned. "I dunno, Lance, why not?"

"Because it has a silent pee."

Keith spat out his water.

"Dammit," he choked as the three of them laughed. "Don't worry, Keith, I won't make you eat dirt," Shiro assured him. Lance grinned. "I have the best jokes. I'm funny."

Keith managed to kill his smile. "No you're not."

Shiro hit his screen again and said, "Lance, truth or dare."

"Dare!" he sang.

"Hit the person on your left," Shiro announced. "No way!" Keith said. Lance gleefully took his opportunity and slugged Keith in the arm. Keith pushed Lance away. "That wasn't fair. What kind of Truth or Dare game is this?"

"The one on my phone," Shiro raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever." Keith scowled. "Anyways, Lance? What was the deal with your mom?"

Lance's grin faded. "Nothing."

"Hey, you can tell us," Shiro said softly. Lance shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Lance-" Keith began.

"I said it's nothing, alright? Stay out of my business. Keith."

And with that, Lance got up and climbed into his bed, back facing the others.

Shiro and Keith exchanged looks.

What was going on?

Saturday

The next morning, Keith woke up to see a snoring Shiro and Lance sitting up in his covers, on his phone. Then he noticed a pillow under his head and a blanket thrown over him. He frowned. I didn't fall asleep with these…

Lance looked over at Keith. "Hey."

Keith yawned. "Hi."

"Shiro still snoring like a chainsaw over there?"

"Yep."

Lance smirked, then saw Keith looking quizzically at his pillow and blanket.

"You looked cold," he muttered.

Well, Keith sure felt warm now. "I'm getting breakfast," Lance told Keith. He got up and left the room. Keith sighed and followed him out.

It wasn't until they got to the kitchen that Keith realized Lance wasn't wearing a shirt. He blushed and suddenly became very interested in the floor.

"Morning, mijo. Morning, Keith." Lana smiled up from her spot at the table.

"And dios mío, Lance, put on a shirt!"

Lance chuckled and went into the laundry room, pulling on a blue t-shirt before coming back out and grabbing a box of Cheerios off the counter.

"Feel free to get whatever you like," Lana smiled at Keith.

Lance poured two bowls of cereal before sliding the box across the counter to a half-awake Shiro, who had just walked in.

"I could have gotten my own food," Keith pointed out.

"Yeah, but I can't have you breaking anything, pretty boy," Lance said with his stupid grin.

Pretty boy?

A sudden thought came to his head. "Lance?"

"Hm?"

"Have you told your parents about me at all?"

Lance looked at him. "Are you worried about me telling them you're... You know..?"

Keith nodded. Lance smiled. "That's alright. I did, for good reason. And I only told my mom." Keith's eyes narrowed. "What was the good reason?" Shiro walked over, munching on his Cheerios. Lance sighed. "Well, uh… you see, um…" He faltered.

Shiro spoke up from behind him. "You can talk to us, Lance."

Keith nodded. Lance frowned at the ground and said in a whisper, "I'm bisexual."

Lana spoke from the table. "And you must not be ashamed of it Lance." She got up and walked over to where they were standing. She looked at the three boys. "The only reason Lance has not been open about it is because his father is highly against that sort of stuff." She sighed sadly. Lance smiled at the others, eyes full of worry. "But I'm alright!" He said hurriedly.

Suddenly the two twins from yesterday came racing in, followed by a girl Keith had never seen before. She looked to be about twelve. She was a miniature Lana, no doubt Lance's sister.

"That's Maria," Lance told them. "She's pretty chill, but..." He paused, "She uses sign language to communicate."

"She's deaf?" Keith asked. Lance nodded proudly. "In fact, she's teaching me sign language." His eyes were bright and he smiled happily. He obviously loved his family a lot.

Somehow, that made Keith sad. He felt like he was intruding, but no one seemed to mind his or Shiro's presence.

"Are you gonna eat?" Lance asked. "Not hungry," Keith answered.

Carlos walked over, an eye on Keith. He stopped in front of him. Lance chuckled.

Keith nervously shifted from foot to foot. Then Carlos asked, "Why do you have such long hair?"

"Um," Keith muttered. "I just have it like this, I guess…"

"Boys can have long hair?"

"Of course," Lance told his little brother. Him and Shiro were watching Keith, amused.

"Can I braid it?" Carlos blushed and grinned at Keith, who was bewildered. "Sure."

The little boy took Keith's hand and led him over to the sofa, where Keith shyly sat down and Carlos climbed up the back of it to gain access to Keith's hair.

Lance sat in a rocking chair, and Shiro followed them, plopping down on a small loveseat to try and wake up.

"Oi, Carlos, be careful. Don't fall off." Came Lana's warning from the kitchen. Carlos giggled.

"Man, little kids love you, huh?" Lance said to Keith, who shrugged.

"I really do think it's the mullet. He must think you're a Disney character."

"Will you stop with the hair jokes?" Keith shot Lance a glare.

About ten minutes later, Lana rushed into the living room. "I am so sorry Keith, Shiro. But I'm afraid Lance will need to take you two home now. His father is here." Her eyes were full of worry. "Mama?" Lance asked. "He's in a bad mood, Lance, i told you this. He would not much appreciate visitors. You know how he is to strangers…"

Lance jumped up. "Come on," he told his friends. Carlos looked at Keith, who whispered. "Bye, Carlos. I'm sorry i have to go. But I will see you again, alright?" Carlos nodded and gave Keith a quick hug.

Lance pulled out of his driveway and said, "I'm sorry for that."

"It's no problem," Shiro told him.

"My papa isn't very nice to people he doesn't know. He treats us okay, unless he's in a bad mood. Then he's pretty mean."

Keith noticed a look in Lance's eyes he'd never seen before - fear.

"Really he just shouts a lot. It's fine. I just don't like it…"

After he dropped Shiro and Keith off, Lance went home to find, surprisingly, his father sitting down calmly and watching the news.

"Hey papa," Lance said hesitantly.

"Hola, son." His father knew Spanish, having been taught by Lana.

Lance nervously tapped his fingers on the arm of the loveseat, his mother walking in and sitting next to him. She smiled reassuringly.

Everything seemed normal, until…

"Last night, a small club hosted an event for the LGBTQ+ community at Eastwood Park, El Paso. Several hours into the night, there was a karaoke session when suddenly several men with guns entered the park and proceeded to shoot at the participants of the event."

"Good riddance," Lance's dad laughed. Lance scowled at his father, who continued to speak. "People in communities like that deserve to go to hell."

Lance angrily stood up and was about to leave the room when his father said, "Where are you going, Lance?"

Lance turned and said, "Hell, apparently."

Lana gasped. Lance's father paused. Then his eyes widened as he realized what Lance meant.

"Wait.. you.. You're…"

"Tristan..." Lana said weakly.

"¡Tú! No puedo ... ¡recuperar tu trasero aquí, ahora mismo! ¡Mi propio mijo es bisexual! Eres una basura repugnante."

"Tristan!" Lana cried. He ignored her and stood to face Lance, who had tears in his eyes. "Papa…"

"Todos ustedes son idiotas. No puedo creerte ... ¿Y qué demonios, mijo? ¡No te pueden gustar ambos sexos, debes elegir! ¡Y si te atreves a decir que me contradirás, te echaré de mi casa!"

He turned to face Lana and pointed at her. "¡Y tu! ¡Lo criaste! ¡¿Qué tienes que decir al respecto?!"

Lance began to cry as he shouted at his dad, "¡No! Papa ... P-por favor ... soy solo yo, no puedo cambiarlo ... ¡No le saques la rabia a mama!"

"¡Descartaré mi ira sobre quien sea que maldito sea, por favor! ¡Salí! ¡Sal de mi vida!"

Lance froze as his father, his own father, said those words to him. Tears streaming down his face, he stormed out.

Lana looked at Tristan, crying as well. "Tristan! Entonces, ¿así es como realmente te sientes? Eres una persona terrible ... cuando me casé contigo, soñé con una vida hermosa en la que nuestros hijos podrían ser cualquier cosa ... ahora estoy completamente disgustado contigo."

She went after Lance. She found him in the front room with the twins and Maria.

"Vamos, niños ... nos vamos de esta casa. Pero volveremos …" She turned to Tristan. "Y usted, Tristan, se habrá ido."

Sunday

Sunday, Keith found out that hooray! he had the stomach flu. He wasn't sure how he got it, but it was pretty hard to cope with. Especially since he lived alone. He didn't eat. He couldn't even keep water down.

Keith spent half of the week sleeping it off and finishing Stranger Things. On Wednesday, he got a text from Lance.

Wednesday

LANCE: hey man u ok?

KEITH: i have the stomach flu but im fine

LANCE: aw that sucks. Well, i had an argument with my dad.

KEITH: oh crap was it about you being bi

LANCE: yep. It got worse, tho. He blamed my mom for it and shes filing for a divorce

KEITH: omg. Seriously

LANCE: im not sure what to do

KEITH: well idk either, u know i never really had a family so… Good luck i guess? I hope you and ur mom and siblings can stay together…

LANCE: thx man. Im talking to other people about it too so ill be fine

Keith turned off his phone. Well, shit.

Thursday

The next morning, Keith was relieved to find his fever broke and he was able to keep food and water down. Then he remembered what happened last night and felt a feeling of sadness and worry come over him. He thought he had it bad…

He skipped breakfast and drove to school as quick as he could.

When he entered the cafeteria, he saw Lance and the others sitting down, talking. He sat next to Lance.

"So it was because you're bisexual?" Pidge asked. Lance nodded. Hunk patted Lance on the back. "My mama couldn't accept that he tried to kick me out of the house. He's been edgy for a couple of months now, el bastardo…"

"Well, I'm grateful Ryan won't find out," Keith piped up. "He doesn't need to hurt anyone else."

Lance gave them all a weak smile. "I'll be alright guys, really. I get to stay with the rest of my family, and we're keeping the house, so that's good."

"That is good," Hunk sighed. Pidge nodded.

"Speaking of Ryan," Shiro said to Keith. "I have some bad news about him, but I do have good news as well."

Everyone looked at Shiro expectantly.

"The bad news is, Keith, Ryan overheard us talking yesterday and he heard Lance talking about how he thought it was funny (and cute) when you got all angry at the term 'mullet'."

Keith looked at Lance, who blushed. "I didn't say cute."

Keith felt his face grow warm as well, but for two reasons. "So you're saying he might be calling me that soon?"

"Hopefully not," Shiro said. "But the good news is that prom is coming up."

Pidge groaned.

"That's good news?" Keith scoffed.

Hunk shrugged. "Sounds fun, I guess."

Pidge snorted. "Yeah, well, you've got your eye on someone anyways. Her name was Shay, wasn't it?"

Hunk turned scarlet. "Y-yeah," he muttered. Shiro chuckled.

Then Pidge got an evil look in their eye. Pushing up their glasses, they said, "What about you, Keith?"

Oh, no. Not this crap again.

Keith looked at the floor. "No."

"Not yet, you mean?"

"Shut up…"

Lance looked confusedly at them. Before he could ask any questions, though, the bell rang. Keith sped out of the cafeteria as fast as he could.

By third period, Keith was hyped up with worry about what Ryan would say to him. Once everyone sat down and the teacher began his usual boring lecture about 'integrals of functions', he heard a whisper beside him.

Damn it.

"What's up, mullet." Ryan shot maliciously at Keith. "Hey, where's your Disney prince? Lance not here to save your ass?"

Keith had enough.

He shot up and punched Ryan right in the face. Shocked, he took a second to retaliate and tackled Keith to the ground.

"Mr. Kogane! Mr. Jacksin!" The teacher's horrified call came from the front of the classroom, but Keith hardly heard it. He was too focused on hitting Ryan as hard as he could, wherever he could reach, adrenaline coursing through him and fueling his anger and resentment and vengeance.

And the redhead on top of him was punching back, and suddenly his friend from the front of the class, a boy with black hair, was there, helping Ryan beat the fuck out of Keith, and he had given up.

Given up because these two boys were stronger than him, not only physically but mentally as well. He would never escape.

A couple of school officers were called into the room and wrestled Ryan and his friend off of Keith. The teacher helped him up.

Keith grabbed his bag and ran out of the room, out of the room where kids were shouting, where Ryan wanted to rip him apart, where terrified classmates sat.

Keith ran all the way to the restroom at the front of the school, where someone was in a stall but he didn't care.

At the mirror, he looked at his reflection and saw blood and tears running down his face, mixing and staining his skin crimson.

Near hyperventilation, he rolled up his sleeve and scratched at the word FREAK on his arm, the scabs rubbing off and bleeding again, and there was blood all over him, but he still didn't care.

He didn't care.

Hands shaking, he fumbled with his pencil case, whipping out scissors. The real kind, not the safety scissors.

Then, reaching behind his head, he grabbed a lock of hair.

Suddenly the stall door flew open and Lance shot towards Keith, knocking the scissors out of his hand and clutching his shoulders, hard.

"Keith!" He cried. "What the hell?! What were you doing?! Why are you covered in blood?"

Keith was trembling. Holding back another onslaught of tears, he shook his head.

"Keith, what happened? Why is your arm - shit, Keith, you…"

Lance pulled Keith into a hug.

Keith finally broke down, silent sobs racking his body as he gasped, "T-this has been h-happening for w-weeks, t-the cutting… and t-today in class I h-hit Ryan and his f-friend came to b-beat the hell out of m-me… and - and -" he gulped down another sob. "I was g-gonna cut my hair, b-because you hate it so m-much, a-and Ryan…"

"No." Lance pulled back and looked Keith in the eyes. "I don't hate it. You idiot…" Lance felt tears well up in his eyes as he looked at this broken boy in front of him, seeing fear and sadness and emptiness in his dark eyes. "Y-you should have told us sooner… we can help you, Keith…"

Keith sniffled. "I-I'm sorry… I'm just so sick of R-Ryan and his shit…"

"I know, me too, Keith." Lance sighed. "It's gonna be okay. You need to get cleaned up."

The next ten minutes were spent wiping the blood from Keith's arm and face, and Lance ran to the nurse's office to get some gauze wrap.

"You good?" Lance asked Keith, who was sitting on the floor.

Slowly, he nodded.

"Alright. I'm guessing you don't want to go to class?"

This time, he shook his head.

Lance sat down next to Keith.

Keith couldn't help but think about the boy beside him, about how genuinely caring and kind he was. Lance may have teased him, but they really had gone through a lot together. In all truthfulness, Keith liked Lance…

More than a friend.

He wasn't sure how it developed, but he knew he wasn't going to drop a bomb like that now because not only was it terrible timing, he knew Lance didn't feel the same way.

Shit, he had to get out of here.

"I-I'm going home," he said to Lance.

"Okay," Lance said, face full of worry.

Keith grabbed his bag and left the restroom. He raced through the front office out to the parking lot, where he jumped in his car and drove to his apartment.

He stumbled up the stairs and into his room, shutting the door behind him with trembling hands. He took a deep breath and walked over to the window, where huge blank canvases were stacked.

He wrenched open his desk drawers, pulling out endless sets of paint.

Whenever Keith got truly emotional, he would paint anything and everything. He taught himself to channel his feelings through art. Whenever his painting episodes came around, Keith would zone out, almost as if going into a coma, and paint until his arms were sore, and then everything re-materialized around him and he was back, back inside his own head, no longer flying like the colors all over the canvas and his hands and his clothes.

Now was one of those times.

Keith let himself fall into a sort of trance, random colors filling the canvas in front of him. Filling his mind. Painting on a blank slate. Creating something new, something to whisk him away from the bad memories, if only for a short time.

When he finally focused back on what was happening, he examined what he had made.

Keith had painted a swarm of butterflies - and not just your typical Monarch you see every day.

These ones were in every color imaginable - all the colors of the rainbow, and everything in between.

He knew if Lance or Pidge were here, they'd call it 'girly', but he'd painted butterflies because of their disposition. They were free, able to fly high away from all of the hate and craziness called life.

And they were beautiful.

But to become beautiful, they struggled. They spend a long time in their cocoons, in shells of darkness. That's where Keith was, trapped, struggling. He wasn't free yet.

But one day, maybe he would be.

Exausted, Keith collapsed on his bed and read the clock.

6:47.

He sighed. He had been painting for a long time; maybe he could get some sleep tonight.

Not even bothering to clean up, Keith was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Once Keith left, Lance stood up and went to get his bag from PE. The coach didn't even notice as he slipped out of the gym, walking through the office and out to his car.

Lance hummed 'El Ray' as he drove, and when he pulled up to his house, he was relieved to see his father's truck wasn't there.

"Hola, Lance…" Lana's greeting came from the living room. She didn't even question why he was home so early.

Lance walked into the room where his mother sat, looking at an old photo album. "Come, sit down with me, mijo."

Lance sat by Lana and looked at the album she was holding. "I want to show you something." Lana flipped to a page where a beautiful young girl was at her Fiesta De Quince Años,a party held when a girl of a Mexican or Spanish heritage turns fifteen. "That," Lana said, "Is my sister, your aunt Isabella."

"Really?" Lance asked. His mom nodded. "Isn't she beautiful?"

She had on a long pale pink dress and was smiling excitedly into the camera.

Lance smiled. "Yeah."

"Did you know she is bisexual as well?"

Lance stared at Lana. "No way. Really? She is?"

"Sí, mijo."

Lance sighed. Maybe he wasn't alone after all… No, of course he wasn't. Keith was with him, too. And of course there had always been his other friends. And his mother… he had his mother. Lance hugged Lana, who laughed in surprise and hugged him back.

"By the way, mama, why did you file for divorce..? I mean, papa only yelled at me."

Lana shook her head. "He has been doing far worse than that these past few years. I will tell you more about it when you are a little older, mijo. For now, just know he is no longer your papa. And, um…" she faltered.

"What is it?"

"Your - our - last name… is Martinez."

Lance raised his eyebrows. "You're giving us your maiden name? Don't people usually not do that?"

Lana shrugged, then smiled. "Do not worry about it, Lance. Everything will be okay." Lance nodded and smiled back at his mom.

"Now," she said. "Tell me about this prom that's coming up."

Lance groaned. "Mama…"

Friday

The next day, Keith wasn't at school.

"Heyo." Lance said, sitting down with Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge.

"Hey. You alright?" Shiro asked him.

"I'm fine," Lance answered.

"Keith's not here today?" Hunk noted. "Nope," Lance replied. "He's… not feeling well." There was a hint of worry to his voice.

"Good thing he's not here today," Pidge growled. "Ryan and his friends are just getting worse. He's got a goddamn Twitter account set up with a couple of his stinking friends and they're endlessly Tweeting about Keith."

"Well, I don't think he has a Twitter account, so." Shiro told them.

"Shit!" Lance cried. "He does!"

Lance leapt up.

"Whoa, whoa, calm your tits," Pidge warned. "Let's just look at what they're saying first, kapeesh?"

Lance nodded, his heart sinking as Pidge pulled out their phone.

He had a bad feeling about this.

Keith picked up his phone as it buzzed for the ten thousandth time that day. His gaze darkened as he opened up Twitter and saw endless tweets from Ryan and his friends.

Of course.

Keith started clicking on them, dreading to see what they said but reading them anyways.