Lance McClain was used to getting weird looks on the bus. Honestly, he was a Hispanic kid with skinny black jeans and eyeliner; weird looks were just a fact of life. Though it didn't change the fact that an old lady turning her nose up at him every time they made eye contact pissed him off. Lance looked a bit like a raccoon at this point in the day, his eyeliner having run down out of his water liner and down to the skin under his eyes. Everything he wore was black, save for the silver lip ring on his bottom lip, near the right corner of his mouth. He wore his favorite band tee at the moment, a black tank top with the band's logo in white in the front. Along with that he wore ripped black skinny jeans and black converse with his blue plaid button up tied around his waist. Lance thought he was hot shit.
He glanced down at the small digital screen on his silver Motorola flip phone. He only had it a year yet he managed to scuff all of the corners and scratch the shit out of the back. On the back was a green cat sticker Pidge lovingly put on last week, along with his name roughly scratched into it. The phone model was a good two years old now, but Lance couldn't make his monthly rent sometimes let alone get the newest and latest gadgets. Smart phones; he couldn't help scoffing at the thought. Were the phones supposed to be smarter than people? They seemed so unnecessary; all he needed his phone for was to call up his friends or the pizza guy.
Speaking of the nerds, he was on his way to Hunk's garage for their weekly jam out sessions. All three of them would pitch in ten bucks for two huge pizzas and some sodas then they'd dick around in Hunk's loft over the garage, jamming out with Lance's guitar or whatever Pidge could illegally download for that week. It was great, sometimes it was the only thing that kept Lance going.
Lance sighed softly, leaning his head against the window as he stared out the window. His headphones were really too clunky to bring onto the bus, he'd already gone through a pair once this year and he did not need to spend any more money on things like headphones while his rent continued to raise for no reason every year. He scowled at the thought; his rent had originally started off at $550 a month, now his landlord had raised it by another fifty dollars and Lance had no clue if he'd actually be able to swing that at the pace he was working.
Although Lance liked to think of himself as a full time musician and part time cog inside the machine, but he knew that just wasn't possible to survive in the 'oh so wonderful' city of Altea. Lance had a fairly nice job at the local dispatch center. He didn't wear nearly as much eyeliner at work and his clothes were more colorful than he would've liked, but it paid his bills and that's more than he can say about his poor guitar sitting next to him. Though, he sometimes hated listening to absolute idiots who dial 9-1-1 for stupid ass reasons.
His "baby blue abomination" as he so lovingly called it was a guitar he picked up in his middle school days and practically never set down. His uncle had gotten it or him for Christmas one year along with a couple books to teach him basic chords and a couple easy songs. Ever since then Lance had taught himself every song he'd ever loved and wrote every song he could think off. He loved that guitar, probably a bit too much.
Eventually the bus stopped a block away from Hunk's shop and Lance grabbed his guitar case and headed off of the bus, making sure that his guitar didn't hit anything on the way out. Said case was covered in stickers, most of them from Pidge. A couple of the stickers were just bumper stickers that he got from his family went on different vacations to places. Those were the days, when he was accepted at home and had a warm meal guaranteed.
Lance had been experimenting back in high school that was all, but then his father walked in on Lance and his flame of the week making out in his room. Mr. McClain didn't appreciate that Lance was making out with a boy and not some cute girlfriend. He was promptly kicked out alongside said boy, without his father even talking to anyone in the house. Lance packed all he could in his backpack and guitar case before he stormed out of the house. He spent a couple weeks staying at different friends' houses until he graduated. After graduation Lance turned of age and was able to rent a studio on the opposite end of the city. Lance frowned at the memories of his father's angry red face screaming at Lance, how much the words "you're not my son" stung more than any hit his father could lay on him.
He should really peel those stickers off sometime.
Lance swallowed down the lump in his throat before squinting down the street. It was still pretty bright out, as it was the beginning of the summer when the days were just starting to drag out and become unbearably hot. Lance gripped the handle on his guitar case tightly as he began walking down the street. He could feel the sun beating down on him, keeping his back warm and his hair hot. Lance ran his hand though the messy brown locks that were starting to look a little too shaggy, grimacing.
Hunk's apartment was above a small mechanic shop sort of close to uptown Altea. It was quaint and perfect for the weekly jam out sessions they'd have. The loft upstairs was big enough for a family of five, as that was what it was originally built for. After Hunk's family moved out of Altea to go back to live with the rest of Hunk's family out of state, they left him the shop and the loft. Hunk still talked to his family occasionally but was mainly on his own.
Pidge was an enigma. He was fifteen and still going to school along with still living with his family. Apparently his family were friends with Hunk's family and that's how the two met each other. Lance asked Pidge how the hell he convinced his parents that hanging out with a seventeen year old and a twenty-two year old was an okay idea for a fifteen year old. Pidge told Lance that shit went down with his older brother Matt that made them more lenient with him. It turned out that Pidge had an older brother who overdosed a year ago. So long as Pidge didn't do drugs and die, his parents were okay with anything really. Lance stopped asking questions after that.
Pidge worked at Hunk's shop to help out on the phone/new technology side of things. Where Hunk fixed things like cars and motorcycles, Pidge fixed things like cell phones and computers. They worked well together and if people asked, Pidge was totally of age and not a fifteen year old. Yes of course officer, the manager knows full well the consequences of hiring underage employees in a shop where they'd be working with heavy machinery. It was a little shady; then again all three of their lives were a little shady.
The shop was a large garage like structure with stairs on the right side that led up to Hunk's front door. The stairs were steep and surprisingly, considering Lance's track record, he has yet to fall down these stairs a second time. Lance carefully climbed the stairs, letting himself in with his own key that Hunk had given him a year into their friendship.
Hunk and Lance's friendship was… strange. Hunk was a senior when Lance was just a freshman back in high school. They had gym together and they bonded over absolutely loathing the class and everyone else in it. After Hunk graduated they managed to stay in touch and they'd been best friends ever since. When Lance got kicked out half-way through senior year Hunk helped Lance get a steadier job and helped him find a fairly cheap apartment. Though they had a good five year age difference, the two were still very close friends.
Lance hummed softly as he walked in, closing the door behind himself before locking it. He kicked off his shoes as per tradition in Hunk's house before looking around. The place was fairly clean from what Lance could tell. Hunk's front door was in the hallway between the kitchen and living room, across from the door was another hallway with four rooms, two bedrooms, an office that was once a bedroom, and a bathroom, causing a t-shape with the hallways. The entire house had cream colored theme with cheap linoleum that was supposed to look like hardwood.
The kitchen and living room had big arch ways that matched up. The kitchen was to the left, looking like it was straight out of the eighties, white linoleum was on the floor and the counters were a weird grey material that Lance had no clue what it actually was, just that it was supposed to look like marble but it failed spectacularly at it. The living room on the right was the 'main hub', on the wall directly across from the hallway sat Hunk's grey television, it was fairly newer and a bit thinner than others on the market. It still had a huge box behind it, but the picture quality was amazing compared to the grainy quality Lance was used to. There was a huge maroon couch in the middle of the room that sort of divided it. There was a love seat to the left of it and a coffee table between the couch and TV. Hunk didn't have much to decorate, so the room was pretty bare minus the furniture and the huge ass cork boards on either side of the TV that Hunk was planning on filling up with pictures of friends. Lance smiled small as he saw one picture of Pidge holding a bottle of soda above his head and squatting. Back when that picture had been taken, Pidge was screeching like a madman and dancing around. Said madman was sprawled out on the couch now, watching the television despite there being nothing on it. Lance leaned over and poked his nose.
"Oi, don't fucking fuck with me today fucker," Pidge grumbled as he batted at Lance's hand. Lance laughed a bit and continued to poke him. Pidge was wearing his usual dark green tank top along with black cargo shorts. His large round glasses made his eyes look bigger than they actually were.
"Bad day today? Where's Hunk?" Lance asked, continuously poking all over Pidge's face. Pidge gave up on his attempts to stop Lance and just stuck with glaring up at the older male.
"Yes, it's a bad day. Hunk is getting the pizza," Pidge stated, visibly upset about something.
"What's up, man?" Lance asked as he set his guitar down. He vaulted over the back of the couch, plopping down just as Pidge moved his legs out of the way. Pidge let his feet rest on Lance's lap as he pulled a blanket around himself.
"My teachers are starting to take off points when I use my real name on my papers now," Pidge sighed, returning to staring at the blank TV. Lance frowned and patted Pidge's shin comfortingly.
"I'm sorry man, are you parents gonna do anything about it?" Lance asked softly. Pidge shook his head before covering his face with the blanket.
"There's nothing they can do, Lance. There are no rules that protect people like me; the school can just do whatever they want. Teachers can do whatever they want."
Lance frowned, Pidge's voice sounded so small and upset, it couldn't sit right with Lance. Pidge wasn't as loud as Lance was, of course, but he was opinionated and he would never let people walk all over him. Seeing this, seeing Pidge just admit defeat like this, it hurt.
Lance chewed on his lip, unsure of really what to do. "Pidge-"
"Hey guys!" Hunk called, effectively cutting off Lance. The eldest male strode in, carrying two pizza boxes in one hand and a bag with two bottles of soda in the other. He noticed Pidge wrapped up in the blanket and Lance's serious expression, causing his smile to falter. He set the food down on the coffee table before kneeling down next to Pidge.
"Pidge, you okay?" Hunk asked softly, slowly pulling the blanket away from Pidge's face. Pidge didn't bother to try and stop Hunk; he just sniffled and crossed his arms.
"His teachers have started harassing him now and there's nothing that anyone can do to help," Lance explained, watching Pidge with a sad expression.
"What if you go to the principal?" Hunk offered quietly, glancing back at Lance who only shook his head.
"Last time I went to the principal she laughed in my face," Pidge grumbled. Hunk grimaced before looking to Lance for help. Lance shrugged; he was just as lost as Hunk was when it came to helping Pidge.
"How about we watch all three saw movies over pizza and then we can rock out to whatever Lance has attempted to write this week?" Hunk offered, smiling small. Pidge nodded quietly, seeming to like the idea.
"Can we make fun of the characters too?" He asked quietly.
Hunk smiled and nodded. "Of course we can."
So that's what they did, Hunk and Lance cringed and looked away from the screen during every scene with a trap active, which was most of the movie, as Pidge made fun of the characters and how dumb they were to get into those situations. After their bellies were full of pizza, Pidge hooked his iPod up to Hunk's speakers before playing all of the newest songs he had downloaded.
They spent the night shouting songs at the top of their lungs and dancing around like fools. If Pidge looked sad they'd dance with him or make a lame ass joke to make him laugh. When Pidge had to go to the bathroom and change into a hoodie, Lance and Hunk said nothing, just turned the music off and went back to watching shitty thriller movies.
It was nights like these where Lance realized how much the three really depended on each other; where some weeks it was him or Hunk who needed to be comforted, not just Pidge. It was a big fucking world out there and Lance was terrified of it, he was certain that Hunk and Pidge were too. At least every Friday night they could escape into this small corner of the world, a small corner where they could fully be themselves and fully supports each other. Lance hoped that the days of rocking out in Hunk's loft would never leave him, but he knew better than to hope like that. He hoped that the days of Pidge only fearing his scores on a test would never leave, but the kid only had two more years until he was out of high school. Pidge said he'd stay in town but Lance could see it in his eyes, could see the need to escape just crawling up and making Pidge itch to leave. Lance knew that Hunk wanted to go back to his family as well.
The thought that someday, the three of them would be without each other, it terrified Lance. What would he do without Hunk and Pidge? The three of them were family now; the only family Lance had left that still loved him and cared about him. As he stared up at the dark ceiling, Lance couldn't help but tear up at the thought. Pidge and Hunk were all that Lance had left and someday even they'd be gone. He swallowed thickly, hating the fact that he was already mourning something he has yet to lose.
Lance fell asleep slowly, thoughts of all of the things he wanted to do with his friends before they all went their separate ways. He probably would never bring up his fears to them; he didn't want to see Pidge and Hunk's sad looks as they both couldn't deny that they were planning on leaving. Lance didn't want to admit it to himself yet either. He knew that sometimes there were things that you just can't control and that sometimes you have to let people go, but Lance was very bad at that. He was terrible when it came to losing his family.