Hello children, I'm back from the dead. If anyone who's reading this follows me, you'll probably know that I've deleted the stories I'd been working on, the reason being that I just lost inspiration to continue those particular stories. But after being on hiatus for a long, long (long, long, long, long) time, I have made my glorious return and have a brand-new story for you. Now, you'll probably look at the description and think, oh, ew, another OC. Just what we need. But I swear to god, this isn't just some Mary Sue. I've put a lot of time and effort into Annie's story, and tried my best to not make her just some author insert or whatever you might think. So all I ask is that you give the story a chance, and afterwards, please review (i thrive on constructive criticism!)
And so, without further ado, here's the first chapter.
The three cadets slumped out of the Kerberos simulation, defeated. They could barely look at each other, much less the crowd of other students staring at them.
"Let's see if we can't use this complete failure as a lesson for the rest of you students," growled the commander. He turned to the other students. "Can anyone point out the mistakes these three so-called cadets made in the simulator?"
"The engineer puked in the main gearbox!" one student called out.
"Yes," the commander said dryly. "As everyone knows, vomit is not an approved lubricant for engine systems. What else?"
"The comm spec removed his safety harness," another student called out.
"The pilot crashed!" piped up a third.
"Correct. And worst of all, the whole jump, they were arguing with each other. Hell, if you're going to be this bad individually, you'd better at least be able to work as a team! Galaxy Garrison exists to turn young cadets like you into the next generation of elite astro-explorers, but these kinds of mental mistakes are exactly what cost the lives of the men on the Kerberos Mission."
The comm spec's jaw dropped and he stamped his foot in anger. But as he seemed about to yell, he was cut off.
"Wh- you liar!" cried a female voice from the crowd.
The commander turned sharply and glowered at the girl who had spoken. "What was that, cadet?" It wasn't a request for clarification. It was a challenge.
The girl balled her fists, fixing the commander with a look of righteous fury, and seemed about to speak her mind when she caught the eye of the pilot. Their eyes locked, and something passed between them. The boy shook his head almost imperceptibly. Don't. It's not worth it.
The girl sighed and looked away. "Nothing, sir," she muttered.
"That's what I thought," the commander snapped. He turned back to the pilot. "I hope I don't need to remind you, McClain, that the only reason you're here is that the best pilot in your class had a discipline issue and flunked out. Don't follow in his footsteps. NEXT!"
The next group approached the simulation, the outspoken girl among them. As they passed, the girl and the pilot locked eyes again, and another silent conversation passed between them.
Sorry, the girl's eyes said.
The boy smiled ruefully. Don't be. I know you're still hurting.
The girl's weak smile matched her twin brother's, and as she turned away, the door to the ship slid closed.
"Por l'amor de Dios, I cannot believe Iverson!"
Alannah McClain was pissed off beyond belief. She paced around her room, hands raking through her short hair. "How dare he?! I mean, first he makes that crack about the Kerberos mission, which was just a slap in the face, but then he has the nerve to call you a replacement?! What the fucking hell! I swear, if I ever get my hands on that son of a -"
"Annie!" Lance yelped, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "Calm down. It's fine. I'm over it. I don't need you to be my bodyguard, hermanita."
Annie sighed and sat down heavily on the bottom bunk. "You know I hate it when you call me that."
"Honestly, I agree with Annie," Hunk piped up from where he was sitting on the desk. "Iverson was way out of line. I mean, we didn't do well, but we weren't awful. Well..." He considered. "We were kind of awful. But still, he doesn't have to be so mean."
Annie groaned and put her head in her hands. "God, I need a cigarette."
"Annie, no," Lance said firmly. "Those are cancer in a joint. You are going to kill yourself."
"I know," she mumbled, her voice muffled.
Lance suddenly stood up straight, a gleam in his eye. "No. D'you know what we should do? We should sneak out."
Annie peeked out from between her fingers. "You mean, like... onto the roof?"
"Nah," Lance said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We do that all the time. I mean, go out. Hit the town. Go clubbing. You know, like we used to, before..." He trailed off when he saw the look on Annie's face.
"No," was all she said.
"Come on, Annie!" her brother groaned, plopping down beside her. "Look, I know you're sad and all about what happened, and I'm sorry about that, but it doesn't mean you should stop living your life."
She sighed and fell back onto the bed dramatically. "I dunno," she mumbled. "I just... I don't know if I'm ready yet."
"And besides which," Hunk added, "it's a bad idea anyway. Iverson would expel us like that -" he snapped his fingers - "if we put even a toe out of line. I mean, look at what happened to -"
"Yeah, yeah," Lance interrupted. "But he was an idiot. We're not. Come on, it's time we live a little!"
Annie had been quiet for a little while, considering. But at that moment she abruptly sat up.
"One condition," she said.
"Name it," Lance replied immediately.
"I bring my saxophone," she said firmly, "and we go to a jazz club."
"That's two, dingus."
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"I said, condition accepted! Let's razzle dazzle!"
"Um," mumbled Hunk as the twins jumped up and raced for the door, "am I the only one who thinks this might not be the best idea?"
"Lights out in five!" Iverson's voice carried through the halls. "Everyone back to their dorms, now!"
"We shouldn't be doing this," Hunk maintained as the three of them peeked around a corner.
"Aw, c'mon, you heard Commander Iverson," Lance said, pulling up an imitation of their surly instructor. "We need to 'bond as a team'. We'll grab Pidge, hit the town, loosen up, maybe hook up with some nice girls -"
"As a feminist and a human female, I resent that," said Annie, scowling up at her brother as the lights went out.
"What? I said they were nice."
"That makes no difference, Lance!"
"Shhhh!" he hissed, tiptoeing around the corner. Annie breathed out a sigh of frustration and followed him, her glare boring a hole into the back of his head.
"Okay," Hunk said, glancing nervously at the twins as they crept through the halls, "I'm just saying this here, right now, on the record: this is a bad idea."
"You know," Lance raised his eyebrows at his roommate, "for someone in a space exploration program, you don't have much of a sense of adventure."
"All your little 'adventures' end up with me in the principal's office," Hunk deadpanned. Then his eyes widened. "Uh oh -"
He pulled them around another corner as one of the teachers came through the hall. The three of them barely breathed until they heard a voice say, "L-5 north all clear," and then the sound of retreating footsteps. Annie let out the breath she'd been holding, her heart pounding.
"That was too close," Hunk whispered.
"Ah, come on, Hunk, we've survived worse," Lance whispered back, shrugging nonchalantly. "Come on, let's find -"
The sound of a door opening had the three of them ducking around the corner again. Footsteps sounded, but they were quick and light, and leading away from them. They peeked out into the hall and saw the retreating form of Pidge, carrying a large backpack, disappearing around another corner.
"Where is he going?" Lance muttered.
Katie Holt, alias Pidge Gunderson, had retreated to her usual spot on the Garrison roof, and was just settling in with her equipment when one of her headphones was lifted from her ear and a voice spoke into it. "You come out here to rock out?"
Pidge yelped and jumped about a foot in the air, whirling around. "Jesus, Lance!"
Lance sniggered.
"Nice, hermano," his sister said, glaring at him. "Real nice." She turned to Pidge and grimaced apologetically. "I am very sorry about my donkey of a brother."
Pidge snorted. "Donkey?"
"What - is that not a thing in English?" Annie rolled her eyes and plopped to the ground, crossing her legs like a little kid. "Ugh. Dios mio, I hate this language."
Pidge chuckled. Out of the three of her friends, Annie was the only one who knew Pidge's secret. It hadn't taken long for it to come out, and Annie had sworn to secrecy. After all, she had secrets of her own. But those weren't Pidge's to tell.
"Man, where'd you get all this stuff?" Lance asked, staring at her equipment. "It doesn't look like Garrison tech."
"I built it," said Pidge smugly.
Hunk's eyes widened. "You built all this?"
He reached out to touch it, and Pidge slapped his hand away. "Stoppit!" She turned back to the twins. "With this thing, I can scan all the way to the edge of the solar system."
Lance raised an eyebrow. "That right? All the way to Kerberos?"
Pidge saw Annie stiffen, her fidgeting hands going still in her lap. She felt a little twinge in her chest, and grimaced.
"You go ballistic every time the instructors bring it up," Lance accused. "What's your deal?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Pidge saw a hand creeping up on her equipment. "Second warning, Hunk," she snapped, and Hunk withdrew his hand with a sigh.
"Look, Pidge," Lance said seriously, and Pidge realized that this was one of the rare occasions when he was being sincere. "If we're going to bond as a team, we can't have any secrets."
Pidge looked over at Annie, who had been silent for most of the exchange. She was staring off into the distance, a hollow, somewhat wistful look in her eyes. She seemed to come out of a trance, and when she looked at Pidge, she gave her a small smile and nod. Go ahead. Pidge took a deep breath and let it out.
"Fine. Okay. The world as you know it is about to change. The Kerberos Mission wasn't lost because of some malfunction or crew mistake - STOP TOUCHING MY EQUIPMENT!"
This was directed at Hunk, who had made a third attempt at Pidge's equipment. He withdrew his hand with a groan.
"So," Pidge continued, "I've been scanning the system and picking up alien radio chatter."
Hunk's jaw dropped. "Whoa... w-what? Aliens?"
Lance seemed doubtful. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. They keep repeating one word: Voltron. And tonight, it's going crazier than I've ever heard it."
"How crazy?"
A voice on the loudspeakers startled them. "Attention students. This is not a drill. We are on lockdown. Security situation Zulu Niner. Repeat: all students are to remain in barracks until further notice."
"What's happening?" Annie asked, looking around wildly. "Were we caught?" Then her eyes caught something on the horizon, and her eyes widened. She grabbed a pair of Pidge's binoculars and stared up at the sky.
"Guys... not to alarm you all... but there's a giant meteor speeding toward us."
"What?!" Lance and Hunk yelped.
"Oh, wait - no, never mind, false alarm."
They sighed in relief.
"It's a spaceship hurtling toward us."
"WHAT?!"
Lance snatched the binoculars from her hands and stared through them. His jaw dropped. "Holy shit! I can't believe what I'm seeing! That is not one of ours."
"No," Pidge murmured, dread and hope fighting for dominance in the back of her mind. "It's one of theirs."
She met Annie's eyes, and the older girl seemed to be waging the same battle inside her. "D'you think..." She couldn't finish.
"I don't know..." Annie whispered. Her expression hardened. "We have to check out that ship."
She leapt to her feet, turned and sprinted towards the door, Pidge following closely on her heels and Lance running behind them shouting, "Guys, wait up! Come on, Hunk!"
"Ugh, this is the worst team building exercise ever," Hunk grumbled as he reluctantly followed them.
The four of them crouched behind a pile of rocks, staring at the wreckage of the ship. Annie could feel blood pounding in her ears, her heart pounding in her chest. She could hardly dare hope.
After that long year of searching fruitlessly... after all this time...
Was he really alive?
Had he finally come back?
Her brother seemed oblivious to her inner turmoil as he stared at the scene through Pidge's binoculars.
"Woah... what the heck is this thing?" he murmured. Then a smirk formed on his face and he zoomed in the focus. "And who the heck is she?"
He received twin slaps on his arms from the females of the group for that comment.
"Ow!" he yelped. "Sorry - right. Alien ship." He scanned the area. "Man, we'll never get past all those guards to take a look."
"Aw, man," Hunk said, not sounding disappointed at all. "Well, I guess there's nothing to do but head back to the barracks, right?"
"What?!" Annie whisper-shouted, fixing him with a death glare. "Are you serious?! Do you even realize what this could mean?! We can't go back now! We can't -"
A hand on her arm jolted her from her rant, and she turned her glare on her brother, who fixed her with a steady look.
Getting mad at Hunk won't get you anywhere, Lance's eyes said.
I know. I just...
Yeah. I know.
Lance understood. Of course he did. He knew her better than anyone.
Well, except maybe...
"Wait," Pidge said excitedly. "They set up a camera in there and I grabbed its feed. Look!"
They all craned their necks to peer at the screen. In the video, a young man - about twenty-five or so - was strapped to a table. He looked like shit - his skin was battered with bruises and cuts, and he had a jagged scar cutting across the bridge of his nose. His close-cropped hair, although mostly dark, had a stark white forelock. He struggled in his restraints.
"Wh-what are you doing?" he croaked.
"Calm down, Shiro," came a gruff voice, and Annie's fists clenched as she recognized Iverson. "We just need to keep you quarantined until we run some tests."
"No - you have to listen to me!" the man cried. "They destroy worlds! Aliens are coming!"
Lance's jaw dropped. "That's Shiro!" he whispered in shock. "The pilot of the Kerberos Mission! That guy's my hero!"
"I guess he's not dead in space after all," Hunk said distractedly, then the realization finally seemed to hit him. He turned to Annie, his eyes round as saucers. "Wait - could this mean..."
"Now he gets it," Annie said, rolling her eyes. But despite her annoyed tone, she felt even more jittery if possible, as though Hunk voicing the possibility had made it even more real.
"Where's the rest of the crew?" Pidge voiced the question that was on the tip of Annie's tongue.
"Do you know how long you've been gone?" Iverson spoke again from the screen.
Shiro kept struggling against his bonds. "I-I don't know... months? Years? Look, there's no time. The aliens are coming here for a weapon. They're probably on their way. They'll destroy us! We have to find Voltron!"
"Voltron," Pidge repeated in a whisper, a fierce glint in her eye.
"Sir, take a look at this," said a med tech, examining Shiro's right arm. "It appears his arm has been replaced with a cyborg prosthetic."
"Put him under until we know what that thing can do," replied Iverson.
Shiro struggled harder, his eyes wide with panic. "Wha- no! No no no, don't put me under! No! There's no time! Let me go!"
"They didn't ask about the rest of the crew," Pidge murmured.
"What are they doing?" Lance said incredulously. "The guy's a legend, they aren't even going to listen to him?"
"We have to get him out." Annie had a hard, determined gleam in her eyes. "We have to."
"Uh, look, I hate to be the voice of reason here, always," Hunk cut in, "but weren't we watching on TV because there was no way to get past the guards?"
"That was before we were properly motivated," Lance said, his determined expression almost a mirror of his sister's. "We've just got to think. Could we tunnel in?"
"Maybe we could get some hazmat suits and sneak in like med techs," Pidge suggested.
"Maybe I could just run in, grab Shiro, and run out, and give anyone who tries to stop me a whap upside the head with ol' Lorenzo here," Annie offered, indicating her sax case.
"Uh, maybe not?" Hunk said, leaning away from her slightly.
"No," Lance said, not seeming fazed. "What we need is a distraction."
And just as he said it, something blew up behind the ship.
The four of them yelped in shock and jumped back, Hunk almost falling over in terror. "Oh my god, oh my god, is that them? I-is that the aliens? Are they here? They got here so quick!"
"No," Pidge said, leaning forward and squinting, "those explosions were a distraction. For him."
She pointed, and Annie and the others leaned forward and saw a dark figure hopping off a hoverbike and running over to the ship. "The Garrison's headed toward the blast, and he's sneaking in from the other side."
Lance put the binoculars back up to his eyes and zoomed in. His jaw dropped. "No way! Oh, he is not gonna beat us in there. That guy is always trying to one-up me!"
"Who is it?" Hunk demanded as Lance tossed the binoculars aside and ran toward the wreckage.
"Keith!"
Pidge said, "Who?" at the same time that Annie rolled her eyes and yelled, "Oh my god, Lance, grow up!"
"Are you sure?" called Hunk as he ran after Lance. Annie followed behind, grumbling in Spanish under her breath.
"Oh, I'd recognize that mullet anywhere!"
"Who's Keith?!" yelped Pidge as she sprinted after them.
"McClain?"
Keith Kogane hadn't expected a lot of things about this night. He hadn't expected an alien ship to crash in the middle of the desert. He hadn't expected to find his surrogate brother, who had been presumed dead, in the wreckage. He hadn't expected to be joined by some guy (Lance, he'd said his name was?) who insisted on being the one to save Shiro. But what he definitely hadn't expected was for an old friend to walk in right after him.
"Hey, Kogane," Annie replied with a long-suffering sigh. "I see you've met my brother. Lance, now is really not the time to be an idiot."
Oh. That made sense. He could see the resemblance now. They had the same colouring, similar facial structure. The only main differences were Annie's hair, which was a little past chin-length and dyed bright pink at the tips, and the fact that she was about a foot shorter than her brother.
"Excuse you!" Lance yelped, looking miffed. "I am not an idiot!"
"Could've fooled me," Annie fired back. "C'mon, we have to go, they'll have found out that we're gone by now."
She turned around and dashed back towards the exit, pausing for a second to spit in Iverson's direction before disappearing around a corner.
"Before you ask, yes, she's always like that," Lance said, rolling his eyes.
"I know," Keith muttered as they followed after Annie.
Once they made it out, they found themselves staring right at around thirty Garrison jeeps with their headlights blazing. Keith heard Lance mutter something in what sounded like Spanish under his breath, and he was willing to bet that it was colourful.
"Ah, jeez, they do not look happy," came a voice from beside them. Keith turned his head, and - oh, great! More people. The one who had spoken was a big guy wearing some kind of orange headband, and there was a little guy standing next to him with an awful haircut and round glasses.
Very familiar round glasses.
"Where did you -" he began, but he was cut off by Annie grabbing his arm and pulling him and the two guys attached to him toward his hoverbike, shouting, "Okay, we have to go. Kogane, we're catching a ride with you."
"Yes, Annie," he deadpanned as he climbed on and the rest of them piled onto the back, "you and your buddies can catch a ride with me on my tiny hoverbike. Thank you so much for asking nicely, Annie."
"I'm not even going to respond to that," came the miffed reply.
"You just did." And with that, he revved the engine and the bike shot off across the desert, the jeeps rumbling behind them and the rest of the group screaming. Annie had latched herself onto Keith somehow and was screeching in rapid-fire Spanish directly into his ear.
"Is this thing big enough for all six of us?!" the short guy yelled in a high-pitched voice.
"No," Keith snapped.
" - ME CAGO EN TODO LO QUE SE MENEA - "
"Can't this thing go any faster?" Lance yelled.
"We could toss out some non-essential weight," Keith deadpanned.
"Oh, right!" A few seconds passed. "Okay, so that was an insult. I get it."
"Big man, lean left!" Keith shouted.
They turned a sharp corner and the screams got even louder. If possible, Annie's endless stream of swearing rose to an even higher pitch. " - QUE TU PUTA MADRE Y TUS MUERTOS FOLLAN UN PEZ - "
"Aw man, Mr. Harris just wiped out Professor Montgomery!" the big guy shouted, then followed up with, "No, no, they're both fine."
"Big man, lean right!"
Another sharp corner. Keith's ears were almost bleeding at this point. Annie's voice seemed to have transcended the range of human hearing and was now at a decibel that only bats could hear.
"Um, guys?" the big guy yelped. "I-is that a cliff up ahead?"
Keith squinted. Yep, that was a cliff up ahead. He felt a little smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. Oh, this would be fun.
"Yup," he said, grinning, and as Lance started yelling "NO NO NO NO NO!" and Annie screamed "DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE YOU LITTLE - ", he drove the hoverbike right off the side of the cliff.
The rush was addicting. The speed, the adrenaline, the sound of screaming pounding his eardrums - okay, that was less pleasant.
"I - HATE - ROLLER COASTERS!" Annie shrieked.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Lance screamed. "YOU'RE GONNA KILL US ALL!"
"Shut up and trust me!" Keith yelled.
"I AM NEVER - TRUSTING - YOU - AGAIN!" Annie screeched.
Well, he supposed he deserved that.
Annie brought the cigarette to her lips and took a long, slow drag, exhaling the smoke in a sigh of relief. Lance was right - these things probably were going to kill her. But there were worse ways to go.
"Hey. Sorry about the thrill ride before."
She didn't need to turn around; she knew the voice. Before tonight, she hadn't heard it in almost a year, not since he'd been expelled. Countless mealtimes and rendezvous with the old group sprang to life in the back of her memories as Keith came to stand beside her.
"It's cool," she replied. "Sorry if I gave you hearing damage."
He snorted. "It's fine."
They settled into a comfortable silence. Neither of them had ever needed much conversation to get along: they both despised small talk. Annie handed him her pack of cigarettes and her purple lighter, and he took them with a nod and lit up, tossing her the lighter afterwards.
"These things are going to kill you," he said after a while, in between drags.
"That seems to be the opinion of the day."
"Well, they are."
She scoffed quietly. "Says you."
He gave her a little ironic smirk. "Please. I've pretty much accepted the fact that I'm gonna die young. Might as well live it up."
"Might as well."
They were quiet for a few minutes more, simply staring up at the stars.
"How's Shiro doing?" she asked.
"Still out," came the reply. "I checked for injuries. Lot of scars, but there's nothing serious. Well... I mean, besides the obvious."
"Yeah. Sheesh. Poor guy. His poor arm."
"At least he got a prosthetic."
"Yeah. He's a cyborg now."
Keith snorted. "That's true. I actually never thought of that."
Annie smiled. "And that's why you hang out with me."
They went quiet again.
"So," Keith said, a little quieter now, "I suppose you realize what his coming back might mean."
Annie sighed.
"Yeah. I do."
"So... you doing okay?"
She gave a little laugh that had no humour in it. "As well as can be expected, I guess. How about you? I mean, you were Matt's roommate."
"Yeah, but I wasn't as close to him as you were. I mean, you were practically dating -"
"Look," Annie said, a little sharply, "can we, like, not talk about this right now? I've been through some major shit in the past... I dunno, how long have we been out here? Fuck it, it doesn't even matter. I just... I can't deal with this right now. It's too much."
"You're right. Sorry."
She sighed again. "It's fine."
They fell silent for a fourth time. Annie finished her cigarette and dropped it, stubbing it out with the toe of her boot. It was only then that she realised how cold it was. She'd dressed up to go clubbing, totally clueless as to what would transpire tonight. The hem of her short black dress fluttered in the wind, and the cold air pierced the skin of her thighs through her fishnets. She supposed her outfit could have been seen as promiscuous, but she'd never really cared about people's opinions on what she wore. She'd never really cared about their opinions on her piercings, either; ears, eyebrow, or nose. She'd never really cared about their opinions on her strange-coloured hair. And she probably wouldn't have cared if she'd gotten a tattoo, either, but she'd been shipped off to the Garrison with Lance before that could happen.
Speaking of which...
"Sorry about before, by the way, with Lance," she said to Keith. "He can be a little..."
Keith gave a little laugh. "It's fine. He doesn't seem like a bad guy."
"He isn't. He's really great, actually. He helped me through a lot when all the Kerberos shit happened. He's a genuinely nice guy. He just tends to keep it sort of... buried under the 'goofball macho man' persona."
"Huh."
They were quiet again. Keith finished his own cigarette and stubbed it out, and then they were just standing there, looking up at the stars. Annie felt a hollow feeling in her chest, a cavity that she'd felt since she was a little girl. The only time it had ever felt filled had been when she was with Matt. He'd been her best friend, understood her like no one else had. But then the Kerberos mission had failed, Matt had disappeared, and Annie had fallen apart at the seams. And now that old hollowness was back, that feeling of pure raw, aching loneliness.
A yawn overtook her and she stretched her arms above her head. "Been a long day," she muttered. "I should prob'ly turn in."
"Yeah," was the response. He handed over Annie's pack, but she shook her head.
"Keep 'em," she said, with one last small smile. "I'm trying to quit."
August 20, 2015
Advanced Sophomore Math. Were they fucking kidding. What the fucking hell did life have against her?
She supposed it was inevitable. They were bound to discover her musical talent eventually. And of course, that talent obviously meant that she was some kind of math genius, so of course they had her moved up a grade and thrown into an advanced class.
She hated math.
Dios mio, she wished she was home.
But home was a worse place to be right now.
With a sigh, she pushed open the door and walked inside, and oh god. Shit. Shit shit shit she was late. Everyone immediately looked up and stared at her, and she shrank back, hunching her shoulders around her ears and forcing her hands to retreat into her sleeves because - oh, yeah! - the Garrison uniform had no pockets.
What the fucking hell did life have against her?!
"Alannah McClain?" the teacher - "Prof. L. Montgomery", her desk read - said in a bored tone.
"Y-yeah." Her voice cracked. Fuck her voice. Fuck the teacher. Fuck math. Fuck existence.
"Please refrain from arriving late in the future," Montgomery said coolly. "Have a seat at the back."
Annie shuffled to the back of the class, head bowed and her hands clenched tight into fists. She sat down heavily in the only open seat and slouched in her chair, crossing her arms tightly.
The lesson was mind-numbingly boring, as she'd expected. The teacher droned on and on and on about algebra or something or other - Annie wasn't completely sure. Her mind wandered for most of it. She was absentmindedly tapping out some sax fingerings on her pencil - an improvised solo - when a tap on her shoulder made her jump about a foot in the air and drop the pencil.
"Oh, sorry!" the guy sitting beside her said, cringing. "It's just... we're kind of starting the work now. Uh... here's your paper."
"Thanks," Annie muttered, accepting the paper and bending down to pick up the pencil. That proved to be a mistake, however, when she straightened up and sliced her thumb on the paper.
"Ah!" she yelped. "Hijo de puta!"
Every single person in the room whipped around in their chairs to stare at her. She just glared at them and held up her thumb.
"Papercut," she snapped. "Is there a problem with that?"
Eventually everyone turned back to face the front, although there was significantly more muttering now. Annie groaned inwardly and slouched again, running a hand through her neon-pink pixie cut.
Great. She'd made a scene again, just like she always did. It was only a matter of time before they kicked her out of this school, too -
Another tap on her shoulder. She was less shocked this time, and just turned around to see the guy from before, smiling hesitantly, holding out a band-aid.
"Here," he said. "I always come prepared."
Annie took a good look at him. He was... well, actually, he was kind of cute. He had messy sandy hair, like, legitimately messy. Not the kind of messy that took ten thousand hair products to perfect, like she saw all the time at her school back home. He had warm brown eyes behind round glasses - classic nerd style. And Annie wasn't generally the best at reading people, but she knew, somehow she just knew, that this guy - this guy was alright.
She returned his smile and accepted the band-aid. "Thanks," she said.
"I'm Matt," he said. "Um, your name was... Alannah, right?"
"Annie," she corrected. "My friends call me Annie."
His eyes lit up at that. Friends. "Annie," he repeated. "I like it. It's cool."
"I guess Matt's short for Matthew?"
"Actually, it's short for Mathematics," he said in a serious tone. "Mathematics Holt."
A few seconds later, they were both ordered into the hall for disrupting class by laughing so hard.
And Annie thought, as she caught Matt's eye and grinned, that maybe life wasn't out to get her after all.
Just maybe.
Lance heard the door of the shack creak open, and the little click of high-heeled boots announced his sister before she even walked into the living room. He kept his eyes open just a crack as she surveyed the room, a soft little smile quirking her mouth as she saw Pidge and Hunk curled up together on a pile of blankets, both snoring lightly.
She smelled like cigarettes, and he wrinkled his nose. Dios mio, when would she stop? He felt responsible, somehow. He always had with her. Even though they were twins, she was still his little sister.
She pulled off her boots and tiptoed across the room in stockinged feet, the absence of the heels accentuating her short stature. He felt the mattress of the pullout couch dip slightly as she sat down beside where he lay, pulling her legs up and curling up on her side.
"Buenos noches, Lance," she murmured.
"Buenos noches, Annie," he replied quietly.
A few minutes later, little snores told him that she was asleep.
He'd always had trouble falling asleep, even when he was home. But now, he found himself drifting off with no problem. Maybe it was the lack of artificial light, just the moon filtering through the window. Maybe it was the white noise.
Or maybe it was the three other people in the room, breathing steadily, making him feel a little less alone.