Chapter Four- Lance POV
I groaned as I was shaken awake in an extremely rough manner. I pulled off my sleep mask and squinted up at the person looming above me. It was Harry. Wonderful! Of course the person we were supposed to keep an eye on was a massive prick who liked disturbing people' sleep cycles!
"Lance, it's time to get up. Breakfast is in ten minutes, and none of us want to be late," Harry said, giving me something that could vaguely be described as puppy-dog eyes. I just groaned again and heaved myself out of bed, stretching my long arms above my head.
"He's up! It's a miracle!" Dean beamed. I just rolled my eyes and looked around for my new uniform. I finally found it after an embarrassing minute of searching. I pulled it on and ruffled Red's fur as I finished fixing my new red tie.
"Harry! Let's go down! I'm hungry and Hermione is waiting for us." Ron groaned, not fully awake. Harry just chuckled— like an asshole— and glanced back at me.
"Lance, you coming?" he asked.
I nodded and followed the two boys down to the common room, where Hermione stood, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Finally! I was just beginning to consider coming up to get you!" she snapped. Ron and Harry both looked apologetic, and I just shrugged in response.
"Hey, I need my beauty sleep. Please tell me they have coffee here. Or tea with caffeine," I replied, widening my eyes slightly at the thought of going without coffee for a year. Pidge would murder something by the end of today if there wasn't any. Dear God, we were doomed.
"Oh yeah, we have coffee, don't worry," Harry answered. I sighed in relief. My sanity was saved.
"Thank God. The school would be destroyed if there wasn't any," I stated, walking out of the common room and out into the hall. The trio followed me, all looking confused. I smirked. They would learn soon enough.
The four of us walked into the dining hall to find Pidge on their third cup of coffee, Hunk crying over pancakes, and Keith and Allura calmly sipping tea while staring at the other two. I arched my eyebrows at Pidge as I walked up behind them.
"Maybe you should take it easy, Holt. I'm not sure your heart can take it," I advised. Pidge just glared up at me before downing the rest of their mug. I rolled my eyes in response before joining my housemates at the Gryffindor table.
As I took a closer look at my rival, I noticed his expression. Even from across the room I could see that his eyes were slightly puffy. I was about to jump up and go over to see what was wrong, but Keith just stood up and walked out, leaving a half-eaten piece of buttered toast behind. Allura glanced after him, concerned, before walking over to me. Ron tensed as she approached, and I could sympathize. Allura was quite terrifying when she walked. Anyone who looked that perfect was automatically terrifying in my book.
"Do you have any idea what could possibly be bothering Keith?" she asked as soon as she got to our table.
I shrugged as I dumped my fourth creamer into my coffee in an attempt to sweeten it to a tolerable point. Allura raised a judgemental eyebrow at me, and I just ignored her, taking a long sip of my coffee with five sugars and four creams stirred in. I was used to being judged for my coffee choices. Keith and Pidge both only drank black coffee, like their souls. Shiro only used one sugar, Hunk hardly drank coffee, and Allura only used one creamer. Coran never drank it either, so I was the one who actually used up the most cream and sugar in the entire Castle. And… my thoughts had gotten off track. Damn my ADHD.
"No idea. It's not like he talks to me about his feelings or anything," I answered, trying not to let bitterness creep into my voice. I must have failed, because Allura shot me a sympathetic look.
"Lance. You know he hasn't really talked to any of us in a while."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, don't take it personally. I get it. You should probably go check on him before class. You don't wanna be late, right?"
"True… I'll see you later, alright?" she asked, shooting me one last concerned look. I waved off her concern and shot her a bright grin. She smiled back and left to find our resident Emo Mullet-head, and I turned back to my new friends?
"What was that about? With Keith," Hermione asked. I bit my lip and contemplated how best to answer.
"Good question. I have no idea what goes on in Keith's head," I finally answered.
"Is that snake up to something?" a Gryffindor sitting next to us asked. Pidge and Hunk both heard and started to stand up, but I beat them to it. I shot to my feet and glared at the kid. I think they were a third year.
"What the hell? Do you even know him? Or are you just hating on him because of something out of his control? I'm pretty sure Keith didn't ask to be put in Slytherin! Just because he ended up there doesn't mean he's evil, or that any Slytherin is evil! Why don't you look past your own prejudice for two goddamn seconds and realize that he's a person as well and deserves to be treated as such!" I yelled. The poor kid looked stunned. The entire hall looked stunned. I quickly downed the last of my coffee, grabbed an apple, and stormed out. I couldn't take another moment in there with anyone who would think poorly of Keith just because of his House, or his heritage, or his personality.
"Lance! Slow down, man!" Hunk yelled from behind me. I stopped and turned to look at my best friend. Worry creased his face as he caught up to me. Before I could even open my mouth and tell him that I was fine, he was wrapping me in a tight hug. "It's okay, Lance. I get that you're under a lot of stress, and what that kid said was not okay, but please try not to kill someone on your first day here. Just come talk to me, okay?" he whispered.
I nodded numbly. Hunk released me and smiled before linking his arm through mine.
"Come on, let's head to class. I can't wait to see Shiro teach a whole bunch of children how to defend themselves." Hunk offered.
I laughed and followed him, a bit of my normal bounce returning to my step. "He's gonna be in way over his head," I snickered.
Hunk didn't even try to deny it; he just snickered with me. Oh, poor Shiro. I wasn't sure if he would survive today, let alone this whole year.
