Chapter 4

Hunk could always tell when Keith was trying to hide something from him.

While his best friend had never been one to verbally express himself, there had always been a clear distinction between Keith not wanting to talk and Keith deliberately keeping something hidden.

Normally, Hunk was content with letting things lie – Keith would tell him when he was ready – except he'd been acting oddly for a few months and there was only so much Hunk could handle before his curiosity started to get the best of him. He had to know what was going on.

He'd assumed, at first, that it had something to do with their rapidly approaching graduation. Everyone was feeling the stress of that, whether they showed it or not. Not even the knowledge of already been accepted at Galaxy University was enough to quell his own nerves.

It wasn't that.

There was something else bothering Keith.

Something of a more romantic nature.

Hunk wasn't always the best on picking up subtle social cues or understanding who had a crush on who in his small social circles, but even he couldn't miss the looks his friend shot in Katie "Pidge" Holt's direction when he thought no one was paying attention.

If Hunk didn't know the two had grown up hating each other with a burning passion, he probably would have thought it was cute. (Had he not been partnered with Pidge the year before, Hunk never would have known just how bad it was on both sides. He still counted himself lucky that neither of them tried to involve him.) He supposed it gave the whole thing a more tragic element to it, like some old romance his mom liked to watch. And while that was fun in stories or television dramas, it wasn't so great in real life.

Hunk would know. He was in a similar, yet completely different predicament.

He could only watch in bemusement as Keith leaned against the row of lockers outside of their first period class and waited for Pidge to walk by so he could catch her eye and wink. In return, she would scowl and make some threatening gesture.

It had been the same song and dance for two months.

"Oh man, one of these days she's going to kill you," Hunk said, worry coating his voice.

Keith shrugged as he pushed away from the lockers. "She won't. She secretly likes it."

"Uh huh." Hunk rolled his eyes at the obvious lie. "I'm not covering for you when she snaps. And I hope I'm there when it happens, just so I can say 'I told you so'."

"Just wait. At prom, I'm going to ask her to dance," Keith said.

Hunk laughed. He couldn't help it.

Keith raised an eyebrow. "You don't think I can do it?"

"No, no, I think you're crazy enough to ask her," Hunk replied, sounding amused. "There's no was she's going to dance with you. You know it. I know it. The entire school knows it."

"Want to bet on it?"

Hunk ignored the warning bells going off in his head. "How much?"

"Not money," Keith said. "If I can get her to dance with me, you have to ask Lance to dance."

The whole thing was ludicrous. There was no way she would ever agree to dance with Keith, even if he was the last man left on earth. It was a safe bet to take.

And yet...

Just the thought of dancing with Lance had his cheeks warming and a nervous, fluttery feeling filling his gut. On the off chance that Keith was successful, would he be able to find the courage to ask?

"Deal," Hunk agreed, holding out his hand to seal the deal before he could really think it through.

Keith grinned as he shook his hand. "Deal."

.

.

Why?

Why did he make that bet?

It had to be the dumbest mistake he'd ever made.

It didn't matter that Keith had a one-in-a-million chance at succeeding, there was still that slim possibility that Hunk wold end up making a giant fool of himself in front of his peers. Because really, there was no way Lance McClain had any interest in someone like him.

Hunk was going to be sick.

He was legitimately going to throw up.

He couldn't do it. There was no way. He was having a panic attack just thinking about it. He reached for his phone, fully intent on sending Keith a message to cancel the bet, when it buzzed to life in his hand, alerting him to a new message.

Hunk opened the text to see two pictures of Shay, who wore a loose, flowing dress in a stunning shade of yellow-gold which perfectly complimented her darker skin tone. In one her hijab was a shade more orange than yellow and lightly decorated with sparkly, diamond-shaped sequins. In the other, she wore one that was a plain white. It was hard to tell from the picture, but he was pretty sure it was actually the shimmery, silver one she'd told him about the week before.

From: Shay | Which do you like better?

He studied the images for a moment, carefully considering each one before making a decision. I like the orange, but what about that white one with the daisies? That would be pretty too.

It took Shay a few minutes to respond, but when she did it was with a new picture of her wearing the mentioned hijab.

From: Shay | I like it, but maybe it's too casual?

Maybe? I still think it's pretty, but it's up to you. You should wear whichever one you like best!

She sent him back a smiley face, which had him smiling at his phone.

There wasn't a day that went by where he didn't count himself lucky to have a girl like Shay in his life. They'd only known each other for a year and a half, and had dated for three months, but she was still one of his closest friends. He didn't know what he'd do without her.

As he continued his walk home, Hunk deliberated on whether or not to trouble her with his current predicament. On the one hand, she was his ex and probably didn't want to hear him talk about his crush on Lance. On the other hand, she was his ex and would likely have much better advice for him than Keith "never-dated-a-person-in-his-life" Shirogane.

Can I ask for some advice? You can say no if you want, I just need a little help with something.

From: Shay | Of course! I will help in anyway I can!

Hunk took a deep breath and began typing, glancing up on occasion to make sure he wasn't going to walk into anyone or anything. I made a really dumb bet with Keith and I don't think I can go through with my part if he wins. Should I call it off?

His phone rang nearly a minute later and he fumbled to answer it, receiving an odd look from a woman walking her tiny dog. "H-hello?"

"Is everything okay, Hunk?" Shay's sweet voice came through the speaker, only slightly distorted. "It's not like you to do something so impulsive."

"I'm okay. I promise," Hunk tried to reassure her. "It's... it's really dumb. Keith was talking about how he could get Pi—um, his crush to dance with him at prom and then I told him that there was no way she'll agree to it, so then he bet me that if she does say yes, I have to ask Lance to dance with me and I agreed because there's no way he can convince her, but now I'm freaking out and—!"

"HUNK!" Shay shouted to snap him out of it. "Hunk, please, calm down before you have a panic attack. Just breathe for me, okay? Relax and breathe."

"Okay," Hunk agreed, trying his best to do as she instructed. He slowed down walking and focused on taking deep, even breaths. It helped a little.

"Still with me?" Shay asked. She wasn't the least bit condescending about it.

Hunk nodded, though he was well aware that she couldn't see him. "Uh huh. I'm here. I'm okay now."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. Even if you do lose the bet with Keith, Lance is super nice. He's not going to make a scene if you ask him to dance. And you never know, he may say yes."

Her words didn't make him feel better, as he hoped they would. "I don't want him to dance with me out of pity."

"What? Hunk, that's not—!" Shay sighed loudly. "Would it really be so crazy if he said yes because he likes you too?"

"Yes."

Lance was tall and handsome and outgoing. He could have any girl – any person – in the school that he wanted, so why would he ever agree to dance with someone like Hunk? There was no way. He was so far out of his league that he may as well have been in another galaxy.

"I normally don't encourage this sort of thing, but don't back out of this bet," Shay told him. "You can do this. I know you can."

"Okay..." Hunk reluctantly agreed. His stomach churned in protest. "Hey, Shay? Thanks."

"You're welcome."