As Keith, Lance, and Hunk grow closer, Keith and his mother grow further apart. She smells weird now, and she's always crying. Keith wants to hug her, but he's not certain she would let him. He knows he shouldn't be scared of his own mother. But there's still that irrational fear beating fast in his heart, mostly because he doesn't really recognize her anymore, and she's always ignoring or avoiding him. She doesn't want him anymore. She doesn't tap on her computer keys anymore like she used to always do ("Dear, I'm working, so please don't bother me" she would always say). She doesn't really do anything. Keith is running out of clean clothes to wear, and he microwaves the soup and mac and cheese his mother leaves on the counter, and he tucks himself into bed. He even goes to bed at his bedtime, even though his mother doesn't tell him to anymore, and he also does all of his homework. He's used to this, because as a basically single mother, she comes home late a lot and leaves notes for him to follow, but now she doesn't even leave notes. Maybe he should get help from a grownup. Would that make her mad at Keith?

"Hey, Keith. I've never been to your house before," Lance says one day as the three of them play Uno in Lance's basement. It's summer now, and Keith is nine years old while Lance is eight. Hunk is also eight, even though he's very mature and acts like he's the oldest. "I've seen your mom sometimes at school events."

"Yeah… things are kinda… messy… at home," Keith says, cringing at the thought of Lance and Hunk coming over to see glass bottles littering the floor, and his mother staring blankly at them, saying nothing. "It's kind of bad, I guess. I'm ok, though."

"Really?" Hunk asks, concern written all over his expression. He puts down his deck of cards so all of them are visible ("Hunk!" Lance whines, "don't ruin the game for yourself!") and looks directly at Keith. "Are you sure things are ok? You can always come over if you need it."

"Yeah! Me too, our family loves you!" Lance chirps, eyes twinkling. "Angelica has basically taken you for an older brother. And my mom loves you too!"

"I know," Keith smiles appreciatively. Just earlier, Lance's mother had hugged both Keith and Hunk, and Lance's father had smiled at them kindly. He wishes he could live with Lance's family. Or Hunk's family. They have really cute dogs, especially Molly the puggle, and Hunk's mommy makes the best brownies. Hunk's ma always ruffles his hair so it's messy, though. Keith has been growing out his hair, mostly because his mom usually trims his hair herself, and she hasn't approached him with scissors recently, so yeah. He hopes his hair won't grow into some terrible hairstyle, but he at least attempts to comb through his unruly locks every morning.

"You know what? You guys should stay over!" Lance declares the way he always does when he has an idea, standing up and dropping his Uno cards as well. "It'll be a sleepover!"

"Wow! I've never been to a sleepover!" Hunk says excitedly.

"Me neither," Keith agrees. He has to admit that he's really excited.

"I've had plenty of sleepovers, but they've all been with my siblings, not my best friends! This is gonna be great! We can play Mario Kart, and Smash Bros, and we can pillow fight and play truth or dare! Ooh, I know some ghost stories, too! We can stay up late and talk and…"

Before they know it, the three boys are having their first sleepover. Hunk's ma drops off his stuff, and Keith bikes back to his house to get his things. He yells that he's staying at Lance's for the night, but only an empty silence follows. He doubts it matters, but he writes a note for his mom anyway and leaves it on the counter before biking back; Lance's house is fairly close to his.

They start off their sleepover by jumping on Lance's huge trampoline in his backyard. Lance attempts to do a back flip, but Hunk stops him before he accidentally breaks his neck. After working up a sweat, they head inside and eat ice cream. Lance likes chocolate, Keith likes strawberry, of course, and Hunk likes vanilla. Lance says that it's plain, but Hunk retorts that it's a classic.

Then they play Mario Kart Wii. Lance has experience after battling his siblings, but Hunk and Keith have both never played, which Lance gasps at and exclaims is a crime. It turns out Keith is insanely good for having no experience, and he wonders if he should ask for a Wii for his birthday. He has a computer at home, but he's never really been into video games.

Hunk (as Peach) is a very careful driver, not bumping into anyone and maintaining a consistent place in 5th. Lance (as Daisy), however, doesn't hesitate to barrel into other racers and send them off the ends of cliffs, placing him in first. After falling victim to Lance's ruthless technique, Keith (as Mario) is determined to overtake Lance, and after several rounds, Keith is up to second place.

"Let's play Rainbow Road!" Lance cheers.

"Um, ok," Keith says with a shrug. It looks like a pretty course, with colors swirling around a translucent track and a galaxy in the background.

Keith falls more times than he can count. He reaches to tickle Lance, who won first place, as punishment, but he easily dodges and sticks his tongue out. Hunk ends the game in fifth place, while Keith finishes in third, making him pout at Lance and cross his arms, though this is the most fun he's had.

By midnight, the three are ready to sleep after an intense pillow fight where Keith indisputably wins, and they get out their sleeping bags in Lance's bedroom. Lance turns the lights off except for his blue lava lamp, and clings to his shark stuffed animal as he faces the other two boys. Keith brought his stuffed hippo, and Hunk brought an adorable stuffed dog with him.

"Good night Keith! Good night Hunk!" Lance says sleepily.

"G'night," Keith says, rubbing his eyes.

"Sweet dreams, guys," Hunk yawns.

Keith never wants to leave. This is one of those days that he wants to keep forever in his memories, and he doesn't really want to let it go, but the world is slipping away no matter how hard Keith battles to keep his eyes open, and the last thing he sees is Lance gently snoring, completely at peace.