I cannot thank you guys ENOUGH for waiting and not begging for a new chapter. In October I was really stressed and quite honestly lost the motivation to write. I kicked myself back into gear and produced this chapter FINALLY. Chapter 10 will probably be a lot easier for me to write. Chapter 4 of Thawed Hearts should be finished probably sometime this week too. I also have a one shot I'm working on to come soon! I'm trying to work on getting chapters out quicker but as a college student it's hard! I appreciate everything guys. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Pidge
"You know, robots could take over the world one day"
"No they can't, Keith, why are you thinking that at the lunch table?" Pidge glanced up from his phone, giving a puzzled look towards his friend across from him. It was a busy day as usual; all tables except for one for four people was available. They were making the most of it, placing their backpacks on the other two chairs to fake they were occupied.
"I don't know." Keith responded, before changing the topic. "You're on your phone a lot today. Something up?"
Pidge shook his head. "It's my brother. I haven't heard from him in a while. Also Hunk, his class got out early. He's coming to join us." He looked up once again, Keith's face appearing a bit freaked out by the news that another person would soon be joining them. He didn't want to seem rude, but a chuckle came out of his mouth. "Dude it's okay you can relax. Hunk is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Promise."
"I guess." Keith said with a sigh.
Pidge took a break from his phone, taking a bite of the sandwich from his plate in front of him. Keith still had this worried look on his face; Pidge really wished that he wasn't so guarded. Though they were close (at least Pidge thinks so, Keith on the other hand, might think otherwise), Pidge realized he didn't really know much about the other or his personal life. Because he didn't know, he couldn't really judge Keith for his apparent trust issues and walls he has built up. Pidge only knew that he could try to help it.
"You know, when I was in high school, I had no interest in talking to anyone. Hard to believe, right? But I still had people who approached me and tried to be all buddy-buddy just because of who my father was. It was annoying sure, but after a while it wasn't so bad. I just talked to them anyways; a fake it till you make it kind of thing." He shrugged. "Look, I'm not saying you have to be friends with Hunk or anything, but it's probably better if you don't sit in silence the whole time."
Keith huffed, but nodded his head anyways. "Guess it can't hurt. At least it's not Lance. Lesser of two evils." His statement made Pidge chuckle again.
"Man you really do have something against Lance. Ya know he's not that bad."
"He wants to be all buddy-buddy." Keith rolled his eyes. "Pidge, he might not be that bad to you, but he's just unbearable to me. Completely."
"Have you tried talking to him?"
"No?"
"Then you're pretty much judging a book by its cover." Pidge gave a warm smile. To Keith, it seemed like he was being sympathetic, though he tried not to take it in the wrong way. "I'm sure he's not that bad, man. You're just being a little rough. You should try talking to him, at least once."
Keith
Keith just shrugged. Be friends with Lance? Probably never. Should he talk to him even though he has no desire? Sure. But will he? Probably not. For now though, possibly being friends with Lance seemed like the least of his worries. He could see Hunk approaching the table, smiling gently; that's his first goal, to get done with today's obstacle. If Pidge wants him and Hunk to get along at least he can try to be friendly. At least it wasn't Lance.
"Hey guys, what's up." Hunk said, sitting in the chair that Pidge moved his stuff from. He had a plate full of chicken and broccoli alfredo, the school's chef special for today. It seemed fancy and from the few times they've eaten in a group Hunk seemed to only grab the fancy dishes. He didn't seem to have a peculiar taste, it was like he just grabbed anything that looked appealing to the eye.
"Not much." Pidge responded, sitting back in his chair. "Hey Keith, what are you staring at Hunk's food for, you gonna eat it?"
"Why would I – "
Hunk spun the pasta up on his fork. "No judgement Keith, but this food is for my stomach and my stomach only. Man I love food."
"I'm not gonna steal your food!" Keith emphasized, huffing and rolling his eyes. The table became quiet. Keith noticed Hunk and Pidge sharing a look, before he looked down himself. Getting upset over a simple joke. Total Keith move.
Through the silence, Pidge cleared his throat. "I'm going to tell Shay that you're cheating on her with food."
"No fair Pidge! I love food and Shay equally. And she knows that."
Keith cocked his head to the side. "Who's Shay?" He questioned, trying to be involved in the conversation. Both Hunk and Pidge seemed to turn their heads to look at Keith in shock, as if he were an inanimate object that just started moving. He understood why Hunk was surprised but Pidge? Pidge was the one who told him to involve himself in the first place.
That question prompted the big guy to start gushing over Shay, who Keith quickly learned was his girlfriend. It must be nice having a partner such as Hunk. He seems very loyal; not to mention he seems to love her to pieces. Keith never imagined dating or was interested in romance but he had to admit, hearing Hunk talk about his relationship would make you want something like that too.
The conversation turned from Shay to other things very quickly; Though Keith wasn't big with talking, conversations with Hunk and Pidge just flowed effortlessly. Even though it seemed like a chore before, it didn't seem like it now and he was even enjoying himself. Keith figured that even though it was hard for him to trust people, something about Hunk and Pidge made him feel comfortable, like talking to Shiro. It was warm and inviting, and he liked learning new things about these people in front of him.
Then came the talk about hobbies. Keith wasn't quite ready to initiate a portion of the conversation involving his art, and Pidge didn't force him to. Instead, they listened to Hunk talk about his one true passion; cooking.
Now Keith got why Hunk went for all of the fancy, elaborate dishes in the dining hall. It wasn't because he was being picky, it was because those were the types of dishes that were closest to things he would make at home for him and his family. Pasta dishes, meatloaf, Hunk has cooked almost all of it. It was his true passion; although he would never imagine doing it as a job he can't live without it. Food is just what makes Hunk, Hunk. Listening to him talk about things he was passionate about like food and Shay was enrapturing; everything that Hunk loved, it kind of made Keith want to love it too.
Eventually, Keith figured he should head back to the dorm. Lance had a class so it would give him a little peace and quiet before he got back. He got up, thanked the both of them for a good time, and then turned away to discard his plates.
"Hey Pidge, I guess Keith isn't so bad after all." He heard Hunk mention to Pidge as he was heading away from the table. That made Keith smile to himself, as he got rid of his plates and left the dining hall doors.
Lance
Lance had some time to bum before his next class. This usually didn't happen, but one of his professors got extremely sick and cancelled class last minute. So, Lance sat by, opened his computer, and stared at a blank word document. This isn't the first time he had done this; he had considered starting a story before. But starting his first novel was hard.
He had written countless numbers of fanfiction before; it's what made him want to pursue writing as a career in the first place. If he never had any books lying around to read to his siblings for a distraction, sometimes he would tell them stories from the top of his head. They always loved his tales. Unfortunately those were all spur of the moment, he didn't have the time to write any of them down or to expand on them for that matter.
Lance's favorite genre of books is fantasy. He always longed to write an adventure story of his own; with dragons and serpents and other mythical creatures. He liked how it takes you to another reality, one that you can only dream about living in. He was also a sucker for romantic subplots, so he considered a way to include one of those in there as well.
In order to think, he put his playlist on shuffle. Having things to jam to helps him brainstorm; even if it seems like he gets lost in the music. Of course, the first song to come on was Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up". It would be a crime for Lance not to belt his lungs out with this song, so he did. Keith wasn't present in the room, so who cares.
Lance gave his all to the music. He closed his eyes, dancing around the room. This song was iconic, something anyone would move to. He felt no shame in doing so; until he was filled with regret. At that moment, someone walked into the room. To make matters even worse, that person was Keith.
"… Hi." Keith mumbled, staring at Lance who had frozen in place as soon as his roommate walked through the door.
"Um… Hey?" Lance responded, his arms still up in the air. The song was still playing; and Lance wished there was somewhere he could just hide away in embarrassment. "It's uh… Rick Astley. Never Gonna Give You Up."
Keith blinked, obviously confused. Shaking his head, he turned and walked towards his bed. "Never heard of it."
Lance huffed, crossing his arms, pausing the song. "You've never heard of the Rick Roll? Dude." He internally was shaming Keith. How could he go so long without hearing something so known by almost everyone? "Wait. I forgot. You probably listen to all that emo music. Panic! At The Disco? My Chemical Romance? No judgement, dude. They have good songs."
"No actually I like Irving Berlin, thank you very much." Keith snapped back, picking up his headphones and rolling his eyes. He covered his ears and glared at Lance, and it was clear he didn't want to talk anymore. Why does Lance even bother trying.
"Fine." Lance huffed in return, exiting out of his music and shutting his computer, grabbing his bag. "Lucky for you I have to leave anyways." He mumbled under his breath. He partially made that up, his next class wasn't until an hour from now. Lance just wanted to get out of the room, which seemed dull, like all the life left when Keith walked into the room.
Keith as always, ignored him. Lance knew Shiro told him to try, but he was at a complete loss by now. Maybe he'll try another day; or maybe it's time to accept the fact that they would never be able to have normal conversation. Maybe it will be better for him not to try at all.
