Chapter 9: Go Crazy
Live Forever, The Band Perry. Felt like an appropriate chapter to upload right after graduating. YEAH YOUR GIRL GRADUATED WHOOP!
Now back to your semi-regularly scheduled chapter updates.
Altea Community College. May 12th, 2016. 4:22 pm.
"Fuck yeah! Free for the SUMMER!" Lance whooped, piling his last box into the back of his car. He slammed the trunk shut, wincing as something tumbled and hit the ground in the back, and then high fived Hunk and Pidge, who were watching him in amusement.
"I can't believe you had a final on Friday afternoon," Pidge chuckled, adjusting her glasses. "We could have been gone ages ago."
"What, didn't want to move all our junk into Coran and Allura's at one time?" Lance asked, ruffling Pidge's hair and ignoring her protests. "Come ooonnnn, let's go! Pidge, you're good to go, right?"
"Half in yours, half in Hunk's," Pidge confirmed.
"Who you riding with?"
"Hunk. I don't feel like dying today."
"Fuck you too!"
He flipped them off and practically skipped to the driver's seat, slamming the door shut and buckling his seatbelt. For a moment, Lance just sank into the worn leather of his car, shutting his eyes and breathing.
Hell week was officially over.
He grinned and shoved the keys into the ignition, following Hunk out of the parking lot and down the street. His hand reached over to the radio and he twisted the knob until he hit his favorite station, a mix of oldies and new music. He cranked up the music, rolled down the window and attempted to ignore the still slightly chilled air, and slid on his sunglasses while belting out the chorus for Phoenix.
Papers done, tests completed, room packed and inspected. Check, check, and check. Lance breathed in deep, letting his eyes shut for just a moment as he rolled to a halt at the stoplight. Fall Out Boy drifted out and Natasha Beddingfield came on, and Lance couldn't help the grin that split his face. Talk about a throwback.
He followed Hunk down the road, words to Unwritten spilling from his lips unbidden, and sped up just enough to pass Hunk and Pidge, flipping them off as he did so.
He beat them to Allura's by about two minutes and he and Pidge squabbled the whole way to the door, where Coran met them to prop open the door as they dragged their first boxes inside. Allura was at the landing of the stairs, wearing jeans, flip flops, and a paint stained t-shirt. Her hair was plaited back into braids and pinned to her head in an elaborate pattern that not only looked gorgeous, but kept her hair out of her face.
Beautiful and functional. Allura in a nutshell, really.
"There are about six available rooms on the second landing," Allura informed them, nodding to the top of the stairs. "They all have individual bathrooms, so you don't have to worry about that. It's up to you which ones you want. Coran and I have cleaned them all thoroughly and laid out bedding in all of them, just in case."
"You," Hunk declared, stopping to settle a hand on her shoulder while Pidge and Lance bolted up the stairs, "are a goddess."
Allura flushed and followed him up the stairs, Coran staying behind to watch their cars and make sure nothing was stolen.
Lance and Pidge popped from room to room, bickering playfully about who would get what. Hunk ignored them and settled pretty quickly on the room closest to the stairs. It was one of the largest ones, painted a pale-yellow color with massive (bulletproof) windows and a fire escape. Allura informed him that it was not safe to be on unless it was an emergency, but that he could use it for plants if he so pleased, which he did.
It was set up simply enough; the door opened into the far left corner of the room, the fire escape directly opposite. The bed was snug with the wall to the right of the door, a desk situated under one of the biggest windows. The dresser sat nearer the bed, with a closet door just next to it, and the shag carpeting under Hunk's feet was a deep, rich brown. The bathroom door sat on the left hand wall between the main door and the fire escape, and it was flanked by bookshelves on both sides.
Allura left him to situate the room to his liking, noting that the shouting from Pidge and Lance had quieted down considerably.
She found Lance two doors down on the opposite side of the hall, in a room that was slightly smaller than Hunk's. It had fewer windows, but she knew immediately why he had picked it: in the far right corner of the room, there was an alcove where the ceiling was replaced with plexiglass, perfect for curling up and stargazing.
The walls in this room were a soft baby blue, and the floor was wooden. She had a feeling it would soon be covered in throw rugs. They seemed like Lance's style.
His bed was a queen sized, as they all were, and was centered perfectly between the two main windows in the room, headboard flush with the far wall and a nightstand on either side. The dresser was directly across from it, to the right of the door, and a vanity sat just next to that. A desk ran along the right wall and, similar to Hunk's room, bookshelves flanked the bathroom door.
Lance himself was tossing bean bag chairs into the empty alcove, and he looked up when Allura poked her head in. His smile grew. "Reading and stargazing. Might set up my folding chair in the empty corner too."
She tilted her head. "Did you look at the bathroom?"
"Oh hell yeah. Seating in the showers? What did I do to deserve you, Princess?" he teased.
Allura grinned. "You stole my bracelet."
"Point."
She left, shaking her head and chuckling, and made her way to the very end of the hall, where Pidge had claimed her room. It was the smallest of the three, which Allura found mildly amusing, but she didn't comment.
The walls were a soft green, light in color, with vine decorations up the edges. Allura had painted the room herself in her free time, and the vines had merely been a fun thing she added last minute. She was pleased that someone appreciated her work.
Pidge's bed was elevated from the floor a considerable amount, to the point where Allura was certain she would need some sort of stool to climb onto it. It was pressed into the darkest corner of the room, flush with the wall that ran along the hallway. Under the windows, Pidge had situated her desk and dresser, the top of the latter now covered in scattered rocks and gems that looked suspiciously expensive.
Her bathroom bordered the far wall, one bookshelf next to it and the other shelf next to the door Allura was standing in. This left the wall adjacent to the main door totally blank, and Pidge was standing in front of it, her tongue peeking from her mouth.
"Planning something?" Allura asked, kicking one foot up on the door jamb and leaning against the frame.
Pidge glanced sideways at her, tongue disappearing and eyes lighting up. "Yeah! There's enough space here for all my science stuff, and my hacking equipment. I might need an extension cord or two, but it should work."
Allura smiled warmly. "Wonderful. You know that Coran has devoted the entirety of the spare bedroom downstairs to technology?"
"What? No!" Pidge yelped, eyes going wide.
Coran popped in next to Allura with no warning, scaring the woman nearly half to death. "I'd be pleased to show you, once you're all moved in," he offered, his tone dripping with hints. "Hunk and Lance have gone down to get more of their things."
Pidge gave them a sheepish smile. "Right. Sorry."
She pattered past the duo, leaving them to follow, and Coran shot Allura a look. "You all right, Princess?"
Allura pursed her lips, tilting her head and listening to the sounds of laughter coming from the bottom of the stairs as the trio of friends collided with each other. "I'm…wonderful, honestly. It's been so long since…"
She shrugged, gesturing to the space around them, and Coran hummed, lifting a hand to squeeze her shoulder. "I understand," he said. He smoothed down his mustache. "It's been a while since you've had company other than myself."
Allura bumped shoulders with him and stood at the top of the steps for a moment, staring down the curled bannister at Pidge and Lance, who were picking up their fallen things while Hunk took up a position at the door. "And I love your company," she assured him. "But…"
"They're your age."
"Close enough to it, anyway," she murmured, glancing back at Coran. She gave him a small smile and lifted her hand, tweaking the corner of his mustache. "Race you down the stairs."
He squawked as she bolted past him, flying down the stairs, using her grip on the handrail to fling herself around the corners without even touching the steps. Coran was one step ahead of her, however, and she saw it on the last turn, the way he vaulted the level above her and landed with a "thump" on the ground directly in front of her, a satisfied smirk on his face.
"That," Lance said from where he was standing and gaping in the entry, "was awesome."
Coran dusted off his jacket. "Yes, well, no doing that until you've had more training."
"I grew up with four brothers and sister and one time I jumped off the roof of the house and into the neighbor's tree," Lance remembered, adjusting his grip on a box and starting up the stairs. He tossed a grin back at them. "I'd kick your ass."
Allura stifled a giggle, nudged Coran in the ankle, and then ventured outside to help with the unloading.
Varkon's Café and Bakery. May 12th. 7:14 pm.
"Keith, my man!" Lance shouted as they stepped into the dining area, remarkably quiet without all the college students studying for finals. "Hit me up with an espresso!"
Keith lifted his gaze from behind the counter, face blank but eyes twinkling ever so slightly. "Hello, and welcome to Varkon's," he said in a dry voice. "Please have a seat anywhere and one of our servers will be with you momentarily."
Lance stuck his tongue out at him. "You're the worst."
He ushered Coran and Allura to a booth against the windows while Hunk ran to check his schedule for the next two weeks and Pidge checked out the new pastries in the display case. Allura tugged at her beanie, gnawing her lower lip. "Lance, are you sure-?"
Lance gave her a reassuring smile. "Come on, Allura. You guys never go out anywhere with us. Coffee and dessert is on me tonight."
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had switched from her paint covered shirt to a light pink sweater and Converse, and Lance had handed off his teal beanie for her to wear when she insisted on covering her hair. Lance knew she didn't like being in public, was paranoid about people finding out who she was.
But this was also the first official day of summer break, and he wanted to celebrate it with the two people who had quickly become his family.
Keith sauntered over, chatting amicably with Pidge while they walked, and waited politely as Hunk returned from the kitchen, phone in hand. "You guys getting food food?" he asked, fiddling with his pen and eyeing all of them.
Lance waved a hand. "Just desserts. And coffee, too. Celebrating schools release of us."
Keith gave a small smile. "Online school never ends," he said, shaking his head. "You're lucky."
Pidge wrinkled her nose. "Gross. You know my order."
Keith clicked his tongue, giving a short nod. "Key lime. Yup. Double espresso shot?"
"Yup yup."
Allura looked at her, flabbergasted. "It is nearly 7:30," she protested.
Pidge shrugged. "Need a quad to keep me up."
"That is…mildly concerning."
Keith snorted and jotted something on his pad before pointing the end of the pen at Lance and Hunk. "Oreo crème for both of you, Lance an Americano with two pumps of vanilla, and Hunk, chocolate chip frappe?"
"Yup," they both chorused.
He jotted the notes down, not that he really needed to, and then turned to Coran and Allura, warm smile still on his cheeks. "Annndd you two. I don't think we've met. I'm Keith. Hunk's manager."
"Friend," Lance coughed into his fist.
Keith's eyes glimmered a bit and he shook his head. "What can I get you two? Or do you need a minute?"
Coran piped up. "No coffee for me. You have tea?"
"Of course."
"Perhaps a nice ginger brew, with some lemon? And a blueberry muffin, if that's all right."
Keith's eyes crinkled at the corners as he scratched the order down. "Of course. A name for that?"
"Coran."
The smile faltered ever so slightly but returned in a flash, Keith glancing up with a tilt of his head. "That's an interesting name," he noted.
"Family name, unfortunately."
Keith chuckled at that and turned to Allura, who was glancing over the dessert menu. "And you, Miss?"
She pursed her lips, lowering the menu. "The strawberry torte sounds good," she said sheepishly. "And um…as for a drink…just a decaf coffee? With uh…hazelnut? If you have it?"
"Yes ma'am. And your name?"
"Allura," she said after a moment's hesitation, handing the menu back over.
Keith's scratching paused for just a second, and then he was taking the menu from her, shooting them all a grin. "I'll grab those for you guys, and Acxa will have the food out in a bit."
"Thanks man!" Lance shot after him as Keith left.
Keith gave him a wave and then vanished into the kitchen, slumping against the door and lifting his notepad to stare at it. Coran by itself would have been one thing, as would the name Allura. But both of those names? Together?
He twisted, looking out the little window in time to see the group burst into laughter, and his eyes roved over Lance, Hunk, and Pidge-his friends. Keith shut his eyes and thunked his forehead into the wood.
"Shit."
Don't get attached to the house.
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