Lance tapped his fingers against the edge of the open car window to the rhythm of the bass as he pulled the car into park. Today he wore a thick, woolen, blue poncho sweater with white jeans and his favorite, matching blue Guess shoes. Keith opened the truck door before the vehicle was fully stopped as he ran with the truck toward one of the freshly white painted storage units. He was quickly able to unlock the door and swing it up, revealing all of the dusty, old instruments within.
For a kid who lived in an rv park, he sure could afford a lot of instruments. Lance laughed as Keith picked up an old, acoustic guitar with a beaming smile. He couldn't remember ever seeing the emo-teen holding an acoustic guitar and it seemed ridiculous to see him with one, especially when the boy was wearing his leather biker jacket, red, heart-shaped sunglasses, fingerless gloves, and ripped black jeans, looking like some badass biker punk that just walked out of a gay bar.
He strummed an upbeat tune on the acoustic guitar as he walked back toward the truck. "Where the hell did you get all this?" Lance asked with a laugh as Keith shifted the bridge of the glasses down near the tip of his nose to show off his gorgeous, violet eyes.
"My dad, my biological one that is, was a band nerd and he left all of his instruments to Acxa and I when he died. The rest of it is shit I scavenged from garage sales and Goodwill with the little money he and mom left us," He gave Lance a wicked smile as he started to sing beautifully, stomping and bouncing across the cement as he did.
Mind, mind
His smile brightened as he leaned up against the driver-side door, his soft, melodious voice carrying through the open space between them.
Sittin' all alone
Mouth full of gum
In the driveway
My friends aren't far
In the back of my car
Lay their bodies
Lance laughed in amusement as Keith slowed his playing to strumming twice per 'mind' that was sung and jokingly blew him a kiss.
He loved when Keith was this up, which hardly ever happened. So when it did, Lance always tried to enjoy it as much as he could. His friend meant a lot to him.
Where's my mind
Where's my mind
Keith started strumming frequently and uppity as he had in the beginning and Lance could almost see the bubbles of happiness that floated up with every step Keith took. Or maybe those were real. He wondered if Keith could see them too.
They'll be here pretty soon
Lookin' through my room for the money
I'm bitin' my nails
I'm too young to go to jail
It's kinda funny
Keith laughed as he continued to strum and the music on the radio seemed to shift by the sheer force of Keith's will to match and accompany his playing.
Where's my mind
Where's my mind
Where's my mind
Where's my mind
Keith stopped strumming, to place a suggestive hand on Lance's shoulder before spinning away to dance on his own as he sung, and, oh, it was raining now too.
But the sky was blue and everything was perfect despite that lingering, dark ambiance that always seemed to hang like a veil behind Keith. And the music seemed to reflect it too.
Maybe it's in the gutter where I left my lover
What an expensive fate
My V is for Vendetta
Thought that I'd feel better
But now I got a bellyache
The only words he could hear were Keith's, but the radio was playing along to Keith's whim as if it knew what he was thinking. Even as sirens started to ring in the distance, happiness bubbled out of every movement Keith made. The world could stop just for him.
Everything I do the way I wear my noose
Like a necklace
I wanna make 'em scared like I could be anywhere
Like I'm reckless
Keith winked and Lance felt laughter bubbling out of his throat, but he couldn't hear it. The only sound that came out was that of the music. The music that would determine everything he ever did for the rest of his life if only he could stay by that beautiful boy's side and protect him.
I lost my mind
I don't mind
Where's my mind
Where's my mind
Keith tramped around in the puddles of rain like a child as he sung the lyrics so loudly, he was surprised nobody yelled for them to stop. He smiled lovingly at the childish, yet broken raven-haired boy.
Keith seemed to realize how soaked he was and reached into the car window to grab a bright, yellow raincoat (when had that gotten there?) that was draped over the passenger seat.
Maybe it's in the gutter where I left my lover
What an expensive fate
My V is for Vendetta
Thought that I'd feel better
But now I got a bellyache
And all he could see was bright yellow like the sun (not the kind that stung your eyes in the morning as you drove to school, but like that happy watercolor paint that you'd stick your fingers in as a kid and drag the color over the walls until the world wasn't so grey) and ocean blue (like the clear shallows he played in as a child in Varadero, not the dark blue waters where he'd go swimming at night with some lover that meant nothing to him now, but heartbreak) and piercing violet (the kind that reflected only in the clearest of starry nights and only in the most beautiful and colorful of galaxies that he'd obsessed over as a child) and beautifully intense red (not like blood, or even the fire that reflected in Keith's eyes, but like autumn leaves and like strawberries picked fresh and sweet), swirling through the air like water paint on a canvas. It was beautiful, it was everything, and Lance wanted so bad for the colors to bleed into him, to be his, to be him. (Maybe it's in the colors where I'll meet my lover)
Maybe it's in the gutter where I left my lover
What an expensive fate
My V is for Vendetta
Thought that I'd feel better
But now I got a bellyache
Lance could see the way the rain (no, those were tears, weren't they?) clung to Keith's eyelashes as he stared up at the cloudless, blue sky (but why was it raining?) with nothing less than the most hopeful expression he'd ever seen on the sullen boy.
Then there was a ringing in his ears and the color started to seep away and flood into stark black as Lance opened his eyes to see bright white numbers on a phone screen that had a picture of him and Nyma on it saying 6:25 and he realized it had been a dream.
Lance sighed as he cradled his face in his hands.
"Shit."
End A/N:
Bellyache - Billie Eilish
