Chapter 8

"Pidge! Novia! How are you?!" Abuela exclaimed in greeting as Pidge and Lance entered the McClain household. The older woman smiled brightly as she pulled the brunette into a strong hug. Her long greying brown hair hung loose and framed her aging but still beautiful face. Pidge loved how much Lance looked so much like his grandmother. All the way from their gorgeous aquatic blue eyes to their charming and joyful smiles.

"I'm wonderful, Abuela," Pidge smiled.

"Good. Has mi nieto been treating you like the angel you are?" the older woman asked, giving said grandson an accusing but amused glare.

"Abuela," Lance groaned.

Pidge watched as her best friend blushed and walked over to the counter where his oldest sister was mixing something in a large bowl. "He's always the best."

Pidge had to force down a blush as Lance lifted his eyes to hers.

Abuela laughed, catching her attention, "Splendid. Means we've done something right. Now, tell me about everything that's been new with you."

Letting the grandmother lead her over to the island in the kitchen, the brunette settled atop one of the stools, Lance soon joining her but standing beside her.

"Nothing really new. School is school and friends are the same."

Yup, nothing new. Except my now uncontrollable crush on your grandson.

"Really? Nothing to report?"

Pidge only shook her head in reply. "What about you, mi nieto?"

"Pidge pretty much nailed it on the head."

Abuela scoffed, "Well I find that very hard to believe. It's the first week of your junior year. You kids must have something fun to share," she said, watching them as she peeled a cucumber. "What about any new love?"

"Abuela please, not every student has a love story each year," replied Lance's older sister, Rachel. She had unintentionally saved both of them from a strong blush that appeared on their faces. There was no telling how the grandmother would have reacted.

Probably poke and prodded me with a mixing spoon till I spilled, the brunette thought.

Though Pidge didn't know why Lance was blushing and the sight of it made her stomach drop. He hadn't said anything to her about a crush or being attracted to anyone and she knew he wasn't blushing because his grandmother asked.

He had joyfully told his Abuela about his little infatuation that he had over the high school's resident princess. And in front of her at that.

"I know, but it would still be nice. Love is always a beautiful thing," she turned backs towards then and smirked. "Once acknowledged, that is."

Ok, was it her or was she saying that directly at Lance. What was that supposed to mean?

"Pidgey!" two small voices called from the hallway. Small feet pattered up to the stool the brunette was sitting on. Nadia and Silvio smiled large, bright smiles at her. They were Lance's niece and nephew from his older brother, Luis, and pidge absolutely adored them.

"Hey, don't be stealing my nicknames for her," said Lance as he ruffled his nephew's hair.

"They can steal whatever they want," Pidge smirked. "They're cute."

Lance rolled his eyes and watched as the two children grabbed his best friend's hands, pulling her from her seat in earnest. "You've got to come see kaltenecker! She's gotten so much bigger!" Nadia yelled.

Kaltenecker was Lance's childhood Cow that lived in the barn and pasture behind the house. "She's so fat!"

"She is not fat. Kaltenecker is a beautiful girl," said the lanky teen, crossing his arms defensively as he stared down at his niece.

"Whatever, she's a Cow," Silvio spoke. He was the oldest of the siblings by two years. Pidge considered him very mature for a 7 year old too.

"Please pidge, come with me!"

Adorable dark brown eyes looked up at her with a pleading spark shining within them.

Damn McClains and their begging eyes. She could never win.

"OK, fine. But we have to be back or your great grandma will have us both."

"And your bisabuela won't hesitate to hunt you guys down," Rachel told the two.

"Want me to come along?" Lance asked the brunette.

"No! You've had her all day. She's mine now." Everyone laughed as Nadia glared at her uncle and the teen backed away with raised arms.

The small girl adored pidge just as much as she adored her. Silvio liked her as well but Nadia had managed to steal her away at least for an hour each time she was over. It was cute to everyone how quickly she had taken to one of Lance's friends.

Stepping outside and into the yard, Pidge let the child drag her through the tall grass and into the large red barn. Stalls lined the walls along with hay bales and farming tools and a large green tractor sat in the back. The McClain farm, as the family called it, was a massive piece of land that the family obtained when they had moved a couple years ago. Lance's grandfather always loved to tell guests about how he was lucky he had come across it just as an elderly couple was leaving for retirement. The brunette had heard it about 4 times now and each time she enjoyed it as he told about how excited Lance had been learning to drive the machinery.

"Hasn't she gotten bigger?!" The little girl yelled, squeezing Pidge's hand.

Kaltenecker stood off to the side in her stall chewing on hay, watching the two with a very bored expression. "Yeah, she kinda has." And the brunette wasn't lying. The black and white Cow had definitely gotten more...oval shaped in the stomach area. Raising an eyebrow, she looked over towards the other stalls and noticed that there were some extra food trays pulled out and filled but unoccupied. "Nadia? Have y'all gotten anymore cows recently?"

Nadia's head nodded enthusiastically, "His name is Block. Silvio got to name him and liked Block because he said he's very solid and big."

Did she say he?

"What are you two ladies up to?" Lance asked, entering the barn with his hands tucked into his pockets. He looked a bit cold and now that she was realizing it, she was starting to get a bit Chilly as well. The sun was starting to go down when she had stepped outside.

"No uncle allowed!"

"Calm down small fry, your mamá sent me to get you. Go wash your hands and get ready for dinner."

Nadia huffed, reluctantly letting go of Pidge's hand and running past them towards the house. The cuban laughed at her antics before joining the brunette by the stall to watch his cow.

"You know she's right. Kaltenecker is definitely bigger. And considering I was just informed of Block, I would say she's-"

"Pregnant. Yeah I know."

Pidge looked at him with a raised brow. "Then why did you get upset with Nadia calling her bigger?"

Lance frowned as he reached a hand out towards his pet, wanting her to come to him. "Because she called her fat! My moo baby is not fat. She's beautiful and this is completely natural."

Pidge laughed. She thought she was bad about cosmo.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Kinda keeping it on the down low. If the kids were to find out, they would never stop hounding her. She already gets enough attention as is."

Made since. Lance probably wanted to keep kaltenecker calm throughout her pregnancy. Which was smart considering the two children pretty much spoiled her with affection but also irritated her a little too much. If a calf was found out about, they would certainly never leave her alone. "What are you gonna do? She's yours so I'm assuming your dad left that up to you."

Lance leaned up completely straight, realizing that his cow was not going to move, and walked over to a haystack, and sat down. He looked worn out by her question and Pidge wondered if it was something he had thought a lot about. "Honestly I really want to try to keep them both. I know it's a lot to take care of a calf and raise it to keep but… I can't split them."

She nodded in understanding, sitting down next to him.

"What are you gonna name it?" She smiled and he grinned.

Pidge knew he was waiting for her to ask.

"I was thinking Keith for a boy because males are so hard headed."

Pidge had to snort at that.

The rest of the night passed pretty uneventfully. She and Lance had sat between the small children and across the cuban's grandparents and parents. His mamá and papá were surprised to see her when they joined the table. Pidge guessed that her best friend hadn't told them she was coming but she was welcomed nonetheless. Mrs. McClain had scooped her up into a hug while Mr. McClain simply ruffled her hair as if she was one of his own children.

They had talked about many things at the large family dining table. Mostly about each child's day and how everything was coming along out on the pasture for the adults. Abuela seemed to take a strong interest in the brunette during the dinner. She asked just about every question she could, wanting to catch up. It had been about 4 months since they had seen each other, the last time being the beginning of the summer when they had their massive family reunion and Abuela was naturally a nosey woman. She couldn't recall how many times Lance had complained about her meddling when it came to all her grandchildren's love lives.

She was a romantic at heart.

Once dinner had ended and it was time for the little ones to head up to bathe and go to bed, Mamá McClain announced that it was probably time for Lance to take Pidge home. It was getting pretty late and the lanky teen was only allowed out on a school night as long as he was back in time to get some decent sleep.

Lance's mamà had thrown her keys at her son, complaining it was way too cold to be on that bike of his.

"Mi hijo, do not let that beautiful girl freeze."

Lance had blushed brightly, grabbing the brunette's wrist and grumbling as he dragged her out the door. He was a bit agitated that they thought he would let her go cold.

They were now just pulling into her driveway, Pidge leaning against the window on her sweater covered arm. The ride there had been mostly quiet, comfortable. There hadn't been a need for words as the silence wasn't awkward. "Did you have fun?" Lance asked. His voice was low, like he didn't want to disturb the calm that had settled on them.

"Of course I did. You know I love being around your family."

The lanky teen nodded his head, not really making any movement as he leaned against his seat.

She only slouched further into the window and door.

"Abuela was really happy to see you. She practically talked to you the entire dinner."

"Yeah." The porch light flickered on and Matt opened the door to peak at them from inside. "I kinda feel bad about not seeing her all summer."

"Don't be. She was in Cuba for most of it."

Pidge forgot that the grandmother regularly visited home. Sighing, the brunette reluctantly sat up straight, reaching for the door handle. "I guess I better go before Matt comes and gets me himself."

Her brother was starting to wave towards the car, cosmo barking at his feet.

She opened the door, "Pidge." But stopped at his call.

"Yeah?" She asked. Lance was looking at her with an embarrassed look. His eyes were slightly crinkled at the sides and his expression seemed to be set in a permanent cringe.

"Abuela might have mentioned you looking a little red when she asked about us having any...highschool romance."

Pidge felt very warm.

"Do you, uh," he hesitated a bit nervously. "Do you like someone?"

A frown settled on her mouth, her blush dimming a bit. Why would he care so much about asking her that? They had talked about each other's crushes before. He, more than her, obviously. Why was he so nervous? "You don't have to answer if you don't want to!" He added quickly. "It's just you usually let me know."

So do you

"Lance, weren't you blushing to?"

His eyes widened, looking down and avoiding her eyes "Well yeah, I was just caught off guard."

Once again, he lied. For the second time that day.

She huffed more out of irritation than anger. "That's all it was for me to," she waved goodbye and climbed out of the suv.

"You good?" Matt asked once she was inside.

"Yeah, just a long day. Probably going up to bed."

"Keith is upstairs waiting for you."

Of course he is. It was late after all and she hadn't seen or talked to him since lunch. Trudging up the stairs and moving over so cosmo could take the lead, Pidge opened her door to see Keith reading through one of her many science books. "Don't hurt yourself, Kogane."

The asian looked up and smirked at her, "Long night with loverboy lance?"

"Shush, you." The brunette glared, kicking off her shoes and pulling her hair from its hair tie.

Golden brown curls fell down her back in a tangled mess.

She grabbed the brush from her dresser and climbed on top of her comforter, handing the beauty tool to the boy beside.

Without question, Keith sat up and grabbed it from her, pulling it through her tresses as her back faced him. Him playing and/or fixing her hair was nothing new and the small teen reveled in it. It was something that instantly calmed her and her friend knew it. "Something happened."

It wasn't a question but a statement. He had known the moment she walked in with a frown and snarky comment. The fact she had handed him the brush, was a given.

"Does Lance like anyone?"

His hands and the brush stopped abruptly from the question and Pidge felt it before he started back as if nothing happened. "What makes you ask that?"

"His grandmother asked us If weliked someone and he blushed. I mean I blushed to but mine was because I like him. Who made him all flustered?"

"Maybe he was embarrassed." Keith replied after a second. "Maybe he just thought the question was blunt."

Pidge made a 'Hmm' sound in thought. "That's what he said."

"Then what's the problem, Pidge?"

"He lied."

Kieth sighed and grabbed the hair tie that she placed around her wrist. Fixing the end of the braid he had placed her hair in, he grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards him. "The old "avoid all eye contact" thing, huh?"

She only nodded, expression void of any emotion.

"So what if he lied? Why does it matter to you?"

Pidge blanched, "Have we forgotten my crush on him?!" She yelled. He nags me all day and night about it and then acts as if it's nothing.

"This is what you were probably waiting on. You probably told yourself that he was going to latch himself to some unfortunate soul and your crush was gonna twindle out and die."

"I wouldn't say unfortunate," she grumbled lowley to herself. But he was right. She had told herself he was going to find someone else to hang off of and she would eventually get over him. So why did it bother her so much?

"Jealous?" Said Keith, answering her unheard question.

She was jealous. The anger and slight worry she felt was jealousy. The thought of havingto watch him be with someone made her mad. It made her envious and she didn't even know who it was!

"This whole crush thing sucks," she frowned, laying her head on the asian boy's shoulder and feeling as he shook from laughter.

"Not what you expected, is it? You probably didn't think jealousy was a factor of getting over someone."

No, she stupidly hadn't. She groaned, banging her head against the boy.

Grabbing her by the forehead, he pushed her back so he could look at her. "What are you gonna do now?"

She didn't know. Honestly, she thought Lance would have solved it for her. His shameless flirting with every living thing was certain to throw her off. At Least enough to not have any attraction towards him. And If she couldn't get him to do it for her, then she guessed it was all up to her. "How much of a chance do you think I have to ignore him until it passes?"

The emo made a circular shape with his hand, "Zero."

Yeah, she thought so.

Around midnight Keith had left and Cosmo took his place on her bed, snuggling up to her. The brunette was playing a game on her phone while she settled down for bed, when a message notification popped onto her screen.

Loverboy: Are you mad with me?

She was wondering when he was gonna ask her that. She had left the car with a frown and a rushed goodbye. It was just a matter of time before he messaged her about it. It took a little longer than when he usually sent her a text, considering it was already past midnight. He probably wanted to let her stew for a bit. Have a chance to gather her thoughts.

Pidgeon: No.

Not like she could be. It would be very hypocritical to be mad at him for not telling her his crush,when she hadn't either. She had lied to him as well. Even though her reason for lying was completely different from his. She still lied about the same thing.

L: Then why did you leave so quickly?

P: Just tired.

There she goes lying again.

L: You sure, querida?

L: I hate having you mad with me.

P: I'm fine, Lance. You did nothing wrong.

She wasn't even sure if he was aware of his little tell. He never seemed to try to stop himself anytime he avoided eye contact when he lied.

P: Just have a lot on my mind.

His next message was instant.

L: Talk and tell me about it all.

Could she? She talked to him about everything. It was killing her to not confide in him. Keith was great and all but...Lance could get her through anything. Which is why she couldn't tell him everything. She couldn't lose the one person that meant so much to her and helped her with so much. She would be lost without him. He was her person, the one she relied on the most. Was there any way she could tell him about this so he wouldn't know?

P: I...like someone.

She could tell him a little couldn't she? Just to get the stress off. She didn't have to divulge every small detail to him. And maybe he would open up about his….

Sounds great, pidge. Let's get your crush to open up about his crush! so you can die and suffer in silence once again. Nice.At least your priorities are in line.

L: Oh. Really? Who is it?

Of course he would want to know who it was.

P: I don't think I wanna say yet. It's still fresh. Just didn't want to keep it from you.

L: No I get it. That's great Pidge. I wanna hear all about him.

P: Maybe later?

She really didn't want to try to explain him to ...well him. So she decided to sidestep the subject and bring up another.

P: How did Rolo end up falling on his face?

From then on, they dived into all sorts of different topics and things to talk about until early morning. Which she was fine with.

But she probably wouldn't have been if she knew just how badly her best friend was hurting from her little confession, on the other side of the phone.