"That the guy?" Hunk whispered, peeking over my head and leaning into the Library.
I nod.
"That's the guy."
"You sure he can help us pass our French test?" Hunk twiddled his thumbs, moving back and forth on his toes.
"Yes, I'm positive." I thought it was dumb in the first place that we had to take a foreign language in a space program, but hey, who knows? Maybe one day we'll meet an alien who magically speaks French?
…..Wait….
Would I be that alien if I learned French? Of course I still haven't confirmed I'm an alien, but if I am, am I proving that the Garrison teaching us French might actually be valid?
Shit.
Well now I gotta do good in this class and that just pisses me off! Either way, I was good in Spanish and English. French however, was not my forte. I tried to ask Keith for help, but he just turned his head away from me and said no. I was persistent about it for a few days till Keith finally admitted that he barely passed his French. He would be little help. Which meant I needed someone else who could help teach me.
Being in the same boat, Hunk tagged along. Cutting across the seated students, we moved around a few chairs to stand before our salvation.
"Hey~" we inched towards Pidge with caution, putting on our best smiles.
Pushing up their glasses, Pidge gave us both a side glance, then greets us, "Lance. Other guy."
"Hunk." he waves a little. "Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, sure. Nice to meet you." he nods, looking bored, "Do you two need anything?"
"Actually," I slowly raise our French vocabulary sheets, giving Pidge the biggest puppy dog eyes I could muster. "We were wondering-"
"If you weren't busy-" Hunk quickly added in.
"Right, if you weren't busy, could you possibly help us with our French?"
There was a slight wrinkle to his nose. "You want me to help you study?"
"We heard you have an A in the class." I nod vigorously.
"That may or may not be the case." Pidge danced around the question, "How did you get the information on it? I require names."
Unable to sell out the nice girl who sat behind me in French, fearful of what Pidge might do to her in return for spreading information on him, I shake my head. "Can't do that."
Pidge frowned, "So be it. I'll discover them eventually. Tell me though, why are you two so insistent on passing this class?"
"I really don't want to repeat the class, and the better grades I have the better chances I have of getting in good with the teachers." I explain.
"I have a low C, and if it drops down to a D my Mom is gonna- she's gonna-" Hunk's lower lip trembled at the thought. "She is not gonna be a happy Mama, that is what she is gonna be." he concludes, looking to terrified to go into details.
Pidge lowered their book with a sigh, "So what's in it for me?"
"Our unwavering gratitude and respect?" Hunk asked.
I shake my head, "No enough, Buddy. I figured you'd want something in return, so I came prepared." Pulling my backpack off, I unzipped it to reveal its contents. Pidge's eyes doubled in size as I dumped a mountain full of pudding onto his lap.
He covered his mouth, a soft gasp slipping from their lips. Mesmerized, he quickly recalled the situation and composed himself.
"This will do." he cleared his throat. "You may sit at my table." Eager to get this over with, we pulled out our chairs and got to work.
Pidge, despite seeming unwilling to get to know us at first, didn't seem to mind our company after a while. It had been our routine to meet up in the library or at Lunch. Pidge kept our interactions strictly educational, but through time he had started drifting to Hunk and me just a little more often.
He joined us for lunch, talking about more than just homework. He mentioned a few of his hobbies and how he liked to build things. He partnered up with us in class, and even offered to let us copy from his homework- so I considered us friends.
However, during any off time, there was virtually no contact between us, so I was very unsure of how far that friendship went.
"Alright, cough them up." Pidge stood before us like a Judge, his tiny fingers opening and closing for us to hand over the evidence. Hunk and me gulped, slowly releasing our latest test reports to him.
He eyed them carefully, noting every mistake like he would hold it against us for years. Peering over the papers at us for a moment, just to make us feel tense, he looked back down. He clicked his teeth, "Your scores have both improved by 30%."
Hunk's voice was soft, "Is that good?"
Holding back from answering immediately, drawing out the suspense, Pidge nodded.
"It's very good." he smiles, looking very proud of both of us.
"YES!" we leap into the air and high five.
The horror was over with, for now, and we could relax. I had enough things to worry about as it was with Keith breathing down my back. In fact, one day during lunch, while I was doodling in my notebooks instead of actually doing an assignment, Hunk and I started discussing our roommates. Pidge could care less about the conversation, but took enough interest to input something from time to time.
"You don't get it," I groan, "Living with the guy is torture." I think back to the last couple of days and sigh. Keith's endless questions, his endless theories to what I might be and what strange creature I could be some descendent off. Just this morning I awoke to a flashlight being shined in my eyes because it was apparently a full moon and Keith was checking for any werewolf tendencies.
"He leaves his stuff everywhere, takes up the entire room, is super weird, a show off-" I could go on and on, but decide to spare my friend my grumbling.
"My roommate kind of smells funny," Hunk shrugs, "So that is about it. What about you, Pidge?"
"We have completely different schedules so I only ever see them if I wake up for a late night snack and see them in bed," Pidge states, their eyes never lifting from their book.
"Lucky." I sigh. Though, I kind of wish Keith and me could be close. That maybe we could talk about more than just how strange I am. Maybe go get some pizza and just be two normal guys for once.
"Maybe next year we can try to get rooms together." Hunk offered. I perk up, the idea sounding amazing. I feel like even with my secret, I wouldn't have to worry about Hunk finding out. He was just so open- I never felt uneasy talking to him. Honestly, I actually feel like I could tell him about my secret and he would be perfectly cool with it. That is how much I like and trust this guy.
"Cadets!"
My thoughts of joyus friendship were interrupted by our head commander, Iverson, coming by to snap at us. He motioned to our table. "Your table is filthy. We are not pigs, Gentleman. So clean up after yourselves!"
I quickly lowered my head, my chest constricting tight at the scold. "Y-Yes, sir."
"Good!" As Iverson passes, my eye catches with Pidge. I shiver at the look he has across his face. It was cold, calculated- like Pidge had some unspoken vendetta to the guy. He followed every step Iverson took, eyeing him like a hawk all the way out of the Cafeteria. Like myself, Hunk quickly caught on, and looked worried.
"You okay?" He asked
Pidge pushed up their glasses, tearing their eyes away, "Huh?"
"You had a real… death glare, going on." Hunk explains.
I nod, "You were freaking us out."
"Oh," Pidge looks away, "It was nothing, I just uh- that guy rubs me the wrong way."
"Well he is a little intimidating," Hunk shrugs in agreement, "I always thought that was just his way of teaching."
"That is a scary way of teaching," I tell him.
"That's what I always thought!" Hunk smiles. Pidge rolls his eyes at us.
"Listen, I gotta get going. I'll see you two dummies around." with a playful smile, he waves to us. We wave back, barking insults about Pidge's height the entire time he left. Stopping only when he left the room, and I lean back into my chair, looking upward.
"I start my first piloting class tomorrow." I announced. Hunk smiles at me.
"That's great."
"I'm kind of nervous about it."
He shakes his head, patting my shoulder, "You'll do great, Lance."
I wanted to believe him, but the worry still ate away at me. The deeper I got into my piloting classes, the more eyes seemed to train on me. I felt self conscious, jittery with each task they threw my way. I know that this was to prepare me for an emergency, or to be calm in the face of something unexpected- but I was freaking out.
At least two different times during just one class I thought I felt my transformation almost slip up. I usually had it under control, but stress was my worse enemy. The more stressed or pressured I felt in a class, the higher the chance of revealing myself grew. It almost made me consider dropping out of the classes till I could get a better grasp on Garrison as a learning facility and got used to their always screaming teachers.
The problem with that is that I know my parents are keeping track of the classes I take. If they suddenly saw me drop from all the main classes I wanted to take, they would get worried. I hated worrying them, and it would be hard to explain why I would drop a class without telling them I felt overwhelmed. It was hard enough just making them think it was actually fun being Keith's roommate.
It's cool that the guy knows my secret and isn't telling anyone… but he does things that push the limit of my patience.
Like yesterday….
I woke up to Keith holding a bucket over my head. I don't even blink before saying.
"Do it and I'm telling Shiro how you sneak off every saturday night to go Gremlin hunting."
Keith's hand stilled and he backed up, retreating to his bed to glare at me from behind his pillows. "It was just water."
"Still doesn't give you a reason to dump it on my head."
"I wanted to see if you would transform when spooked."
"Of course I do." I roll my eyes,
"Every time?"
"Well- no, not every time. My sister scared me enough when I was younger for me to get a little bit of a grasp on it. My transformation goes off of any really intense emotion; fear, love, joy, sadness, anger, shock- stuff like that."
"For an emotional person like yourself, that can't be easy." Keith notes
I frown at him, "What is that supposed to mean?"
He turns, "Nothing."
I frown at him. "I ponder how your brother managed to survive your strange cryptid ways."
"Tracker chip." he answered it so bluntly that I rolled onto my side to gawk at him.
"You serious?"
"In my phone." he lifted it. "It's why I leave my phone here when I go out on my expeditions."
"Expeditions." I repeat, rolling my tongue. "Is that what you call it?"
"Yes."
"Your poor brother." I chuckle. "A beautiful piece of artwork such as he, dealing with a crazy brother such as you~"
Keith doesn't say anything for a bit, eventually voicing a question. "Beautiful piece of artwork? Shiro?"
"Duh. That boy is gorgeous." I nod. "Haven't you noticed?"
He scowls, "Of course not. He's my brother. It's weird that you find him… attractive."
"It really isn't." I disagree. "Many would agree with me that he is fine~"
"Don't say that." he stuck out his tongue.
"Sure sure. Well-" I roll from my bed and get dressed, "I'm leaving you alone to your bucket. I'll see you later."
"You seem in a grumpy mood." he doesn't look at me when he says this
It makes me pause, and I scratch my head.
"Do I?" I sigh, "Sorry. I'm just tired and stressed. I thought already knowing two languages would make learning French easier, but it's very different from the two I know."
"You should get a tutor then." Keith says.
I shrug, "I kind of did? They are pretty smart. I think I can get through it. I just have to worry about the other classes. They are the worse."
Keith doesn't ask me why this is so I don't elaborate and just leave. His concern for me only tended to go so far after all, like most people. Despite my thoughts that maybe we had gotten closer after he discovered my secret, in truth, he kept me at a very long arms reach. I think I'm a closer step than most others, but that was solely because he found me interesting.
Take away the weird transformation nonsense and we would be strangers.
The thought was kind of depressing, but that was just one more thing to add to my list of things I mope about daily. I just had to focus on my piloting. Forget Keith, forget my anxiety, and focus on getting better. I would take any chance I could to get some practice in, signing up for almost every open spot available. The woman who ran the check in even began to recognize my face and would wave to me when I got there.
It was a routine that I could keep up with and stay calm. Being friends with Pidge and Hunk seemed to help my anxiety immensely too. It wasn't perfect, but I was managing.
Of course, that all changed on the 3rd Tuesday of November. That day I had woken up late and was going to miss roll call to my first class. Yelling at Keith for not waking me up I scrambled to get my stuff together. I grabbed my three books, glaring at him.
Keith shrugged, watching as I ran out the door. I didn't stop, taking a turn too quickly. Bumping into someone when I rounded the corner, I stepped back to rub my nose.
"Oh, sorry!" they say quickly. Squinting my eyes open, I'm surprised to see Pidge.
"It's okay, Pid-" I trail off, noting how tall they seemed to be. They had Pidge's face but… this wasn't them. They were different, their face a little older and eyes not as big. The biggest clue I got was the color of their uniform. Trainees wore orange, but this guy wore gray- the color of those who had already graduated and were working for Garrison for full time missions. "Who are you?" I ask them
He seems to be my senior and holds out his hand, flustered.
"S-Sorry, Matt Holt." This wasn't Pidge, but man the resemblance was striking. I had never bothered to ask for Pidge's last name, so maybe they were related.
He was very similar to Pidge in his hairstyle, eye color, heck everything seemed to match- the both even wore glasses! Of course, there seemed to be something off about Matt compared to Pidge.
He was tense, like someone was pinching his shoulder blades and had put hot coals below his feet. He shifted his weight constantly, his eyes shifting back and forth, large bags below them from lack of sleep. I wanted to ask if they were okay, but his phone buzzed. Glancing down to it the Pidge look alike paled. "S-Sorry again uh-"
"Lance," I tell him.
"Lance," he nods, "But I h-have to go," There is something in his eyes that I knew very well. Too well.
It was fear. Fear from hiding something.
It didn't involve me, but I couldn't help but think that Matt had a secret as he passed by me, rushing down the hall.
Still, it was none of my business, so I carried on.
NEW CHAPTER~ Yay!
Reviews:
EchoZane: Aww, thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it!
Resa: I shall try, but I can't promise too much XD
Guest: THANK YOU! I do need to update suffocation, yeah 0.0 I got really caught up in this story that I keep forgetting to update that one
Ewink18: LOTOR~~~ I can't wait to see what he does in the next season~
Adrianna Agray: Aww, thank you! Sadly you didn't get to see too much of Matt in this chapter, but you will later! Promise!
Melancholy's Sunshine: Oh my gosh that is very true. Rumors will definitely start to spread the more they spend time with each other. XD