I chuckle as my brother shows me his latest art project from school through our video chats. He had gotten into drawing Giraffes lately and was bringing a new picture of them daily to show me.
Chari appeared on the screen a couple of times, eating a sandwich. "What's up, Buttercup?" she plopped down next to Arlo, waving. "What's the sitch? What's the Hap's? What's the dealio~?"
I chuckle, "Same old stuff as yesterday. School, flying, hiding my secret." I hadn't found the courage to tell my family that my roommate had discovered my other side. They were already on my case enough about him.
I guess I… talk, about Keith a lot. I didn't realize I did, but my family has confirmed that I always bring up Keith in some way. I think Chari is starting to get suspicious that it's more than just annoyance on my part.
"What about you?" I ask. "How is your degree going?" Chari had gone to college close to home and had been staying with my parents to save up some money to move out afterward.
"One more year, then I'm free from the chains of education! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel~" she wiggles her fingers.
"Doesn't that usually mean death?" Arlo inquired.
Chari looks at him, pursing her lips, "Adult life is death, little brother."
"Chari, don't tell him that. He'll be afraid to grow up!" My mother scolds off-screen.
"I don't want to grow up anyway! I want to stay a kid!" Arlo whined.
"Oh, look what you did." My mothers sighs, coming into view. She leans over to smile at me, "Hola, Lance!" she waves. "How are you, love?"
"I'm great, Mom." I smile. "Made some new friends. Classes are going good, and I-" I trail off as the door opens. Peeking over my computer screen, I watch Keith enter. He is dragging a cart behind him. It's stacked high with candles and jars of salt? "...am doing fine." I frown, squinting my eyes at the sight.
He doesn't even look up as he opens his closet and begins to stash away the supplies.
I nod a few times as Chari started to talk about something, but my attention is still on Keith, watching him.
Dusting off his hands, he closes the closet. Taking off his jacket, which is covered in this black soot, he stuffs it into his hamper. He hid the coat from view by covering it with another shirt.
Not suspicious at all.
If that wasn't enough, my eyes were having an adventure! Keith was dressed in this crop top! Crop top, crop top, crop top, stomach line, belly button; ooh boy my thoughts just went south real fast!
Maybe I was just over imagining the shine to Keith's skin, but sweet Garrison did it sparkle. How did someone like him exist? It wasn't fair to have to share a room with a being of such raw sexual attraction.
"Lance, you listening?" my mother asked.
"Huh?" my eyes snapped back to the screen. "What was that?"
"Nope, he wasn't listening." Chari chuckles. "I hear moving around. Is Keith there? Let us say Hi!"
"No," I say instantly. I fear what Keith might ask if he were to suddenly engage my family in conversation.
"You're no fun. You should let us meet him." Chari insists. "After all, he is the guy you have a crush on, isn't he?" she smiles smugly.
My eyes widen in horror.
"What?!" Arlo gasps. "LANCE! YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON-" I slam the computer close and lift my head to look at Keith. He has his headphones on.
Thank goodness, I was saved by his complete lack of interest in my personal life!
For once….
Noticing I was staring at him, he takes out one of the earbuds. "Yeah?"
I blush, "N-Nothing." I was half tempted to ask what Keith was doing with all those candles and salt, but figured it was best to leave it be. I didn't want to get dragged into whatever their function was for.
Deciding I would call my family again tomorrow, when Keith wasn't in the room, I finished up my homework and went to bed.
My beauty sleep was disturbed a few hours later.
I tried to ignore it, but it didn't seem to want to go away. It sounded like strange mumbling.
Rolling over, I rub my eyes. Realizing there was light in the room, but not from the lamps, I frown at the candles placed on the floor. From their light, shadows were dancing along the walls, caused by Keith's form sitting in the center of the bizarre display.
He was mumbling some incantation, moving his hands around in strange gestures.
I know I would regret this, but I spoke up to question him. "Keith?"
His head turns to me, his purple eyes seemingly glowing in the dark. "Yes?"
I swallow, not liking the black garb he dressed himself in, "It's two in the morning." I motion to the clock, wondering why I even bothered sometimes.
He tilts his head, "Yeah, so?"
"I'm trying to sleep!"
"Oh." he nods in understanding, "I'll be quiet." Looking back ahead, he continued to mumble. Knowing there is no way I could sleep now that I knew something was up, I pulled my blanket off. Sitting up, I toss my legs over the side of my mattress and gawk at the strange summoning circle that Keith had drawn into the room using salt.
"Uh, Keith? What are you doing?" I inquired cautiously. I felt like I had just entered some cultist's chambers!
"Delving into another realm of the unknown. I've done all I can do with the creatures that might be around Garrison, and you refuse to answer questions unless I give you exactly eight hours of sleep a night, so now I must take a peek into the spiritual world." He turned his head, eyes wide and innocent. "Shiro doesn't approve of me calling upon black magic and the dark arts of this book I got from this man in an alley, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything to him."
"Black magic? Keith this isn't even conspiracies anymore." I tell him, dumbfounded. "How is this- you didn't even draw the pentagram right!" I get up and move around it.
He looks down at it. Lifting his book, he taps his chin, muttering, "Hmm, seems I didn't." he got up to grab a small broom to clean up the salt and start over, hoping to draw the symbol correctly.
"What are you redrawing it?!"
"It's not complicated, Lance. If I drew it wrong, I make it right." Sprinkling the salt back on the ground, one of the biggest wastes I've ever seen, he moved back into the center and sat down. Lifting the book into his lap he began to read the incantation aloud.
He paused to light another candle.
After a few seconds, he stops again, struggling with one word in particular. "What is that word?" he holds it up for me to read.
I cover my eyes, "I'm not reading that."
"Lance, the ghosts are not patient. I've gathered their presence and just need to give them physical form." he insists.
"Yeahhhhh." I rub my temple, "Listen, I'm not super into ghosts, or this conversation, so I'm going back to bed."
"Lance. Lance~ Lance~!" he calls my name repeatedly as I trudge back to bed. Plopping down, I cover my head with my pillow to drown out the noise. "Fine," Keith grumbled. He thankfully gave up an hour later, unable to pronounce a few words and insisting the spiritual presence had left.
We didn't say anything to each other when my alarm went off a few hours later, and we got ready for school.
I could tell he was giving me the stink eye. He could do it the entire year for all I care, but I refuse to have the Poltergeist go down in my room! I want my sleep!
When lunch rolled around, my body felt sluggish from constant interruptions to my beauty sleep.
"My life is nothing but the bizarre," I conclude as I sit down at my table. Hunk takes a bite of his sandwich and stares at me.
"Go on."
"Well, I'll tell you this much. I was awake at 2 in the morning today because my roommate was summoning ghosts."
"Hah." Pidge snorted at me. "That's cool."
"It's really not…." I pause when Pidge pushed up her glasses, reminded of the boy I had seen the other day. "Oh, hey there was this guy I saw earlier-"
"Males do exist, Lance," Pidge informs me
"Haha, very funny. Let me finish." I swallow, "He looked just like you,"
Pidge's hand freezes, his eyes flickering to meet mine before he looks back at his food, "Oh?"
"Yeah, just like you. Same hair, eyes, glasses- I thought you two were twins."
"Do you have a twin?" Hunk gasps, "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because I don't have a twin," Pidge says abruptly, "I don't have any siblings."
"Oh," Hunk glances at me, "Then that really is bizarre."
As one who has had to keep a secret for a good chunk of my life, I prided myself on being able to know when others were lying. I became a very good one myself… I had to. I knew the signs when someone was trying to pull the wool over my eyes.
So I hated to see that lying look in Pidge's eyes. I didn't want to believe that he was lying to me about something like this. Having a sibling or something wasn't anything to be ashamed of.
Or perhaps it wasn't like that, and that Matt guy was someone else to him? Like a Father or something? A really young looking Father?
I tried not to let it bother me and just forget about it, yet the thought persisted every time I saw Pidge.
He suddenly was avoiding meeting my eyes. As if I had started to catch on to something about that Matt guy that Pidge didn't want me to.
The denying of it just made me more curious.
I couldn't seem to bring it up or call Pidge out on the lie. It just didn't feel like the right time to. Even if I did, what proof did I have other than saying I know the signs of lying?
If I did, Pidge might just deny it further and get mad to avoid the topic.
So I left it be for a few more days.
In that time I got no closer to figuring out what was up with those two. I was almost willing to drop it till a few bullies came our way.
They were teasing us, getting in my face and sneering. I recognized one from my class, about two spots below me on the chart during our flying test. He had boasted about himself at the beginning of the year, yet wasn't even close to the top spot a quarter through.
They especially seemed fond of teasing Pidge, making fun of his height. He hardly batted an eye to them, most likely use to the attention of jerks.
"Leave him alone." Hunk told them.
"Or what?" one gave Hunk a shove. The collision seemed to cause the bully to stumble back more than Hunk, being larger than them, but it pissed Pidge and me off regardless that he tried.
"Hey!" Pidge snapped, "Don't mess with him."
"The midget actually talks!" the other snorted. With a sharp tug, they tear Pidge's backpack from his shoulders. He leaps around to stop him, just to get knocked back into me. "Give that back!"
The bully is opening his bag and going through Pidge's belongings, rolling his eyes. "A bunch of worthless junk." he lifted up what seemed like a spare part. In fact, Pidge's backpack was filled with pieces, ample books, and pencils. If the bully was looking for money, Pidge didn't keep it there.
"Chuck it!" one howled.
"No!" Pidge pleaded.
"Dude, seriously, give it back." Hunk narrows his eyes.
"Yeah, that doesn't belong to you." I agree, feeling courage with my friends here.
"Should I?" the bully doesn't seem sure and steps back towards the railing. We were on the second floor, the cafeteria down below.
"Don't you dare!" Hunk yells.
The bully tosses Pidge's bag over the side without another word.
Pidge yelled, reaching out too late to catch it. Running over to the railing he stares down in dismay, "My parts!" he quickly rushed to the steps. Pushing past the jerks, who snicker and call taunts our way, we follow Pidge to help.
His belongings had practically exploded from the back, tossed out onto the tables like garbage.
We scrambled to grab scattered papers, salvaging whatever we could from the parts that had broken or cracked from the impact.
"At least your computer wasn't in there." I offer weakly. Pidge sighs and nods.
"I was hoping to upgrade my computer with some of these." he looks at what seemed to be a chip, crushed and unusable now. He tosses it into the trash, frustrated. "How can the people here be considered adults when they still do stuff like that?" he hissed.
Hunk shrugs, "Some people just never grow up."
"You got that right." I agree. I kneel down to grab Pidge's textbook. There is something along the lines of a photo sticking out of it.
I lift up the photo, scrutinizing it.
A girl, who kind of looked like Pidge, stood with a boy a little taller than herself. They seemed to be close, pressed together and smiling wildly.
One was dressed in the Garrison uniform.
If I didn't know any better, I would say it was just Pidge and some girl, but it was different.
The hair and smile were a little off.
It was that guy I had seen earlier; Matt!
Taking the photo and the other belongings I managed to grab, I head back. Still clutching the picture, I looked down at my friend.
"You okay?" I ask
"Yeah," Pidge opens their bag, letting us dump the belongings inside, "Thanks, guys,"
"Those people were jerks," Hunk shakes his head, "Shouldn't we tell a teacher?"
"I uh- don't think that is a good idea," Pidge says, "I'd rather stay below the teacher's radars as much as possible," he says it like a joke, and maybe it was, but something inside compelled me to ask what had been bugging me all day.
"Why is that, Pidge?"
"Huh?" they glance at me
"What do you have to hide?"
His eyes widen, their mouth forming a thin line, as if I had just caught them with their hand in the cookie jar. "W-What do you mean?"
To answer them, I lift up the picture, "I found this."
"Hey!" he attempts to snatch it, clicking his teeth when I hold it a tad out of his small reach. "That's mine! Give it back."
"Sure, if you tell me which one is you."
Pidge falters, swallowing, "T-That one." he motions to the one wearing the Garrison uniform.
"Is it? Or is it Matt?"
"Matt?" Hunk steps into this conversation, very lost and confused, "The guy you mentioned earlier?"
"Lance," Pidge says quietly, almost pleading with me, "Just give me the photo back."
I lower my hand, placing it into his palm. The one in the uniform is Matt, I was 100 % positive of that. Which meant, and I hoped I was right about this, that the other person had to be Pidge. Why else would he have that photo?
Pidge was a girl. Or liked to crossdress. Either one.
Some part of me thought that if Pidge had a secret, it might have been best just to leave it be. Yet something felt weird about this. Something I felt this urge to figure out.
I was starting to sound like Keith. Geez...
Anyway, I had a reason to hide who I was and what I could do.
I understood some wishing to keep their gender a secret, which was fine. The weird thing was if Pidge and Matt were related, why was Pidge hiding this?
Taking a deep breath, I brace myself, "Are you a girl, Pidge?"
There it was, out in the open.
The second I say it, all the blood drains from my friend's face. He, or she, step back, clutching their bag to their chest.
Hunk is just as dumbfounded, looking back and forth with wide eyes. "...I knew it!" he suddenly exclaimed.
Pidge and I almost fall over, "What do you mean you knew it?" I demand.
"It's obvious she's a girl! I just thought you were going through a gender change or something." Hunk says quickly, waving his hands back and forth.
"Dude!" my jaw drops. "Why didn't you tell me!?"
"I repeat, I thought it was obvious."
"It definitely was not obvious." I shake my head. Or was it? Was I just blind to these kinds of things?
"Will both of you shut up?" Pidge hissed, stepping forward. Grabbing our ears, he- she- they, tugged us down to eye level. "Listen to me; you can't tell anyone about this. Not a soul." there is a dangerous look in Pidge's eye. A threat that would be an endless torture if we did not comply.
We both nod vigorously, fearing our lives. "We won't," we promise.
"B-But, why didn't you tell us?" Hunk inquired, looking nervous. "Why are you hiding this?"
Our small friend released our ears and stepped back. "I-I couldn't." their voice cracks. "My brother-" Pidge abruptly cut off, scanning the area. With a nervous swallow, they mumble, "Tomorrow. In the back of the training rooms. I'll tell you then."
Agreeing to that, Pidge ran off before we could stop him. Or- her. This was gonna take some time to get used to.
Glancing at Hunk, the big guy simply shrugged.
"Guess we'll find out tomorrow."
"Yeah," I say. Tomorrow was Saturday, so we didn't have to worry about classes. I had a feeling though this wasn't just going to be something small that we could just laugh off.
I felt like a storm was coming.
Which meant, I had to ensure that Keith never, EVER, figured out about any of this.
My bad guys! I actually posted this chapter on AO almost 2 weeks ago but completely spaced on posting it here!
BUT HEY! MERRY CHRISTMAS! SO here are two new chapters for you!
Reviews:
Starblood20: Oh my goodness, thanks for telling me. Is it obvious I know nothing about both of those languages? XD My bad. But thank you for correcting me!
Azun26: Jealous Keith is fantastic, and I'm going to be playing off of Lance's little hero worship over Shiro a lot more the closer the two get. :D
Lola: Thank you so much! You are so sweet! Hearing that just brightens my day and makes writing so worth it, so thank you!
Catlover2976: Thank you! Honestly, it might be a while before they find Blue, but I hope to keep it as entertaining as possible till we get to that point :D
EchoZane: You do? Aww, thank you for telling me :D THat is both cute and super sweet, so thank you!
Adrianna Agray: Don't worry, it'll only be a matter of time before they figure out Lance's secret :D
Nigil1017: THANK YOU! I definitely will!
Resa's Pizza: Ain't that the truth~~~ Shiro's body is gorgeous~
Melancholy's Sunshine: An awkward family dinner sounds fantastic XD I'll definitely have to do that!
Ewink18: Aww friend. Sorry school is tough, but I'm happy to hear that my story is bringing you some joy! Oh my gosh XD Nooo~ Don't become a stripper~~~