I stayed up later than I should have to get this finished, but it's finally done!
It's late, I know.

3. Love Song

Keith slowly walked through the halls. The image of Pidge staring at him, her big brown eyes filled with tears, was seared into his brain.

He had to do something to make it right. He couldn't let her go on believing that there was no one who could fall in love with her. It was time to stop allowing his fears to rule him. He had to tell her the truth, even if it meant she never wanted to see or speak to him again. (The thought of that happening made his chest tighten as though something had reached inside and tightly squeezed.)

He just had to figure out how.

Keith was going to need a little help with that, which meant swallowing his pride and asking for it. And unfortunately, he knew just who would be the best person to help him.

He found Lance lounging on one of the cheap but comfortable couches with his head resting in Hunk's lap. The two were quietly talking as Keith approached and he cleared his throat to get their attention.

Lance peered up at him curiously, one eyebrow raised. "Something we can help you with, Mullet?"

Keith swallowed thickly, ignoring the part of him that wanted to do nothing more than turn tail and run. He had to be strong for Pidge's sake.

And for his own.

Drawing on every ounce of courage he had, Keith began to explain the whole situation to Lance and Hunk, starting with the letter he wrote for her.


Pidge felt like she woke up once every hour that night, her restless brain unable to relax for a single minute. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see the earnest expression on Keith's face as he held her hand and told her she was incredible. And in the little bit of time when she was able to sleep, she dreamed that she hadn't run away. That she'd stayed and somehow ended up wrapped in his arms, warm and safe, almost as though they were more than just friends.

She wanted to cry when her alarm cut on, signaling loud and clear that it was time for her to get up and get ready for the day. She moved sluggishly, her whole body heavy as she went about her morning routine. She brushed aside Matt's concern for her, leaving the house before he could start to really worry and ask questions.

The rest of her day went about the same. Time dragged on, she ignored her friends' worried looks, only answered questions from her teachers when they were directed her way, and ate the bare minimum of food to keep her going. All she wanted to do was go back home and collapse in her bed, hopefully to get some actual sleep. Pidge didn't want to think about the fake love letter or about what Keith said to her anymore.

She just wanted to move on.

She sent off a quick text message to Lance, letting him know she was going home for the day so he wouldn't waste time searching for her, and then she began the long walk to her car, which she'd purposefully parked in a different place in hopes of throwing off her newest tormentor.

Pidge's kept her head bowed, her senses stretched thin as she listened for noisy chatter and footsteps and watched for approaching shadows in order to avoid bumping into anyone. It was only when she got near where she parked that she looked up.

Keith was there, hands shoved in his pockets, looking thoroughly uncomfortable as he stood there. His hair was down and was mussed at the back of his neck, as if he'd spent a lot of time tugging his fingers through the longer strands, a nervous habit Pidge knew very well from their study sessions together. He raised his eyes as she slowly approached, but said nothing until she was standing right in front of him.

"Keith?" she asked, unable to keep her exhaustion from coloring her voice. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry," he blurted out. He visibly winced, closed his eyes, and breathed out before opening them again. "What I said yesterday, I meant it. You're one of the most amazing people I've ever known and not just because of how smart you are. You're kind too. And patient. And..." Keith clenched his hands at his sides, struggling to get the words out. "I'm the one who wrote the letter."

Pidge felt the world tilt around her.

Keith had written the letter.

Keith, her friend, had written a love letter and left it for her to find.

Keith, who she'd developed a tiny, miniscule crush on, liked her back.

It wasn't something she'd prepared for. She wasn't ready. Every part of her screamed to run away, to collect her thoughts, and then respond to what was going on, but there was that one little voice that held her steady.

Running away never helped, it only hurt people.

"Pidge, please say something?" Keith's voice was soft, as if he was afraid speaking any louder would cause her to bolt.

She planted her feet firmly on the ground. "You wrote the letter?" she asked for confirmation, raising her eyes to meet his. "You like me?"

"I did. I do," Keith stumbled over his words. "I like you, Katie. I have for a while. I just didn't know how to tell you and thought writing it down would help, but it didn't. And then I thought... I thought giving you the letter was the right way, but what if it ruined things between us? I'd rather have you as a friend than nothing. So that's why... I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Pidge was at a loss for what to do. She'd never dared to fantasize that he would return her feelings. Was she supposed to admit that she liked him back? Should she hug him? How did other people handle situations like that?

And then she heard it. A quiet melody, slowly growing louder. A very distinctive and familiar love song.

Keith frowned and looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. If he strained his ears, he could make out the sound of a heated argument between Hunk and Lance as they continued their debate over the proper music to use, even after he'd turned down their offer of playing "mood music" during his confession.

Pidge couldn't help it. She giggled at the cross expression on Keith's face, the tension inside of her snapping at long last. She recognized that song at once. It was the same one Lance spent nights playing outside of Hunk's bedroom window, serenading the boy until he laughingly agreed to go on a date. She understood immediately what was happening.

Poor Keith.

Lance really didn't have as great of a grasp on romance as he thought.

"Keith," she murmured, stepping closer to him. She reached out and took his hand. And maybe it was because of the music playing in the background or maybe it was because she was already sure of Keith's feelings, but suddenly she didn't feel so afraid of her own. "I'm glad it's you. I've, um, had a crush on you for a while too."

He stood there, frozen in front of her in wake of her own confession, and then gave her a dazzling smile. His fingers laced together with hers, warm and comfortable.

And for a moment, everything was perfect.

(And then Lance and Hunk fell out of their hiding place, arguing loudly with each other and effectively ruining the mood they'd hoped to cultivate.)