How exciting, a chapter with no texting...

Keith knew it was stupid but, for some reason, he found himself standing outside his school’s assembly hall in a red button-up and jeans. He hadn’t put in much effort, realising he was probably about to get bullied into oblivion, so his mullet was its usual mess with hairs sticking out in every direction. 

He glanced up at the sign that said summer dance in a pink, flower-y font, before taking a deep breath and stepping into the hall. In search of ‘Lance’, he analysed his surroundings. A group of popular kids were gathered around the drinks' table, a bunch of people were dancing in the centre, a pair of emos were dominating the snack table and one boy- possibly a loner like Keith, there on a whim- was awkwardly standing by the door.

“Hey,” The loner-boy said with a timid smile on his face. Keith looked him up and down again and the loner must have read his surprise because he continued to speak. “I’m Lance.”

Keith was pretty sure he would remember an awkward-looking boy in his class, though Lance did look fairly generic. He was wearing skinny jeans and a button-up, just like him and all of the other popular boys, and his hair looked like he had stolen it from a Lego man. “You’re not in my physics.” Keith blurted out, only then realising Lance had actually coordinated their outfits by wearing red. It was dumb (and dare Keith say it? Kind of cute.)

“I am.”

“Uh… no. No, you’re not.”

“Well,” Lance offered another awkward smile as a tint of red danced across his cheeks. “This is me coming out.”

“Coming out?” Everything just got more confusing as time continued to pass.

“I’m trans… I got all my hair cut off and I’m dressing the way I want to. You should have seen mama’s face when I came home with this haircut. She wanted to murder me.”

“Oh.” Keith swallowed, scanning Lance up and down again. It was only then that it made sense; no wonder he couldn’t recognise Lance. It was the first time he was coming out as himself and not just a popular kid that blended into the crowd alongside everyone else.

“Do you trust me now?”

Shifting his weight from one foot to another, Keith contemplated how to respond. On one hand, he was the most insecure person on the planet and, on the other, it seemed a bit extreme to fake being transgender for a prank. “Kinda?” He ended up saying, though his rising intonation made it appear as more of a question than a response.

“None of my friends will talk to me. I told them I was trans and they… they laughed and called me a weirdo.”

“Join the club then, huh.” Lance nodded and scratched his elbow, eyes darting everywhere but Keith.

“Do you want to dance or something?”

“I don’t know how to dance…”

“Then follow my lead,” Lance grabbed Keith’s hand and guided him into the middle of the dance floor. The touch was so delicate that Keith’s stomach erupted into butterflies and giddiness swept through him. It wasn’t because he liked Lance or anything- just because he wasn’t used to being touched in such a soft, gentle way.

Smiling a reassuring smile, Lance moved Keith’s hands so that they balanced around his waist. Lance then moved his own onto Keith’s shoulders and began to sway from side to side. “It’s easy, see?”

“Yeah,” Keith’s voice cracked on the simple word, eliciting a soft blush. Keith closed his eyes to focus on his movements. All of the chatter around them seemed to fade out as the slow song filled his ears and he stepped from side to side. Warmth radiated from Lance, spreading through his hands into Keith’s shoulders. “Lance?” Keith flickered his eyes open just in time to see Lance’s face light up at the name. “Why did you invite me here?”

A nervous chuckle escaped from Lance’s lips. “Because I like you.”

“Tell me the truth.”

“I am…  I’ve thought you were cute since the first time I saw you.”

“Then why do you let everyone make fun of me?”

“Because I’m a coward.”

Keith bit his lip to hold back a bark in response: he was trying to tread as carefully as possible. One misstep and he could become the laughing stock of the school (again) or, worse, lose a potential friend. Not that he needed friends. He was fine on his own.

“I wanted to ask you out, okay? Not just in a friendly way but in a boyfriends kinda way.”

That time Keith couldn’t help but laugh. Not once in his entire 17 years of existence had anyone ask him out and he certainly did not expect some popular kid to be the first. “I don’t even know you and you definitely don’t know me.”

“That’s the thing though, we do know each other,” Keith’s disbelieving raised eyebrows only encouraged Lance to continue. “I know you like shooting games because they’re a good release of anger… and you played your dad’s PlayStation when you were little. I know you like drawing and cornflakes and your favourite colour is black because you’re emo,” Keith shrugged, repressing the surprise that Lance cared enough to retain all of that information. “And you were the first person I told I was bi. You know I have a cat called Shreddies and have played way too much Crash Bandicoot and you’re the only person I’ve told about my stupid poetry.”

“It’s not stupid,” Keith found himself saying, as opposed to arguing about how much they know each other. Lance’s poetry made him feel things, which was pretty impressive considering he had spent most of his life feeling more empty than a vacuum. Of course, Lance didn’t need to know that. “It’s actually pretty good.”

“Thanks.” They lapsed into an awkward kind of silence as they swayed to the music, unsure of which steps to take next with the conversation. Lance was the one to break the silence. “So what do you say? Do you want to go on a date?”

“Uh… Lance, look…” Keith broke the trance of the dance, moving his hands away from Lance’s hips and taking a step back. “I’ve never had a friend before, let alone a boyfriend. I’m not sure going on a date is a good idea.”

“But…” Lance trailed off, deciding against being desperate and arguing.

“You have to gain my trust fully before I let you take me on a date.”

“Okay,” For some reason, Lance’s face was brighter than the sun. 

“Do you want to get a drink or something?”

“Not really… I’m kind of scared to go near my friends.”

Keith didn’t say anything, though he started to walk towards the drinks table that was still surrounded by popular kids. “Hey, weirdo!” One of them chuckled but Keith put his head down and grabbed a pair of plastic cups. He filled them with cheap lemonade before turning back to Lance, ignoring as another one of them yelled, “Don’t ignore us!” They weren’t exactly going to beat him up at a dance supervised by teachers all around the room.

“Here you go.” He smiled as he handed Lance a cup of lemonade. Lance glanced down into the bubbles, eyes wide enough that they looked like they were going to burst too.

“How did you do that?”

“I’m used to being picked on. It… It gets slightly easier over time.”

“Oh.” Lance’s tone was laced in sympathy but Keith ignored it and sipped his lemonade in silence.