Lunch was an oven baked pizza. No one was complaining. However, despite how good tasting the pizza was, the atmosphere had turned sour. Everyone could vaguely taste it on the tips of their tongues, and it didn't take long to find the source of conflict. Lance and Keith sat across from one another at the table, staring one another down with vicious eyes. Everyone knew there must've been some unresolved conflict between the boys that they didn't want to meddle in.

Keith wasn't exactly mad at Lance. He just didn't like Lance sticking his nose into everything he did. Was it such a big deal he asked Y/N to hang out that Lance had to question it? It's not like Y/N was Lance's little sister and he needed to hang on the edge of everything she did.

Lance wasn't exactly mad an Keith, either. He just didn't like how Keith was being so friendly to Y/N out of the blue. Maybe Keith was telling the truth and he was just doing his best to make a new friend. But, Lance also knew Keith and didn't like the chances of Y/N getting hurt. She'd had a rough past couple of years with her family not wanting her to go to the Garrison. This summer wasn't easy because her home was too far away and she couldn't bare going home now that everyone had found out she'd gone behind their backs to get into the school.

Y/N was just enjoying her pizza, oblivious to the boys silent war. Everyone else knew Lance and Keith better, able to pick up on the little sings which said they were in a disagreement. But, Y/N had no idea wha to look for. Which, at this point, was either a good thing, or an awful one.

Exhausted, everyone spent the afternoon mulling around the cottage. Hunk found himself a hammock and fell into a deep sleep, Pidge was playing with and old radio, Shiro and Allura played cards and Lance, Keith and Y/N screamed over a game of Trouble. A simple, yet awfully addictive game. A game which seemed to only fuel the boys' duel between one another. Keith grumbled like a volcano ready to blow each time Lance sent one of his pieces back to the start, and Lance complained in Spanish anytime Keith did the same. If it weren't for Y/N there to neutralize the situation, there would have been a very loud argument between the boys. Instead of screaming at one another, all they could do was send each other harsh messages with their eyes.

"I'm bored," Lance blabbered as Keith won again. "Wanna play soccer?"

Y/N smiled and nodded, helping pack up the game before rushing to her room and grabbing the soccer ball. Lance chased her out of the front door, jumping off of the porch into the sand as they began kicking the ball around. The pair made some improvised goals in the sand with sticks and started a one on one game.

Keith couldn't help but see how happy they looked together. Yet again, he was envious. He wanted that with someone. Sure, he was friends with everyone here, but not on that level. He couldn't laugh until his stomach hurt and he cried with anyone here. But, with Y/N, he could see himself being like that. Being happy.

"Why don't you go play?" Shiro asked, brows furrowed.

Keith stood looking out the door and sighed. "I don't feel like it."

"Yes you do," Shiro muttered as he placed a couple of cards down on the table, making Allura gasp. "Go hang out. Maybe they can teach you a couple of soccer things."

Hang out. That was what Keith had asked to do with Y/N this afternoon, but Lance seemed to be preventing it. On purpose or not, he wasn't quite sure. Though, it was beginning to seem like Lance was trying to stand between them. That made his anger flare and he stomped outside into the sand.

"Hey, Keith! C'mon!" Y/N hollered out, kicking the ball in his direction. That was when he very awkwardly realized he didn't know how to play soccer very well. On occasion, he'd played little pickup games with his friends at the Garrison, but it wasn't like he could confirm the ball would always head in the direction he kicked it.

He smiled and knocked the ball back to the girl. Luckily, it made it to her without totally flying off course and into the ocean never to be seen again.

"You and me versus Lance," She smirked, looking to the tall lanky boy across from her. He didn't look too pleased by the idea.

"That's two versus one, no fair!" He complained.

"Fine, you and Keith against me." Y/N laughed, passing the ball to Lance. Still, he didn't like the idea of it.

"Then it's not fair for you," He objected again.

Y/N crossed her arms and scowled a little. "Please, I can take the two of you."

"Mmm, I think it'd be better if the two of us just played. I think Pidge wanted Keith's help with that radio anyways—"

"No she doesn't," Keith snapped. "If you don't want me here, you can just say it."

"Keith, that's not what he—" Y/N started but the sharp look Keith sent her way made her pause.

The dark haired boy looked back to Lance. "I told you I'm trying. This is me trying! Why are you fucking it up?"

Lance didn't respond and so Keith shook his head in frustration and stormed off towards the water.

"What'd you do?" Y/N ditched the impromptu soccer game all together and head back to the cottage. A couple of minutes later, she walked past Lance, who still stood in the sand like a statue, sending him a slightly disapproving glare as she went by. Y/N understood Lance and Keith had never really gotten along. They always fought, but more in a brotherly way. This disagreement though seemed more real, more hurtful and more destructive than any other fight she'd had Lance complain to her about.

It didn't take long for Y/N to find Keith. There was a log on the edge of the beach which faced out to the water, and there was no mistaking Keith's dark hair and pale skin. Carefully and quietly, Y/N approached, gripping what she held in her hands tight. One of the headphones was in her ear as she listened carefully, waiting for the perfect moment to pause the song she was listening to. When she found it, she took out the headphone from her ear and approached Keith.

He was shocked at first to realize it was her sitting down at his side, expecting it to be Shiro. Her soft, sympathetic smile calmed him a little as she settled down at his side. She didn't need an invitation or sign of approval from him, she just did it: invaded his space like it wasn't a problem because she knew it wasn't one.

Keith was the one wanting to initiate and progress this friendship with Y/N, yet she seemed to be the one covering the most ground. She made all these random, kind gestures. She made him feel comfortable. And now, here she was, offering him music while in distress when he could hardly make himself look her in the eyes. He took one of the headphones reluctantly with a slightly shaky hand.

"Listen to the words carefully. Got it?" She asked.

Keith nodded and waited for the music to begin flooding his ears.

'We're all human, we're just like you man.'

Loving Someone. One of those songs on the CD he always listened to because he liked the sound of it, but never listened to the lyrics.

'We're sentient, we're something.

You know I can't really remember, whatever.

We shouldn't have people afloat.

If it was safer underground, we wouldn't be on a boat.

Shot of telepathy, exploiting insecurities, and preying on the purity of grief and it's simplicity but I know maybe I'm too scared—'

Y/N paused the music. Keith very quickly got the message, why she had picked that part of that song. Why she played it to him here and now. "What did you mean when you said you were trying?"

Keith didn't respond. He stared at the ground shyly, counting grains one by one to avoid looking up.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say it wasn't the soccer you were referring to 'trying'?" She laughed lightly.

"No," Keith admitted, wrapping his arms around his knees. "It's just, well—"

Y/N knew he was hesitating. "You can tell me. No judgement here." She picked up a stick and started drawing in the sand. Y/N knew how hard it was to admit things to people somedays, to open yourself up and let others see inside. She also knew that when the person you were talking to was also doing something else, not entirely focused on you and every word leaving your mouth, it made talking easier. So, she did just that. She kept her eyes off of Keith and focused her eyes forwards, but her ears were focused on everything he said.

"I suck at making friends." He spat.

"I doubt that." Y/N objected.

"Yeah, well look at how good of a job I'm doing so far with you." Keith muttered mindlessly. He hadn't meant to phrase it that way, but, it was how it ever so unfortunately ended up coming out.

"Well, if you were doing an awful job, I wouldn't be here right now. So, you're obviously doing something right." Y/N laughed. "Besides, you can't please everybody, Keith. Give yourself a break. Be yourself. Relax."

Keith took those words to heart. He did need to give himself a break. Needed to just be himself and relax.

"Yeah, ok." He smiled and finally looked up.

What Keith was feeling in this moment was foreign. He felt like he belonged. Felt like he was meant to be here in this very moment with Y/N.

That was when his heart stopped. He wasn't feeling this way because Y/N was a friend like he'd never had before. He had Shiro, Allura, Pidge, Hunk and even Lance that were his friends. But Y/N? It felt different because he didn't like her as a friend. He liked her as so much more. So, so much more. Worst part was, his feelings felt irrational because he hardly knew her.

"You ok?" Y/N laughed lightly at Keith who truly looked like he was having an existential crisis.

With everything that had happened in his life, this all felt too good to be true. He felt as if this was the world playing some cruel trick against him just to make sure he remained feeling hopeless and miserable. How was it possible for someone, a former stranger, to be treating him so well? If she knew what he was really like, there was no way she'd be acting like this, right?

Keith felt unworthy and undeserving of someone else's care. No one ever really had cared about him, so why would she? She didn't owe him anything, hell, she didn't even know his last name yet.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Keith's voice broke and he cringed in embarrassment.

Y/N sighed and tossed the stick she was drawing in the sand with away. "Because, you're my best friends friend. Lance means a lot to me, you mean a lot to him, so it's kind of written in the books that I should be nice to you."

"You're not obligated to be nice to me, even if Lance and I are friends." Keith muttered.

"No, I'm not." Y/N admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "It's a choice."

Keith still couldn't put it all together in his mind. Why would someone like her willingly choose to put time and effort into someone like him? There were plenty other people in this world for her to invest her time into. Even here at the cottage, there were four people, all one's Keith saw as better to befriend than himself.

"Awful choice." The boy stood up, keeping the CD player with him. That music was the only thing keeping him sane so far and didn't want to let go of it just yet.

"So what?" Y/N asked, walking with him back towards the cottage. Normally, if it were Lance nagging him like this, he'd scream and shout. But the way Y/N did it made him stop and think instead of immediately blowing up in a fit of annoyance.

"I'm the worst person here for you to spend time with, or whatever. Ok? I always say the wrong thing, get angry for no reason, do stupid things and push people away." He huffed, clutching the music player in his hand tight.

Y/N rolled her eyes. "Those things don't make you a bad person, though. They're just part of you. So what? We've all got our problems."

"Like you have any," Keith grumbled.

Y/N scoffed. "Mmm, the kid who went behind her families back to attend school on the other side of the country doesn't have problems? Right."

Keith kept walking with his head down, especially since he could feel Y/N's eyes on him. "Look, just because your life's a mess doesn't mean you're a bad person or incapable of having friendships or people who care about you."

She'd finally gotten to him. He was a walking disaster and life seemed to have a goal of wearing Keith to the bone. But, she was right. That didn't necessarily mean he wasn't deserving of having people in his life like the one's he shared the cottage with this weekend. If they all truly hated him, they would have abandoned him long ago. But, they hadn't. He was still a valuable part of each and every one of their lives. They were his family.

"You're right." Keith released the tension held up in his body. "I'm sorry I acted like that."

"No biggie," Y/N shrugged. "But, how about a soccer game this evening? You did say you wanted to hang out."

"Sure," Keith smiled softly and kicked the sand at his feet lightly as his body shuddered with some kind of unidentifiable excitement. Maybe he was ok at making friends, he just had to believe it.