Happy Liar

I Don't Want To Fake It

Monday, 7:30 AM

Lance woke up to his alarm for yet another week of school. He put on his glasses before rolling out of bed and sluggishly got ready for the day. He put on an ankle brace because his ankle still hurt like the devil.

After he brushed his hair and teeth, he grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, walking out the door. He didn't bother with breakfast. He hardly did. It wasn't that he didn't want to eat, he just forgot. He walked to school, listening to music.

He always pretended his breakdowns never happened, that way people wouldn't get suspicious. He knew it probably wasn't the best way to deal with things, but it worked for him. He felt better after letting it all out, so why burden anyone with talking about it? He would simply pretend it never happened and go back to masking everything. Today was no different.

Except it was. That boy from the previous week. How did he predict so well what he was feeling? It had been on Lance's mind all weekend. Maybe he would see him again during lunch and confront him about it.

Lance arrived on campus and walked to the classroom he usually went to before classes started. He would meet his friends there and they would just hang out. The teacher was laid back and didn't really care what they did, provided they didn't violate any major rules.

When he entered the room, Pidge and Allura were already there. "Hey, guys!" He announced. Allura turned her head and waived at the brunet walking to the group of desks where they normally sat.

"What's up, McClainold's" Pidge greeted, not looking up from their computer, probably working on some code or something else Lance knew nothing about. They used that nickname along with many others. This one in particular was a combination of his last name and McDonald's, for no other reason than "It's close enough".

Lance laughed it of and nudged them playfully. Allura smiled as Lance sat down. "Good morning Lance," She spoke, her accent causing "Lance" to sound more like "Lonce".

"Good morning," He returned. "Hunk in culinary, huh?" He assumed. Hunk normally spent a minimum of two days a week in the culinary classroom, working on recipes. Food was his passion, and he was an incredibly talented chef. The group especially enjoyed when he would share the food he made, which was quite often.

Pidge nodded, coming to a stop with their seemingly endless typing. "Woah, dude, you look like you haven't slept in a week," They commented upon looking up from the screen.

Lance chuckled lightly and shrugged. "Helping with the kids, what can i say," He lied. Nadia and Silvio were peaceful the whole weekend, but he often used that as an excuse when in reality, he had trouble sleeping due to his breakdowns.

Pidge shook their head. "Man, you can't keep doing that, You gotta stop spending so much time worrying about them. Luis and Lisa should have it under control."

Lance shrugged again. "I don't mind helping out," He insisted.

"That's what you always say," They complained. "Seriously, take some you time," They suggested as they always did.

"Whatever," he waved it off. There was silence for a bit before Lance spoke again. "What are you working on?" His attempt to change the subject succeeded, as the other's face immediately lit up and they started rambling on about things he didn't understand.

Allura didn't think anything of it. It didn't seem strange that Lance would want to help out with his niece and nephew, that's just who he was. It wasn't out of the ordinary so she had no reason to suspect anything. She just smiled as Pidge rambled on about their tech. At least she understood it more than Lance.

Eventually, the group had to head to their classes, going their separate ways until lunch. The hours flew by as fast as pouring honey. The bell for lunch finally rang and Lance practically jumped out of his seat, speed walking to the cafeteria.

Lance kept an eye out for the raven haired boy from friday. He wasn't necessarily looking for him, that would be too suspicious, but he kept his eyes peeled for a short pale boy with a black mullet.

He got in line to get his food, and as he sat down with his tray, something caught his eye. A black mullet. "Bingo" He thought.

"I'll be right back, I gotta take care of something," He told the others who were already immersed in conversation, to which they all nodded and carried on. Lance took the folder he had put the drawing in and walked over to the boy.

It was then he noticed he was sitting alone. Did he not have anyone to sit with? Lance put the thought to the side. He needed to get to the bottom of the whole drawing predicament. He walked up and slapped the folder down on the table.

"Hey, mullet,"