When you thought of the man of your dreams you would often believe that it's this big guy with a six pack, a smolder, perfectly flowing hair, maybe a five o'clock shadow, and piercing blue eyes, right? He'd have this husky voice and muscular arms that could hold you close and protect you when you need it the most. That was how many women pictured their perfect man but when you looked at Lance, oh man, were all those gender norms and expectations thrown out the window. He was irony walking on two feet.

He was skinny with his ribs poking out of his skin and dark bags under his eyes from restless nights. Sure he had the piercing blue eyes so maybe he had at least one redeeming quality? Right? No? That was it, wasn't it... great. His hair wasn't perfectly flowing, in fact it curled up after a while and became knotted like crazy if he didn't brush it multiple times a day and it was brown; the most common color in the world.

He wasn't special. Well actually, in a way he was different from those other guys but it wasn't in the way you would think. He stood in front of his bathroom mirror as siblings rushed around in and out of the bathroom he tried to get ready for school in. His mouth was full of the most disgusting thing that he had ever put inside of it; baking soda. The only thing that kept him from absolutely losing his mind as his siblings bumped into him trying to get ready were his ear buds playing pop hits quite loudly into his ears making everything he saw in the mirror seem like one of those funny montages you'd get to see on classic romcoms or family shows.

Marcia looked like she was about ready to strangle Patrick as she shoved his head out of her way to grab her brush off of the shelf he was climbing onto in order to get his own. Heidi quietly sat on the floor leaning against the wall snoring away, her hair frizzy and all over the place while Vincent strolled by with his kid attached to his leg screaming his head off not wanting his father to leave him to go to work. Lance thought it was a bit funny to see his siblings screaming at each other, sleeping, or looking dead inside as he watched, listening to the tune of Justin Timberlake talking about rivers or something. Marcia swatted Patrick's hands away from her hair as he tried to yank on her hair in anger and then she turned towards Lance and probably yelled something about him needing to stop hogging the mirror and let her do her makeup.

He didn't really care that much about brushing his teeth any longer since it had been almost two minutes. Surely the smell from his bad habit was covered up by now. He spit into the sink and rinsed his mouth out before he ducked out of the room and ent back into his own in order to rip his ear buds out and toss his phone onto his bed. He was struggling. No one really saw how much pain his was in but trying to stop himself from leaning over that toilet was one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life.

He had had such an amazing day when he and his friends had gone out together after the meeting. He enjoyed listening to Keith promising to help him recover and remain at his side even through the gross parts of Lance's journey. He smiled slightly as he remembered the way Keith smiled happily at him but it faded instantly as memories of the previous night blurred out that joyful little face and was replaced with tears threatening to fall from Lance's eyes.

He had been struggling with his desires and his promise he had made to himself last night. He was bent over that ugly porcelain toilet with a water bottle in hand as he fought the urge to let everything out. He punched his stomach and choked down his dignity as he chuged the water whenever he nearly lost the battle against himself. He was scared, he knee he wasn't able to handle this alone and fix himself without someone there to hold him but he wanted to fix himself, no, not fix but better himself. He wanted to have a future for himself where he was healthy and didn't have anything physical issues. The only way he could achieve that goal was to power through this.

He stood in his room now with his hand pressed against his bruised stomach from the self harm he had endured to just keep a simple little dinner down. It stung a bit like a dog giving a person a warning nip on their hand. He felt this hollowness inside of himself as he closed his fingers around the fabric of his sweatshirt he wore. He frowned as he squeezed his eyes shut and quietly told himself over and over that everything was for the best.

Sometimes, pain meant progress.

Being packed into a small car like a can of sardines wasn't the most comfortable experience Lance ever had. He was cramped between the door and Marcia as she talked loudly on her phone to her friends she'd get to see in the next ten minutes. His phone vibrated in his pocket causing him to flinch in surprise. His blue eyes gave a cautious look around the car, chary of anyone who happened to hear his phone in his pocket.

Marcia's nose was still in her phone while Patrick and Christian were singing along with Vincent while Heidi took yet another nap. Lance slowly slid his phone from his pocket and looked down at his notifications to see a text from Keith. He felt this strange flutter inside of his chest and suddenly he felt so giddy. It was like he wanted to find Keith, hug him, and never ever let go of him. Lance liked the feeling. He could've gotten drunk off of it.

Without a care in the world, he typed in his password and opened his text to see a very very adorable picture of Keith in his blue hoodie he thought he had lost, winking and smiling at the camera.

Samurai: I felt stupid taking this but I'm sure you enjoy seeing it... come over after school?

He smiled to himself and didn't even hesitate before he replied;

Lance: ;))

He tried to hold back his laugh when Keith started asking him if that meant yes or no but he didn't respond. He would obviously visit Keith after school; they were a couple now, right?

It was strange. They were a couple now. They weren't enemies, not friends, not strangers, but two boys who like each other enough to be in a relationship. If you asked Lance a a few months ago where he thought he would be in life or who he would be dating he would've said anything but where and what he was doing now. He still felt weird about it all though. As he slid his phone back into his pocket and turned his gaze to the window to watch the fields zip by, he wondered how he got here.

He knew when he realized there was something strange about how he viewed other guys back in middle school that it wasn't exactly 'normal' so he ignored it thinking it was just one of those strange things people do like OCD habits, weird little quirks, or even having a different viewpoint on people around him. However, he only truly realized the extent of this thing when he touched himself with thoughts of Keith for the first time and for some reason, they felt natural and normal.

He didn't quite get it but he knew if he spent more time around Keith, he would grow into the feelings he felt and would learn to understand them. He was excited for what the world had to offer him in this path he was given a chance in.

School was boring for the most part. The entire morning was spent taking notes and listening to boring lectures. Nyma? She looked like complete garbage, or 'garbo' in her own pathetic words. Her hair was in the world's messiest bun, her shirt was a bit too big, and her sweatpants had bleach stains on them. Even her own friends gave her awkward looks but it brought a smile to Lance's little face.

He had bought lunch from the cafeteria and seated himself across from Hunk, avoiding the gazes from Nyma's table as he and Hunk discussed stupid things such as the next comic book they wanted or even things about members from the group.

Hunk bit into a chicken nugget and looked as if he were in heaven before he glanced over at Lance. "I think I really like Shay, it's kind of scary."

Lance hadn't touched his food the entire time but he had been listening to his friend attentively. Lance's lips curled into a devilish grin as he raised an eyebrow at Hunk and placed a hand on his chin, "Oh?" He chuckled and leaned forward, "spill the beans Hunk."

Hunk smiled sheepishly before he began to speak, "Yesterday we went to the woods behind my house and..." His voice trailed off suddenly as his brown eyes lifted up from the table's surface in order to look above Lance.

"We're spilling the beans over girls we're with now?" A hand came down firmly on Lance's shoulder causing his body to stiffen up at the recognition of the voice. He wanted to die. "You know, I have plenty of experience in the field."

Lance frowned deeply as he grinded his teeth together, "What do you want Lotor?" Lance asked in annoyance and a little bit of fright.

Lotor chuckled that stupid little laugh of his that seemed so suave to all the girls in this hellhole before he squeezed Lance's shoulder making him flinch in pain, his eyes squeezing shut. "I just wanted to see you in private if that was okay? Bathroom?" Lotor spoke in a dangerously low voice and Lance instantly knew not to test his bully's temper today.

Lance swallowed down what little pride he had and nodded solemnly, "Yeah, okay."

Lance felt the weight on his shoulder lift up before the shuffling of Lotor's feet headed off towards the bathrooms. Lance could feel his hands shaking slightly as he pressed his palms down onto the tabletop and started to stand up.

Hunk reached out for Lance in concern, "W-What are you doing? He's going to beat you up Lance! Why are you going there?" He asked quietly.

Lance felt dread overwhelming him as he forced a little smile on his face, "Nothing bad will happen Hunk, trust me, I'm a new man and I will not stand for Lotor bullying me anymore."

Wow, what a shit liar he was.

Hunk watched in dismay as Lance turned away immediately and walked off not wanting to be sucked into one of Hunk's little 'don't do it' speeches he heard before. He knee this whole thing was a mistake already. He was going to get his ass kicked, he was probably going to be reduced to tears and sit in the fetal position on the floor and overall be a pathetic piece of garbage. He already knew the drill.

This wasn't any different?
Right?

Slowly he stopped in front of the men's bathroom and placed his palm onto the hard surface of the door and took a deep breath. He just had to think on the brighter side, right? After this he could carry on with his day like nothing happened and then at the end of the day he would go to Keith's house and watch movies with him and perhaps even cuddle and take a nap. It was weird to think he could be so close to another man but strangely, it felt comforting.

He took in a deep breath and slowly pushed open the door and stepped inside. The events that transpired inside went by in a blur if he were going to be honest. Everything just kind of flashed before his eyes but it ended in the strangest way possible.

Lotor had grabbed Lance the moment he stepped inside and slammed his fist into the smaller guy's gut before he shoved him into the handicap stall and slammed the door shut behind them. Lance didn't have a chance to even regain his composer before he was pushed up against the wall by Lotor where the jock clasped his hand over his mouth so the only little muffled shouts of anger that came from Lance's mouth.

Lance struggled a bit under Lotor as his eyebrows dipped into a deep frown. "Why do you do this?" Lotor breathed, his face blackened in a mixture of emotions. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was for Nyma to be dumped by the likes of you? Who the hell wants the school to know that Puke Boy dumped them!" Lotor shouted suddenly.

Lance grumbled, trying to say 'fuck you' to the taller boy but it came out as 'Mfph Yuh'. Not as intimidating if you asked him but it was the best he could do.

Lotor'd golden brown eyes shimmered in hatred as he glared at Lance. "I can't believe you'd dump her just like that all because she made a mistake?"

Mistake? She had cheated on Lance and tried to hide it. Boohoo.

Lotor took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. "Do you realize how hard it is for me now to date her? It's fucking ridiculous, I can't date her now that she's been with you, it'll ruin my reputation here and destroy the thing I worked so hard for!"

Lance was now actually dumbstruck. He had absolutely no idea what Lotor was talking about. Football? Sex? Who the hell knew what was running through this psycho's mind? He relaxed slightly, unsure of how to react to this entire situation until the bomb finally dropped. Lotor removed his hand from Lance's face and pressed his lips against his.

The gay bomb.

Plot twist of the century much?

Lance's eyes widened as he began to struggle under the crazy gay guy who was kissing him without his consent. He wanted to vomit and this time he was actually debating letting it all out on Lotor without caring whether or not it got in His mouth he wanted him off. This was absolutely disgusting. Lance began to use his hands to shove against Lotor in failed attempts to shove him off but in the end Lotor pulled away with this creepy look of relief on his face leaving Lance pressed up against the wall with wide eyes.

"I didn't know you were a better kisser than Marcia."

With that he opened the stall door and began to exit the bathroom altogether. Lance was stunned. Actually no, he was fueled by rage, confusion, and disdain from what had occured and the events leading up to that gross, slimy little kiss were but a blur to him. Then, his brain connected the dots.

Lotor cheated on Marcia with Nyma.

In that moment Lance had no control over his actions as he slowly took a step forward and stumbled out of the Stall, his hair a mess and his blue eyes wider than the moon itself. Then, he dashed out of the bathroom like a crazed man and found himself staring at Lotor as he laughed away around his friends. That was the last fucking straw. Lotor could screw up Lance's life but the moment he tried to hurt Marcia, Lance's family, it was all done from there.

"Lotor!" Lance grabbed the boy's shoulder and made him turn to face him causing people to look at the two. Without waiting to even consider the consequences of his actions he balled his hand up into a fist and made direct contact with Lotor's nose causing the guy to fall to the ground and Lance's hand to begin throbbing in unspeakable pain.

Lance turned around, trying to hold back his squeals as he shook his hand and whimpered. Lotor was on the ground groaning in pain while his two buddies turned to grab Lance in anger.

The corners of Lance's lips curled up into a shameful little smile that would've made anyone feel pity for his woebegone face. "Hey guys," his voice was hoarse as he forced a laugh, "can't we be friends or-"

And that was lights out for him. He had woken up in the nurse's office and was sent home immediately with a suspension. Lotor got away with everything but Lance didn't really mind it. His left eye was swollen shut and the entire time he was being scolded by Vincent and his mother in the car he didn't care at all. He was too busy texting Keith telling him to go to his house instead since he knew if he tried to leave his, he would be murdered by his mother.

It was almost an hour before Keith finally got there and managed to climb up the stairs with a cane in hand. He didn't say a word as he seated himself on the floor next to Lance and leaned back against Lances bed so that they faced the television together. Neither of them knew how much time passed nor did they care as long as they were company of the other.

Hand in hand.

Lance squeezed Keith's soft hand gently as he rested his head on his shoulder. "Lotor kissed me."

"I fucking knew he was gay," Keith growled as he kissed the top of Lance's head and rubbed his thumb along the tops of Lance's bruised knuckles. "I would punch him but you've done my job for me already. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, can we forget about him kissing me though? I hated every moment of it and it felt like it were unnatural as all hell," Lance stuck his tongue out in disgust and cringed slightly at the thought.

Keith blinked slowly before he took in a little breath, "Does it feel like that when you kiss me?"

"That?" Lance scoffed slightly, "Our kiss feels natural and makes me feel like I'm experiencing the world but that was something straight from a Lovecraft story."

"At least I'm a better kisser."

"Way better."

The two sat in silence for a moment before they began to laugh in amusement at their little exchange. Then, they looked at each other and kissed one another gently and smiled. This was he world to Lance, being able to experience these little moments with Keith. He would never ask for anyone better than him.

There were only two more days before prom and he already knew that Keith was the person he wanted to spend every dance with. He liked him too much to want anyone else to be his partner.

:)

Did you enjoy this chapter? What should be improved?

I'm super exhausted lately so I'm sorry if there are errors in this part but I tried my best while trying to stay awake for y'all. How are you? I hope y'all are doing well because y'all deserve a smile and you can continue to do the joke of the day thing if you want. I was really surprised with how many responses I got and it made me a little sad to be honest because there are so many of you who feel so alone enough to contact me, a stranger, to make you smile. Please don't feel afraid to keep asking me for another joke to make you smile because that's the best thing that comes from writing to a bunch of people I don't know.

I get to make those who are hurting smile and hopefully make a difference in your day. Please, smile :)

-Anri