Lance sighed as he fixed his shirt again for the sixth time that night. "You look fine. Charming as always!" Romelle promised but that wasn't what he was worried about. In fact he hadn't even been out socially in such a long time. It felt new and foreign to him. She seemed to take notice of it and sighed. "It's just other doctors. You'll be fine." She promised like before because she knew this reasoning would calm him. It worked.

"Yeah you're right!" Lance sighed out and grinned at her. "We just finished another week of rotations! That itself calls for celebration." The more he thought about the more excited he got. They deserved to go out!

"More like survived another week of Kaltenecker." She teased and pulled into the parking lot of the bar. He looked at the welcoming doors and took a deep breath. "Unbutton one or two of those. Show off your body a bit more." Romelle nodded to his shirt as she fixed her own blouse. Lance did what he was told and followed her lead. It made him look more open and friendly, more alluring and serious. Just by showing a bit more of his chest Lance felt older and confident. He was confident in his skin. He looked good.

Lance looked back at the doors as his anxiety swelled. "Isn't weird that when we're not in the hospital we still hang out with the doctors we see every day?" He glanced at her as she used the mirror to reapply some of her lipgloss. It made her lips sticky and Lance stifled a laugh when he saw her small struggle. They were now tinted pink and sparkled in the low lighting. Romelle was absolutely gorgeous. Somehow he knew that she probably wouldn't have to touch her wallet all night. People would buy her drinks just for the smallest chance to talk with her. Lance was really glad she was his friend.

"Shut up." Romelle laughed with him and used the pad of her her finger to wipe the remainder of the extra lipgloss away. "I wouldn't think too much about it. It makes sense that we spend our time with our friends." She emphasized the last word and smiled at him. The glow from the sign coated her in a redish hue.

"You're my friend. I barely know anyone in that room." Lance huffed out as he unbuckled his seat belt. Romelle had picked him up earlier that night from his dorm. He was happy to be away from his mopey roommate. Lance knew if he stuck around any longer he was putting himself at risk for a Nyma and Rolo reunion. He remembered walking in on them before and it had scarred him for life. Yet in that moment he missed his bed and his desk. Some part of him wished he was spending his night studying. He loved hanging out with Romelle but just the thought of going to that bar made him nervous. It was a doctor bar, so close to the hospital that it was almost too familiar. "I just don't know anyone there." He repeated sadly.

"Maybe get to know someone then." She teased back effortlessly and stepped out of her car and Lance followed her. She wasn't scared at all to go in so he put on a brave face and opened the door for her. As soon as they stepped inside a few of their classmates called them over to a table. Apparently they all had the same idea as Romelle and wanted to get out after another tiring week of rotations. There was glasses and different types of alcohol all over the worn wood. Romelle grabbed his wrist and together they walked over to the table. Two different shots were thrusted into his hand and Romelle laughed before downing them. Lance shook his head but followed her lead. His throat stung as the alcohol slid down it. He squeezed his eyes shut and the classmates laughed and wrapped their arms around him.

"Let's try to do this every once in a while!" One of his classmates exclaimed but Lance couldn't hear who exactly had said it. There was a roar of agreement and a demand for more drinks. Romelle who had considerably grown from her metaphorical shell was talking to one of the interns. Lance pushed the arm draped around his shoulder off and fixed his shirt. He set the shot glasses down on the table before stepping away from the ordered chaos that he found himself in. It was a lot to take it and it was just the beginning of the night.

He turned around and went straight to the bar. He waited his turn to order but before he could someone slid into the spot next to him. Lance gave the woman a glance before trying to get the bartender's attention again. "Hi there." She grinned at him and Lance returned the polite gesture. "The woman you came in with is pretty... Is she your girlfriend?" Lance made a face. Why did she want to know?

"No. Romelle and I are just friends. I'm Lance and just so I know who I'm talking to, who are you?" He didn't mean to sound rude or immature and he hoped he didn't come across that way. The woman smiled and leaned against the bar.

"Can I buy you a drink or two?" The woman giggled but still avoided the topic of her name. She lightly touched his arm and Lance grew more and more uncomfortable.

"Hey Lance." Romelle cut the contact between the woman and him. Lance smiled at her as a sort of silent thanks. "Good sir we'll take two shots of your best." Romelle called and the bartender quickly got to work. "You slipped away and I was worried." Her kind eyes were a bit dilated. Alcohol was on her breath and her lipstick was slightly smudged. Lance used his finger to fix it. The woman left and Romelle quietly thanked him.

They took the shot together. Lance winced somehow it tasted worse than before. Romelle laughed at his reaction. "Hey you see that cute guy?" She pointed to a table of interns and Lance had to squint to see who she was talking about. Suddenly he was embarrassed. Lance knew that guy. "Want to be my wingman?" Romelle's words were slightly slurred.

"That's Shiro." His voice cracked as he turned his burning gaze away. Something like jealousy bubbled in his throat. The alcohol suddenly made him feel very sick.

"So you know him!" Romelle laughed a bit. "Introduce me please." She gave him puppy dog eyes and Lance bit his lip. He didn't want to introduce them. Shiro would love her and that made him very jealous.

"Sure." Lance couldn't breathe. "Be right back." He promised her and started walking towards the older male. He wondered what would happen if he introduced his two friends. Lance wasn't even sure why he was so jealous. Shiro had never expressed interest in Lance. Not even when he basically asked Shiro out his senior year. Rejection stung but hope burned in ways that he didn't even know existed.

Shiro saw him approach and held up his hand as a greeting. "I was going to say hi earlier but you were having fun with your friends and I didn't want to ruin that!" Shiro called over the music and conversation. Lance nodded and looked over at Romelle who had just downed the brightest pink drink he had ever seen. Just how much had she had already?

"It would have been fine! You wouldn't have ruined it." Shiro smiled at Lance's words and for a moment Lance felt his heart flutter. Shiro slung his arm around Lance and the younger male welcomed it. He smelled of aftershave and Lance was drowning in it.

"Didn't expect to see you here." His voice was low in Lance's ear but it wasn't like Keith's. He sort of missed pressing his ear closer to the phone to hear the quiet man'a voice. Some part of him wanted to call Keith again.

"Didn't think I would be here either." Lance laughed and Shiro pressed the younger male closer to his body. Lance thought he might faint. Shiro introduced him to his friends but Lance's mind was elsewhere to really remember their names.

"Didn't realize you knew the bar baby!" That caught his attention and Shiro flushed with the comment.

"Bar baby," he said tasting the two words as he uttered them. "What's that?" The other doctors laughed.

"It's the...Cutest person in the bar. Basically a bar baby has people lining up to buy them drinks." Shiro tried to explain over the howling laughter of his friends. Lance flushed in embarrassment. "Amongst other things." Shiro's was definitely trying avoid telling exactly what his new title entailed.

Suddenly Romelle approached and thrusted another drink in his hand. "Apparently you're the bar baby!" She smiled. "I'm getting free drinks from just knowing you. I knew being your person would be the best thing to ever happen to me!" She kissed his cheek and dropped her chin onto his shoulder.

"Hi I'm Takashi! You must be Lance's friend." Romelle stood up straight and stepped closer to the older male. Shiro smiled at her and Lance's heart sunk. He put out his hand and Romelle shook it gingerly. Lance felt very inadequate at that moment. He buttoned up the buttons of his shirt suddenly self conscious.

Shiro held onto her hand to steady her as she laughed. Romelle had to lean up on the table to stay steady. Lance would most likely have to drive them back to his dorm, he frowned into the glass of liquor. He couldn't stand watching them so he turned around. It was in that moment of mental isolation that he realized his crush on Shiro would amount to nothing. Suddenly he knew that Shiro would never love him the way Lance loved him. It wasn't meant to me. His chest threatened to close as the realization settled between his ribs. He wanted to leave. Maybe he could wait outside. Maybe things would be better if he could just call Keith.

"Hey bar baby." The women from earlier was by his side now. "You look pale, are you sick?" Her voice dripped with fake concern but Lance needed the attention. His heart was breaking.
"I could take you outside for some air." Lance felt like he was suffocating. He needed to be away from Shiro.

He nodded. "I'd like that." He croaked. Lance knew a good cry was all he needed. He had been dealing with his unrequited crush for years now. Except in that moment it felt unbearable.

"I'm sure you would." Her red fingernails brushed down his arm and Lance was too drained to push them away. He looked at the floor, ashamed that he was going to a complete stranger for comfort.

Suddenly he felt someone tug at his wrist. The woman had let go of Lance and he heard her scoff. Lance looked over to find Shiro glaring at the women before his dark eyes settled upon Lance's tan face. "Hey Lance why don't you come back over here?" Shiro's voice was low and his grip on Lance's wrist was tight. His eyes gleamed protective and Romelle stared at Lance like she couldn't believe what he was doing.

"I'm good." His heartache was in his throat and he understood why Rolo kept asking him to check if he was alright. The pain made his heart beat painfully in his chest. He felt like he was dying.

"Please just come spend the night with me. It'll be fun. I'll take care of you, make sure nothing bad happens." Shiro's voice was hopeful and Lance squirmed out of his touch like Shiro's skin had burned his.

"Please you can't keep doing this." Lance whispered. Romelle stepped forward to see what was wrong but she was too drunk so she stumbled back into the table leaving Lance utterly and completely defenseless.

"Doing what?" Shiro actually sounded confused much to Lance's dismay. The two words dug painfully into his chest.

"Getting my hopes up! You do these things like asking me for coffee and checking up on me while I study and it just..." Lance trailed off as a frown took over the older male's features. His blue eyes darted over Shiro's face trying to memorize every small detail. Lance wanted to remember the little freckles that dusted the bridge of his nose and the crinkles by his eyes. Yet his vision was blurry from the tears that wouldn't fall so even if he wanted to he wouldn't be able to remember clearly how Shiro looked in that moment.

"I'm looking out for you. I'm making sure you're okay." Shiro's eyebrows furrowed like he couldn't understand what Lance was mistaking his actions for. Lance squeezed his eyes shut as his chest ached painfully. Heartbreak rewrote every fiber of his being.

"I like you okay!" Lance paused as he realized how quiet the bar had suddenly come. All eyes were on them. His words were unmistakable and now everyone knew. "I like you." He said softer. Realization painted itself on Shiro's face. "Sometimes some of the things you do make me think you like me too but I know that can't be because you're you and I'm me. Someone like you would never like someone like me."

The whole bar was watching them. "Oh Lance," Shiro said sadly. "I just don't-" He didn't want to hear it. Lance felt tears on his cheeks but couldn't remember when he actually started crying. "I'm sorry." Shiro finished. He reached out to touch Lance but the young doctor jerked away.

Romelle stumbled forward. "Lance." She called quietly but Lance ignored her. Her distressed face became part of the many who were watching them.

"It's fine. I knew it would end up this way." Lance rubbed his eyes harshly as he tried to keep himself from sobbing. It was awkward and he wanted to melt into the floor. Shiro tried to grab him again but Lance stopped him. "Please don't touch me. I'm begging you. Just leave me alone." Lance didn't think he would be okay if Shiro touched him.

His dark eyes bore into Lance's. "You know I can't." Lance wanted to sob with Shiro's words. "I care about you. I always have and always will. Let's just get out of here. We can talk through it and we'll work something out Lance. I care about you." It just wasn't the way he wanted to be cared about. Shiro stepped closer and Lance shrunk back. He was embarrassed and heartbroken and the ugly emotions tormented his hazy mind.

"Stop." Lance begged. "Please just stop!" He didn't think he could take another minute of it.

"Lance!" Romelle sounded panicked as she took a few steps toward him but his attention was stolen as Shiro called his name.

"Lance," Shiro never finished his sentence because Romelle suddenly puked all over the floor. The room was in shock before but now no one knew what to do. Romelle took advantage of the temporary distraction and darted over and grabbed Lance's hand. Together they fled the bar, both mortified and slightly drunk.

Romelle tossed him the keys. Lance barely caught them. He quickly unlocked the car and practically jumped in. "Crash this car on the way home. I'd rather a fiery death than having to face those people ever again." She got into the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt. She settled into her seat and leaned back. Romelle breathed in deeply trying to calm herself down.

"You didn't have to puke to get me out of the situation." Lance mumbled as he drove back to his dorm. The gravity of his situation and confession weighed heavily down upon him. Lance felt like he was made of stone.

"I can't puke on command. I'm just fucking drunk." She said as tilted her seat back so she could lay down. It was quiet in the small space. Unbearably quiet. Romelle cleared her throat just to break it. "I'm sorry about Shiro." She said suddenly.

Her words felt like a slap to the face. It took him a minute to finally respond. "I'm sorry about the puking incident." Lance replied and she made a noise in agreement. "I can never go back to work again." He mused. He was so embarrassed by the way he acted. The young male could only blame alcohol and heartache.

"Maybe they'll be too busy talking about me vomiting they'll forget all about whatever the hell that was with Shiro." Romelle laughed. "Now I think would be funny." Lance joined in because there was nothing else to do in their situation.

"You could have told me about crush on him." Romelle hiccuped. "I would have backed off." Lance tried to concentrate on the road. His phone was vibrating in his pocket. A part of him knew exactly who was trying to reach him. A part of him wanted to answer. The bigger more heartbroken part didn't.

"Really?" The question slipped out before he could catch it. In reality Lance didn't want to know her answer.

"Yes. You're my person. I never want to lose you." Her eyes were closed as she continued to hiccup. "God remind never to drink again." She groaned and covered her eyes with her hands.

"Just don't mix so many different type of drinks. How many shots did you have?" Lance asked as he put on the turn signal. Her car was so different than the one he was taught to drive in. Lance hoped that he was driving smoothly. He didn't want to make Romelle feel any worse than she did now.

"Too many." They both agreed. "You should carry me inside. I did throw up to get out of a shit situation." Romelle sighed out as he pulled into a parking space. They sat there for a quiet moment so Lance could gather his thoughts. He wasn't mad at Romelle, he was mad at himself. He closed his eyes and let go of the steering wheel.

He turned to her, not wanting her to realize how sad he actually was. Lance sort of laughed sort of scoffed. "Really? I could have sworn that you were just really fucking drunk." Romelle was struggling to undo her seat belt so Lance reached over to click the button, releasing her from the contraption. She gave him a thumbs up and he rolled his eyes.

"I just want to puke again if I'm being perfectly honest. When was I such a lightweight?" She seemed to be mostly asking herself. "How many drinks did I really have?" Lance cringed at her monologue. He felt bad. They had wanted to go out and he managed to ruin their fun. "If you won't carry me will you at least let me lean on you?" Romelle gave him those eyes again and Lance relented, allowing his feet to carry him to the passenger side. His phone was still vibrating in his pocket but Lance couldn't exactly face what awaited him.

"Are you going to help me?" Romelle shook her head and pursed her lips. The lipgloss had long faded but it left a pinkish stain. She reached out with both her hands and Lance sighed and crouched down so she could hop onto his back. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her chin drooped onto his shoulder. Lance did the best he could to balance and stand at the same time. His hands wrapped around the back of her thighs tightly so she wouldn't fall. Piggybacks were second nature to him anyway. His niece and nephew loved them.

He began to walk to his building as Romelle mumbled nonsense to herself. He was barely listening until she straighten nearly taking them both down. Lance panicked and tried to steady them both. "You're a good guy. Shiro is a loser who doesn't deserve you." Romelle sighed and Lance's eyes burned. "I'm serious!" Her voice wavered and Lance scoffed. He continued his journey to his room thankful he was on the first floor.

"I'm not a catch. I'm far from it actually." Lance sighed out and tried to open the door into his building, almost dropping her in the process. Romelle didn't seemed to mind. "I'm a mess and not a pretty mess like the ones they romanticize in the movies but a proper mess. " His voice shook with the sadness it barely contained and Lance hated that it did that.

"I think you're pretty." Romelle mumbled out and Lance took in a deep breath. A smile took over his features but he wasn't sure if it was a sad or happy one. It faded just as soon as it appeared.

"You're drunk." He pointed out. "I'm sure you think everyone is pretty." Lance opened the door startling his roommate who laid half naked on his bed. Rolo covered his bare chest with the blanket that was haphazardly thrown at the end of his bed. Lance struggled to shut the door with his foot. Romelle mumbled nonsense in his ear as he looked at Rolo.

"Who's this?" Rolo's voice wasn't as tearful as before. Lance was expecting him to be gone so that Romelle could use his bed. Nyma and Rolo tended to get back together rather quickly after a short break from one another. Rolo must have really messed up or they must be done for good if he was still in their dorm. A vibrant flush spread across Rolo's face and then travelled up to the tips of his ears.

"Shut up. You're a six and she's a ten." Lance dumped his friend on his bed. They would have to make the twin mattress work. Romelle kicked off her shoes and moved up to the pillows as Lance got more comfortable. Rolo laid back down with a slight grumble. Lance untied and then slipped off his shoes. He finally had the courage to look at his phone. His screen was bombarded with missed calls and texts. Shiro was nonstop mentioning him in chatroom. He sighed and logged in just to log back out. An invisible weight lifted from his shoulders and he felt a bit better.

He laid down on his bed not bothering with the rest of his clothes. Romelle cuddled up next to him, her soft breaths fanned over his neck as Lance relaxed. He shot a text to Katie trying to explain how his life was basically over in a few short words. Lance knew he would have to explain everything to her in vivid detail in the upcoming hours but for now he just wanted to be with Romelle in his quiet head space.

Lance didn't feel ready enough to face the future. Fear flooded his chest and made friends with his heartache. He couldn't sleep so he stared at his ceiling, eyes burning with tears that wouldn't fall and quiet sobs that slightly shook his chest. The young male tried not to wake his roommate or the girl sleeping next to him. He never felt more alone in his life.