#lance lunis

sneaks in speedpaint

Mei Yue Weber was an outcast to half of the school. She didn't have any close friends, just a few theater kids she knew, and Todd and Maribel. Mei mostly spends her time listening to Panic! at the Disco and, here and there, Avril Lavigne on her iPod while sketching random things like trees, birds, and occasionally people. Mei roller skates everywhere she goes rather than walking (It's faster and more convenient). Due to her beauty marks below her eyes, people around her called her 'Dot-eyes'.Mei just ignored them as she did her own thing.

One fine day, Mei was skating in the hallways, and she glanced at the group of girls talking crap about Ilana, a girl with white skin and short blond hair styled to stick up at the back of her head. She has dark indigo eyes with 3 distinct freckles under each eye. Mei always thought she was beautiful, elegant even. She saw that Ilana's face fell after she heard what they said. Mei slowly skated towards Ilana.

"Hey, I think the crochet flower is absolutely cute," Mei remarked, making Ilana smile.'Really? Thank you.'

"My grandmother, or should I say adopted grandmother, taught me to crochet when I was little."She stood next to Ilana."You made all of those stitches by hand?" Mei asked, and Ilana nodded."Yes, I recently got interested after seeing them at a kiosk at the mall."Mei's eyes lit up."Do you crochet?" Ilana inquired, Mei shook her head 'Actually, my grandmother does the crocheting for my family and me. I am more of an 'artsy theatre kid'.I draw." Mei gestured to her sketchbook.

Ilana grinned happily."Can I see it, pls?"

Mei nodded, handing her the sketchbook to her. Ilana gasped and looked at Mei."Oh, I am so sorry, where are my manners? I haven't allowed you to introduce yourself. I am Ilana. It's nice to meet you." She said, extending her hand to shake. Mei took it."It's Mei, Mei Weber. Nice to meet you, Ilana," she replied.

Before Mei and Ilana could keep chit-chatting, 'Ilana!' a familiar voice interrupted. Lance approached with a textbook tucked under his arm. His expression falters when his eyes land on Mei, and his posture stiffens. His eyes instinctively scanned her.

Civilian.

Female.

About their age.

No visible weapon.

Still unknown.

"Who's this?" his tone wasn't hostile. It was curious, cautious.

Ilana gestured towards Mei."Lance, this is Mei. She likes art and..." She pointed at the roller skates." She likes to skate".

"Sounds about right," Mei muttered to herself. She offered her hand to Lance. He looked at her hand and then at Mei. He didn't shake it; instead, he asked."How long have you been speaking to her?"Ilana frowned."...About 10 minutes." Mei felt the tension in the air.

"You told her anything?" Lance interrogated.

"Lance!" Ilana cried.

"What?"

He lowered his voice."We don't know who she is." Mei slowly lowered her hand. She wasn't offended, just confused. "Did I do something...?"Lance didn't answer immediately; his eyes remained fixed on Mei."Why did you come here?" Mei blinked."Because people were making fun of her, and I had to step-".Lance cut her off.

"That's it?"

"Yes," Mei confirmed. Lance leaned close slightly, and Mei backed away; her skates were rusting. She crossed her arms. "I mean...it's the truth." Lance stepped in front of Ilana, much to her dismay.

"So...you are the overprotective sibling." Mei smiled, trying to lighten the mood. Ilana sighed, "Lance..she was being kind." Lance turned to her with an uneasy expression."People can pretend." Mei looked between the two."Wow...you really don't trust anyone." Lance looked back at her "I trust people who earn it" his gaze never left her "And I don't know you." There was a long silence.Then Mei quietly picked up the crochet flower that fell off the ground moments before.

She held it out to Ilana, "Here." Ilana accepted it with a smile. Mei turned to Lance."I am not here to hurt anyone, especially not Ilana, never Ilana." Mei assured as she put on her earbuds and skated away.

Lance watched her until she disappeared into the school crowd.

Ilana folded her arms. "You were rude."I was careful"

"Y'know, there's a difference. Lance, for Galaluna's sake, not everyone is out there to hurt me." Lance rolled his eyes."She's probably the only one who didn't see me as a 'weird kid' or whatever the student body calls me these days." Ilana walked away upset. Lance looked down, his instincts still screamed that something wasn't right.

Not because Mei had acted suspiciously.But because she had appeared too naturally.

Too conveniently.

He had survived long enough to know that enemies often wore friendly faces. Still…

If she's pretending...

...why did she expect nothing in return?

Ilana was staying back, helping Todd and Maribel with the upcoming origami fest thing that their school is hosting. Octus was tutoring Edwin Pisinski, AKA Meat, with his math homework. Lance really wanted to go home after the long day. As he stepped out of the school premises, it was already raining. Lance sighed in frustration.

"Great, just great."

Lance tapped his feet impatiently on the pavement. He cursed himself for not grabbing an umbrella. While Lance was doing his thing, the sound of roller skates hit the pavement. Lance glanced at Mei, and she had an umbrella. She opened her umbrella and skated forward, then stopped and looked at Lance. He looked away, annoyed.

"

"...You don't have an umbrella?" Mei asked.

Lance looked at her.

"I don't need one."

She glanced at the downpour.

"...You're going to be soaked."

"I've dealt with worse."

His answer was flat, almost defensive. Mei handed him her umbrella, smiling at him warmly. Lance was taken aback; he was so rude to Mei, but she was giving the umbrella to him. Lance's hands hesitate, but eventually he takes the umbrella, looking at Mei, his expression softening. Mei smiled at him, and it sent a weird sensation through his stomach.

"I will never ever hurt Ilana physically or mentally," Mei said as she skated away, leaving Lance. He blushed, he covered his face, and stood there for a moment. He's never felt this way for someone like this.