#shancesummer

Faced with no other choice, Lance left the pie on his new neighbour's doorstep, along with a note. At the very least the guy will return his dish when he’s finished the pie. Right? It’s been a week since Lance left the pie, and not a peep or even a thank you from his neighbour, and now the guy had the audacity to hold a pool party and not invite Lance, his neighbour. Lance was furious. The inconsiderate, late-night disruptions were one thing, but to be completely ignored and then not invited to a party was a huge insult. Lance was pretty sure he hadn’t done anything to offend the man (he hadn’t even had the chance), and maybe the guy didn’t like the pie, but that was no reasons not to invite him to his party. Refusing to take the insult lying down, Lance threw on his best party outfit (shorts that showed off his long, toned legs, and his favourite crop top). He took some extra time with his skincare and hair, making sure he looked his best before strutting over to his neighbour's house. It’s not the first time Lance has crashed a party. The door was wide open, inviting, the house and garden full of music, people and lively chatter. Lance recognised several of his neighbours. In fact, it seemed that the entire street had been invited. Everyone, except for Lance. He made his way through the house, taking note of the minimal decorations and personal touches, telling him absolutely nothing about its inhabitant. Most of the party was out in the garden, a barbeque going that everyone was milling around. The pool was empty. The water glistened in the bright sunlight, perfectly clear. ‘What a waste,’ Lance thought to himself. The sun was blazing hot, and the pool looked so enticing, but no one seemed brave enough to be the first to take the plunge. Lance would have had he not been tempted by the smell of burgers. Lance knew, at the very least, the guy took the pie in. Whether he ate it or threw it out was another matter, but the next step in Lance’s revenge (after crashing the party) was to eat the guy's food. It was rather petty, the food was there for the party guests anyway, but Lance felt a small sense of satisfaction devouring the burger that he wasn’t invited to partake in. He glanced around, wondering where the host of the party might be. The man flipping burgers at the barbeque was another neighbourhood resident, a guy notorious for taking over the grill at garden parties. So he wasn’t Lance’s new neighbour. Even the people at the drinks table either looked familiar or so awkwardly out of place that it was clear this wasn’t their home. Lance grabbed himself a beer and flopped down on the nearest garden chair in a huff. How was he supposed to confront his neighbour if he couldn’t even find the guy? Was he avoiding him on purpose? Lance took a big swig of the beer. “Not enjoying the party?” A shadow fell over Lance, and he looked up to see a true Adonis standing over him, a bottle of beer in each hand. Chiselled features, a ripped physique and drop-dead gorgeous, he was just the kind of guy Lance loved to find at parties, but he wasn’t in the mood to flirt right now. “Not really, My nephews sixth birthday party was better,” Lance said flatly before taking another swig of his beer. It was lukewarm, another point against the party. “Hmm, that’s not really a fair comparison, is it? Kids get to have bouncy castles and clowns and other fun stuff at their parties,” the stranger chuckled. “Maybe,” Lance took another swig of his almost empty beer, “but there could at least be a game of beer pong, or even pin the tail on the donkey or something.” The man laughed. “Ok, you do have a point. The entertainment is lacking.” He took a seat next to Lance and held out one of the beers. “Another?” The lukewarm beer was kinda gross, but Lance would need it to get through this party. He chugged the rest of his beer and took the offered bottle, clicking it against the man's bottle in thanks before downing half of it in one.

“So do you know the guy who lives here?” Lance asked, eyeing the stranger cautiously. “I know of him.” The man’s answer was vague enough for Lance to relax. From his answer, it didn’t seem like they were close friends or anything, so it was probably safe for Lance to vent his frustrations to him. Well, he couldn't bite his tongue a moment longer, the lukewarm beer was the final straw. “You know, I live next door, and I haven’t even seen the guy once since he moved in. Not even a hello.” “Oh?” “Right. And this guy has been moving his stuff in at all hours of the night. Sure he tried to keep quiet, but you know his driveway is right by my bedroom.” “Hmm, that is rather inconsiderate.” Lance nodded vehemently, taking another swig of his beer before going on. “I figured you know, he’s probably really busy, but he’ll come around later to introduce himself and apologise. But does he? So I go over with a home cooked pie to welcome him to the neighbourhood, and he doesn’t even answer the door.” “Maybe he wasn’t in?” “Well sure, maybe. But I left the pie on his doorstep, and he still hasn’t returned my dish, or thanked me for it.” “Hmm,” the man grumbled in sympathy.

“And to top it all off do you know what,” Lance paused, glancing around conspiringly to make sure no one else was listening. He leaned in closer to the man, his voice low, “he didn’t even invite me to this party, and yet the whole neighbourhood is here! Can you believe that?” “You didn’t get an invite? But I posted it through your door personally.” “No, I didn’t, I-wait...you did what…” Lance paled. The man smiled ruefully and introduced himself. “Hi, I’m Shiro, your new neighbour.” “You...oh my god you are such an asshole, you just let me go off like.” Colour returned to Lance's face, now a shameful red. Shiro laughed, he didn’t sound in the least offended. “Sorry. I should have said something, but I wanted to hear what you thought of me. I guess I have a lot to apologise for.” Lance narrowed his eyes at Shiro and kept quiet. “I meant to come over sooner, but after I moved my stuff in, I got really sick. I was curled up in bed feeling sorry for myself on the day you came over. By the time I got to the door you were already gone, but that pie you left was a godsend. I hadn’t eaten anything all day, and I didn’t have the energy to cook. I probably would have starved without it.” “After that, I came over a couple of times to return the dish, but you weren’t there. I wanted to thank you in person, so I didn’t leave it on your doorstep.” “Oh…” Lance took another swig of his beer so he wouldn’t have to say any more, his face still dark with shame. “And I definitely posted your invite through your door, yours was the first one I delivered, but still, I owe you an apology for the late night move-ins and not introducing myself until now,” he extended his hand to Lance, “can you forgive me?” Lance stared at his hand for a moment before slowly reaching out for it. He half expected Shiro to crush his fingers in retaliation for all his complaining, but Shiro’s grip was firm and warm. “I guess when you put it like that I can forgive you,” Lance coughed. “But now I know what happened to your invite. Princess Blue, my cat, long story, hides anything that gets posted through my door if I don’t manage to get to it first. I think she's trying to protect me from unsolicited junk mail.” Shiro laughed. He was still holding Lance’s hand even after they shook on it. “Well, I’m glad you came anyway.” Lance flushed darker. “Would you like another beer? I have some cold ones in the fridge I’m saving for people I like,” Shiro offered with a hint of something that was almost bashful as if he were afraid Lance might refuse. “What? You like people who insult you?” Shiro laughed again. “We’ve shaken on it, that’s all in the past now. Come on.” He got to his feet, pulling Lance with him, dragging him through the throng of people to the kitchen. After the third, cold beer, Lance was genuinely enjoying the party. Shiro was kind, and funny, and didn’t seem to hold any animosity toward him for his earlier rant. It didn’t hurt that everything about him, from his appearance to his personality, was exactly Lance’s type too, and it may be wishful thinking,

but Lance thinks that Shiro might just be flirting with him. “How can anyone come to a pool party and not get in the pool?” Lance complained, gazing at the water with longing as they stood by the edge of the pool. “Why don’t you take a dip?” “Well I didn’t get my invite, so I didn’t know this was a pool party.” “You could go and get changed, I promise I won’t end the party while you're gone.” “I could, but that requires effort,” Lance groaned. It was too hot, and he didn’t want to risk breaking the momentum he’d built with Shiro. What if someone else stole him while he was away? “Oh well then, I guess you only have one choice.” Lance didn’t hear the warning in Shiro’s voice until it was too late. Suddenly a pair of strong arms swept him off his feet. “What are you-?” Shiro smirked, and Lance’s eyes widened with realisation. “Don’t you dare!” He shrieked. Shiro threw him into the pool without a second thought. Lance screamed. He hit the water with a loud splash, and he could hear Shiro’s laugher even under the water. He surfaced spluttering and coughing, glaring up at Shiro from beneath sopping bangs. “What the hell?” “Sorry. It’s just, you looked like you really wanted to go in, so I thought I’d give you a push.” It was a good job Shiro had a cute smile. Lance forgave him immediately. Shiro crouched down and offered Lance his hand, and maybe Lance’s hadn’t forgiven him completely. He had a better idea. He grabbed Shiro’s hand and pulled him into the pool. “Well, I should have seen that coming,” Shiro laughed after breaking the surface. His hair was drenched, the white forelock plastered to his face. His shirt, already tight, clung to him like a second skin and Lance might have made a mistake, but there was no going back now. He splashed Shiro before the other man could notice him staring. Shiro splashed him right back. “Water fight!” Someone yelled, and more people jump into the pool. Quickly, it got crowded, and although more people were splashing and playing about in the pool now, no one tried to butt in on their fight, not that they left any room for anyone to join them. “Ok truce, truce,” Shiro called after several minutes of violent splashing. They were both soaked through, and there was no clear winner to show for it. He pushed himself through the water towards Lance and caught the other man’s wrist to stop him splashing him again. Lance considered splashing Shiro with his other hand, ignoring the truce, but then he felt Shiro's hand deliberately slip into his own, before lacing their fingers together under the water.

“Do you want to get out and dry off? You can use my bathroom.” “I only live next door.” Lance squeezed Shiro’s hand and pulled him closer. The water glittered around them, the light reflected sharply off Shiro's chiselled features defining them, and it got caught in Lance's eyes, bringing out the depth of the dark blue, making them sparkle.