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Keyleth didn't reply and immediately Pike thought: they've got her and now they're coming for me.
They had been texting from their respective hiding spots for the past hour. The conversation flowed between flirting and describing whatever college shenanigans they could see, half trying to guess where the other was hiding and half trying to outdo each other with ridiculous pickup lines. As far as Pike could tell, Keyleth was on the second floor of their building. Kiki always had a talent for listening to the vents and walls and vibrations as people stomped across the floor to pick up on what was going on in different parts of the building. One small benefit of having thin walls and floors in this old-as-balls building.
Keyleth still hadn’t texted back and Pike started to worry that she would be alone with her thoughts until someone decided to check on the basement and behind all the couches in the lounge. On one memorable occasion Vax had hidden himself in a box down here and ended up taking a nap and waking up to find that the gang had almost left to go party without him. He was moody about it for days.
If Keyleth was caught she was fucked. Pike was pretty sure she had given her spot away when she made a joke about group-bonding chocolate chip cookies (there was just something about baking them with her family that made them taste more heavenly than normal), referencing an unfortunate accident they had in the kitchen down here.
Pike saw a shadow from across the hall and instinctively stilled as much as she could, attempting to stop her various jewelry from clicking together. She always got shit from the stealth twins for wearing so much jewelry, but all the pieces she wore meant something to her. And when they weren’t hiding, she enjoyed the musical sound the various glasses and metals made when she moved. But during these games they gave her away immediately if she wasn't careful.
Maybe she could make a dash to the stairs and get out to the closet on the first floor? She knew enough about the team to know that they had no method for hide and seek tag, so it was a 50-50 chance of getting over there without interruption. Pike grabbed her necklaces to keep them from clinking…
Keyleth bolted into the room causing Pike to drop the necklaces she had been holding with a jolt. A rather loud clink could be heard over the sound of Keyleth’s fleet footsteps and the low buzz of conversation by the other amused residents. As Keyleth dove for the narrow spot behind the couch and the wall, Pike scooted over as to not be squished in her genius hiding spot.
As Keyleth tried in vain to quiet her panting breath, Pike inched her way over to the coffee table to give the lanky girl some room for her limbs. But as she shifted she heard the sound of pounding footsteps as someone, her brother no doubt, made their way down to the common area of the dorms.
It really was an ingenious idea to hide down here because they had to rely on their hiding spot and not speed to avoid getting tagged once they were inevitably found (no one could hide from Vex or Scanlan for very long). But Pike’s genius had a 5’2” one-person limit and her only option now was to hope that this was enough.
Pike shifted around so she could see the entrance to the common room and caught sight of Keyleth’s red hair and wide green eyes staring in her direction. She would have to deal with the warmth that filled her chest later though, as Grog and Vax burst into the common area with fervor and glee.
As Pike held her breath in hopes that her brother would overlook the cramped hiding space she glanced over at Keyleth who had covered her mouth to quiet her breathing and was closing her eyes. Pike closed her eyes as well, she knew she couldn’t dash past her brother or Vax – stupid short legs.
With Grog’s exclamation of delight Pike’s eyes shot open, holding a few necklaces in a fist, the slightly uneven edges biting into her palm. Her eyes scanned the room and saw an annoyed Kashaw attempting to dodge out of the way of Grog’s attempts to touch him getting closer and closer to the stairs leading up to the first floor. Zahra was on a couch and simply dying of laughter as she watched her brother dodge Grog’s attention muttering increasingly offensive statements (Pike could tell Grog was holding back but still smiled all the same at how gracefully Kash was maneuvering himself out of the way).
Vax was nowhere to be found but the ruckus she could hear upstairs indicated he found his sister in a compromising position with their favorite engineer.
Pike turned her attention back to Keyleth and was surprised to see her mouthing the words ‘I could kiss you right now’. The same warmth as before spread through Pike’s chest and she smiled at Keyleth, before reaching over and planting a kiss on the redhead’s dopey smile.