Everyone has their own secrets.

Annie Gallas was no exception. She was only eleven, and to adults, a child's world might seem too simple for secrets—but that's where adults are wrong. They've forgotten their own childhoods. Kids have secrets. And they know they do.

Annie guarded hers carefully, not wanting anyone to discover it.

But then, something happened—something completely unexpected.

Even though she couldn't run like Lance, right now, Lance was right in front of her… helping her pull a prank—

No scolding.

No warnings.

No words about being careful.

No soft lectures.

No hesitation.

Just diving right in, like it was the most natural thing in the world. And even offering ideas—making the prank better.

It felt like a dream.

This was exactly what Annie had imagined. Nothing grand, nothing big. Just a simple, silly prank.

A little rebellion.

A little thrill.

A little recklessness.

Just like a real eleven-year-old. Doing dumb stuff, getting into harmless trouble, for no reason at all—just because you felt like it.

Without caring about the consequences.

Sometimes, just sometimes, Annie wanted to mess around too.

What she never expected… was that Lance would be the one doing it with her.

And that—that filled her chest with a quiet happiness.

Excitement. Nerves. Giddiness. A bit of awe. A bit of sadness. All tangled up together in something beautiful.

"…Annie Gallas."

Finally, she spoke. Across the corridor, she reached out her hand. Even though it was clearly a critical moment in the prank, even though it wasn't the best time for introductions—she still broke the silence.

Lance turned and looked at her, at that little face trying so hard to stay serious, showing her pride, her nerves, her stubbornness—but most of all, her determination.

He breathed in slowly, a smile quietly blooming from his eyes.

"Lance."

He reached out, made a loose fist, and gently bumped hers. A soft thump echoed in the air.

Ha.

They grinned at each other, then quickly pulled their hands back and pressed their backs to the wall again, waiting.

Thump thump.

Their hearts pounded wildly. Just a tiny prank—and yet it made their blood race.

Click.

The door creaked open, and a voice called out, "Annie? Annie! Are you in here?"

Felix.

But Felix didn't walk in right away. He stayed at the door, peeking in, calling out again and waiting.

Annie started to fidget.

It was obvious. She didn't prank much—probably never did. No experience. Bad timing.

Lance shot her a look: Hold still. Just a little longer. Patience.

Annie bit her lip and sucked in a deep breath. She stared at Lance, forcing herself to stay still.

Just when it looked like Felix was about to leave, he stepped in, stopping near the bathroom door and leaning inside to check.

Left and right… and then—

His eyes locked with Annie's.

They froze.

Annie didn't flinch. She kept staring at Lance, waiting for the signal. Then—

She leapt out.

"Surprise!"

Felix's eyes bulged. He flinched hard.

A beat later—

"Surprise!"

Lance's voice followed from behind.

Felix turned his head, just in time to see Lance's face fill his field of vision like a jump scare.

"What the—?!"

He jerked backward on instinct, flattening against the wall, hand on his heart, knees wobbling.

"Jesus Christ."

HAHA—HAHAHA!

Annie couldn't hold it in anymore. She jumped with joy, raised her hand to high-five Lance, then collapsed onto the hospital bed, laughing so hard she clutched her stomach, pounding the mattress with both hands.

Felix finally came back to his senses. He stared in disbelief. "Annie…" And then, to Lance, "Rookie—you too?"

Lance put on a guilty face. "Felix, I had no choice."

He looked like a hostage—but the grin in his eyes and the smirk at the corners of his lips said otherwise.

Felix: …

"Come on, Rookie. At least pretend to be sorry. You're not even trying to hide it."

Lance shrugged. "Sorry. I'm a terrible actor."

Pfft.

Felix stared at him—utterly ridiculous—and then broke into laughter himself.

Behind them, a voice called out:

"Annie? Annie?"

She hadn't even arrived yet, but the fear and panic in her voice were already crashing into the room. Jenna stormed in like a tornado.

"Annie! Where have you been?!"

Lance stepped forward, gently pulling Annie behind him. "The reading room. I found her in the reading room. She lost track of time."

Jokes aside, someone had to clean up the mess. He wasn't about to leave her hanging.

Annie blushed. She had already been ready to admit her mistake, but Lance stepped in with a single sentence and covered for her.

The reading room did exist—right near the chemo room.

Because treatments were long and draining, the hospital had set up a reading area. It helped the kids. Helped the parents. It was just a little space to escape for a while.

Jenna hesitated. But Lance sounded so sure, so calm. She didn't know how to question him. She turned to Annie.

Annie nodded. "Yeah… I lost track of time. I'm sorry, Mom."

Lance held out his hands. "Harry Potter is pretty gripping. Easy to forget the time. If you're interested, we can watch the movies next time."

Annie jumped on it. "Yes! Harry Potter—I wanted to watch the movies!"

Details. It's always the details that make a lie believable.

Jenna finally relaxed. "You should've brought your phone… I was worried." From the look on her face, she seemed to buy it.

Annie and Lance exchanged a quick glance—both of them silently cracking up.

Soon, Mahomes, Kelce, and the rest of the team poured into the room. Seeing that Annie was okay, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Only now did they remember the real reason they were here—

The Kansas City Chiefs were visiting the kids today.

Took a while to get to it, but they finally got on track. Lance watched as the children were moved from the chemo room to the private ward. He glanced at Annie, who looked a little tired, and raised his hand high.

"All right, who's ready for a jersey? You can ask for any autograph—Patrick and Travis are on standby!"

"Me! Me me me!"

Like a field of wild gophers, tiny heads popped up everywhere. The kids swarmed Lance and the players like a tidal wave, bouncing and yelling with excitement.

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Powerstones?

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