Chapter Text
It was only a few months into the third year of high school, but Keith already longed for at least a month long break. Who would have thought he'd make it this far ? Keith certainly not.
He was doing better, sure, but the previous years of not so great experiences from various foster homes, the death of his father and his long lost mother he never even knew, has left a not really positive impact on him.
Days did seem easier to bear, meals were more enjoyable, the future was a bit brighter than before, it really was, but sometimes it just all came back.
Shiro helped him a lot, reaching out whenever Keith seemed to crawl into his shell again, reassuring him every time he doubted the love and affection he recieved from the older man. Sometimes he felt like he really doesn't deserve such a patient and kind brother.
After everything Shiro has done for him, securing a lovely home for him, gently waiting for him to open up about things he'd rather left unspoken, he still caught himself wanting to fall back into the hell hole he worked so hard to crawl out of.
Maybe because he felt like he deserved it, maybe because he missed the comfort that he finds in his sadness, whatever the reason, Guilty wasn't even close to describing what he felt every time he thought about it. There was a person that cared for him now, a person that tried to help, someone who stayed.
And so he promised, not just to Shiro, but himself that this year, he really is going to try.
His grades were quite good, he naturally understood almost everything and fled trough the year with A's and B's, only needing to pay attention in class.
His behaviour on the other hand, wasnt the best. Mostly fights with classmates that couldnt keep their mouths shut. Often ended with him in detention and the other almost in the hospital. Certain people liked nagging him for his "emo" look, which he never understood because, what does everyone have with him being emo, what's so emo about him? He didn't get it.
Sometimes they even made orphan jokes, taking it too far once his dead parents were brought up. That always crossed the line which wasn't even that hard to cross, considering his short temper.
But after being almost kicked out of school for behaviour problems, Keith tried to held back, giving silent treatment to the comments made by others.
Not because he felt bad, for them. But because of the dissapointed face he saw on the one person in the world he cherished. He didn't want to bother him with his troublesome ass, even though it was the others who provoked him. He didn't want to be a pain, a dissapointment. He didn't want to feel like one again.
So he tried, for Shiro. And suprisingly, it seemed like they got bored of picking on him, or scared, based on how the last one ended up.
But that wasn't all he promised. Keith was doing fine all by himself, he didn't need anyone else beside Shiro. But Shiro insisted that he should at least try to make a friend or two. Easy to say.
An annyoing melody that was meant to put people into a better mood, seemed to only worsen the raven haired boy's morning. He'd rather stay in bed and let the bed consume him. It was definitely one of the harder days to get up, leaving the warm bed felt heartbreaking at the moment. But he knew better than that now.
Also he promised to pick up a package for Shiro after school anyway.
After a while, he forced himself to roll out of bed while finally turning off the alarm. Still in pajams, which consisted of literally just and oversized t shirt with a sleeping capybara print on, and some shorts that were barely long enough for his liking.
He headed to the kitchen, greeted by now a familiar scent of freshly made pancakes. Shiro made this whole "pancakes fryday" thing. Keith tought it was sweet, and with his whole Mr. independent mindset, it was refreshing but also a little... offputting? Like he didn't know what to do now with being taken care of.
"Morning.", Keith muttered, still halfway asleep as he sat down in his usual spot."Morning sleepy. I already made you food to school, so just don't forget to grab it from the frigde alright- shit." Shiro cursed, wiping off the liquid from the pancakes he accidentaly spilled. "Yeah okay, thanks Shiro."
He held back the urge to say that "he's not a little kid anymore, and he doesn't need someone to make him food" because, even though he was 17, it didn't mean he couldn't accept help. That was on of the things him and his therapist started working on.
After finishing his breakfest, he quickly brushed his teeth and somewhat combed his mullet from it's usual after sleep tangled appearance.
Back in his room, he quickly scanned his surrounding for some clean clothes.
His room was a mess at the moment, clothes scaterred on the floor, books that should have been in his backpack were opened up everywhere, the overflowing trash he forgot to take out- he didn't have time for all that right now, he was already running late.
He swiftly put on the black jeans that he picked and searched for a wearable shirt.
Fortunetly, it was already getting colder with November coming around and all. He didn't have to bake in long sleeved shirts anymore, it was a perfect weather for sweat shirts now.
Keith then pulled out a dark red hoodie that he got from Shiro last christmas, along with a plain grey shirt he put underneath.
Grabbing all the books and showing it in his back pack, he made his way to the fridge, took the food Shiro made for him and rushed to the door, managing only a quick "bye" to Shiro still eating earlier made pancakes.
Maybe he'd make it in time if he'd run, but that was too much effort he was not willing to sacrifice.
Arriving only 10 minutes late, he sat down on his seat, which was of course at the back of the class, nearest to the window. Keith had no idea which subject he was even in, and didn't really care.
"Ah! Keith, there you are! I almost thought you were going to miss out on this exciting, but very important topic we started today. Communism was a world changing regime, many people lost their property or their loved ones-
Keith stopped listening as soon as he realized what class that was.
The orange haired teacher bragged on about history like he was actually there when it happened. But that's not Keith saying he doesn't sometimes enjoy learning about history, but right now, it was simply too many informations for him so early in the morning.
All he wanted was to be back home, in his bed, listening to music that will only make him sadder and grind Hayday or something.
Zoning out the window, Keith hoped he'd pull trough that day smoothly, without having to use any effort at all. Surely, it's going to be fine, right?