Knee Socks and Booty Shorts Don't Mix

Chapter Three: Milk or Cereal First?

The next morning, Keith had woken up three minutes before his alarm was set to go off. Naturally, that had only irritated him. He had already been having bad days continuously for the past few months. What was another one?

He wasn't quite sure what would come of this particular Wednesday, but he was positive it wouldn't be good. He reluctantly forced himself out of bed, following his short and simple morning routine before walking downstairs to find Shiro eating cereal and scrolling through his phone.

"Morning, Shiro." Keith uttered, his mouth not used to talking after previously having been not used.

"Hey, good morning, how are you?" Shiro asked cheerfully; how could he be so cheerful at nearly seven in the damned morning?

"I'm tired." Keith mumbled, walking to the refrigerator and grabbing the milk.

"I still don't understand how you can possibly prefer putting milk in your cereal bowl first." Shiro spoke, obviously amused as Keith did exactly as he said.

"It makes sense." Keith grumbled, not really up for a debate on whether it should be milk or cereal first.

"Okay, if you think so." Shiro let it go, his accepting nature already kicking in.

Keith plopped his bowl of cereal down and glanced at what was in Shiro's bowl as he himself landed in a seat. Lucky Charms.

"You still eat that stuff?" Keith asked, face scrunching up in slight disgust.

"What, Lucky Charms?" Shiro inquired, eyes moving to meet Keith's, confused.

"Yeah." Keith responded shortly.

"They're good." The older frowned.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Keith said, not willing to point out that Shiro was the health nut of the two and yet he was eating cereal loaded with sugar.

"You should eat quickly or you're going to be late, like yesterday." Shiro informed calmly, eyes moving back to his phone.

"Do you want a ride or do you want to run?" He added.

"Run." Keith responded immediately, as if he hadn't even thought about his answer, which was probably true, knowing him.

"Alright, be safe. I'm headed off to work. See you later today." Shiro smiled happily, finishing off his cereal and putting the bowl and silverware in the dishwasher before heading out the door.

"Bye." Keith called just as the front door closed.

Now that he was left alone, he ate in peace before making short, final preparations to leave. When he exited the door and locked it, he sighed. He wasn't in the mood for school, but then again, when was he ever?

His trip to school was short lived, and the minute he entered the building he felt the pressure of socialization. Navigating the halls to enter his first period, he noticed Lance talking with Pidge and Hunk. Jealousy filled his mind, making his stomach feel ill, at the fact that he couldn't even think about approaching them.

That was the way Keith was, he couldn't stand to go up to people and make the first move, unless, of course, it was someone like Shiro or Pidge. However, he couldn't approach them if they were talking to someone new. If you wanted to talk to Keith, you'd have to initiate it yourself. He was too nervous and introverted for people.

Why did they have to be so good at socializing? Why couldn't he be? Keith couldn't stand the fact that he was so inept in a necessary aspect of life, but then he'd never really been able to get over his anxiety.

When he made it to class, he walked to his seat, about to sit down before he realized that it was no longer his seat. He scowled, IN DISAPPOINTMENT AND ANGER, moving himself to the desk next to it and sitting down. There were still about twenty minutes 'till the class would actually start, so he set his mind to reading a book.

He was actually pretty into the book: it was, unsurprisingly, about aliens and conspiracies surrounding them. Unfortunately, not too far into the book he was interrupted by the ruckus of students clambering into the classroom.

His eyes strayed from the enticing words on the pages to glance at the clock, which glared 7:32 in angry red numbers, before watching the students. He noticed, unfazed, that at the center of the crowd was Lance. It was typical of a person like Lance. Especially since he was the new student; Keith was sure Lance was thriving in all the attention.

Naturally, Keith couldn't quite understand, but nonetheless, he chose not to question it. Some people were just different. He'd learned that one a long time ago. Frowning, he went back to reading, waiting for Allura to enter the class, after all, she was his teacher.

When Lance took his seat, or rather what WAS Keith's seat, the group followed him. This meant that Keith was bombarded by backs and sides, as no one in the group would possibly want to talk to him, let alone face him. He was the social outcast with a mullet, cropped jacket and fingerless gloves.

Not long after, though, Allura walked in, calling for everyone to take their seats. The crowd dispersed and Keith was given some, albeit low, level of relief. The class started with little to no hitches, that was until Lance leaned over and began to pester Keith. Keith wasn't sure what was happening, but he decided to give Lance the cold shoulder anyway.

Keith kept his gaze trained on Allura, but as Lance tapped Keith on the shoulder for the fifteenth time, he broke. His head snapped to the taller of the two, and his glare was beyond promising agonizing, slow death. Lance backed away a bit at the sincerity of Keith's look, knowing not to push too much further. But then again, Lance was a little bitch and liked to milk something for all it was worth.

"Psssst, Keith, why do you wear fingerless gloves all the time? It's so out of fashion." Lance was officially terrible at whispering.

Keith was truly upset. Couldn't this guy take a hint? Wasn't his glare enough? And what was wrong with his gloves? He personally thought his gloves were beautiful and practical.

"What is your problem?" Keith asked, infuriated, but still managing to whisper better than Lance.

"My problem? You're the one that's glaring at me as I'm trying to be nice and start a pleasant conversation." Lance quipped, his cocky exterior showing.

"First off, we're in the middle of class. We're not allowed to talk during class. Allura will kill us. Second, since when was this conversation pleasant? When was this even a conversation?" Keith narrowed his eyes, brows furrowing, at Lance in question.

Lance pouted in response, crossing his arms and looking to the front of the room. "Fine then, be like that."

Keith sighed, obviously relieved that Lance wasn't bothering him anymore. He focused his attention back on the teacher and attempted to process the information being thrown at him as best he could.