Disclaimer: I do NOT own Voltron!

Buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz.

The phone lit up in the dim room. A hand reached for it from under the covers, unlocking the device to read the delivered message.

1 Unread Message from James Griffin.

"Dammit, why can't he just leave me alone!"

The phone was quickly chucked at the wall. The hand that threw it disappeared under the covers just as quick. In just a few short minutes, the blankets gently rose and fell in an even rhythm.

"Keith!" A voice called out. "Get ready for school."

In one swift motion, the blankets fell onto the ground, revealing an exhausted boy. He had a bad case of bed head and faint dark circles could be seen under his eyes.

"I already told you, I'm not going," he called back.

Keith's eyes slightly widened when he heard the sound of feet running up the stairs. Each step got louder, causing the teenager to back himself against the wall.

"Shit-"

The door swung open, revealing a livid man. He was dressed in a simple black suit and tie, briefcase in hand. Keith quickly covered himself up to protect himself from the man's angry gaze, which only resulted with him getting the blankets ripped off of him.

"I'm all ready to go and you should be too. I can't be late for work, Keith. It's our first day back at school and it's very important for us to be there."

"Just go on without me and call me in sick, Shiro," Keith said as he covered himself up with the blankets again. "I can't go back there. Not with him roaming the halls!"

Shiro looked at the young man in front of him, the look of disappointment disappearing from his features. He sighed and took a seat on the edge of Keith's bed.

"Keith."

His voice sounded no longer angry; it was soft and gentle. The sudden change in tone coaxed Keith to look at the man sitting before him.

"I know that the past few months have been difficult for you, but I don't want you to completely put your life on hold because of what happened."

Keith averted his gaze from Shiro, not wanting to hear anymore of his sympathy. Even so, the teenage boy still listened to what his guardian had to say. A smirk cracked on Shiro's lips as he reached his hand toward Keith's chin, gently making the young man look him in the eyes.

"Together, we can get through this one step at a time. Of course we're going to have our ups and downs, but that shouldn't stop us from trying. Remember, I will have your back no matter what. I want you to get better and deep down I know you do too. The first step to getting better, however, is to avoid letting the problem take control of your life. Don't let anything, simple or complex, block your path to achieving your goals."

Shiro pulled his hand away from Keith and stood up.

"Wash up and get dressed. I want to see your butt downstairs in ten minutes."

Shiro was packing away his and Keith's lunches - a simple peanut butter sandwich with an apple and juice. The man forgot what time it was and checked his watch. There was no sign of Keith being ready. Shiro sighed as he turned on his heel, planning to drag the boy out of his room himself. As he turned to go upstairs, he slightly jumped when he saw the teenager standing behind him. He looked the boy up and down. Keith was wearing a simple black turtleneck sweater with both his sleeves slightly rolled up. Under the actual turtleneck was a silver-chained cross necklace. On his hands were black fingerless gloves and studded in his ears were black earrings.

"Very edgy," Shiro joked.

"Very funny. Are we leaving now or what?"

"Says the one who didn't want to leave in the first place. Let's go."

Keith looked out the window as Shiro drove the both of them to school. He watched as the many houses and trees slowly blended together and became blurs. The sun was out and the sky was clear. He didn't want to admit it but today was really beautiful. It made him feel good despite the bad that has happened to him. When the two got to school, however, Keith's mood instantly became sour. Seeing many familiar faces made him feel nauseous. Shiro noticed this and the look of concern shadowed his face. Once they got to the school parking lot, Shiro quickly parked the car and turned to look at Keith.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked as he placed a hand on Keith's back, giving it a comforting rub.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he managed to say. "It suddenly got harder to breathe."

For several minutes the two of them stayed in the car. Shiro led Keith through some breathing exercises to help him calm down. Thinking back on it, the older male was beginning to think that maybe he had pushed Keith a little too hard.

"I'm so sorry, Keith. I didn't think school was going to overwhelm you this much."

Keith took one last deep breath before looking up at his guardian, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Don't worry about it, Shiro. I'm starting to feel better now."

A sigh of relief escaped the man's lips as he leaned back in the driver's seat.

"You had me worried there, tough guy," he joked, trying to lighten up the mood. "Anyway, are you ready to go?"

Keith looked at Shiro for a moment before looking down at his feet.

"I'm ready as I'll ever be."

Shiro gave Keith a small nod as he removed the keys from the ignition. He stepped out of his car and grabbed his suitcase that was sitting in the backseat. Keith climbed out with his backpack in hand, shutting the door behind him.

"You go on ahead, Keith. I have to stop by the principal's office and pick something up. I'll see you in class.

The young man nodded as he headed for the building. As he walked up the steps and into the school, Keith could feel the stares and hear the whispers of the students he walked passed. The teenager felt his heart beat faster and his face flushed as he began to feel overwhelmed.

Why do they keep staring? What do they want from me?

Unbeknownst to Keith, his peers were worried about him.

Keith found his class. Outside the door was a sign reading "Takashi Shirogane." A smile crept onto his face as he touched the embroidered letters.

"Looks like you have me again, Shiro."

"So have you talked with Keith?"

"I tried reaching out to him all summer, but he hasn't answered any of my texts. I texted him again this morning and the result was more or less the same."

Keith's heart started to beat fast once again and his breathing was rapid and deep. He started to feel panic and it was becoming difficult to breathe. He looked over and saw two shadows approaching.

Shit!

Keith reacted quickly and entered the classroom to hide. He hid behind a bookshelf and used the darkness of the classroom to further conceal himself. He peered from his hiding spot to find his ex-boyfriend walking down the hallway with one of his friends. They were just talking casually about the upcoming school year and what their plans were for their senior year. The further the two guys walked down the hall, the more Keith's heart rate started to slow. His gloved hand was over his chest as he stepped out of the shadowed part of the classroom. Taking a few moments to calm his beating heart, Keith walked to the front of the classroom to turn on the light.

"Welcome back, everyone. I hope you all had a good break. I assume that you all had a restful summer, but now is the time to work and learn."

As Shiro informed his students of the day's schedule, Keith's mind began to wander. His invading thoughts and constant worrying blocked out Shiro's voice and the rest of the world around him.

"Today we're going to... and I expect you to..."

Shiro went on with the plan of the day, and Keith continued to tune him out. That was until the gloomy teen felt something slam onto his desk. He snapped out of his sea of thoughts and quickly looked up. It was Shiro; he had a stern yet concerning look on his face.

"As I was saying," he began again. "As a small class project I am going to have you guys write to a pen pal."

"A what?" Keith said without thinking, which to his surprise he received snickers for.

"You heard me. You guys will be writing to someone from another school, and yes you have to do it. The fun part is you can write whatever you want. If you want your pen pal to know who you are right off the bat, then do that. If you want to start out slow, that is okay too. All I want for you is to write and ask your pen pal questions. Try to get to know them and have fun!" Shiro exclaimed as he tried to excite his class. The poor man only earned a few smiles, and none of them were Keith. "Anyway, I would like you all to take out a piece of paper. While you do that I'll hand you a small strip of paper that has your pen pal's name on it."

Keith reached for his backpack and pulled out a simple black notebook. He flipped it open and ripped out a piece of paper. A short moment later Shiro came by and placed a small piece of paper and an envelope at the corner of the boy's desk. He gave Keith a warm smile before walking off again. The young man watched his guardian leave before collecting the small piece of paper into his hand.

"Lance..." he read the name to himself. "Hm."

He placed the paper aside and started to write.

Dear Lance,

I really didn't have a lot to say considering I don't know you, but this is for a grade so what the hell?

Who would have thought we'd have to do this pen pal shit in high school? This is so first grade.

Anyway, let's just get on with it. How was your summer?

Keith looked over his small letter. He had to admit that he was being brief, but he truly didn't know what to write, especially to a stranger of all people. He shrugged it off, thinking what he wrote was sufficient enough. Besides, maybe his pen pal will come up with an interesting response. Keith was about to sign his name, but he found himself unable to do so.

Nah... there's no need.

He put down his pencil and neatly folded his letter into the envelope. After sealing it, the teen wrote his pen pal's name in beautiful cursive.

"I'm done," Keith said in a hushed voice as he walked up to Shiro's desk.

"That was quick," the man said with a chuckle. "Didn't have a lot to say, huh?"

"Why would I?" Keith said as he rolled his eyes. "It's not like we're going to talk much anyway."

"You don't know that, Keith. This is only the first letter. A few exchanges later you might finally have yourself a friend. Maybe someone you can trust other than me and Adam."

Keith shook his head before turning around to head back to his desk. The young man took a seat and leaned back against his chair. He looked out the window and viewed the clear sky it provided him.

A friend. Someone I can trust.

"Yeah. Right."

A/N: Surprise! Chapter 6 is finally here after one whole year, lol! I'm glad I was able to get it updated because boy was I dying to get the chapter out. I've been working on it since; what you see is two years' worth of writing. I would write here and there until I was able to sit down and write what I want. What you see here is a chapter that is in Keith's POV. Initially it was only Lance's, but I thought it would be interesting if you all got to see Keith's POV as well. My plan is to write in both their POVs to piece the story together as well as to spice up the story. This chapter is about Keith's life (or a little of it that I revealed) and his first letter exchange with Lance. As of right now, Keith's chapters are going to be in two parts. I didn't want this chapter to go on longer than it should because I understand how tiresome it can be. There are some people who can read and read, but I wanted to spare those who need a break in between, lol.