32 Haircut.
"Baby, are you sure about this?" Carson asked worriedly. He had spent the last couple months trying to talk her out of it but to no avail. Her mind was set.
"Honestly no, but I need to do this." Shannon said as she continued to drive, her eyes never moving away from the road.
"You don't need to do anything Shane." Carson rebutted. He just couldn't wrap his head around why it was so important to her.
Shannon sighed and didn't speak again until they reached an intersection. When they stopped, she turned to look at her boyfriend for the first time since getting in the car over an hour ago. "It may not make sense, but I need to do this. I need to do this for my self."
This time, it was Carson who grew silent as he thought back to the many conversations they'd had. One of his biggest worries returned to the forefront of his mind. "Do you think you'll miss it?"
Shannon sighed again as she pulled through the intersection. "I really hope not." After a moment, she spoke again. "Will you miss it?" Surprised, Carson didn't know what to say. He had never thought about it before. Shannon took his silence as a bad sign. "I mean, you wont leave me or anything because of it will you?"
This time, Carson jumped at the chance to speak. "No! Shane, I would never leave you for something as trivial as that! We've been together for almost two years now! I don't think anything can split us up." He turned to face her and made sure she was looking back before he spoke again. As he spoke, he subconsciously stuck his hand in his pocket and squeezed the ring box he had been carrying around for the past month. "I don't plan on us ever being apart. Okay?" Shannon went to say something again but Carson was so caught up in his thoughts that he cut her off. "Don't you ever even think that again! I love absolutely everything about you. One small change in your appearance is not going to make me run away."
She nodded but returned to being silent again. She turned her full attention back to the road. The lovers' silence wasn't their usually calm, relaxed silence. When Carson couldn't take it any longer he spoke again.
"This wont change my mind about you Shane. I love you and I only want you to be happy. My worst fear is that you'll regret this decision the second its too late." Shannon didn't respond so Carson decided to lighten the mood. "Now would be the time to do it anyways. Change thing up for the New Year."
It was only a couple of days into the new year and everyone was finally getting over the big, all night party Kurt and Blaine had thrown.
"Yeah." She agreed, still lost in the bottomless pit of her mind.
Nobody talked for the rest of the drive. Although it wasn't comfortable silence, it didn't scream with tension and unease anymore.
When they finally reached their destination, they parked the car and walked into the building. Inside the doorway there was a big waiting room with lots of chairs. Behind a counter there were many chairs and mirror stations. Countless Hair dressers milled about either working with a customer or chatting amongst themselves.
Shannon and Carson took a seat in one of the many chairs and waited to be called. While they waited, Shannon let her hair down from the bun it had been in and began to brush it out. Her hair had gotten really long, to the point that she wanted a haircut.
A very drastic haircut.
Carson nervously tapped his foot beside her. He wasn't entirely thrilled that she wanted to do this, but he didn't want to tell her no. He didn't want to be in one of those confined relationships where they had to clear everything with one another first. He would have been completely fine if Shane had decided not to tell him before getting a haircut and just surprised him with it afterwards. But he knew what she wanted to do, and he was nervous for her.
"Shannon?" A polite looking lady called into the waiting room, making both Shane and Carson jump. They got up and followed her behind the counter to one of the mirror stations. "So, what can I do for you today?"
Shannon pulled out her phone and showed her a picture of the haircut she wanted. The woman took the phone and stared at it for a moment before looking back up to stare at Shane through the mirror.
"Are you sure sweetie? Once I do it there will be no going back." She said in an attempt to make the girl in front of her change her mind.
Shannon was tired of everyone doubting her decision. At this point, if she didn't want to do it then she wouldn't currently be in a hair salon. "Yes, I'm sure."
The hair stylist looked down at the picture again and sighed. "Okay." She gave the phone back to Shane and began to capture her long brown hair into many small pony tails. Once she had sectioned off all of it she brought out a pair of scissors.
This was the moment that Carson had dreaded. As he stood back and watched the stranger pick up one of the bundles of hair, he held his breath.
Snip.
Snip.
Snip.
The long strands slowly floated towards the floor. The hair dresser went for another pony tail.
Snip.
Snip.
Snip.
At this point Carson had been so mesmerized by the hair falling to the ground that he had forgotten to look and see Shane's reaction. He chanced a glance in the mirror to catch her expression.
She was smiling wide, all of her beautiful white teeth showing. Every time another bunch of hair fell the smile somehow grew bigger. He too smiled, her happiness becoming infectious.
Snip.
Snip.
The woman went to cut off the last pony tail, the rest of what had been her long, envious hair laid in a circle around her feet.
Snip.
It was all gone.
All that remained atop her head were short shaggy strands that hung every which way. The hairstylist then started to style her short mop. She shaved down the back leaving pieces of fringe at the bottom, and left the top long and jagged to add some texture.
It was another ten minutes before Shannon and Carson found themselves leaving the hair salon. Shane sported a grin and a happy mood that showed no signs of going away any time soon and Carson found that he could breath again. He no longer worried about any regrets towards the decision.
If she was happy, then he was happy. He also couldn't help but admit to himself that she looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her.
A/N
This chapter actually means a lot to me. I did the same thing. I had really long hair and I had grown up with the idea that long hair made you prettier. Last summer I literally cut off all of my hair and I couldn't have been more happy with the decision and the results. I ended up feeling more at home in my own skin and happier with the way I looked.
I guess I'm trying to say that you should never let anyone tell you what would or wouldn't look good on you, or what you should or shouldn't do when it comes to your happiness.