Surprise, I did another update! Please enjoy :)
Also, read my 'before you read' disclaimer if you haven't already at the start of this story. Thank you.

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It was weird seeing Allura with short hair as she went out to the store with Shiro to pick up snacks for Keith and their friends. She had it dyed to match the color of snow and her radiant smile told Shiro that she liked her new look. He couldn't help but sneak a peek at her at each stoplight.

He just loved the look she had on her face when she smiled. She was like an iridescent star that had fallen from the night sky to land in the palm of his hands and when he looked down at it, it lit up his world. It would make his cheeks flush cherry red, his heart flutter, and his stomach twist into knots. It was something so special that no word in the entire world could even begin to describe it. Was her smile beautiful? Was it relieving? Was it gorgeous? He wouldn't know what word to choose when he thought about Allura's smile, all he knew was that it was like a drug to him and the more he saw it the more he craved.

He smiled slightly to himself as he pulled into a parking space in front of the store. "Your hair looks really nice Allura," He stated and felt his face heat up in shyness.

He always had issues complimenting her, ever since freshman year. The old him, the little freshman him, wouldn't even have been able to approach such a beautiful girl like Allura without sweating nervously and stuttering over his own words. Matt would always make fun of Shiro whenever he would see that young, confident looking girl that strolled down the hallways with her head held high.

He admired her so much; she was a goddess in his eyes. In his sophomore year, he joined the baseball team and began to gain confidence as Matt and his new friends introduced him to new people, but even so he couldn't just go up to Allura and talk to her. She was an enigma that Shiro had to figure out before he could ever even think about going up to in order to ask her out for coffee. In his junior year, he managed to speak to her.

She probably didn't remember it since it happened well over a year ago but Shiro remembered seeing her in the hallways struggling with her locker being jammed shut so he decided to help her open it. She was quiet and reserved, almost as if she didn't want to even make friends with him as he tried to strike up a conversation. He thought it had been weird, but now that he knew why she did the things she did because of her disorder, he didn't think of her as odd or even peculiar. His senior year was the best year. He literally drove her around, got to hug her, speak to her, and he even gets to be the reason why she smiled. He loved being someone who could make her happy. He loved just seeing her smile.

Allura blushed as she smiled softly in her seat and reached up to the chopped end of her hair and twisted it slightly between her index finger and thumb. "I thought it looked bad, thanks, Shiro," she said quietly before she looked up at the blushing man. For a moment they just stared at one another in the parking lot of Walmart, just looking into the other's eyes as they quietly sat but then she reached up and gently touched his fringe. "Maybe you should dye your fringe white, we could match."

Shiro felt his heart thundering inside of his chest as his face felt almost like it was about to melt off like the wicked witch's when she got water on her. He laughed awkwardly as he glanced up at her hand playing with his black fringe. "Maybe I should but I don't know how to dye my own hair..." He felt so embarrassed admitting that he didn't know how to work hair dye.

Allura clapped her hand over her mouth as she hid her wide smile and began chuckling, "Really? There are instructions on the back of the box Takashi, it isn't that hard!" She sounded so amused as she teased her taller friend.

Shiro felt like crawling into the backseat to hide from the world. "It's harder than it looks Allura!" He tried to defend himself as he hid his face in his hands.

Allura gently patted his shoulder as she began to get out of his car, "We can do it at your house after we buy some food, Takashi."

Shiro felt all his shyness fade away suddenly as he watched Allura hop out of his car and fix her hair as she shut the door. She wanted to go to his house, the house that Shiro went back to every night with a sense of shame following him. The house where his demons hid and the place where he has to constantly take care of his own mother almost like she was a child.

He decided that he should try to convince Allura to do it at her own home while they were shopping so that he could avoid having her meet his drunk mother. He quickly followed her into Walmart after locking the car. "Maybe we could do it somewhere else?" He asked as he grabbed a cart and began to wheel it around the aisles that he and Allura passed by.

Allura touched the tips of her hair quietly as she frowned at each sign they passed by looking for the chip aisle. "Can't, Coran is having his coworkers over for poker night tonight and a drunk Irish man is not a sight you want to see no matter how funny it is," She stated absently as her eyes scanned the giant blue sign hanging above them.

Shiro frowned slightly, but realized he couldn't avoid having Allura over his house forever. May as well get it over with. He sighed as she pointed to the chip aisle for him to turn down, "Well since we're out here shopping and you're wanting to make me match my hair with you, why don't we get to know each other more?" Shiro said as he pursed his lips and began to drum his fingers on the handlebar of the cart quietly.

Allura glanced at him for a split second as she took the shopping list Pidge gave her out from her back pocket. She was wearing high waisted black jeans with a purple T-shirt tucked into it that had a picture of a moon on it. "What were you thinking?" She inquired as she grabbed a large bag of hot Cheetos and dropped them into the cart without care.

Shiro shrugged as he continued to awkward do his little drum solo, "Twenty questions?"

"That's what couples do though."

"Couples also get matching hair colors sometimes, your point?"

Allura took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Touché."

Shiro found himself smiling as his fingers finally stopped drumming to the tune of his nervous heartbeat. "What're your hobbies or favorite things to do?" He asked.

Allura gently placed her hand on the end of the shopping cart and began to guide it further down the aisle. "I enjoy reading and studying, nothing else really," she stated as she looked down at the list and tried to decipher the chicken scratch on the note.

Shiro tried to not let out a little sigh of disappointment as he stared at the back of Allura's head, still finding it hard to believe she chopped off those long locks of her once blonde hair. "That sounds nice," He offered a weak reply.

"Well, I never actually have time to sit down and do anything, not when I'm the student council president and valedictorian," She grumbled stressfully.

Shiro felt a pang of sympathy for the slightly shorter girl walking in front of him. "I can teach you how to draw if you want, I mean when you're doing my hair."

Allura looked over her shoulders, her blue eyes were so full of curiosity as she slowed down to a stop, "You draw?" She asked as she turned her whole body around to face him.

Shiro felt his cheeks begin to flush red, "A-Ah, a little I guess. I'm not good or anything, but I enjoy drawing portraits of people and-"

Before he could finish speaking he found himself at loss for words as Allura smiled so brilliantly and leaned over the cart with her hands on the end of it keeping her from falling inside of it. "Yes!" She exclaimed in excitement, "Please teach me how to draw, Takashi, I've always wanted to be able to draw!"

Shiro slammed his right foot down on his end of the cart so it wouldn't tip over because of Allura's weight as he tried to keep himself from smiling in fondness. "O-Okay!" He nodded in excitement.

Allura then lost her smile as a frown swept over her face causing her joy to die a little, "I don't have anything I can teach you, I've never had time to myself so I never took up a hobby..." She mumbled quietly with a regretful expression on her face.

Shiro didn't even hesitate as he spoke to the beautiful girl, "Just teach me about yourself, that's what I care about most."

He felt his entire body become red hot as he realized that he should probably invest in a filter for his mouth that kept him from saying weird and creepy things to the girl he had been head over heels in love with for years. She looked beyond surprised, she was absolutely astonished by his comment that she nearly fell over inside of the cart with the Cheetos as her skin darkened with a barely visible blush.

Shiro was already thinking of his apology, but before he could manage to say it that same smile that could always seem to silence him without hesitation crossed her face, but it was somehow different. He couldn't describe it normally. The original smile that made his legs feel like putty was like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich; it just felt right. This smile that his grey eyes were staring at ever so fondly was different. Her head tilted to the side, her eyes squinted shut slightly, she grinned ear to ear, and the laugh that came with it made a pb&j seem so... so far away and old. This one was like a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich. It was just so beyond perfection that no words in the entire English language could even begin to describe it.

It was extraordinary if he had to choose a single word to describe it.

"Okay," she smiled at him from across the cart with her hypnotic eyes closed and her little cheek dimples showing to the world. She then hopped off the cart and walked over to his side to bump into him gently, "I'll teach you about myself."

Shiro never felt this way about any other girl in the world. He had seen girls of all shapes, sizes, and looks but none of them could ever make him feel so shy and clammy. His face was on freaking fire. He felt like he was literally about to die from a heat stroke as he felt Allura's arm brush up against his. Luckily he managed to continue on like a normal human being and he learned so much about the girl as they grabbed everything they needed for the party. She loved lions and thought they were the coolest animals in the entire universe, she thought that trucks were overrated (though Shiro would disagree), she wasn't religious but if she had to choose a religion she would be Buddhist, when she was a kid she used to make her father put her on his shoulders and run around stores with her like that as he made plane noises.

With each new detail she told him about her life he felt his heart grow softer and softer for her and all her little peculiarities she told him about. He couldn't even tell that underneath that smile of hers was years and years of darkness that only grew with each passing hour. She seemed like every normal girl in high school, just perfectly normal. He liked her so much that he was willing to look past her disorder that he knew very well couldn't be cured much like his own.

When he was younger he would always dream about finding someone in the world that could make his heart play hopscotch in his chest and his stomach do jumping jacks inside of his torso. He would sit down and draw various pictures of him and his dream bride at his fantasy wedding. He always thought that she would be slightly shorter than him, just enough so that he could kiss her forehead without having to lean over, he knew that no matter what she looked like that she would be the most stunning woman at their wedding and even during their first date or even their first meeting. He knew his future wife would be the only woman that could make him feel like he was stuck on cloud nine until the final breath he shared with her.

His father, however, found that his dream was nothing but silliness and preyed on his innocence every night. He would tell little Shiro that his perfect someone wasn't a woman but rather the person he lived with. He would tear up the pictures Shiro drew of his blurry faced bride and Shiro would watch her shredded face fall to the floor as he felt his father's abuse.

He gave up on ever hoping to find love when his innocence was stripped away from him in his childhood. He gave up joy when he would scream at the feeling of his own mother gently touching his arm to comfort him. He gave up on ever having a happily ever after he couldn't keep his eyes closed without having a memory of that monster leaning over him.

That was until he met Allura. She brought back those happier memories of his childhood, the ones from before his father left his mark on Shiro's mind forever. All the memories of the perfect bride came back to him but instead of a blurry-faced woman, she looked like Allura. He felt his hope of ever finding love come back when he first saw her smile, he felt joy when he talked to her for the first time, and he felt his happily ever after come back when he hugged her for the first time to comfort her. She gave him the things he lost back to him. She gave him the things his father stripped away from him so selfishly.

At one point while they were having fun together at the Walmart he convinced Allura to break the rules and hop into the basket with all their food as he pushed her around. She was terrified at first, but after a few turns she ended up throwing her arms into the air and began to laugh out of pure joy as he ran her up and down aisles quickly grabbing things they needed, they even grabbed a pack of white hair dye for Shiro.

"Uhhh," a Walmart employee stepped in front of the two giggling teens as he placed a hand on his fanny pack and stuck his nose into the air. "There are absolutely no teens allowed inside the baskets to avoid any injuries we could be sued for soooooo," He looked down at a very happy Allura clutching three bottles of Coke in her arms. "Get out."

Allura gave a sheepish smile as she struggled to get out of the cart in order to apologize to the employee who waddled away from them as if he had a stick shoved up somewhere where the sun doesn't shine.

They bought their things as Allura raved about how much fun she had with him pushing her around the store. "And then you just like drifted around that corner and I felt like I was on a rollercoaster!" She exclaimed as she bounced up and down in her seat as Shiro drove to his house.

He couldn't help but smile so widely as he glanced over at her every now and then to see her smiling like a little kid as she sat on the edge of her seat with her eyes fixed on Shiro's face. "I guess you enjoyed breaking the rules for the first time, Ms. President?" He inquired jokingly.

She nodded enthusiastically, "It was like a whole new world opened up to me, Takashi," she breathed out loud and lifted her hands up to stare down at her palms with the bewildered look on her face. "Every time I'm alone with you I feel like a new person, almost like my dysthymia can't dictate my life anymore and I can finally enjoy my life with a fresh breath of air!"

He was her first breath of fresh air.

This new information canceled out everything else that she gave to him earlier, even that fried peanut butter and a banana sandwich smile he fell in love with today. This was the thing that confirmed the growing feelings within his chest; he was in love with her.

"Thank you..." He whispered under his breath.

Allura tilted her head to the side, "What'd you say?" She asked as he carefully pulled into his driveway with reluctance.

"Here you go," He ignored her question and lowered his grey eyes as he turned off his car, "My house you wanted to go to so badly. Before you go in I need to tell you something, well," he felt his heart grow heavy as he prepared to talk about his family problems. "I have to tell you about everything, the things that I've been hiding from the group during our meetings and-"

He felt Allura reach out and gently pull his hand away from the steering wheel in order to hold it in her own. "Takashi," she whispered quietly as she stared at him from the seat she sat in. Her blue eyes searched his grey ones. "You don't need to tell me about it if you're not comfortable with saying so. I understand that there are things in your life you want to keep hidden because even I have my own secrets," She leaned in and let go of his hand as she reached up and placed her palms against his cheeks as she cupped his face gently. "I accept you and all of your baggage if it means I can feel like I did earlier today."

Shiro didn't think it was possible but he felt like he was falling for her even more with each word she spoke to him. He felt himself lean into her hands as he squeezed his eyes shut and quietly thanked the gods above for blessing him with such an understanding girl. "Thank you, let's go fix my fringe."

Luckily Shiro's mother was at work so he didn't have to clean up after her again as he shut his cat inside of his room so that he wouldn't get stepped on. "We should do this in the bathroom so we don't ruin your carpet," Allura said as she shuffled alongside him as she held the hair dye in her hands.

Shiro led her to his bathroom and placed a towel around his neck as she put on her gloves and began to get to work on his little fringe. She carefully applied the dye as he stared up at her with a loving expression in his eyes. He loved the way her brows dipped down slightly in concentration and how she bit her bottom lips as she worked the dye into his hair.

"Done," she stated once she washed his hair and dried it carefully. "We match now," She smiled and slid the gloves off to place her hands on her hips.

He stood up and looked in the mirror and found himself staring at a whole new him. He looked so different now with the fringe dyed a different color. It was amazing not only because it actually looked really nice on him, but because he was matching with Allura now. He looked down at her and smiled widely before reaching out to touch the ends of her short hair.

"We match now," he agreed. Now was the time he had to say it or he would never find enough confidence to tell her about how he felt. "Listen Allura," he began and felt himself smile as he remembered how much fun they that day. "I need to say-"

"Shut up," Allura stated suddenly as she stepped forward slightly and placed her hand on the back of his neck and kissed him.

Her soft locks of hair fell from his fingertips like silk and brushed against her dark skin as it fell back into place. He was lost, he had no idea what to do as he stood there with his eyes as wide as cookies, staring down at the girl of his dreams as she kissed him so passionately. This was no peanut butter and banana sandwich at all. This was a buffalo burger now. It was too good to be true and he lost himself in the heat of the moment as he pulled her out into the hallway and struggled to open his door, having had his back pressed against it as he tried to not disconnect from Allura as they kissed each other repeatedly.

It was sloppy and kind of gross since Shiro never kissed anyone before in his life, but she didn't seem to care as they tripped over his wheezing cat and crashed onto his bed. Before anything got too far, however, at the moment he felt Allura's gentle touch against his waist he froze up and nearly screamed in fright at the memory that came back to him.

He was a child again, sitting in his dad's workshop where the man sat cleaning one of his guns he loved dearly. He was a blonde German man with a scraggly looking beard. Shiro was staring at him as he sat in the chair he would always be forced to be in when they went to the back room.

"What did I tell you, Takashi?" Mr. Churchill asked as he set his gun down and stared at Shiro with a displaced look in his grey eyes.

Shiro lowered his head and pulled down on the black shirt he was wearing to hide his bruises from the world. "That I don't need no wife... that y-you're the only person I need."

Slowly, his father rose up out of his chair and walked over to Shiro to cup his face in his hands. "That's right, but you still insist on drawing that stupid little thing don't you? You know what I do next is for your own good, right Takashi?"

Shiro fought back tears as he nodded slowly and felt his father's hands slide down to his waist to lift up his shirt to expose the marks he left on his own son only yesterday. Then he felt his father's hand grab his arm roughly and pull him to the ground as he began crying and struggling beneath his own father.

During the struggle his father began to shout his name, "Takashi," but the more and more he shouted it the less it sounded so gruff and masculine and the more it sounded panicked and frightened. "Takashi!"

His blurry eyes opened to see Allura in tears as she cupped his face in her hands and tried to keep him from harming himself. "Takashi..." She repeated herself, but weaker this time as his heart calmed down and he felt his body relax the longer he stared at her. "You're in your house, we were kissing, I didn't mean to-" She looked down and bit her lip as she tried to keep herself from crying out in fear. "I didn't mean to hurt you!" She exclaimed.

Shiro was at loss for words as he stared at her as tears from her eyes dripped onto her purple shirt and stained it with each drop. He had a PTSD episode from the feeling of Allura touching his waist and now he was staring up at the girl he loved as she bawled her eyes out in guilt for triggering a flashback.

Shakily, he reached up and pulled her into his chest as he hugged her. "You're f-fine Al-lura," he stuttered and squeezed her in his arms and he closed his eyes and felt tears beginning to fall from his eyes.

They should have never kissed, he should have never gotten so lost in the feeling of love like he had done. If he hadn't, then they wouldn't be there in his bed crying together as they held each other.

"I am so sorry, I told you I never wanted to hurt you but I did! I did the exact thing I was afraid of doing!" She cried out.

Shiro remained silent as he tried to calm down his trembling body for Allura. "I promise to never do anything that can hurt you again and this time I will swear on my own damn life if I have to. I will never ever ever hurt you."

A happy day turned sour so fast and without mercy.

Sorry if some of you didn't get a chance to read the "Before You Read" chapter at the very beginning of this story I posted earlier but I will sum it up now;

If you have PTSD or are triggered by rape, noncon, sexual abuse, abuse, child abuse, etc, you are advised to read at your own risk here on out. I am not responsible for any problems you may encounter along the way since I did post a warning chapter today. Do NOT show any hate towards my editor and instead send it towards me because they don't write the story, I do. I don't tell them about the direction I want to take this story to avoid being swayed to take it another direction so PLEASE direct any and all hate towards me @TheWitch_NextDoor because my editor had no say in what I am doing with this story.

Also, please go back and read the warning chapter before the next update for it is my only disclaimer.

-Anri