New friends

Chapter 11

Shiro once again woke up first, but this time he had a pair of tiny arms nestled around him. He looked down to see Katie snuggled against him and he smiled remembering the pervious night.

Once everyone was up and about, Keith approached Shiro. "So, how did it go?" He asked. "Really well. She forgave me like it was nothing and she was really understanding." He smiled. "I told you it'd be alright." He smiled back. "In fact, it went so well that I told her how I felt about her and she likes me too." He said excitedly. "Woah! Congrats man! I totally support it." Keith exclaimed. "I actually have some news of my own to share." He said smiling. Shiro gave him a questioning look. "I told Lance." Shiro's face lit up. "How was it?" He asked. "It turns out he likes me too, so I guess there will be two new couples in the group now." He said grinning from ear to ear. "This is fantastic!" Shiro said.

"We should tell the group together." Shiro said to his excited friend. "I totally want to, but we should ask the other two what they think about going public first." Keith said. "Good idea." Shiro agreed. They both dashed off and grabbed their partners bringing them back to continue the conversation.

"Uh why are we here?" Lance said blushing as Keith held his hand. Shiro and Keith explained the situation and they agreed to tell the group that they were dating since they liked one another. "Let's do it tonight before school tomorrow." Katie suggested. They all agreed to the plan.

As a group they decided spend sometime  at the mall. They piled into the van, Shay now in the middle row as well, and they were off. Allura and Shay took Katie shopping for a 'new look'. "We want to find something you're comfortable in but also makes you look amazing." They said as they searched the racks. Hunk went straight to the food court. Shiro and Matt split with Lance to look at sports gear while Keith slunk away to Hot Topic. After a while they grouped up with Hunk and piled into Game Stop.

Allura, Shay, and Katie came out of Forever 21 with bags of clothes. At first Katie didn't see much she liked; she thought it was all too revealing. But with Allura forcing her to try different looks, she found herself loving outfits she'd previously never try on her own. She left to the cashier as whole new Katie when Allura insisted she pay for it all. "I can't let you do that. This is too much." Katie started. "Nonsense! It's my treat." Allura said handing the cashier a credit card. Apparently Allura was loaded so it wasn't the worst guilt Katie's ever felt. Allura was one of the rare rich people that were actually nice and not stuck up.

They caught up and found the rest of the guys huddled around a screen. They looked to see Lance and Keith neck and neck on a sample game set up in the store. They sighed laughing. After Keith beating Lance and Lance challenging two out of three and Keith refusing, they left the store and settled in the food court.

The whole day Shiro and Katie were smiling at one another; same with the rest of the couples. Allura could sense something was up. As they ate, she noticed that Shiro and Katie were sitting very close to each other, constantly smiling, and Katie giggling A LOT more than usual. "They would make such a sweet couple." She found herself thinking. "That would blow up at school. 'The most popular guy dating the quiet nerd.' I hope it works out." She thought worriedly. She knew that many girls at school would be very disappointed if they found out that Shiro was taken. As a cheerleader, she was always caught in class drama and she knew all the hottest gossip. Not that she ever spread any of her own, but she always seemed to be the one people told everything to. "It doesn't matter what people say. As long as they're happy together." Allura concluded. She would do everything in her power to keep things in check.

Katie had never felt so happy in her life. She had finally gotten the guy of her dreams. Finally! SOMETHING had worked out in her favor. Then she had a worried thought. What would people say when they found out that the nerdiest loner had joined the most popular group in school over a single weekend, AND start dating the most popular guy?! "I think I've made some enemies." She thought since she was well aware that many girls have wanted to be at Shiro's arm for a long time. Not that she hadn't had to deal with bullies before, but this was different. Before she could just ignore them. This time she had to fight for something she loved, and she planned on keeping Shiro. Whatever it took, she'd endure it.

Shiro noticed Katie looking worried so he asked her about it. "Hey. Are you okay? You look worried." "I'm fine. I'm just thinking about how the school will take the news of us being together." She whispered. "We'll be fine. I'd never let any of that come between us." He said reassuringly. She sighed in relief. "Whatever comes, we'll get through it  together." He said holding her hand under the table. "Okay." She said smiling up at him.

Once they all finished eating they walked around a bit more. They came across a couple people from school and said hi. Little did Katie know that word would spread quickly about her new found popularity.