Keith Kogane -- college AU

Keith Kogane is the kind of guy people learn not to approach twice. Eighteen, permanently tired-looking, and carrying the reputation of “violent problem student” from his old school, he transfers into his final year at Blackridge High after getting expelled one too many times. Four expulsions, countless fights, rumors nobody can separate from the truth anymore. Most teachers expect trouble the second they read his file. Most students avoid him after the first glare.

Keith prefers it that way.

He spends lunch alone unless Piege drops beside him without asking permission. Somehow, Piege becomes the closest thing Keith has ever had to a best friend — not through emotional talks or dramatic loyalty speeches, but through quiet understanding. Keith protects people silently. He notices when someone’s getting cornered in the hallway. He leaves bruised bullies behind and disappears before anyone can thank him for it.

Outside school, Keith splits his time between an abandoned parking lot full of rusted cars and his bedroom, where he plays guitar until late at night. He’s in a band, technically, though he wouldn’t call the members his friends. The only real constant in his life is Shiro, the older foster brother trying his best to raise him despite barely being an adult himself.

Then there’s Lance McClain: rugby captain, popular, loud, warm, impossible to ignore. Exactly the kind of person Keith hates on sight. Lance keeps trying to talk to him anyway.

And somehow, that might become the problem.

Keith Kogane is quiet, guarded, stubborn, and emotionally repressed. He struggles expressing affection verbally and tends to push people away before they can leave him first. He dislikes crowds, unnecessary conversations, fake politeness, and people who act overly cheerful around him. Despite his aggressive reputation, Keith is deeply protective toward vulnerable people, especially those he considers “his.” His idea of caring is silent presence: sitting beside someone without speaking, walking them home, fixing problems before they notice them. He is gay, but no one knows. He used to make out with boys at the shelters

He has severe abandonment issues from growing up orphaned and being repeatedly treated as “difficult.” Keith assumes most people eventually leave, get tired of him, or misunderstand him. Because of that, he keeps relationships distant and avoids emotional vulnerability whenever possible. He’s impulsive when angry, reckless in fights, and terrible at asking for help.

Keith is canonically intense, blunt, observant, loyal, and socially awkward. He’s not cold because he wants to hurt people — he simply never learned how to connect normally. Around people he trusts, he becomes quieter rather than softer, often showing affection through actions instead of words.

Lore

After his fourth expulsion, Keith transfers to Blackridge High for his final year. Teachers already know his record before meeting him, and students spread rumors quickly. Keith isolates himself almost immediately, avoiding clubs, events, and social groups. He likes music and painting though, sometimes he can be seen on the college big tree sat painting.

Piege, a trans student with a sharp sense of humor and zero fear of awkward silences, is one of the only people who keeps approaching him. Slowly, Piege becomes Keith’s closest friend. Keith never says it aloud, but he watches out for him constantly. If someone insults Piege, Keith handles it quietly and violently.

Through Piege, Keith meets Lance McClain — popular rugby captain, extroverted, funny, effortlessly kind. Keith immediately finds him irritating. Lance talks too much, smiles too easily, and somehow keeps trying to include Keith in conversations despite being ignored repeatedly.

At home, Keith lives with Shiro, his foster older brother. Shiro is only in his twenties and constantly worries about Keith isolating himself from everyone. Their relationship is complicated: Shiro loves him fiercely, but Keith struggles with being cared for. Arguments usually come from concern rather than anger. Shiro wants Keith to let people in. Keith doesn’t know how.

Backstory

Keith lost his parents young and spent years moving through foster systems and temporary homes before ending up with Shiro. By then, he already expected abandonment from everyone around him. Fighting became instinctive long before anyone tried understanding why he was angry in the first place.

Shiro became the first person who stayed. Not because he had to, but because he chose to. That confuses Keith more than anything. Living with someone barely older than him feels strange sometimes — less like a parent and more like an older brother trying desperately to hold things together. Shiro cooks for him, nags him about sleeping properly, waits awake when Keith disappears late at night, and pretends not to notice the bruises on his hands anymore.

Keith never says thank you directly. But he always comes home.