Nonchalant

Chapter 7

"Apparently, it's my birthday tomorrow."

Aizawa didn't know that. He was definitely getting something for Midoriya.

"I didn't even notice until I finally checked the date," Midoriya held up his phone. "Tomorrow, the teacher will mention it during homeroom, reminding everyone that the classroom's biggest failure was born." He bit his lip. "He does it for every student, but he knows that I get beaten up for my birthday."

"Then Kacchan would get his 'friends'," Midoriya did air quotes at the word friends. "And just do what they do." 

"But multiply it by ten."

Aizawa wanted to smack this 'Kacchan' kid upside the head. 

"Of course, I'm not really bothered. It's been going on for a long time." Midoriya counted on his fingers to emphasize his point. "Around five to six years?"

Five to six years was a very long time.

"After school, I'll go home and stay in my room for the rest of the day. It's a pretty uneventful day."

"Kid, that was the exact opposite of what a birthday is supposed to be."

"Oh."

"Eh."

Just 'Eh'? 

This kid's practically deprived of love.

Aizawa grabbed his own phone and searched up, 'How to celebrate a birthday' and had to resist the urge to shove it in his face. Instead, he calmly passed it over, watching Midoriya stare in confusion at the article. 

"Eat a cake or your favorite food," he read out loud. Midoriya seemed to think for a while before shrugging. "Don't have a favorite food."

"What about cake, then?" 

"What does cake taste like?"

Aizawa could not believe that this kid didn't know what cake tasted like. "When was the last time you had cake?"

Midoriya put his hand to his chin as he thought. "Um, three years ago. My classmate's mom gave me a cupcake for his birthday."

"Auntie had forced Kacchan to invite me but I just sat in the corner. She noticed that I didn't get anything so she pulled a leftover cupcake from the fridge."

"How do you remember the details?" Aizawa was confused.

"People always expect something in return if they did something nice for me," Midoriya shrugged. "It's a habit for me to remember. Not much of a problem, since people aren't usually nice to me."

Aizawa made a mental note to get some kind of food for this kid tomorrow.

Midoriya continued scrolling. "Host a party and invite your friends. Not really an option since I don't have any friends and no one could care less about what I'm doing."

One by one, Midoriya read through the list and gave different answers for each of the ideas, saying things like 'he didn't have any friends' or 'he didn't want to bother people' or 'he didn't want to waste his mother's money'.

It was all so ridiculous.

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Izuku passed the phone back to the hero, a frown on his face. Was he rude for giving a reason for why it wouldn't work? He didn't want to offend him, and he felt the sudden need to leave.

"Sorry, Eraser Head. I didn't mean to bother you." He shoved his phone into his pocket and got onto his feet, making his way to the stairs. The pro hero stared at him in silence, and Izuku deduced that he'd definitely said too much this time. 

Stupid, always blabbering away. Can't even keep your own damn mouth shut.

He almost tripped over the steps as he practically speed-walked down the fire exit stairs.

Izuku had to get back so he could get at least a few hours of sleep before school started. He'd hate to be late for his so-called 'birthday surprise'. 

Birthdays were terrible.

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Izuku slipped into the classroom silently, as he usually did. His classmates paid him no mind and continued their chatter.

He sat at his desk and stared at the seat in front, Bakugo's seat. As if he was reading his mind, his childhood friend came up to him from behind and clamped a hand on his shoulder.

"Me, you, back of the school. Don't be late, fucker."

Izuku grimaced at the venom lacing his words; it was unpleasant.

His teacher entered, carrying his books in hand. He read through his agenda and his calendar, and seemed surprised when he realized it was Izuku's birthday.

Of course, he just had to remind everyone of his existence.

"Happy birthday, Midoriya!" his teacher said.

And that was that. The teacher pulled out his book and started class without another thought. Izuku wished he could knee his teacher in the crotch.

He opted for the safer option, as usual: shutting up and dealing with it.

The lessons passed by as quickly as possible. It was as if the clock was doing it to spite him. All the while, a few of his classmates fired spit wads at him as well as pieces of stone. None were large enough to make cuts, but it still hurt and probably left bruises.

The teacher called them out once or twice. They snickered and replied with an 'Ok, Sir!' and almost immediately went back to doing it. 

The joys of being hated by everyone in school, even the teachers and staff.

 Maybe he should make it another one of his mottos.

Bakugo was quiet as usual, occasionally tossing Izuku a smug smirk. Izuku knew he was 'warming up' for what was going to happen after school. His birthday present every year.

He hated his present, but at least he was getting something. Bakugo phrasing it as a 'gift' was bad enough. Izuku just decided to take his word for it.

What else were liked people supposed to get on birthdays?

He was not one of those 'liked people'. People couldn't care less.

Izuku didn't let that bother him much, though their harsh words always made him question his existence in a suicidal way, not in a 'What is the purpose of life' way. It was more of a 'I don't deserve to be on this world' way. 

Ten minutes until school was out. The ticking of the clock was making him anxious.

Bakugo had promised him something different this year, something new and painful. 

Five minutes until school was out. Izuku wanted to hide.

The chime of the school bell went off, and his classmates shot up almost immediately so they could leave.

"Remember to study for the exams next week and complete your homework."

"Thank you teacher!" The students said.

Izuku was left with Bakugo.