"Go!" You yelled, waving your arm towards him.
The pain in your voice sounded so physical, Izuku flinched.
Laying your forehead against the wall, you tried to avoid looking at him again.
Your quirk knew exactly where he stood.
It whispered, a dog asking its master for permission to protect it.
You tried pushing it aside.
"Go." You said again, this time desperately. "Please."
The boy hesitated.
His hands were outreached, as if ready to catch you were you to fall.
"Y- you shouldn't be alone right now." He said, going against his better judgment and still nearing closer. "Y/n, you're my friends, both of you, I just want to-
"He meant all of it, Deku!" You yelled, your voice cracking at his name. "Every word. So did his father and I just have to accept it, I just have to think." Your hands slowly travelled to cover your ears as if on instinct. It was as if that painful ringing your quirk used to burden you with suddenly seemed more comfortable than whatever this silence held.
You whimpered, tightening your hold as if you could crush your head between your palms.
"I just have to move on."
Finally your head was downcast, full of so many words, yet so few answers.
The silence you hid behind crumbled, it seemed.
Even numbness was no match for painful memories.
Even less so for the creation of new ones.
"No."
You lifted your gaze to find Izuku staring right at you, standing straight up, that pity gone from his eyes.
"You're wrong." He said, shaking his head. 'He said it to me, not you. I saw the look on his face and I saw him cry. You're wrong."
The announcer's bell rang again for what seemed like the fifth time.
The boy turned his head to the sound, but his mind stayed on you.
Lost in thought for a few moments, he looked back up with all the resolve of someone like All Might.
"I'm just-" He said, reaching out one last time before retreating his arm, knowing this wasn't the way to solve the problem. "I'm just gonna have to find a way to prove it."
Midoriya and you weren't exactly close.
In class you'd hear him mumble sometimes and though it was annoying during exams, there was a comforting nature to it too. Like his presence was a steady constant in a sometimes stressful environment.
He worked so hard, almost as hard as Bakugo it seemed.
He knew what he wanted too.
He was willing to fight for it, bleed for it, too.
Break his bones for it, try to help two siblings he barely even knew for it.
That's what he said to Bakugo in that training exercise isn't it?
Anything to be a Hero.
A part of you calmed at that notion.
Your hands slowly descended from their grip on your ears.
Maybe his hands were strong too.
Maybe he could hold yours, just for a second so this feeling of alone wouldn't fade.
Suddenly, you wanted to reach out to him.
A friend amongst this mess.
But when you did.
When you raised your hand up to grab his, to feel warmth...
He did what everyone did.
He flinched, his body reflexively moving away with a little jolt the moment it felt whatever you were come just a bit too close. Even his breath hitched in the slightest, his feet shuffling a few steps back, the sound of his shoes squeaking on the tiles the only noise to fill the space.
