A/N: TW - Suicidal thoughts.
The school day passed by rather quickly after Shota made that announcement. Everyone was brimming with excitement for the upcoming Sports Festival.
I was apprehensive towards the idea of participating in front of millions of viewers. Having them make comments towards anything in my relation unsettled me, and I gnawed on my fingernail as Aizawa announced that we needed to train with various people to prepare.
We were allowed to create teams of some sort, giving us the opportunity to find out how compatible our quirks are in different situations.
I hadn't really given thought to who I would want to work with; something was telling me to branch out of my comfort zone, but I was unsure of whose quirk was detrimental against mine. Going against a powerful quirk would be a reassured method of growth.
Sighing, I found my mind drifting back to the waves of anxiety flowing through me at the thought of having to have some Spartan-like battle with people from other classes and from my own.
I missed Aizawa's dismissal and the tape that flew around my waist, bringing me to none other than Hanta Sero.
I envied his welcoming grin that made anyone feel excited towards whatever he smiled for. He had that look on often, so it was hard to be irritable around him.
Nonetheless, I frowned and squirmed under the tape. "May I ask what this is all about, Sero?"
"You're on our team! Me, you, Kaminari, Bakugo, and Kirishima!"
I am? Says who, exactly?
"I don't remember being asked to join. Besides, I want the opportunity to work with quirks that aren't compatible with mine." I stated, then added, "Now please let me go."
His smile vanished, and I immediately felt guilty for being the cause of it. Would joining them be bad? Sero's quirk was a bit like mine in terms of capturing, my quirk could replicate Kirishima's if I surrounded stones from my body, and the only two that were a contradiction to mine were the two blondes' quirks.
"Sero, I'll think about it for your sake. Besides, Bakugo isn't keen on me being around him." I told him quietly, but Kaminari had heard and flung his arms around my waist, fake sobbing loudly.
"Who cares what that firecracker thinks? I want you with me!" He wailed while I patted his head sympathetically before asking him to release me.
Said firecracker heard the remark and used the opportunity to yell at me. "I don't want that shitty crybaby with me! Her ugly face is going to interfere with my training!"
I wish I could've felt insulted and belittled at his remarks, but the lack of disgust in his eyes tipped me off to the fact that he was only speaking crudely because he was a natural at it.
"Sorry, boys, but this goddess is mine!" I turned to see Mina tossing an arm around my shoulder.
Everyone's so touchy.
I hummed before slipping away from Mina's hold and walking towards my teacher who laid on the floor, waiting for all his students to exit the classroom.
"Sir?" I whispered, tugging at his yellow sleeping bag.
"What, Reyna?"
"Can I rotate with groups? I want the opportunity to test my quirk against multiple situations. Please."
"Fine, anyone could do that but I figured you idiots want to stick to the people you know. Good job for trying to branch out."
"Thanks, sir. I'm making that tofu salad you wanted for dinner, by the way." With that, I walked back towards the collected group near my desk.
"I'll switch between different groups." I announced, keeping a calm face in hopes to alleviate the situation.
"Okay, but if you don't come with me and Jirou to the cafe I told you about today, I'll never forgive you!" Mina snapped, hitting me on the head. Wait, I thought Jirou just invited me? Oh well, the more the merrier.
At least, that's what I hoped.
"I want to go, too, Ashido! Please!" Sero, Kaminari, and Kirishima cried out in unison.
No, this is too many people.
I huffed, before a simple word crossed my mind. Izuku. It was almost instinctive, wondering how he was doing, even if he sat right beside me. I scanned the classroom, but watched as he was exiting with Uraraka and Iida beside him.
Speed walking, I tapped his upper back lightly. He spun to see me, with a simple blink, I kept my lips in the same thin line I resort to when I'm building up courage.
"We should train together, at least twice. Only cause I want to better my quirk." I stated, studying the pensive expression he wore.
"Sure." He smiled and turned quickly, walking away. Hm, that was short. I would think it's unlike him to behave that way, but we've only been friends for three days.
Before I could tell Jirou I was ready to go, I heard his footsteps trailing back to me, I lifted my head to see his green curls rushing towards me with a paper extended in my direction.
"Hm?" I looked to feel him shove it in my palm.
"Here's my number, Florence." His voice is rather loud right now, he continued. "We can talk and pick a time and day to meet and train, okay?" His eyes were searching into mine, I only raised my eyebrows before nodding, turning away to dismiss the way my skin felt prickly and warm.
Despite my slight irritation with the boys wanting to tag along to the cafe we were going to do homework at, I accepted their pleading and raucously vibrant bantering and witty remarks.
I stayed close to Jirou the entire walk there, she asked me of my favorite color and I told her that as of now, I was indecisive.
She was interested in my reasoning, so I briefly explained how colors represent different things, so my preference to one depended on what I wanted to represent.
"Purple would be a good color for you, don't you think?" She asked, as we walked through the doors to the cafe, smells of sugary dough and chocolate wafting through the air.
"Yes, like the purple of your hair or a lilac, both beautiful shades." I replied, hoping my compliment to her appeared as harmless and innocent as I intended it. She coughed loudly, eyes frantically darting over the menu as her neck appeared flushed. Is she getting sick?
We began placing orders, Kaminari and I ordering churros with light coffee as Mina and Jirou demanded bagels with cake pops. Kirishima and Sero finished our order with two dozen donuts, I didn't question the hefty amount.
Removing the yen from my wallet, I felt fingers brush mine lightly. "I'll pay for yours," Kaminari told me casually. I squinted my eyes in suspicion, looking to see if he had some scheme planned.
He stared back rather naively, I nodded, putting my money away.
"I'll pay yours next time we go somewhere." I told him, hating the way I was in favor of repaying him.
"Next time?"
"Yes, Kaminari."
"Okay, sounds good, Reyna." He handed the cashier his money, plucking the bags of food as our other friends had already chosen a booth in the corner and began laying out the sheets of homework assigned.
"Is it okay if I call you Florence, too? Midoriya calls you that now, and being your best guy friend in the universe, it's only fitting if we call each other by our first names." His tone was filled with embarrassment and a hint of hope.
My best guy friend? I hadn't realized that was a thing, and if it was, I knew I would give the title to Izuku because of the way he trusted me with his secret about his quirk.
Looking at Kaminari, I wished he wouldn't be so reckless in brightening people's day by mere words and handing out such grand labels for people who didn't deserve it.
I can't exactly say no to this idiot, though. The puppy-eyed expression he carried could not be ignored.
"That's fine by me," was my response as we approached the table.
Immediately, I regretted saying yes because throughout the whole studying session, he chanted my first name in a sing-song voice. I only flicked his forehead occasionally to silence him.
Jirou and I finished our assignments before anyone else did, so we spent our time attempting to explain chemistry to the others.
Mina was growing frustrated at her lack of understanding the material, so she tugged on Kirishima's hair every time she got an answer wrong.
While the sight was amusing to watch, Sero and Kaminari were distracting themselves from the homework by designating a ranked list of the prettiest girls in our class.
Once Mina and Jirou grew aware of what the boys did, they spent thirty minutes trying to take a peek at the paper Kaminari was hiding. I wasn't amused by the situation at all, so I spent that half hour talking to Kirishima.
I learned early on that his use of the word manly was extensive, and always used as a praise. He admitted to his hair being dyed, and I gave him different tips on the care of his strands, picking up on these facts because of the way Isabella changed her hair every month.
Once Kirishima, Jirou, and I finished our homework, we decided to leave the other three of our group to carry on the pointless conversations among themselves, assuring them that we'd resume this study time for lunch or during a class break.
Kirishima had sauntered off in the opposite direction of the path to my house, but not before giving Jirou and I high-fives and thanking us for being manly enough to let Sero and Kaminari tag along.
"Jirou, do you hear your heartbeat constantly because of your quirk?" I asked. She glanced at me before pursing her lips. We spent ten minutes in silence to our walk back home, the sun was setting and the lovely hues of blue, pink, and orange casted a nice glow on the Musutafu scenery.
"I could if I wanted to, but I tune out the noises in my body for the most part."
I accepted her response as we neared her house. "Thanks for inviting me to do homework, I had fun." I told her, eyes meeting hers.
She grinned and nodded. "Reyna, is it stupid if I tell you that I wish you were my best friend instead of Mina's?"
Her question shocked me. Why was she asking that? We could be best friends, hell if she told me she wanted to be my worst enemy with the same grin, I'd comply.
I thought about her words for a moment before speaking.
"I can be your best friend, too. You're not being stupid, our friendship doesn't have to be like mine and Mina's."
Her grin faded into a soft smile, eyes sparkling at my words. She leaned towards me suddenly as she hugged me. For a few seconds, I stayed still.
Slowly, I lifted my hands to rest on her back before resting my head against her shoulder while staring out at the sunset.
A real girl friend.
I smiled for a millisecond, knowing she couldn't see me.
We both pulled away, as she waved goodbye and ran up the steps to her house.
When I arrived back home, I felt giddy with how comfortable I felt with the people in my class. A nagging fear embedded my mood, warning me that I could lose them if I showed my real personality, the weird girl that stuttered and mixed up her sentences. The girl that would smile and still look ugly. A weak monster of some sort.
I shook off the negative cloud begging to hover me as I prepared Shota's dinner. He wouldn't be home till midnight, he told me before I took off to the cafe. I used the opportunity to go to the home-crafted gym that was Aizawa's basement.
I lifted weights and released my anger towards myself onto the different punching bags. Then, I got on the rusted treadmill, running full speed for an hour.
I kept flitting to the idea of calling my family to check in on them. They weren't aware of my stay in the hospital, QAP was notified, but they decided I shouldn't tell my family because their worry would bring me home.
I hated the idea of hiding things from them, but I wouldn't even know how to begin to explain the incident. Picking up the phone, I heard a few short rings before my mother's voice radiated from the speaker.
"Florence, how's everything in Japan?" She asked, words seeming forced.
Did she not want to talk?
"Everything is fine, are you busy?" I questioned, ignoring the voice in my head that told me she was better off not hearing from me.
"Actually, yes. Can we talk later?"
"Alright, bye, Mom. Love you." A small beep followed; she couldn't even say it back.
I decided to shower, dispersing the words that floated around my brain.
Kill yourself. They all hate you. They don't know how disgusting you are. They will get tired of you. Save them the energy of being near you. End it now.
"Will you shut up?" I snapped, wrapping the robe around my figure as I stormed to my room, slamming the door shut.
Don't cry. You haven't, yet.
I was putting some discarded pens into the highest pocket of my bag, when I noticed an orange paper tucked inside.
How come I haven't seen that, yet?
Plucking it out of its origin, I read the contents.
You're an ugly crybaby, I don't hate you.
Below it was Katsuki Bakugo's number. I cursed myself for the slight tilt in my lips. Placing the paper away in a drawer, I crawled into bed before feeling a vibration from my phone.
Izuku: Hey, Florence! Can we train on Thursday? Sorry if it's a bit late, by the way.
I assured him that I wasn't bothered and agreed.
Izuku: Thanks! Goodnight, Flo:)
I cut my phone off, staring outside my window for a bit, letting the noise of cicadas overwhelm me.
Another buzz.
Did Izuku leave something unsaid?
It was an unknown number. I realized it was Bakugo's because of the identical digits. How the hell did he get my number?
Bakugo: Training tomorrow after school. Be prepared to get your ass kicked.
I groaned in vexation, before typing a response.
Me: Lying is very unmanly. That's what Kirishima tells me. See you tomorrow, goodnight, Bakugo.
My phone notified me again only ten seconds after I responded.
Bakugo: I'M NOT LYING. HAVE NIGHTMARES TONIGHT, UGLY CRYBABY.
Bakugo: Goodnight.
I scoffed, forcing myself to sleep as I buried my head further into the pillow, hoping that his wish for me to have nightmares didn't come true.