A/N: A very important trigger warning: self-harm, depression, sexual and physical abuse. This chapter basically goes in depth with her backstory and the strain it puts on her relationship with trying to grow into a person who's beyond her childhood.
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Several hours had passed since my mother's call. I hadn't spoken a word to anyone, only sparing glances and nods every so often. I wasn't giving much recognition to my feelings or thoughts, I was only aware that the development I felt since I started attending U.A had crumbled like a tower made of uncompressed powder, creating a dust full of wreckage that I couldn't exhibit in enough words.
Aizawa had tried to get me to converse with him multiple times, but none of his attempts were successful. I would only stare blankly at my hands as I tried to digest his sentences with the sensory overload of the external environment.
"Kid, you need to eat." Aizawa pressed my glass plate filled with salmon towards me, the gesture was soft but his intention was hardened. I shrugged, picking up my fork and shamefully poking at it, I couldn't force my appetite.
He sighed, saying nothing as he ate. He apologized multiple times, offering any sort of solution to what had happened. Shota insisted on paying any amount if it meant I could attend the release of my grandfather's ashes, but I knew the QAP would do everything in their power to make sure I remained focused on becoming a hero. It was useless; if my own mother couldn't convince the stoic, heartless organization that dealt a heavy hand in the government, then Shota's persuasion would prove to no avail.
We attempted to wrap up dinner gracefully, as I nodded to his goodnight, and stumbled up the stairs, collapsing into my bed that welcomed me with sunken but warm arms. I stared out at the moon, forcing my vision to notice every crevice and crater, sighing when it didn't alleviate the disaster that ruled my mind and heart.
I haven't cried. My soul felt like it shattered into a million pieces, but there were no tears to solidify my feelings, to force me to deal with the brute reality of the situation. I hadn't sincerely cried in years and I was only inquisitive to what would happen if I let such pain fester inside for the rest of my life.
Eventually, I stayed cognizant to the land between reality and dreams, vividly taking in my surroundings but also hearing the quiet hum of my mind, it was oddly silent. The voice in my head made no particularly daring moves since my phone rung in the morning.
Morning came and I finally had some strength to mutter a sentence to Aizawa at the table. I don't think I could control myself if any of my closest friends tried to talk to me today, I had already taken to ignoring their calls and texts since the day before yesterday; I just couldn't bring myself to formulate a response without dissolving into a formless shell of who I was.
"Can I stay home just for today?" I asked quietly, meeting his gaze momentarily. He blinked, taken aback by my words before responding. "Take as much time as you need." He ruffled my hair before squeezing my frame, drawing out a sad sigh. I didn't look away from my uneaten plate as he exited the door, closing it with a soft thud.
Am I even allowed to feel sad? I don't deserve to, I'm a horrible person for not going to his ceremony. My face contorted in pain, grief slithering to the frontal lobe of my mind and coaxing me to give her the reigns.
I lurched myself out of the table, stomping up the stairs to shower quickly. I didn't think anything else as I brushed my hair, my teeth, and put on loose sweatpants with a sweatshirt. I tied my hair back into a low bun, pulling the hoodie over my head. The days were already blending into early June, but I didn't have the bravery to care about my appearance, I only dressed according to the reflection I felt. Slipping on shoes and grabbing my phone, I left my house, walking aimlessly around the city of Musutafu.
I turned on my phone to see it flooded with notifications; clearing them all, I composed one message to Shota, telling him that I left the house to get air but promising that I wouldn't put myself in any danger, even sending my location in case he got worried. Aizawa replied saying it was fine but that I better not land myself in any trouble, clicking the power button to my phone, I steered clear from the large crowds of the markets and convenience stores.
Eventually, I found a path to the forest near our neighborhood, walking on the pebbled road until I was ascending vertically; I realized then that it was a mountain I was treading on. I paid no attention to anything except the grass and the leaves from the trees, beckoning thick roots and branches to move from my path every so often as I still felt cold from the sun that used to always bestow the amiable heat to me.
After forty minutes of pacing slowly, I arrived at the top of the mountain, realizing that I hiked so far that the sparkling ocean was what welcomed me below. It was illuminating the view with stunning shades of blue, gray, and white, but I felt wrong in finding beauty in nature.
I stepped back from the proximity of the cliff, settling into the crook of a widened trunk of a pine tree. Its branches were extended outward, the cluster of leaves casting shade as small slits of sunlight peeked through every so often.
I leaned back, staring at the cloudy sky that can be seen from the openings of the branches. If I could rewind time, I would. My eyelids grew heavy as the Earth below me seemed to welcome me with open arms. I curled my body, laying my head against the ends of trunk as I sighed, hoping my mind could find some sort of relief.
- Bakugo's P.O.V -
I was pissed.
Word flew fast among pro-heroes about the truth of the incident in Hosu City. Despite the general public believing that Stain was taken down by Endeavor and his team, along with other pros, people like Best Jeanist knew the truth. He had confided in me the day after the events happened.
Hero Killer Stain was actually taken down by four U.A High students who were also completing their internships, their paths just happened to cross coincidentally.
The ugly crybaby, the damn nerd, the class rep that was way too preppy, and the icy-hot bastard were the students who defeated a villain that no one else could beat.
How did they do it? Even if the half and half bastard and the ugly girl are powerful, why were they the ones to succeed instead of pros?
It just didn't make sense to me, what enraged me more was that the idiotic girl didn't bother once to notify me of the events. She hadn't even texted, she was probably too busy affiliating herself with Endeavor. I could understand why the brat chose to go to the number two hero for the internship, but was she also thinking of Todoroki when she made the decision?
Shaking her stupid face out of my head, I entered class and walked to my desk, face donning the same angry look that threatened the losers of our classroom to stay away. I tried tuning out the conversations around me; I could hear Kirishima and Sero talking about Hosu City.
That's all everyone seems to talk about right now.
The conversations and voices grew louder as I tried to recall if I needed to complete any assignments that were due today, I never missed any work and I wouldn't start right now, even if my schedule remained busy and my free time became shorter.
My teeth grated when I heard the nerd's voice, he seemed to be talking to Icy-Hot about something, but I didn't care enough to try and eavesdrop on the conversation. The idea of eavesdropping made me recall a particular memory with the ugly girl.
"You're such a metiche, Bakugo." Reyna told me once when she had seen me leaning against the wall near Mina and Kirishima who were chattering on about some pointless subject. I wasn't actually listening in on them, but it seemed that way from my position.
I glared at her, "Mind your damn business, crybaby. What the fuck is that anyways?" I asked, not really caring but her voice was the least irritating from the class, so it wasn't that much of a drag to hear her speak.
I hated complimenting others, everyone had flaws, myself included. Yet, it was like my brain had been hardwired to act as if I was on drugs whenever she was around. I couldn't berate her internally the way I did verbally.
Her lemon-shaped eyes studied me, before one of those rare looks of amusement made its way onto her tanned face. "It means someone who listens in on everyone and always needs to be in people's business." She handed me a water bottle, acting like the pathetically considerate idiot she was.
"Well screw you and your shitty Spanish words, ugly." It was odd, she was the first person I met that never missed when I was joking or actually speaking the truth. I didn't need to feel guilty for the way I spoke to her; Reyna never pressed me to act differently or speak to her the way Deku does. I used to think she was just like him, she annoyed the hell out of me when she first arrived, her quiet behavior and soft attitude made her seem like a crappy American extra.
Things changed when we saw each other the day before the Sports Festival. Even though she thinks like the damn nerd, always acting like a selfless dumbass, she was nothing like him in terms of her mentality.
When she opened up about the reason she enrolled in U.A, I felt like I saw a flash of her real self. A girl who was kind to the point where it was nausea-inducing, but also someone who had been through enough to keep her guard up at all times. She was strong, there wasn't a doubt about it, but it was like she only acted in generosity if herself wasn't included. I saw that, and without even realizing it, I made a way for us to use the day wisely to help her relieve some of her stress.
That's what made me mad, I went out of my way for her and she still couldn't tell me that she had gotten involved in some bullshit with Stain, after I specifically warned her not to place herself in danger.
Where was she, anyways? She still hadn't entered the classroom and Mr. Aizawa was already speaking about how we needed to worry about the final exams that were approaching in the first week of July.
The morning dragged on with the usual crappy lectures from our teachers, I made sure to pay attention to the details of the lessons even though my mind was hay-wiring and wondering about the whereabouts of the ugly girl. The bell rang for lunch, and I put my materials away, ready to stand and leave before four figures stood around my desk.
What the fuck do these morons want? Deku, Icy-Hot, Dunce Face, and the earplug girl were all crowding me, and my already high irritation levels spiked even more.
"Move out of my way before I blow you extras up." I said, making sure my calm tone expressed how serious I was.
What irked me was that they didn't react, Kaminari couldn't even crack a joke as he stared at me with furrowed brows. Seriously, what the hell is going on?
Finally, the nerd spoke. "Todoroki said he needed to talk to all of us about Florence. He's asking for our help," my eyes narrowed into slits at the way he said her name, as if she was the reason the sun rose and set everyday.
"What makes you think I want to help you losers?" I questioned, while my thoughts drifted to the expression Reyna wore at times. It was a tough one to look at, her eyes would remain darkened as her lips would point downwards, it made her seem lost and weak, something that I figured she wasn't.
"I heard her talking to Aizawa once after school, she called you her best friend, so I think you should listen to what Todoroki has to say even if you don't think anything of her." Dunce Face was the one who muttered that, his eyes losing the usual jovial glance that he'd carry, always ready to make the stupidest jokes.
Who the hell is he to question how I think of Reyna? I sighed, "Fuck. Whatever, get on with it already so I can get back to not being around you losers." I was already feeling the nagging emotion that made me want to go see if the girl was alright. Did she get badly injured with Stain?
We walked to the empty hallway, the other extras were already out for lunch so we had privacy as Todoroki began explaining what happened.
Reyna must've opened up to Todoroki during their week of interning together, he spoke of how she expressed her love for her grandfather. He described it as her saying "he's the only man I love and trust." I found that depressing, what did she experience to make her find solace in a grandfather and not any other person in the world? He finished it by saying that she received a call from her mother yesterday morning, saying how her grandfather passed away the day the Stain incident happened, but how the American factor that facilitated quirks refused to let her go back home.
Christ, that's a heavy burden to handle. My body was stirring uncomfortably at the idea that Reyna was sinking into a hole that would bring her all harm and no good. I heard Deku's pathetic cries while the earplug girl began wiping tears of her own. Dunce Face only furrowed his brows, eyes depicting the worry that I felt but refused to put on display.
"So, what the fuck should we do?" I asked, glaring at the half and half boy in front of me.
"Well, I reached out to my father and asked for his help on finding out who her guardian is. He said he knew but couldn't tell me. What he did mention was that she would be home alone right now since her guardian's a teacher at the school. We should leave right when the afternoon classes end to go and support her." His voice was such a deadpan that I couldn't help but scowl.
"Why would I wanna support her? She's grown, she can sort out her own crap," I groaned out, but I was already trying to remember the path to her house that we took when I saw her outside of school.
"You're right, Todoroki. If you told us that she considers us her best friends, then we should show her how much we care about her!" Deku spoke, attempting to sound cheerful but his tone only struck a cord of rage in me.
I ignored the group, heading to the cafeteria to get my lunch and mull over what Icy-Hot said.
The rest of the day passed by slowly, time was acting like if it had a personal vendetta against me as I found myself tapping my foot impatiently, waiting for the final bell to ring and release us from class. I was writing double the work, figuring that I would show one act of generosity (which was already pushing my meter of kindness that was extremely low.) I had taken to scribbling a second copy of today's lessons for her, I would find a way to slip it to her without her figuring out it was me.
The bell finally relieved me of this stupid feeling flooding my thoughts as I immediately exited the classroom, ignoring Shitty Hair's protests. I heard three sets of footsteps following me, I turned, huffing at Deku, Kaminari, and earplug girl. "Where the fuck is IcyHot?" My question was met with the short-haired girl saying, "He decided that it would be better if only us four went, he doesn't think he should bother Reyna, even though I told him he wouldn't be a nuisance."
"He would," I snapped, leaving the building as I was met with the sun shining brightly.
We arrived at the two-story wooden house that I knew Reyna lived in, walking past the gates brought back the memory of her standing by it, she looked at me with an overwhelming amount of gratitude. I couldn't understand why a simple gesture had seemed so important to her, she thanked me like if I saved her life that day, always carrying that same hideous expression of a quiet joy.
I knocked on the door roughly, trying to show that I wouldn't take her ignoring our disturbance for an answer. I pressed my ear to the door, listening to see if she would make her way down the stairs. I recalled how she told me her room was upstairs when I barged into her house that day to help her put the groceries away.
No movement, no noise, nothing. What the hell? Is she asleep? She couldn't be, she must be trying to hide herself.
I slammed the door angrily, "You shitty girl, open the door right now! We know what happened, so it's pointless to try and hide!"
Kaminari jumped at my voice, "Hey, Bakugo, what if she's not here?" I ignored him, still banging on the door, hoping that she'd eventually be on the other side.
I saw Deku moving towards the window, his eyes seemed to be trying to peer through. "Hey, Midoriya, doesn't this feel a little illegal?" Earplug girl asked, her face tinted with worry. Deku only waved her away lightly, "It's okay, Jirou. I'm sure she'd understand why we're here." He was now moving towards the side of the house.
Stupid nerd. He must be desperate to see if he can act like some savior.
I was still banging on the door, unaware that the girl named Jirou, Dunce Face, and Deku had all left to the sides, leaving me alone in front. That was fine, maybe Reyna didn't want to be overwhelmed with too many people near her.
"Hey, Bakugo, she's not home." Kaminari's words made me spin to him quickly, why isn't she here? Where could she be? Alone right now, of all times.
I growled, slamming my foot into the ground as the cement cracked slightly. I turned to walk away, ignoring Deku crying out the stupid nickname he dubbed for me when we were kids.
These losers were still following me as I walked around the neighborhood, searching for the short, brunette girl. She was nowhere to be found, so I paused near a convenience store, thinking about where she would go.
She would definitely not be in a mall or crowded area, she was the introverted type so in a moment of pain, I knew she wouldn't be where a bunch of shitty people were. Reyna would go somewhere private, somewhere recognizable that brought her stability, even if she wasn't aware of it.
What would make her feel safe? I grunted out my frustration, thinking of trivial locations and seeing if it would fit the type of place she'd be at.
I heard the damn nerd and electricity idiot discussing a sort of game plan intently, does Deku need to always fucking create a strategy for everything? It's not like she would think with her qui-
Actually, she would. I ran off, heading to the forest that I knew was nearby, rushing my pace because I knew the damn extras were following me. After ten minutes, I reached the entrance of the forest to a small pebbled path that lead upwards. The forest was atop a mountain, and I scolded myself for worrying about the way she might encounter wild animals or creepy strangers.
Marching through the path, I noticed that certain branches seemed to be twisted oddly, like if it was bent to clearly make way for a certain person's tread. She has to be here, the sun was beginning to move downwards, and I didn't want to think about her being alone here in the darkness with her thoughts that would rival the night.
The hike was long, and still no signs of her appeared other than the unnaturally twisted branches. I was beginning to express my anger, screaming at Deku and Dunce Face occasionally whenever they tried speaking to me. Can't they just shut up and look for her? What if she doesn't even want us around? When I was about ready to just give up and start exploding the trees down, we reached the highest peak of the mountain. The ocean could be seen from afar, it glowed the regular blue but mixtures of orange, purple, and pink could be seen as it casted a reflection from the sky.
I stepped towards the edge, knowing that the three extras were behind me as we all looked out, lost in our own thoughts of Reyna.
If she's not here, then we're screwed. We would make it back to the bottom of the mountain and it would already be nighttime by then, making it that much harder to find her.
"Kacchan, we should just go-" Deku began but I interrupted him. "Shut the hell up, we need to find her." I didn't care what they thought of me at this point, if I couldn't find Reyna and wring her by her little neck because of the way we spent hours searching for her, I wouldn't know what to do.
I turned, walking away from the edge when my eyes pinpointed the creature nestled beneath the pine tree.
Florence Reyna.
She was breathing softly, chest rising and falling with every soft sigh that escaped from her lips. The light of the near evening and the radiance of the nature surrounding her made her a nymph, a being that descended directly from nature to only have others perceive her for the beauty she was.
What an ugly crybaby.
I frowned at the slight shiver from her frame, removing my jacket and placing it over her to provide some warmth for her. The others gasped, finally catching sight of the girl I noticed moments ago. Their steps approached us as I turned and shot them a glare, daring them to make a sound and disturb her. I went back to glancing at her, checking to see if she had any injuries from today or from the fight with Stain. Her overly large clothes made it difficult to see anything, so I only sighed, sitting on the ground near her.
The others sat beside me, all of us studying her for a brief moment. She had no emotion in her expression except serenity that laced through her relaxed eyebrows and the slight pout of her lips. I would never admit it out loud, but I only called her ugly to steer myself away from the fact that no one could rival her looks. There wasn't an accurate word to describe the definition of her appearance, the dictionary needed a new one to compensate for the way she glowed when she laughed or smiled.
She was beginning to stir, the dregs of the air were calling her from the sleep she basked in. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, face contorted in confusion as she took in us and her surroundings. After a few seconds, the serenity was tugged away from her face as panic set in.
She sat up, scooting away from us and closer to the tree, acting as if she could dissolve into the nature near her. I decided to speak.
"You ugly crybaby, IcyHot told us what happened so we spent the afternoon looking for your sorry ass. You can't go around napping in random parts of this city." I finished with a glare.
Reyna said nothing, only shooting an apologetic glance before staring at her hands. I was getting angrier the longer the silence dragged on.
"Florence, we want to be here for you. We're your friends, you don't have to open up about it, but let us show that we care." Deku said, placing his hand on her ankle. I had to stop myself from swatting his hand away, she didn't seem like she wanted to be physically comforted by anyone. The girl only nodded, never looking at him once.
I finally snapped. I pulled on the strings of her hoodie, forcing her to be inches away from my face. "Are you giving us the silent treatment? If you want to be alone just fucking say it." I was hoping I'd piss her off enough to get a reaction.
Her hand flew over mine. "Bakugo, if I speak about it, I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself." The tone of her sentence and broken look in her eyes tugged at me, casting the strangest feeling of hurt. It was a novelty to me, nothing like from what I encounter in a terrible training or with an injury. I let go of the strings, allowing her to sink back into the trunk of the tree.
"Reyna, if you fall apart, you know we'll help you pick up the pieces right?" Jirou stated while trying to give her some shitty attempt of reassurance. Dunce Face added to that by saying, "It's okay to be open with others, we won't think anything less of you."
As much as the extras annoyed me, I guess it was a benefit to allow them to follow me around. For some reason, she cared about our opinions, her resolve finally cracking with our words.
The nature user shut her eyes, rubbing her temples as she whispered, "Let me explain everything." We all stared, getting ourselves more settled into the grass as we waited for her to begin.
She sighed, before finally speaking. "I won't take up any more of your time, so I'll be quick about this." Her words were rushed, and I noticed the slightest stutter.
"Shut up, crybaby, we spent enough of our day over you so don't be generous now." I had to tell her, she needed someone to notify her to not feel bad about opening up and taking our time.
She blinked, eyes softening when her gaze met mine and she continued.
"It seems I've always had misfortune with father figures in my life. My dad and mom got divorced because he used to beat me often when I was little, their marriage was already falling apart so I guess I was the final straw. I never knew why he hit me, but I knew it was wrong when he punched my nose so hard once that I felt a bone pop, I got nose bleeds since then. Anyways, we moved a few hundred miles away from him and my mother was moving on with her life. My grandfather from my dad's side still remained close to my mom and my sisters and I, he's a good man who was the exact opposite of his son. We always tried our best to see him often despite the distance, and I trusted him with everything. So, my mom met a man who made her happy in the beginning, he moved in with us and four years passed by with us seeming like the perfect family, even if he wasn't our biological dad."
Reyna stood, stepping away from the half circle we formed around her as she walked towards the cliff, but not close enough to alarm me. My eyes didn't leave her as I tried to understand what she was going through. She rubbed her face in dread before pressing on.
"In the summer of their fourth year together, my mom began working during the day while her boyfriend had stayed at home in the meanwhile, his shift was during the night. It was fine at first, but then he called me to their room one day. I didn't know what he wanted but I trusted him enough so I listened and went. I regret walking into that room." She stopped to look at the sky, we watched as her face contorted in pain. She doesn't need to continue. It's hurting her to speak about this. I was surprisingly still despite the wrath that was embedded into my system.
Her sentences disrupted the silence. "He abused me sexually for a month. I kept quiet about it for a year, when I told my mom, it destroyed her mentally. She lives in constant paranoia to this day. She stopped trusting anyone, she was so angry and so hurt by the world, and I felt so bad. I didn't even know what to think. I just wanted it to end, I remember I begged one day, asking for it to stop. You know what he did? He said he would call my little sister if I didn't listen." Her voice broke, as she released a pained laugh. It turned into distorted laughter mixed with coughs as she sunk to the floor. I was too stunned and disturbed to catch her.
"I became so fucking horrible after that, I felt discarded, I broke my family. I grew away from interacting with people properly, the kids in elementary and middle school began calling me a freak, an odd girl who was gross and ugly, they would punch me and throw me around, they made fun of me for my stutter and my poor speaking. They didn't know I was bad at socializing because my mind was broken, I'm so pathetic. One day it got so bad that they slammed my head into the sink. That's how the government noticed my quirk, I hurt them to protect myself. Ironic, right? Everyone said I was the equivalent to quirkless until I finally fucking snapped. It all became too much, I stopped smiling, stopped laughing, stopped focusing on fixing my speech skills because I wanted to seem normal if I ever made any friends. How pointless it all was. I was so disgusted by myself, looking at my mom's tired face only killed me. But I love my grandfather, not once did he blame me, not once did he look at me in pity. He never looked grossed out by having such a shitty grandchild."
She clutched at her chest, face twisting in grief as she violently sobbed. She's breaking. Seeing that made me finally understand what it was like to feel your heart being shattered.
Her sobs pierced the air, tears cascading down her cheeks in hot streams. "He promised me! He said he'd see me graduate, he wanted to see me become a hero and save others! They won't fucking let me go home and see him, I can't do it anymore, can't you guys see? It's so hard to live, I tried taking my life away so many times in the past and it was unsuccessful. Does the universe have some sort of sick fucking plan for me? I can't take it. It hurts. It hurts!" Florence Reyna was scratching at her thighs rapidly, as if that could pull away from the grief she was experiencing. As if that could wipe away her horrible past.
"Damn it! I hate this, I hate myself! I just want to be happy, God why can't I be happy? I don't want to be weak, please. I don't want to be weak." Her voice drifted off as she wailed loudly, her sentences becoming distorted. Her body was completely sunken to the floor, the ground and trees around us seemed to be abiding by her emotions, as it all shook heavily.
I tuned out everyone but her, her body racked with her sobs, it seemed never ending. I didn't even know what to feel, how do I feel after that? What could I do to help her? I was useless, I only felt the rage burning at me, begging me to annihilate those that hurt her.
I stood, walking to her as I dropped my body beside hers. I wedged my arm under her knees while the other stayed strung across her back. I lifted Reyna up and she didn't react, too consumed in agony to even notice what was going on.
I carried the girl back to the trunk we were all sitting at, settling down as I kept her close to me, she twisted her face into my shirt. I felt the wetness from her eyes as she buried herself further into my chest. Her sobs were interrupted with her pleas. "Bakugo, please, make it stop hurting. Please, help me." I nearly dissolved at the words, forcing back the tears that beckoned to be released with hers, only holding her as she continued to cry.
Deku, Kaminari, and Jirou hadn't spoken a single word. Tears streamed down their faces, all of them mourning with her, unashamed. Eventually, Jirou crawled over to Reyna and I, tugging at the girl in my arms softly. I released her, knowing that I couldn't be the only one supporting her right now. Over the next forty minutes, they all took turns holding her, speaking sweet nothings of comfort to her ear as they grieved alongside her. Night had settled in and the moonlight only heightened the waves of torment that Reyna was experiencing.
Eventually, her sobs subdued to quiet sniffles, the streams withered to droplets. Her eyes were swollen, and her face was burning red from the amount of times she rubbed at it. She seemed to be regaining some of her sanity, releasing a heavy sigh as the nerd was the one with his arms wrapped around her frame. When he let her go, everything was silent for a few moments and only the rustling of the leaves and the cicadas could be heard.
She faced us, but covered her face as she made an odd expression of embarrassment. "I'm so sorry for trauma dumping this on you guys. I understand if you guys don't want to be my friends anymore."
I've had enough of Reyna speaking as if throwing away her friendship was even an option. "Stop apologizing for being a fucking human. None of this crap is your fault, you never asked for this and you have every right to show that you're hurting. We don't think any less of you so quit trying to push us away!" I yelled, letting her see the honesty and anger I was trying to bury.
The three losers agreed with me instantly, all reassuring her that they would be supportive of her until she decided she hates them. That last part of Kaminari's sentence made her chuckle slightly as she wiped the last of her tears away.
"Thank you. Having one best friend, let alone four, is too much of a blessing. If suffering the way I did meant meeting you all, then I'm accepting of it."Reyna's words tore at the remaining self-control I had left. I sighed, pouring my focus into the moon to keep from being near her.
We all stood, pulling Reyna with us to begin walking home. We treaded downhill in silence, I made sure to keep the jacket on the girl because her slight shivers continued to be noticed by me.
When we reached the neighborhood of her home, Deku and the others spoke to her, saying a bunch of things while smothering her with affection. She wasn't fazed by it, since she stopped the heavy sobbing, her whole demeanor seemed to change. Reyna now walked as if there wasn't such a heavy weight on her shoulders. Maybe her finally revealing all of her burdens was the best decision for her mental health.
The others had left by then, and it was only her and I walking to her home. Exhaustion was setting in but I told it to screw off as I poured the remaining amount of my energy to focus on the girl walking next to me.
Florence Reyna. I was studying her, the slope of her nose to the fullness of her lips, her curled eyelashes glowing in the moonlight. Her cheeks were the prominent type so her small smile in my direction only made them stand out more. Her recently cut hair had been removed from the low bun it was in as the evening wind breezed through it, the waves being ruffled as we neared the entrance to her house.
We both stopped and she turned to look at me. "Bakugo, tha-"
"Don't. There's nothing to thank me for. Your ugly self would do the same, right?" I raised my eyebrow, and stretched my hand out to yank at her cheek.
Her eyes had tears threatening to escape from them as she nodded, giving me another stupidly soft grin. It would take time for her to settle the turmoil that she felt, but this was a step in the right direction. She can begin to heal properly now.
I almost forgot. I didn't spend all my time copying my notes for it to not be read by a certain idiot. I removed the papers from my bag, handing them to her.
She took them, lifting her eyes to meet my gaze. "What's this?" I found it funny that she was already pressing the papers to her chest tightly, grateful for them even though she had no clue what it was.
"You were absent today, weren't you? You're stupid, ugly, and now I can say you're a crybaby." I teased, smirking as I watched her scowl, a failed attempt at a flick to my forehead was sent my way.
She glanced back down at the sheets, before closing her eyes. Her body moved forward and I met her halfway, finally showing what I didn't want the other extras to see.
My arms circled around her small frame, as hers wrapped around my neck. Her head was buried in my neck, and I felt her warm, steady breaths as goosebumps erupted across my skin. I rubbed her back, I haven't hugged a single person in my life besides my parents, but I would only make the exception because as disgusting as it sounded, I guess she deserved the title of being my best friend. After all, I wouldn't go searching for any random person if I didn't consider them as someone worthy.
After a few moments, we pulled apart. "Goodnight, Bakugo," she whispered, another favorable smile casted towards me. "Goodnight, you ugly crybaby." I responded, swatting at her forehead in hopes to erase the small vulnerability I conveyed in holding her. She rolled her eyes, walking towards her front door. I turned, ready to head home when she called my name once more. I looked to see her shooting her shitty middle finger, before running inside, slamming the door to ignore my insults that I hurled at her.
That damn ugly crybaby, always being a nuisance to me.
It seemed that I would have to continue to lie to myself about how I saw Florence Reyna.