LOST // BAKUGO X OC

Attempted Recovery

Estelle was exhausted. She had hoped from the adventurous outing with Bakugo the previous day would have settled her enough to catch some sleep but to no avail. Estelle avoided visiting the living room that night; she had spent enough time with Bakugo. It was bad enough that Estelle had spent the day with him, but she couldn't do the night on top of that. It would only end poorly, and Estelle couldn't do more of that.

The nights were filled with nightmares that she tried to avoid, and the day was full of thoughts that she could not escape. Even though she had managed to get some reprieve yesterday, it seems that she was crowded to the point of insanity when she was back to her thoughts. Nevertheless, Estelle held it together like she always did.

It was early morning at this point, and Estelle floated into the kitchen absentmindedly since she was so lost in thought. The class were sitting, having their own meals, when Estelle took the plate and sat at their table. She was mute as she bit into her food, ignoring the chatter around her.

'Ah, Bakugo's cooking again.'

The class attempted to speak to her but were ignored. Estelle was staring into her bowl and twirling her chopsticks. She had barely eaten anything. For them, they had seen a mellower, Estelle, the last few days. Her words were even shorter, her eyes always seemed deep in thought, and she just seemed so much more melancholy.

It concerned them. The class let Estelle be; they understood a little more of her cues. But they were unsure of what to do. What they could do to help her. Since they didn't know the cause, they were left in the dark on the answer.

"Estelle", Tokoyami repeated gently as he brushed his hand against her shoulder. Estelle jumped within her seat, startled from the interruption, and her fingers moved to seize his hand. She froze midway through as if she had managed to stop herself in time. They guessed it was another reflex of hers.

"Sorry. How can I help you?" Estelle muttered back, her eyes trailing back to the bowl in front of her.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh, yeah, um, I'm fine", Estelle stuttered before giving a half-smile of assurance.

That was strange.

Estelle grimaced from the silence penetrating the room. Clearly, they didn't believe a single word she had just uttered. Estelle just focused back on the food to avoid the stillness. The clatter of chopsticks rung out in the room. The chatter slowly started back up to Estelle's alleviation. Finishing her meal quickly, Estelle moved to escape.

"Estelle."

"Hm?"

"We won't force you to speak. But I just wanted to make sure that you knew. We'll be here."

Estelle stilled at the exit. She was taken aback by Izuku's response. The whole time she had been with them, they were almost forceful with her. Like they were entitled to have her answers and time. They irritated her with how overbearing they were. If she didn't eat with them, they would chase her and ask her why. If she didn't answer their questions, they would demand them. The change was....pleasant.

It seems they had finally understood what she was asking for.

Turning towards the class, silently sitting behind her. Estelle gave a tiny smile; her gaze was the lightest they had seen from the last few days. They slackened to the realisation.

They had been doing it wrong this whole time.

"Thank you", Estelle muttered, the door closing shut behind her as she departed.

"Midoriya! How did you do that!??" Ashido blurted, grabbing onto the male shoulders frantically.

"Wahh! I thought about it, and I feel like we've been pressuring her a lot. Maybe, if we take a step back, I think it might do some good. When we invaded her privacy, we took a billion steps back. She asked for us to respect her boundaries and wait for when she's ready." Izuku considered out loud as he stared at the table.