Neutrality Order (TomBoo)

L.R. - Chapter 5

Taking ANOTHER mental health day would definitely raise some red flags, so Tommy forced himself to return to school even while he was mentally screaming in one long breath going on twelve hours now.

He almost missed his stop, asking himself for the thousandth time why in god's name he had chosen THAT as a distraction. He could have played it cool or distracted Wilbur or even done the LOGICAL thing and teamed up with Will to subdue Ranboo.

But no. The first thing that came to mind was to KISS him.

He knew it had to be bad when even Aizawa told him he looked tired and pointed him right to Recovery Girl for a checkup, his expression prohibiting any protest from Tommy's part. Tommy let out a sigh and grabbed his bag to perform the walk of shame in front of the class and down the hall to Recovery Girl's office. The last thing he wanted was any more attention brought to him in these hellish, trying times, but maybe a nap might actually do him some good.

"What did you do this time, Tommy?" Recovery Girl sighed. "Homeroom isn't even out yet."

"I know," Tommy replied, rubbing his eyes. "Aizawa sent me. He said I looked horrible."

Recovery Girl huffed. "If that pile of hair and dry-eye says you look horrible, it must be bad," she said, gesturing for Tommy to take a seat. He did so, putting his bag under the bed as Recovery Girl took his temperature and blood pressure.

"...are you stressed about anything?" she asked, eyeing the sphygmomanometer with a hint of worry.

Tommy let out a humorless scoff. "Teenagers in a school for hero training, what's to be stressed about?" he muttered. Recovery Girl arched a brow.

"Enough stress to cut through your mental-verbal filter," she remarked. "You haven't gotten a lot of sleep, I can tell that much. You didn't even have this much worry from USJ on until recently." She sat back. "This is something big, then. Care to talk about it?"

Tommy's cheeks went red, looking away and saying nothing.

"You know, this falls under doctor-patient confidentiality," she coaxed. "Unless it's something like deliberately hiding self-inflicted injuries or things of the sort, I'm bound to say nothing."

He sat in silence for a moment before taking a deep breath and letting it out.

"...you ever...somehow become involved with someone you shouldn't?"

Recovery Girl's eyes narrowed. "I truly hope this isn't about a teacher, or I'll have to break that confidence," she warned. Tommy quickly shook his head.

"No no, not like that, god no!" he yelped before rubbing the back of his head. "...just...someone not affiliated with the school at all. I wouldn't even know what to CALL what it is we have..."

Recovery Girl closed her eyes, sighing. "Figures you would be the one to stress over something like a crush," she muttered. "Teenagers..." She folded her hands in her lap, looking Tommy over. "Though this seems pretty extreme for a crush...unless it's advanced further than that and you're worried about venereal diseases or pregnancy-"

"WHAT!? NO!" Tommy almost shouted before burying his face in his hands. "No no no no no - and how would that even WORK for two guys, I..." He paused, then grabbed a pillow and screamed into it. Recovery Girl just watched, having seen and dealt with almost everything in a school full of teenagers by this point, back even when she was a student-resident. This was almost reminiscent of the dear teachers now when they were students. Seeing young Hizashi and Shota coming in separate times on the same day for the same reason (heart palpitations, sweaty palms, dry mouth, and complete loss of brain function around the other) was something she still enjoyed teasing the men about to this day.