BET

8

【Ａｎｄ　ｈｏｗ　ｓｈｅ　ｗａｓ　ｂｅｆｏｒｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｙｅａｒｓ　ｆｌｅｗ　ｂｙ
Ａｎｄ　ｈｏｗ　ｓｈｅ　ｗａｓ　ｗｈｅｎ　ｓｈｅ　ｗａｓ　ｂｅａｕｔｉｆｕｌ】

Y/N was pretty sure that she had never been this embarrassed before. She had been waking up somewhere without knowing where the hell she was before and it had been awful, but this? This was even worse. Because she knew sort of where she was. She was fully aware that she was in her teacher's apartment after he had found her close to passing out drunk in some parking lot with her friends. After he had brought her home, because she could barely stand on her own two feet anymore. And on top of all of that, he had even caught her skipping class.

Y/N wasn't really sure how she would ever be able to get out of this one again. There was no way back. He had to expel her for this, didn't he? Y/N was pretty sure. She couldn't even really remember the drive back to his place, she just knew that he had put down a futon for her and given her a bucket and a big glass of water and then he had left her alone, so she could sleep off whatever alcohol she still had in her blood. After that Y/N was basically passed out for good.

And now it was Saturday morning (or afternoon, she really wasn't sure) and she had just woken up. Aizawa was sitting on his couch, reading a book. Y/N wasn't even sure whether she should say anything. She was almost sure that this meant that he had ditched his classes today as well, because there was no way that the school day hadn't already started. This was the most awkward and embarrassing situation to be in and Y/N just wished he'd leave for a few minutes, so she could get out of this place and get back home to be ashamed in peace.

Unfortunately, this wasn't how this worked. Y/N watched Aizawa while he hadn't really noticed her yet. He was probably not even aware that she was awake yet. Honestly, she was surprised that he had been this lenient with her. She hadn't really expected that. She had expected him to get incredibly angry with her and expel her on the spot, but that hadn't happened, so she wondered what was in store for her today. Honestly, maybe Aizawa wasn't even that bad. He looked pretty cute when he was so caught up in his book and it was very nice of him to take care of her yesterday.

Y/N wondered whether her friends had gotten home alright. She knew that she had told them to text her, but yesterday she wasn't in any state to read or send texts, so even if they had texted her that they were currently being kidnapped, there wasn't really much that she'd be able to do about it. Hell, there wasn't much she could do about it on a regular day, either. If her friends didn't text her that they had gotten home safe after a night out, she honestly wasn't sure when she would call the police. Or whether she'd call them at all, because she'd just assume that they had forgotten to text her. Maybe she'd ask another friend if they knew where they were.

"And what are you staring at?" she suddenly heard Aizawa's voice. It almost made her sit up completely straight, because she had been convinced that he hadn't noticed her being awake. He hadn't even looked up from his book!

"Jeez, Mr. Aizawa, you scared me!" she exclaimed and took a few deep breaths. It was only now that she was starting to realise how bad her headache was. This was going to be a tough day...

"Sorry 'bout that. How are you doing today?" he wanted to know. Y/N looked at him, hoping to convey the extent of her suffering through eye contact somehow. It didn't work well, since he still didn't look up from his book.

"I've got an awful headache. And I'm generally not feeling too well. Although I'm probably feeling better than I should be feeling..." she mumbled, looking around for the glass of water and taking it, gulping it down quickly. She really needed that water right now, it was the only thing that seemed to be able to alleviate her suffering at least a little bit. She gasped for air when she was done chugging down the entire glass of water. And she was starting to wonder when Aizawa would start yelling at her, because it seemed odd that he hadn't done that yet.

"Yeah, you don't seem to be half as miserable as you should be. Maybe you're still kind of drunk, who knows..." Aizawa told her, looking up from his book now and giving her a smug grin.

"Oh God... that's the worst feeling..." Y/N groaned, thinking back to all the times she had woken up after a night out, thinking she was feeling surprisingly well, only to figure out a few hours later that she had in fact still been drunk when she had woken up. The hangover after a night like that was always murderous, no exceptions. Aizawa laughed quietly to himself and shook his head.

"Well, to be honest, you kind of deserve it. You were out of it yesterday. I'm surprised that you're still alive." he said.

"I'm not a lightweight, dude." Y/N protested, paling when she realised that she had probably said too much. Even considering her real age, she wasn't supposed to be drinking. Sure, everyone had a fake ID somewhere, but her homeroom teacher (who was at the same time a pro hero) was not the best person to hear about this. In fact, he was probably the worst person to hear.

"You're drinking like that a lot?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice. It felt almost comforting to have someone actually care about her right now. She wasn't sure what to do with that.

"None of your business, to be honest." she replied, trying to get up, so she could leave and get back home. This was awkward enough already, she didn't need to stay throughout the whole talk.

"I'm your teacher, of course it's my business when you skip half a day of school and I find you in a parking lot with people that are all older than you and you're completely drunk, ready to pass out. It's very much my business when that happens. If there's anything going on..." he started, but Y/N stopped him by holding up her hand. She really didn't want to talk about shit like this right now. She knew that she probably shouldn't be drinking this much and that she was absolutely embarrassing yesterday and that drowning her sorrows in alcohol wasn't going to solve any problems, but she didn't need to hear that right now. She just needed to go home.

"There's nothing going on. Nothing I don't know how to handle, anyway. So please... I think I made enough of a fool of myself yesterday, so I should probably get home now. Before things get even more awkward." she told him and got on her feet. She didn't even remember taking off her shoes... maybe he had done that for her. That would be even more awkward than him seeing her as drunk as she was. Right now, she truly felt sorry for what she was putting this poor man through. He was really trying to make an effort and he deserved so much better than her.

"Y/N, I get that you're not in the mood to talk right now..."

"Then why are you trying to make me talk?"

"... but if you do feel like it and if you think you ever need any help at all, you know you can come to me, right?"

"Well, you're not exactly one of the most approachable people in the whole world, you know." Y/N muttered.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, I tend to be a bit harsh on everyone and I know it doesn't work for every student, but... well, the offer still stands. If you need something, you're welcome to come to me." he told her. Y/N looked at him and he looked so honest and caring in this moment, Y/N almost went to hug him. Almost. She hadn't sunk that far yet... but it was very tempting.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry for giving you so much trouble all the time, I don't... I don't know why I am like that. Anyway, thanks for taking care of me yesterday and everything, but I really should get going now..." she said and took a few steps towards the door. She could see her shoes and her backpack there, so she should be fine if she made it there... She just needed to get out of here.

"Alright. Are you sure you'll be fine getting home on your own?" Aizawa wanted to know. Y/N nodded, almost bumping into the wall.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be perfectly fine."