Do you even care?|Non-despair AU|

Highschool of hope

Kotoko's POV

I think I'll do better here. Or it's more like I hope it will be better at some fancy scouting school but it probably won't be any better. I'm still supposed to be a performing arts prodigy but now I'm just a super high school level. Well, it can't be as bad as before in Towa City. I had no chance of escaping there and besides, I'm able to be anywhere I want most of the time here. We have a long bus ride to Hope's Peak Academy and all the stops along the way don't help so I might as well try talking to someone. I look next to me to remember that I've had to sit by myself because Monaca needs assistance getting on and off the bus. Well, Nagisa is sitting across the aisle from me but he's already asleep. I don't blame him, I doubt he's been able to sleep since he entered school and he's finally free from the people that tortured him. I decided just to sleep.

•••

I woke up from the sun shining into my eyes. I go to block my eyes and realize someone's in the seat with me. They're wearing a pink blazer, white button-up shirt, light blue short shorts, black heeled boots that go up almost to their knees, black fingerless gloves, bronze goggles, a black spiked necklace, black spiked garters, m what looks like kink gear, and they have waist-length strawberry blonde hair that's pretty messy. It looks like they're a third-year student so I don't know why they're getting to Hope's Peak on the bus. I look behind me to see if Monaca's awake yet and she isn't which isn't that surprising since her window is positioned differently. I lean forward to see if Nagisa's awake even though I know he's not all I can see is his head because he also has another person in his seat who is slumped over the seat and definitely asleep. I would go back to sleep if the sun wasn't blinding me, I don't want to wake anyone up but I definitely will when I have nothing to do. I try to go back to sleep for at least half an hour before I give up. I look around again but I don't know any of the people who are awake even though supposedly most of the attendees of Hope's Peak Academy went to Hope's Peak Elementary. I'm so bored. The bus suddenly hits a bump and it's pretty bad in the back, I slip basically under the seat. I can't get up and the floors are dirty. I'm so uncomfortable, I reach out and grab the person next to me's leg, and they yelp.

"Aye! Whatever pervy shit is goin' on down there is stoppin' now!"

They stand up and get down on the ground.

"The fuck are you doin' down here?"
"I slipped, Mx. I'm very mature so I say curse words"
"Alright ya little bitch stay on the ground then"
"I'll just get up now that I know I'm not disturbing some nice person's sleep"
"I'm goin' back to sleep dumbass!"
"I know, I just don't care if I disturb you since you're a slutty piece of shit asshole"

The asshole looks away and gets back into the seat. I inch myself until I'm horizontally under the seat and crawl out, ignoring the legs in my way, and sit down in the seat. After an awkwardly long silence, the bitch decides to speak.

"Sorry I'm not good with people"
"I didn't need you to tell me that"
"Alright then I'll tell ya what happened then, titless"
"Oh, so you're back to that"
"I have to take the bus every year and I usually sit alone but I forgot I was sittin' with some random ass first year"
"Ok, is that how you treat everyone then?"
"No... just most people. I try to be better towards people who're younger than me"
"I would hate to see what you think being mean is"
"Aye! I know I ain't nice, I just don't think it matters"
"You don't work with people do you?"
"Well I used to..... but I got pushed around so I locked myself in my room and worked hard until I made shit worth sharin"
"Are you better off now?"
"Course I am, I'm a highly achieved girl in a male-dominated career for fucks sake"
"Oh... so that's why you act like that"
"What're talkin' 'bout, fuckcicle"
"You've made yourself into a sex object in order to survive"
"Aye! What kinda bitch do you think I am? I changed myself for me, I feel comfortable in my own skin now"
"Are you really?"
"........ What kinda shit do you do to be tryin' to tell me what's goin' on in my brain?"
"I do performance arts-"
"See ya got nothin' to be makin' assumptions 'bout me!"
"Ok, if that's how you feel"

I wish she'd let me finish my sentences. She acts like she really doesn't think I know anything about this. It's stupid. At least I can easily escape now.

"Alright, kid time to tell me what ya so confidently think is goin' on with me"
"I think you probably had a traumatizing incident in between the making something worthwhile and changing your personality, maybe something at a booth"
"How the fuck do you know about that?"
"I don't, I just had a feeling"

She stares at me seemingly trying to figure out why I would say that. We stop before she can start talking and I get off the bus as fast as I can. I don't want to talk about it, especially to some random girl I met on a bus but this is it. I've arrived at the high school of hope.