𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙨 | 𝘣𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘨𝘰𝘶 𝘹 𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘢 𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 |

twice the size - twice the pain

"why have you been avoiding me?" your voice echoed in the empty hallway.

you eyed his back; broad, built shoulders adorned it, scarred from training and his recklessness. hard shoulders, hard arms, hard hands. no matter where you looked, you saw boulders, the shell of a boy, a friend you once thought you knew. all the memories you shared made your brain fuzzy, your feelings swirling around in your chest.

why did you even care if he was avoiding you? it was summer, and when most people decided to visit their families, he stayed back with you. not for you, of course, but he decided to stay on campus instead of going back to the people he had spent most of his life with. he must be busy, training now that he has free time or studying extra material so he has less work for the next semester.

you knew this, you knew it shouldn't bother you, but you deserved an explanation too. you had played the patient card with him, and it honestly hadn't worked out. then, you tried asking around only to be met with shrugging shoulders and sympathetic smiles. you got confused, you got sad, you got anxious. you had been through about every emotion, so the only thing left was anger.

hot, boiling anger, tingling at your fingertips and electrifying the ends of your hair.

how dare he, how dare he, how dare he

who cared if he had personal stuff going on? who cared if he had the right to his privacy and alone time? he didn't owe you anything, you knew that, but neither this nor your bubbling feelings could ease the pain in your chest. you longed for his company, his stupid smirk, his eyes that rolled no matter the situation or the formality it demanded. hell, you even missed the dumb, degrating almost nickname he called you.

you just wanted your friend back, that's what you were telling yourself. because what else would bakugou be other than a good friend, a loved one? and if he made your heart beat a little faster and then made it ache more than normal, in a profound, peculiar way, it must be because you felt him get closer to it with every step, every look he shot your way. surely, it couldn't be because you-

"why do you care?"

and there it was, finally. his voice raspy, honey like, sweet and savory and spicy and painted with every color, mimicking every sunset, every sunrise, flowing like a creek in the richest forest. it was him again, that voice directed at you again, he was speaking to you again after what felt like the entire summer. it didn't matter that it was meant to be bitter, rough and angry like him. all you could recognise was your heartbeat and his voice, both sounding in your eardrums.

still, you couldn't let that show, absolutely not. his back was still turned to you, but he had stopped walking. at least he had decided to listen.

"so you have been avoiding me?"

he turned around, a scowl on his face "what's it to you? i don't remember needing to report everything i do to you."

"i don't remember being friends with such an asshole, either, but here we are"

"you must not've known me very well, then. ua's resident asshole, at your service! do you need anything else, (y/n)? maybe a detailed schedule of the upcoming week complete with productiveness graphs and-"

"oh fucking hell, do you hear yourself? what's gotten into you, dude? do you think anyone will fall for that persona you've got going on?"

"so me being myself is a persona now? are you fucking nuts?"

"you switching up on me and acting like you don't even know my name is a persona," you huffed, your face feeling hot, "i thought you weren't a liar, bakugou"