Virtus

2

Bakugou pov (4:37pm)

The boy's dorms after school aren't usually this quiet but today was an exception. It wasn't as chaotic, it was silent, with no thuds, no vibrating music through the walls, no laughter or loud screams. It was odd, I'd gotten so used to it. Being around people without scaring them, or pushing them away out of anger. Well... most people at least.

I walk past the halls toward my room as he walks by. That stupid red-haired boy keeps his mouth shut and his avoidant gaze only makes me realize one thing. I had ruined things with Kirishima. The only friend who cared enough to actually stick by each one of my many angry outbursts. And even though he has had enough of my bullshit, I guess I deserved it somehow, I'm not the confrontational type. Both he and I know that so I'll never muster up the courage to admit I was in the wrong. And he'll never talk to me again.

I fucked up, bad.

I open the door to my dorm room and I slip off my uniform, kicking my shoes, letting them land wherever. I reach my bed and rummage through the wrinkled messy sheets looking for my phone. I grip my sheets flinging them around multiple times before my phone comes flying out of them. A loud thud rings throughout the quiet room and I scrunch my face, hoping my phone didn't take any serious damage. I turn towards the location of where the loud thud came from, and there I see my phone, face down.

Please don't be broken, please- I bend down for my poor phone and I hesitate even flipping it over. When I do there is a sigh of relief that slips out of my mouth uncontrollably. Not a single scratch or a crack. I thank whatever god is out there. My first instinct is to call Deku I flop into bed and scroll past my contacts.

I press call and it rings for a while, I lay there patiently, waiting for a voice to respond...

"Kacchan?" He finally answers, his voice is soft and almost quiet.

"Hey." Hey? Seriously? It's the only thing I can say, the only thing that comes to mind. But I still call, I still want to hear him.

"Finished with all your cool hero training?" He says casually and I could hear him aggressively going at it on the keyboard.

"Yea." I breathed, stretching on the bed I let out a groan, and he giggles to himself.

I catch myself smiling just laying there listening to him. It's kind of creepy, I snap out of it quickly.

"How was school?" I say.

I hear an annoyed groan on the other end, "you're starting to sound a lot like my mother you know." He snaps back sarcastically, but his tone sounds off. I sit up.

"Nobody's giving you any trouble, right?" I mutter out and the other end goes silent.

He scoffs, "like I'd let that happen to me, again." This time he squawks at the phone playfully.

I let out a nervous chuckle, "yea, haha."

The line goes silent again, but this time I go silent too.

"You should come." I blurt out.

He snorts on the other end, "you want me to come to visit you or something?"

"N-no." I stutter, that's not what I meant. I pause for a moment fumbling words in my brain for the right answer.

"No?" He replies back, nonchalantly.

"I didn't mean it like that... I'm saying that you should enroll into UA." I reiterated.

There was a brief silence before the faint sound of Deku trying to hold in his laughter. I swung my head backwards squeezing my eyes shut, realizing how ironic it all sounded. I listened carefully as he could no longer hold it in, he let it out, erupting in a high pitched cackle. I listened some more, amazed.

"Deku, deku?" I said in confusion.

He hung up. This asshole, I really meant it. I furiously copy and paste a link and send it to him containing a forum for UA's department enrollment. It might not be the hero department but general education is always an option. He's smart as hell, he'd get in easily. He read my message shortly after before typing something then leaving me on read.

Ass.

~

Deku pov:

I typed out the link Kacchan sent to me on my monitor, redirecting me to the UA website. I scrolled curiously eyeing the form, I hovered my mouse over it freezing for a second. I hesitated, I don't know why but I felt a lump forming in my throat. Not from stupid sappy tears or whatever.

From fear.

What if UA turns out to be the same as every other school I've gone to? What if the people there are as cruel as the ones that left invisible scars? What if I get my own hopes up? I catch myself from falling into the sad pitiful spiral of overthinking. If I hadn't stopped myself any sooner I'm sure I'd have a full fledged panic attack. I stare at the monitor for a few minutes before making up my mind.

Eh what the hell. I clicked on the bright yellow 'sign-up' button.