What You Can't See (newer version)

1.

TW: trouble sleeping, lost sense of time, trouble/hesitancy with eating, mention of injuries - stay safe everyone!!

Somehow Denki's day was already ruined before he woke up.

Opening his eyes to an immediate headache was the first factor to a horrible morning. Waking up at 2am was definitely not helping. Sighing, Denki quickly changed into his school uniform and grabbed his bag. Humming, he left his room to the kitchen. If anyone was up at this ungodly hour he could just make up something about setting his alarm wrong.

Reaching the kitchen, he was pleasantly surprised at the lack of insomniacs. Smiling to himself he grabbed an energy drink and sat down on the floor. Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through Instagram and TikTok, letting the random videos distract him for the rest of the morning.

"Kaminari, what are you doing so early?"

Denki jumped at the voice, looking up he flashed a guilty look at a confused Midoriya.

"Oh, y'know me, I set my alarm wrong again! What about you, Midoriya?" Denki laughed, disbelief flashed quickly on Midoriya's face before he schooled it into something more sheepish.

"I was, uh, up all night watching an All Might documentary," he rubbed his neck awkwardly. "It was really good! But I couldn't go back to sleep 20 minutes before my alarm went off, so I decided to just come down here."

Denki let out a laugh, his signature smile covering his face. "Oh my god, that's hilarious!" Midoriya blushed furiously, looking down at the ground in embarrassment. Denki was quick to reassure, "Not that I can blame you! I've definitely stayed up watching some pretty weird documentaries before."

Midoriya gave a more genuine smile at that, letting out a small laugh of his own. "I won't tell if you don't," he said with a grin. Denki gave him a wink and made a motion of zipping his lips. Midoriya laughed again, moving towards the fridge for some food.

Denki relocated himself to the couch in the common room, not wanting to get in Midoriya's way. It was almost 7, which meant everyone would be getting up soon. Stretching his arms, Denki prepared himself for the onslaught of excitable teenagers about to head his way.

"Dunce Face, what are you doing up so early?"

Denki pouted at the arrival of Bakugo. "Hey! I can get up early," Bakugo only scoffed, making his way to the kitchen. Kirishima followed closely behind, sending Denki an exasperated smile. Denki returned it with a grin and a roll of his eyes.

Soon enough everyone had come down, occasionally offering up their own greetings. The kitchen sounded like a hellscape from where Denki was sitting, making him glad he left when he could.

Finishing his energy drink, he opened his phone again, almost missing the apple promptly chucked at him. Ducking, he turns to look at his attacker, only to see an annoyed looking Bakugo.

"Deku told me that you haven't had anything except that disgusting drink. Eat. Now." Bakugo turned on his heel and went back into the kitchen. Denki sighed and grabbed the apple.

There was nothing remotely wrong with it. It was a deep red and had left over residue from when Bakugo presumably washed it. It looked good, but Denki couldn't bring himself to eat it. It's not that he didn't want it, he just wasn't hungry.

He wasn't hungry that much these days. Which was fine! Completely normal if you asked him. It's not like he was starving himself, he just didn't need to eat as often as everyone else. He didn't exert himself nearly as much as the rest of his class.

Chucking the apple into his bag, Denki promised himself that he would eat it later. When he needed it. Shinsou chose that exact moment to walk in. He stared at Denki before deciding that he didn't have the energy to ask. Denki flashed him a grin and continued to play on his phone.

Soon enough, Sero flopped down on the couch next to him. Denki snorts, "why good morning, sleeping beauty." Sero only groans in response, which Denki takes as the universal sign for coffee. Getting up from the couch, Denki manoeuvres his way through the overcrowded kitchen.

Leaning on the counter, Denki taps Jirou, the designated coffee maker for the week, on the shoulder. "Two please," Denki says, smiling at the nod of acknowledgement from Jirou. He doesn't miss the look Bakugou sends him, although he pretends to.

Striking up a conversation with Yaoyorozu, Denki almost doesn't notice when two steaming cups of coffee are passed to him. Sending a quick thank you to Jirou and a promise to continue their conversation to Yaoyorozu, Denki carefully walks back to the couch.

Sero immediately sits up at the smell of coffee and grabs his own. Denki laughs a little and sips his own. Already halfway through with his, Sero groans with delight.

"You, Denki Kaminari, are a lifesaver," Sero says, cradling his mug closer. Denki laughs again at that, mimicking Sero's motions with his mug.

"I can't take that credit. The real hero is coffee," Denki argues, relishing the feeling of warm coffee flowing through his body. The caffeine from the energy drink was nothing compared to freshly brewed coffee.

"Amen to that,"

They clink their mugs together in an improvised version of a toast. The rest of the self proclaimed BakuSquad files out of the kitchen, bags on their shoulders. "Come on boys, let's head out!" Mina says, waving the two over.

Denki groaned at the prospect of school, but walked over to the group. Kirishima patted him on the back sympathetically. Denki hid his wince when Kirishima hit his bruises. Pushing ahead, he started gossiping with Mina, with Sero joining in occasionally. Caught up in the conversation, Denki didn't see the look that Kirishima and Bakugo gave each other. 

Laughing at Mina's joke, Denki gave himself the hope that this day might just be good after all. 

HELLOOO!

I'm actually really excited for this story! This was super fun to write, I actually found myself enjoying it, which was super cool. I definitely prefer writing in the third person, I'm very much so glad I made the switch. For the angst junkies in the comments, I apologise that I haven't gone straight into the angst. I'm gonna play the long game, but there should be some more next chapter, hopefully!

Again, this is kinda of a vent fic. So Denki's experiences with mental health will be super close to mine. It is also basically just head canons, so if you don't like that, talk to the hand. Or just don't read, that works as well. 

I hope you're all as excited as I am for this!

I'll see you next time :D