What You Can't See (newer version)

2.

TW: internalized ableism, brief mentions of self harm, hints of bad parenting (nothing specific), small mention of Todoroki's home situation - stay safe everyone!

All things considered, Denki got to school relatively quickly. Not that he wanted to, I mean, who wants to get to school early? Definitely not Denki. School was the place of nightmares. A place that Denki wanted to spend as little time with as possible. His friends made it bearable, but not even the strongest of friendships could save him from his grades.

Denki's smile grew a little less bright at the mere thought of his grades. And he bit his lip at the realization that he had a math test on Tuesday. Something he had yet to study for. His mood dimmed even more at the vision of the test. The equations mocking him, dancing around on the page. Never staying still long enough for him to understand.

"Hey bro, you okay?" Denki was snapped from his thoughts by Kirishima's worried voice. Denki smiled at him, letting some of the stress show. Kirishima was nothing if not observant and Denki learned long ago that it was best to tell some of the truth to get him to back off.

"Yeah! Just thinking about the math test on Tuesday, haven't studied yet," Denki rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Denki watched the tension leave Kirishima's body and he felt some tension of his own melt away too.

"Why didn't you tell us? Bakubro can help you study!" Kirishima exclaimed, nudging Bakugo excitedly. "I'll be honest I haven't studied that much either. But that just means we can do a group study session! Very manly," Bakugo merely scoffed, but he didn't refuse, which Kirishima clearly took as a win.

Denki however, was inwardly panicking. He knew better than anyone that a study session wasn't going to help, even with someone as smart as Bakugo. Because understanding the material wasn't the problem. Denki was smart. He knew that. He understood what trigonometry was and he understood how to figure it out.

The problem stemmed from being able to actually read the damn question. Not to mention not being able to focus long enough for him to try. No matter what he tried, Denki never did well on anything.

He wasn't ignorant either. He knew that it was a problem that none of his other classmate's had. He was 90% sure it was some form of dyslexia and ADHD, but he'd be damned before he told someone about it. He was a hero in training for All Might's sake! He couldn't afford to have issues like that.

He got through the entry exams after all, he was smarter than everyone thought. He just couldn't prove it through stupid trigonometry tests and dumb persuasive pieces. And if he only got through the entry exams because he was shocking himself every time he lost focus, well, that was for Denki and Denki only to know.

But none of that mattered, because Kirishima was looking at him with an excitement that Denki could never ruin. No matter how uncomfortable the situation was for him, his friends always came first. Hell, even Bakugo looked excited! Well, maybe not excited, but he didn't look mad.

"Yeah of course! That'll be so fun," Denki responded eventually, his hesitation not noticed by Kirishima, who pumped his fist in the air. Bakugo scoffed at Kirishima's antics but didn't complain when Kirishima put his arm around him, already planning the night. Denki sighed, he couldn't fucking wait for the weekend.

They all sat down in their seats, continuing talking. Everyone filed in close after the Bakusquad, Denki offered a wave to Shinso. Who returned it, albeit awkwardly. Eventually Aizawa came in, his presence effectively shutting the class up.

He greeted them with a grunt and moved to his desk. "The dorms are going through construction, so you'll all be going home over the weekend. You can come back on Sunday or Monday, whatever you prefer." Straight to the point as always, without another word Aizawa pulled out his sleeping bag, moving onto the floor.

The chatter started up again immediately, everyone discussing their excitement to go home. Sero was animatedly talking about his parents and Midoriya had started crying at the prospect of seeing his Mom again.

Denki, however, felt his body fill with a familiar dread. He bit his lip, wondering if it was worth it to ask if he could stay at the dorms regardless. Aizawa would definitely ask why, as would most his classmates.

Tapping his foot against the floor he tried not to think of the last experience he had with his parents. He would've failed if it weren't for Kirishima's sudden presence. "Hey bro! You excited?" Denki forced on a smile and nodded his head.

"Definitely! Although I'm not looking forward to the conversation on my grades," he added as an excuse to look of dread he was displaying earlier. Kirishima nodded in understanding,

"Same honestly, but my Moms will understand. As long as I try my best, right?" He held out his fist and Denki bumped it with his own. Wishing that his parents were as nice as Kirishima's.

Kirishima moved, presumably to go to talk to Bakugo. Denki took the time to gauge the rest of the class' reactions. Everyone seemed relatively happy, minus Todoroki. Who looked just as depressed as Denki did about the announcement.

Denki felt concern bubbling in his chest, Endeavor didn't seem like the best father figure. And personally, Denki had never liked him. He distantly hoped that Todoroki would be okay before turning back.

Resisting the urge to bang his head against the table, Denki glared up at the ceiling. He sighed, finding himself wishing that school would never end.

Guys I'll be honest I am WAY too excited for this fic!

I went a bit insane and wrote 4 more chapters after this, so I'll have a steady update schedule for at least a month! I've got somewhat of a plan and yeah! Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed and I will see you next week!! :D