The Man Behind the Screen

Card Games and Phone Apps

BAKUGO'S POV

I held my cards in my hand as I put together the two straights and one pair I needed to finish my set for this round of push and pull. Sometimes I can't stand these idiots. "Will you shits, stop harassing me about that damn app." Why did I come over here again? I could have stayed home with Chibi. He doesn't judge me.

At least Pinky isn't here. She is the worst out of them all. Dunce and Soy Sauce are not much better. At least Hair for Brains mostly bugs me when he is told to. "Oh, come on, Bakugo, what will it hurt? Just download it and check it out."

"Listen, Tape Face, I don't want to hear a word from you. You're married, so whatever you say doesn't count." I smirked when I realized I only needed three more cards. This game was one of the only reasons I put up with the extras when I had some free time. Later today, I have an evening patrol.

We were all getting into the game and trash-talking each other when a knock at the door drew the attention of everyone. "Sero, hun, can you get the door?" Icey Hot called from down the hall.

"Sure thing, Babe." Ugh, these two, I can't stand all the damn pet names. "Oh, hey, Midoriya." Why can't I seem to get away from him lately? He just keeps showing up.

"Yeah, Sho said you two were going to use my truck because you needed to move some stuff. Let me get the keys for you."

"Yeah, if that's okay. I got money for gas if you want it?" The nerd asked as he stepped in the door. He was a fidgeting mess, like always. He scanned the room smiling at everyone, "Hey guys." He waived to them, and there was that stupid ring on his finger. It's like he's taunting us with that damn golden band. Then he looked around quickly, and his eyes landed on me. "I-I just need to take s-some things to storage, that's all." Not only was he still a fidgeting mess, but a stuttering one as well.

The extras smiled back, "Hey, Midoriya." Icy Hot and the nerd looked nervous. I eyed them suspiciously. What the hell are they up to, storage? Tch, whatever. That shit nerd is lying, but why? Not like I care. Well, I shouldn't anyway.

About an hour after they left, we finished the seventh hand in this round of push and pull. "Well, losers, I gotta go get ready for work. I will not see you later. Except for Shitty Hair, we have a patrol tonight, and you better not be late."

He threw his hands in the air. "You know I won't be." He smiled nervously at me. I just rolled my eyes.

Damn that nerd, the whole way home, and while I'm getting ready for my patrol, all I can think about is him and his stupid face. Maybe I can get my mind right once I meet up with Shitty Hair and start my patrol.

After getting home and making sure Chibi was all set, I made my way across town to my meeting spot with Shitty Hair. We checked in on our phones and started our patrol. As usual, he started rambling on about something. And also, like usual, I was hardly paying attention.

The only thing that's on my mind is Deku. After all these years, he's occupying most of my mind again. I don't even know why. The damn nerd pisses me off. The way he keeps flashing his wedding ring pisses me off too. So what if he's married? Another thing that he has that I don't. I don't know why it pisses me off, but it does.

"Bakubro, you good?" Shitty Hair asked loudly. Am I ever really good? "You usually at least pretend you're listening to me."

"I'm fucking fine, Shitty Hair," I scowled back.

He frowned nervously at me. Out of all the people in my life, he can tell when something is wrong with me. He sees right through me every damn time.

"I still think you should download the BY app, you know?" I sent him a quick glare before continuing down the sidewalk. Everyone stepped to the side and let us pass. "I know you don't like to talk to people, especially when it comes to how you feel. But maybe talking to somebody you don't know might help."

"I don't fucking need help with anything. I don't need to talk to anybody."

"Bakubro," he sighed. "Other than Kaminari and me, you don't care too much for the rest of our friend group. You barely talk to your parents anymore. The only thing you spend time on besides work is that rat you call a dog."

"Leave Chibi out of this." The next person to talk about my most loyal companion like that might get punched.

Shitty Hair held up his hands in surrender. "I'll never talk bad about your dog again if you download the BY app. Who knows, you may meet someone on there that you actually like."

"If I download it, will you shut the fuck up for the rest of our patrol?" We still have seven and a half hours. It would be nice if I could go home without a headache for once at the end of our shift.

"Other than when we're eating, yes. I'll be quiet for the rest of our patrol."

I slipped my phone out of my pocket and went to the app store. I didn't even have to search for the app. It was the first thing on the home page since it was the top downloaded app in the last few weeks.

Once I downloaded the app, I slid my phone back into my pocket. We spent the rest of our patrol in complete silence for the first time in forever.

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When I got home, I tried to delete the app. I didn't want to think about it or even have it on my phone. Something Shitty Hair will never understand is anxiety. Why would I bother opening up to someone when it never ends well? The thought of it alone is enough to make my stomach turn.

Despite my anxiety being at an all-time high, I couldn't stop my hand from opening the app. Creating a profile shouldn't be too hard, right?

I skipped over the username before filling in my age, gender, general location, and a little bit about myself. Although most of the stuff about me is a lie, it will have to work. I can't necessarily put that I'm a pro hero. People will go crazy trying to figure out who I am, which is the last thing I want. I don't mind being in the public eye, but there's a reason I don't do a lot of interviews. It's no secret that I've never been great at letting people in or sharing my personal life.

After a few minutes of debating, I clicked on the username area again. I don't know why I care that much. Nobody will ever know who I am on this damn app anyway. My fingers moved across the keyboard quickly as I typed in the first username that didn't completely give it away.

When that was done, I hit 'Create Profile.' The next thing I did was turn off the notifications. The last thing I want is to have it go off when I'm with Shitty Hair or something.

If he actually sees me on the app, he'll never let me live it down.