Birthday Wishes

“Happy birthday to you!”

They all smile at him as they sway side to side with the melody. A stack of presents in bright paper all addressed to him sits opposite at the big table.

“Happy birthday to you!”

A large cake that they’ll all finish that day comes into the room with four proud candles sparkling on top.

“Happy birthday dear Izuku!”

His mother places it down and all his friends inch closer to him, excited to see him extinguish the flames.

“Happy birthday to YOU!!”

They burst into incoherent cheering.

With a deep breath and a wish, he blows it out.

“Get away from us you quirkless freak.”

“I don’t want you playing around with that boy anymore.”

“You’re so weak, you useless Deku!”

“You can’t be a hero, you’re just a useless Deku!”

“We aren’t your friends anymore.”

—

The small boy hesitantly walks into the forest towards the sound of familiar voices. He keeps his green eyes on the three envelopes his mother had given him that morning and tries to steel his nerves.

He walks into a small clearing to see his three friends laughing together. Small pops of explosions, snaps of fingers, and flaps of wings flood his ears as he looks up at them. It only took a moment before the others did too.

“What are you doing here, Deku?” His best friend, Kacchan, sneered as he placed his smoking hands on his hips. The other two gave him looks that made Izuku shrink in on himself. It was as if they were a pack of wolves and he was a lone rabbit.

“Uhm, well, it’s my birthday today a-and I was wondering if y-you guys wanted to come o-over for some food and games?” He stretched out his freckled arms and looked away, praying for the ground to swallow him whole.

There was a bout of silence before a light chuckle sounded and the papers were ripped from his hands. He winced from the pain. He got a papercut.

“Yeah, we’ll be there,” Kacchan handed the other two their invites and they all smiled. “Wouldn't miss it for the world, Deku!”

Midoriya’s eyes lit up and a goofy smile smeared across his face.

“Okay!”

“Where are your friends, Izuku? You gave them the invites like I told you to, right?”

A box of pizza sat cold and untouched on the table. The cake in the other room had yet to be lit and the sun had gone down, leaving the once shining decorations nothing but dull colours.

The boy sat at his chair smiling and staring straight ahead, his finger picked at the bandaid now on his palm.

“Yup! They said they’d be here! Kacchan even said he ‘wouldn’t miss it for the world!’ They must just be running late!”

Inko watched her son as he sat there, waiting. Her eyes began to well with tears, but she quickly wiped them away and replaced it with a smile.

“Well then, looks like they’re gonna miss out on this awesome party! Come on, let’s go watch movies and eat this cake,” she waved her son over to the living room as she grabbed two spoons for the cake.