Crimson Eyes

Chapter 4

I was led through the unfamiliar house, up a staircase, and into what I recognized as Bakugou's room. I peeked out the window and saw into my own room, so I knew I was right. I was dragged onto the floor with Ashido, the rest of the group scattering around the room. 

"So then, Midoriya, what's the worst thing you've ever done?" She asked, eager for gossip. 

Kirishima let out a breath of air. "Jesus, Mina, straight to the point today." 

She turned to him with a frown. "You heard him out there, he had to have done so gnarly shit to be that confident." 

"Or he's an idiot and bluffing his way through this," Sero pointed out, a pencil now in his hand. 

It was quickly retrieved by Bakugou as he walked past towards his bed. "Stop touching shit." Sero stuck his tongue out at the blond's back but otherwise did as he was told. 

"Yeah," I said sarcastically. "I'm the idiot." 

Ashido grabbed my arm as she fell forward in laughter. "Oh, I love him. We're keeping him, regardless of this bet." 

I gently removed her hand from me. "No, no, no. No one is keeping me. You guys have a month, then I'm back on my own." 

"Wow, he's more antisocial than Bakugou," Kaminari pointed out. 

I squeezed my eyes shut and sighed in annoyance. "I'm not antisocial, it's just that I made a promise-"

"A promise to make zero friends and be lonely your entire senior year? Sounds like a messed up promise to me," Kirishima said, shrugging his shoulders. "Who did you make this promise to anyway?" 

I blinked at him, caught off guard. "My mom, but that's not-" 

"Whoa!" Kaminari exclaimed, Sero shaking his head. "You're mom made you promise to have no friends and be lonely your whole senior year? That's so fucked up." 

I shook my head quickly. "That is not at all what-" 

Ashido nodded in agreement. "That is seriously fucked up. You're mom sounds mean, dude."

"She's not, she's actually great-" 

"When do you turn eighteen? You should get out of there fast." 

"No! My mom isn't mean-"

"That's gotta be some kind of abuse." 

"Shut up!" I yelled, finally getting all of them to stop talking over me. "I promised my mom I would have a quiet year, not that I wouldn't make friends or be lonely the whole time. Fuck. And my mom isn't mean, by the way, she's actually the nicest person I've met." I huffed, leaning back against the wall and letting myself slouch. 

The group all seemed to be calculating their next move, in sync. They worked as one organism like they were all cogs that made the whole thing move. It was slightly intimidating, as an outsider. But it also just made me miss my own group that much more. I hated being the outsider, I wanted the safety and familiarity of my friends. 

"You promised a quiet year, as opposed to a loud year?" Ashido asked, leaning forward on her palms. 

"Yes, Ashido. Those words are antonyms, good job," I muttered sarcastically. 

"So, what's a loud year for you, Midoriya?" She asked innocently, batting her eyes at me. 

I pushed myself up, readjusting so I wasn't slouching so low. I was about to tell her some bullshit answer that involved a lot of yelling, but then I looked over her shoulder at Bakugou. 

He was sitting on his bed, leaning back on his hands. He was trying to look nonchalant like he didn't care about the outcome of the conversation, but the way his eyes were tracking me gave him away. I decided to throw him a bone.