Stay with me!

Chapter 38 - infected - L

He couldn't put a finger on it but there was something strange lurking near him. Occasionally he'd turn, expecting to see a figure staring back but they always disappeared in time. The itch couldn't be reached which made him more desperate.

Would he find a chance to rest or not? What if he is doomed to live in a state of constant unease. School was meant to be his place to rest before going home so he refused to give up and pulled his bag back on. He went to his next class and finished the work relatively early which allowed him to lean back and chat with his friend Kirishima, he could almost forget about the weird sense he had earlier today.

Kirishima waved and left at the end of the lesson and Bakugo exited the classroom, being blocked by brunette curls. He looked down at the glaring girl and sighed, accepting that it would never be easy for him. He wasn't allowed it, that's right. The sight of her was enough to make him lose any tranquility in his blood.

"Come over, I want it to be between us."

"Whatever," Bakugo replied.

He followed after her until they reached an empty room and she shut it, turning to face him with no dash of friendliness. Shouldn't be a surprise.

"Listen, I wanted to talk about Deku."

"Well, no shit. Now explain to me why I shouldn't just tell you to fuck off? I'll give you five seconds." He crossed his arms.

"It's not like he'll talk to me, we're done so you don't need to worry. I'm over that, but I know you two are together. And I still care about him so I'm advising you leave him, he has his goals and doesn't need you to bring him down."

Bakugo couldn't defend himself, his mouth was screwed shut. He could only watch this shortened figure as it hovered towards a bookshelf to lean against.

"You can do the right thing and leave him, let him follow his dreams and find happiness. It won't be with me, or you and I think you agree, no?"

Nothing was leaving his mouth, not anything could be said to disagree or refuse her statement. His feet left in one place, perplexed as she didn't give him another glance and left him behind.

Then the room went dark. Not again. He gripped until his knuckles turned white and shook his head as things kept changing and he couldn't stop it. He couldn't stop anything, he could only make it go.

Was he staring at a mirror? His initial thought, then he realised that the person he watched was too small and young to be a reflection: it was his younger self.

The boy didn't notice the teen and wandered into the dark blue forest. Bakugo felt inclined to run after him and he managed to stay close enough to see him go throw the left path. His past stamina was impressive, he was nearly out of breath by the time he reached a blocked end of tree's legs. However, the boy wasn't in sight anymore and he scratched his head, spinning on his toes until a dark-oak door seemed to appear out of nowhere. Fuckin' weird. The only thing to do was walk through it which provided a large gulf of wind.

He landed in his room, well his room was a brighter blue with lego sets scattered around the room, plus his giant goose teddy that guarded him when he slept. Finally, his eyes caught the younger version and he observed like he was at the theatre when the less aged version of his dad trudged inside. He smelt the alcohol immediately but younger Bakugo couldn't, he didn't process it maybe? Who knows, nothing was exact in this strange place his mind built up. He recognised that this must be a memory he's seeing -- he couldn't touch or make himself heard.

The younger boy tilted his head, pausing the hotel made out of legos, he nearly finished the third floor's bathroom. The man had a half-full suitcase and continued to fill it to the brim with his belongings that sat in Bakugo's spare closets.

"Daddy?" The boy pinched his eyebrows, "what ya doin'?"

The man was stunned to see his son there and he coughed, zipping the suitcase closed. "Listen, daddy will always love you. But he will be back in his home, you can always come visit. Okay, love you so much." He knelt and kissed the worried child on the forehead and then left.

The door to the memory pushed the current Bakugo out and he sighed, shaking his head and standing back up. There he was, facing the three pathways again. This time, he went through the middle pathway and it differed with streaks of glowing yellow amongst the dark blue, wrapped like vines. He nearly hit a bush, pushing his arms out to balance as his head moved back downwards. The vines above successfully entranced him. There was a similar door with yellow that he could now see and he walked inside it.

The second one had his mother instantly in view, she was leaning over a crying boy, in the middle of a scolding. His arm was burnt and the nearby stove was the culprit but she blamed Bakugo. She had warned him firmly not to use the stove as he was only four but he wanted to help make her lunch as her cold kept her on the couch, eggs seemed simple when watching her from the distance. An egg was cracked and his other arm was leant on the burning hob. His sudden shrieks brought his mother walking over and she wasn't pleased.

Her yelling made him cry further, hyperventilating as his lungs failed to take in the air, just her screams. She grew impatient and ended up raising an arm, slapping him across the face where no other sounds could be heard. Two small frightened eyes hovered at the figure of a enraged woman, she wasn't his mother at that moment, something else. She didn't hit her son often, only slight smacks if he was out of line and she never appreciated his cries, it ticked her off even more.

Bakugo felt disgusted when the memory ended, wanting to cough on the ground until he threw up but the feeling soon passed and it was bearable so he could stand again. One path and door remained and to finish it off, he treated swiftly down the grass where pink flowers waved at him. The pink dotted door passed him and he fell this time, stumbling into the mist.

Like the other two times, he was at his house but this time it changed as the boy he watched was slightly older, around thirteen. He sat on the couch with his head hung low whilst his mother wasn't looking impressed.

"They want to refer me to the mental health system to talk to someone." His squeakier voice wasn't something he missed from his pre-puberty days.

He felt that silence, eery and violent as the woman realised what the thirteen year old said. She simply sighed, "there's nothing wrong with you. I don't see anything, to me you are just a normal kid." Then the anger crept in, "why did you make them think that or agree? You should have talked to me about this!"

"Mum, I want to talk to them... I feel sad a lot."

"Nonsense! The other day you laughed so much me and your father couldn't watch the television. You can't pick and choose being sad."

He groaned and sank further. "I want to still go."

"They won't help you, you're just wasting people's time."

Bakugo remembered how that one ended, he went and decline the request and therapy never happened. His mood wasn't discussed until a year afterwards but that was another memory and he felt his nerves were at the limit.