Flicker (KatsukiXOC)

2.Friends

Ouch.

Awako watched as a tiny droplet of blood oozed from her finger. Setting down her needles she placed her finger in her mouth. She had been at this for hours now.

Awako had been doing her favorite after-school hobby: making bracelets. It always calmed her down when she felt the most stressed out or helped her gather her thoughts when she was stuck on a hard question on her homework.

Taking a needle and thread she would handpick only the best of beads and pattern them into a braid. They would come out so nicely that her father would take them with him on his business trips and sell them to his coworkers. He would give her the money she had earned and she would then in turn buy even more beads and threads.

Of course not all the bracelets she made were sold.

Her eyes slowly wandered to her dresser, a single red bracelet hidden inside. A gift she would probably never be able to give. She averted her gaze, taking her finger from her mouth and picking the needle back up.

For as long as she made bracelets she never made one for herself. Purple and blue beads that looked like bubbles shimmered in the light of her desk lamp. She was nearly finished now.

Her gaze traveled to her phone, laying face-down on her desk. She checked it, letting out a soft sigh. No messages.

She hadn't spoken to Katsuki for ten months.

Ouch.

Her finger throbbed and she looked back down at it, a drop of blood flowing down it. Putting it back into her mouth she swiveled in her chair to look at her bed. Taking her phone with her she flopped onto it, curling up at hugging a pillow.

Bleak loneliness overcame her. She buried her face into her pillow and closed her eyes as tight as she could, taking a deep breath.

Izuku had tried his best to keep her company once she confessed that she had gotten into an argument with Katsuki. She didn't have any other real friends at school, so Izuku was the best choice for company. It was awkward at first, and his friendliness sent her reeling at times. She wasn't used to the kind way he spoke to her or how he treated her, well, like a friend. 

She rolled onto her side and thought back to Katsuki's way of showing friendship.

It was tutoring her when she couldn't quite understand her schoolwork. He was brutal and would even make her do push-ups or sit-ups for every wrong answer. It was accompanying her, despite many complaints, to the shopping district for beading supplies. He would walk her home from school although it was in complete silence. In the rarest of occasions she would get a one line text from Katsuki. 

Though there were times he didn't really treat her as a friend at all.

Name calling, snotty comments, even she wasn't safe from his ego. He would tease her relentlessly if she didn't listen to what he told her to do.

She curled up, hugging her pillow tightly.

Did he really hate her that much?

Her phone chimed loudly in her ear and she nearly fell from the bed clawing at it.

Dekkun: Good luck tomorrow! Let's do our best!

She stared at the text for a long moment before letting out a dejected sigh. She typed back a simple "Thanks," before placing her phone face down on her nightstand and curling up.

She fell asleep dreaming of the red bracelet.

~

"Get out of my way or you're dead," Katsuki growled dangerously at Izuku. He was in even worse of a mood than he had been for the past few months and he couldn't exactly put his finger on why he felt that way. In the back of his mind he felt like he was forgetting something.