Thought after thought crashed into her mental barrier, each one chipping off a piece of the smile she'd carefully sculpted in the mirror prior. She had no clue where Lily was and if she went to go off and find her, she'd be plagued with thoughts on her dependency on others or worse.
So she'd stayed put, buried in her hoodie that definitely wasn't school dress code and in the most hidden corner of UA she could find.
Cleo was starting to think school just wasn't good for her mental health. Surrounded by people all the time, said people unknowingly draining her energy 24/7 as the introvert she was. Beating herself up for not being able to speak up and talk to the people she wanted to. And then there were the little things that came back to bite her.
The things people said that she brushed off at the time with a laugh, not thinking much on it till later when her brain needed to use it against her. That was part of the reason she tried to steer clear of Bakugo; just to avoid the chance of thinking that he hated her completely when that was just his character.
Her chest tightened again with the crushing weight of her feelings, a singular thought managing to turn her barrier to ruin. A hand reached up, raising the volume in her earbuds in attempt to drown out the thoughts. It usually sped up the whole process, not really the optimal fix, but enough to give the sadness a predictable tempo.
She buried her head, further and further still. What was it like to be happy? To be truly and undeniably happy? Not just fine or okay. Not a distraction, but a steady, healthy stream of outright joy.
She'd forgotten.
A light tap on her shoulder brought her head up, and she hoped to god it wasn't a teacher. She didn't fair well with adults (no trust there) and she was a bit relieved it was only Izuku.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
No, you're not, she thought.
Cleo attempted a smile which came out as more of a grimace.
Izuku didn't believe her, and he'd had his fair share of mental breakdowns back in middle school to know a bit of what was going through her head. It was strange.
Usually when he saw her, she was laughing with everyone else (or eating ) or complaining about how tired she was (or eating) or patting someone on the head because "words are difficult".
Or eating.
She looked different when she wasn't smiling. Almost melancholic.
He knew for a fact that nobody deserved to be in that spot mentally. And so he smiled.
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"Is it okay if I sit here? I've already got my lunch and the cafeteria," he thought for a moment, what was it she usually said? "it's just so far away."
Cleo wondered if she was able to mask the surprise on her face fast enough. She didn't really talk to Deku much, all she knew was that he was a cinnamon roll that she most recently learned carried uwus in his smile. She wanted to talk to him, but she'd figured she'd find a way to screw it up somehow so she never bothered.
"Yeah, sure."
And so they sat. Neither said a thing, and Cleo scoured her head trying to think of something.
Silence.
"Wanna play sticks?" She eventually asked hesitantly, bringing up her two hands.
