Emote: Bakugo x OC Reader

Chapter 20

Bakugo's POV

Getting past the initial front desk was a bit of a task. I hadn't thought through that they probably wouldn't let me in given that I'm not a direct relative. However, I took my opportunity to sneak past when the front desk lady was arguing with a reporter who was trying to follow up on the Power House story.

Once I got past the front desk I realized I had no idea where I was going and began wandering around trying to figure out the most likely section of the hospital I needed to be in. I began to admonish myself for coming on this stupid trip when I caught a glimpse of a girl pacing around a waiting room area. It took me a moment to realize it was the emo chick.

When I saw her, I paused involuntarily. I hadn't seen her outside of her gym or school uniform before and was distracted for a moment by the way her jeans hugged her hips. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she wore a black hoodie with a logo on it that I didn't recognize. I realized that I was staring and looked away quickly before she caught me looking at her, worried she would then think I was some kind of freak.

What the fuck is wrong with you?! I thought and turned on my heel, prepared to head out the way I had come. But I found myself frozen in indecision. Why had I come here again? What the hell was I thinking? This is stupid, I have better things to do with my time than hang out with some stupid girl I barely know.

For some reason my feet weren't moving me forward. I was still frozen like a fucking idiot and I started to worry the people around me would think I needed medical attention or some shit.

"Bakugo?" Her voice, soft and smooth, hit me at the same time I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I spun around, smacking her hand away without thinking about it. Her face registered shock and confusion. Seeing her up close, I noticed the faint dark shadows underneath her eyes. She must not have slept much, if at all, last night.

"What..." Her voice trailed off, the unspoken question hanging in the air between us.

"Am I doing here? Well, I'm -" I was about to really lay into her, but the wind was knocked out of me as she surged forward and wrapped her arms around my neck. A grunt escaped my lips as I staggered back a bit and my arms instinctively wrapped around her in an attempt to stabilize myself before we toppled over. I was immediately overcome by her scent, a sweet smell that I couldn't quite place. Vanilla, maybe? Horrified, I realized that I was still holding on to her despite feeling stable and I quickly pulled my hands away and held them up as though I was being held at gunpoint. It was then that I realized that her body was shaking slightly and I felt hot tears on my neck.

Oh dear God, she's crying. What the hell am I supposed to do with this? Stupid fucking emo chick, I should have known better than to come here. I thought, as I took her by the shoulders and roughly pulled her off of me.

"Hey, don't get this confused, emo chick! We are sure as hell not friends," I said and scowled at her as she wiped at her face with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy when she looked up at me. "Of course not," She said it so quietly the words were almost drowned out by the sounds of the hospital. I expected her to say more, or at the least to begin yelling at me, but she just turned and started walking away.

I furrowed my brow in confusion before I felt the anger coursing through me. "Don't walk away from me, ya damn extra!" I yelled, stomping after her.

She turned around quickly and held out a hand to stop me. "I don't have the energy for this. I've had to use my quirk all night to help my mom stay calm. I barely slept. My father..." I expected her to get emotional again but instead the hand she had been holding out turned into a fist and she dropped it to her side, a faint tremor shaking through her arm. Her eyes were looking directly past me but seemed to be far away. Then, it was as though something clicked in her mind and her eyes focused sharply on me. "We were supposed to train. Do you still want to?"

This caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting her to want to train given the past 24 hours she had been through, which I assumed had been difficult. Wouldn't it make more sense for her to rest and be with her family? Not that I gave a shit about her well being but that seemed like something any normal girl would do.

"As much as I'd love to show you up again like I did at the sports festival, you seem particularly weak right now." My statement was mostly true. I did want to show her up again and she did seem weak, but if I was being honest with myself I was trying to give her an out for some reason.

As soon as the words left my mouth I saw a fire spark in her eyes and she stepped towards me, reaching her hand out toward mine. For a moment, I thought she was attempting to hold my hand and I started to step back, but her fingers wrapped around my left wrist and her thumb pressed into the back of my hand, causing instant pain in my wrist that began radiating up my arm.

"What the hell?!" I spat and she stepped closer as a doctor walked by to conceal the fact that she was digging into one of my pressure points. Our bodies were almost flush against each other and the look in her eyes had intensified.

"Do I?" Her words came out softly but there was an edge to them. "Do I seem weak?"

As she said the words I smelled peppermint on her breath. A strand of her hair had snaked its way out of the messy bun and was hanging in her face. Her eyes were intense and focused on me. They were an emerald green but seeing them this close I noticed flecks of gold swimming in the green.

"What?" she said suddenly and her grip on my wrist loosened. "Are you laughing at me?"

I realized then that one side of my mouth had started to turn up into a smile. Shit. I thought, quickly readjusting my features to a scowl. I can't let her know that I'm actually gaining respect for her. Then she'll start thinking we're best friends or some shit and she'll start clinging on to me like those other losers. I've gotta deflect this before she makes a big deal out of it.

"I'm just thinking," I said, wrapping my right hand around hers, "You're kind of like an angry puppy." Now that her grip had loosened it was easy to pry her hand off of me.

She looked confused, so I continued. "You bark a lot but your bite really doesn't hurt that much."

I thought she would get instantly angry but instead a smile crept across her face. "Have you ever actually got bitten by a puppy? They basically have piranha teeth!" She covered her mouth with one hand and began to giggle which soon turned into full fledged laughter that seemed to echo through the halls.

As she laughed she leaned forward into my chest, which I assumed was an attempt to muffle the sound. I found myself frozen again, this time dumbfounded. Her laugh is fucking adorable. The thought came as quickly as it went and I pretended like it hadn't occurred. When her hysterical laughter finally began to subside and she leaned back again, I realized that I was still holding on to her hand. She seemed to notice at the same time and I quickly let go of it as though it was a hot iron scalding my flesh. As I let go, I stepped back to put some distance between us.

There was a ghost of a smile on her face as she said, "Well, what do you think? Want to train with the puppy today or tomorrow?"

"Well, I came here to chew you out for bailing on me, so I guess I won't have to do that if we actually train like we were supposed to."

The smile she gave me was bright and her eyes sparkled with a renewed liveliness. "Yeah, okay! Let me go check in with my parents before we head out. Do you want to come with me or -"

"No," I quickly interjected. "No, I'll stay here. Just hurry up, emo chick."

Her smile didn't waver as she turned and hurried away. As I watched her walk away hastily I realized that I haven't felt this excited to train in a long time.