Emote: Bakugo x OC Reader

Chapter 28

I woke with a start to the sound of my blaring alarm clock. Desperately reaching out to quiet it, my hand knocked over the bottle of Ibuprofen on my bed side table. I cringed as it crashed to the ground, the sound of the pills rattling around in their prison resonating through my head. Finally, my fingers wrapped around the cool case of my phone and I turned the alarm off quickly. The time on my phone told me it was 6:00 AM.

I vaguely remembered taking the Ibuprofen and lying down but I must have passed out quickly because last night feels a bit blurry. I remember the immense amount of pain I had been in but as I stretched and moved around a bit I found that the amount of pain I was in was nothing out of the ordinary given the typical bumps and bruises I would expect after having a match with someone like Bakugo. When I noticed that I had a text notification I felt my pulse quicken. 

Wait. I thought. I remember Bakugo being...outside my house? Is that right? And putting his number in my phone...? No, that's ridiculous. Why would he have done that? I must have dreamed that, right?

Although I had attempted to convince myself I had imagined it, I still felt the pang of disappointment when I clicked on the text message icon and saw that I had one text from Shinso and another from my mom. I felt a wave of guilt as I saw that Shinso had texted to ask if he should come to the hospital or if I wanted to get out and do something to take my mind off of everything. He still didn't know about the deal I had struck with Bakugo and I know that if he did he would likely be worried, so at least for now I planned to keep it a secret. My mom had texted to let me know she was staying at the hospital and that I should go to school today. She mentioned that my father would likely be discharged today as well and that she would give more of an update later.

Before exiting the text message screen, I noticed the name Bakugo. It took me a few moments of confusion before realizing that Bakugo must have put his number in my phone and then texted himself so that he had mine. Although I wasn't a fan of his nickname for me, I somehow found myself smiling like an idiot when I saw the outgoing text, which just read, 'emo chick.' My fingers hovered over the screen for a moment as I contemplated texting him and then realized how insane I would look texting him at 6 AM so I quickly shut off the screen and climbed out of bed.

Usually I would have hit the snooze a few times but the deep and restful sleep I'd gotten was making me feel ready to start the day. Also, I wanted to make sure that I had time to check in with my teachers right away so that I could figure out what all I needed to catch up on.

Before I knew it I was standing in front of class 1-A. I had been able to catch a few of my teachers, but not all, which left me with quite a bit of time to spare before class began. The worry that I'd had the first day was no longer there, as I wanted to start on some of the assignments I had missed. I hesitated briefly before opening the door as an image of Bakugo flashed through my mind.

When I opened the door, my gaze immediately went to his seat and I was surprised to find him sitting there, leaned back casually. I was about to say something and head towards him when I caught a flash of green out of my peripheral. I remembered Bakugo telling me I should ask Deku for his notes from yesterday and began walking towards my classmate.

"Oh hey, Midoriya!" I said as I approached him and when turned to face me I realized he had been talking to Todoroki.

"Nakano, hey!" He replied, a smile spreading across his face. "It's good to see you! How are you doing? How is Power House, your father? I mean -" A blush spread across his cheeks and he stuttered slightly before he began talking faster. "I m-mean, I heard that he was your father! And that he had been hospitalized. I assumed that's why you were gone yesterday. We were all thinking about you though! Not like that, I mean -"

"Midoriya," I said, laying a hand on his shoulder and he immediately tensed under my touch as the blush seemed to deepen. "It's fine, it's really sweet of you to ask."

"I heard that he had been hospitalized but my father hasn't said anything since. But he must be doing better since you're here today?" Todoroki's voice was soft and smooth and I turned my attention to him as my hand dropped from Midoriya's shoulder.

"Yeah, that's right, our fathers work together, don't they? Endeavor is your father, isn't he?" When I spoke the name, Todoroki narrowed his eyes slightly and seemed to become more distant if that was possible. He broke eye contact and nodded slightly.

Wow. I thought. Maybe he's not a huge fan of his father either. I know Endeavor is a mega douche, but is he like that towards his own son as well? I guess it wouldn't surprise me. 

"Anyways, yeah, my father had surgery and has been stabilized. My mom was saying he would probably be able to come home today but I don't have any of the details since I left the hospital to -" I stopped talking abruptly, worried that if I shared I had been training with Bakugo last night he would have something to say about it. My attention shifted back to Bakugo although he was facing the front of the classroom seeming to mind his own business. "Since I left the hospital last night. But it sounds like he's doing better, for sure."

I couldn't help feeling like the smile I gave them came off as more of a grimace, especially when Todoroki gave me a look I couldn't quite read. 

"But yeah, anyways, I was wondering if I could copy some of your notes from yesterday?" I said, directing my attention back to Midoriya.

"Of course!" he said quickly and began moving towards his desk, which happened to be directly behind Bakugo. As I followed him, I stared at Bakugo's ash blonde hair and wished that he would turn around so that I could see his face. I desperately wanted to say something to him but I didn't know what and I didn't want to call any attention to the fact that we had spent time together last night.

"Here you go," Midoriya said, handing me a notebook. "No rush in getting it back, I can use my other notebook to take notes today." His smile was so warm and genuine as he handed the notebook over, I felt tears come to my eyes for a moment. I wasn't used to classmates being this kind to me.

"Thank you so much, I'm going to start working on it now and I'll get it back to you by the end of the day," I said and moved forward to sit at my desk.

My mind was racing as I began taking out my own notebook and pens. I can feel him staring at me. Well, duh, what else would he stare at when you're right in front of him? Should I turn around and say something? Yes. Maybe? No. Well, obviously he's not going to say anything so I should just suck it up and - 

"Hey," I said, turning around abruptly. His crimson eyes met mine but they were cold and distant. My voice immediately faltered. "I j-just...I wanted to say thanks for yesterday."

He didn't say anything, just stared at me and after a few moments of silence I continued. "It meant a lot to me that you came to the hospital and then that you were still willing to train with me. I was thinking -"

"Yeah, whatever, emo chick. I'm just glad that it's over and now we can go back to having nothing to do with each other," His words were laced with venom that took an immediate effect on me. I felt my stomach drop and my mouth opened but no words came out. After a few seconds a vein started throbbing on his temple and he barked, "Well, you can stop staring at me like an idiot and start copying that damn nerd's notes!"

I whipped around before he could see the tears forming in my eyes. Why was I always crying in front of him? Oh, that's right. Because he's an asshole. I don't know what possessed me to keep trying with him but in that moment I was determined that I was done with Katsuki Bakugo.