Emote: Bakugo x OC Reader

Chapter 32

I must have passed out because the last thing that I remembered was taking a step towards Todoroki and then blacking out. And the next thing I knew, I came to being carried in his arms. The thought of it made my cheeks flush. He had looked down at me as I started to make confused, incomprehensible noises, his eyes unreadable but intense.

"We're almost there," he said, his voice flat and somehow calming. Certainly nothing like the screaming voice of Bakugo I would have heard had he been the one carrying me.

Regardless, I was embarrassed of the entire situation and I kept my head down as Bakugo led me towards the staircase. I wasn't sure why he was pressing me to go to the nurse or why he still had his hand on my arm. As if sensing this, he scoffed as he let go. 

Thinking back on how the exercise had gone overall, a gnawing sense of shame began to wash over me. It was obvious how far behind I was compared to my classmates. To add to my self-consciousness, the entire scene had been witnessed by the entire class. As I began to descend the stairs I was mortified at the thought of getting feedback from them and considered the inevitable snicker that would try to be stifled behind a fake cough. Tears pricked at my eyes and simultaneously I felt a wave of nausea overcome me. I paused at the top of a flight of stairs and as I did caught a glimpse of green below me.

"Are those...?" I pointed at what appeared to be two giant grenades and turned back to Bakugo. I hadn't noticed that he wasn't wearing his gauntlets until that moment.

"Yeah," he snapped, walking in front of me to snatch them off the ground. "I couldn't carry your ass while wearing them."

My feet suddenly felt frozen to the cement below me. Did he just say...that he carried me?

"What?" I said plainly and he whipped around.

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you hoping that Icy Hot was the only one carrying your dead weight around?" He narrowed his crimson eyes at me. "Maybe if you took better care of yourself, we wouldn't have had a problem in the first place!"

He had already turned around and was stomping down the stairs before my brain had a chance to register what he had said.

"Took better care of myself?" I repeated, picking up my pace as I followed after him. "What do you mean?"

"You probably should have just gone home at lunch when you weren't feeling well!" He paused for the slightest moment but his back was to me and I couldn't read his facial expression.

Why would he think that I...? I thought and then it hit me. The conversation that I'd had with Mina. Did she tell Bakugo that I wasn't feeling well? Had he asked?  My thoughts were racing as I picked up my pace to catch up with him.

"How did you know?" I asked as we made it to the first floor and started making our way towards the entrance of the building.

Bakugo was ignoring me and walking fast, making it difficult to catch up given that I was starting to feel light headed again. My head was throbbing and I recalled getting kicked right before passing out. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath but Bakugo didn't break stride. When I stopped moving, the hallway began to spin for a moment and I crouched down. As I did, my stomach made a loud whining noise.

Oh my gosh. I thought, the realization dawning on me suddenly. I didn't eat breakfast or lunch...when was the last time I ate?  My stomach screamed again in protest and I sighed as I got up and continued to walk down the hall. I don't think I'd even been staying hydrated today. I shook my head, feeling disappointed with myself. Of course I should have eaten lunch, what the hell was I thinking? 

As I got the to entrance, I found Bakugo waiting, his spiky blond hair swaying slightly in the breeze. His expression was neutral and didn't change as we made eye contact. The deep red of his eyes mesmerized me and I couldn't help but notice the way his biceps glistened with sweat in the bright sunlight.

"We should get back to the rest of the class, eh?" I said, continuing to walk towards him.

His eye twitched in irritation. "What the hell did I say about going to the nurse?!"

"Why do you care?" I fired back, suddenly feeling angry myself.

He glowered at me before clicking his tongue and turning away. "Don't flatter yourself."

"You drive me fucking crazy!" I shouted at him before turning on my heel and making my way towards the observation room.

"I drive you crazy? Are you fucking kidding me?!" He was charging after me before I had even made it a few steps.

Whipping around, I jabbed a finger at his chest as he got within a few feet of me. "You are the one who keeps doing this push and pull bullshit! We're cool and we're training together and then you're an asshole during our match but then you offer to walk me home and give me your number and then I get to class and you're a complete ass again and then you pretend like you care by telling me to go to the nurse and supposedly carrying me around after I passed out even though when I woke up it was Todoroki that was holding me!" I sucked in a breath, winded by my outburst.

His eyes were alight with rage and his mouth set in a hard line that twitched at the mention of Todoroki. "Well, fuck you princess. It's real high and mighty of you to spout off like this when you're the one who used me as a guinea pig for your stupid pain trick and then tossed me to the side, so don't give me this shit about how I drive you crazy!"

It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. "Wait...what?"

He was breathing heavily and now standing only a foot or so away from me. I watched his chest rise and fall for a moment before speaking. "I didn't toss you to the side. I was trying to figure out a training schedule and you completely shut me down."

His face, which had been twisted in a scowl, began to soften. I found myself staring at his lips, which looked so full and soft. Suddenly I felt my heart pounding and I caught myself leaning in slightly. A cool breeze wafted through my hair and I looked up into the dark red of his eyes. The anger had leaked out of his expression and what was left was confusion but his eyes were soft. My pulse quickened when I thought I saw him lean forward fractionally. Suddenly I worried about how much I was sweating as a wave of heat came over me.

"Bakugo, I -"

"Miss Nakano." I snapped back, the moment completely shattered by a robotic voice.

Looking down, I saw two small robots carrying a stretcher. "Miss Nakano, Mr. All Might has ordered us to bring you to the nurse's office. Please lie down."

I stood frozen. Less than a minute ago I was fleeing the scene, trying to get away from this boy whose emotions were as explosive as his quirk and now I didn't want to leave. Worried that his mood had changed yet again, I didn't have the heart to look in Bakugo's direction until I heard him speak. "Well, you heard him."

There was no anger in his voice and I dared to glance at him before sitting on the stretcher. His face was relaxed but looking down so our eyes didn't meet until the robots began carting me away and he looked up. In that moment, I could swear there was the faintest hint of a smile on his face.