Emote: Bakugo x OC Reader

Chapter 43

Bakugo's POV

"So what's the news with your old man?" I asked as we continued walking together in the direction of Nakano's house. "He's home now, right?"

Beside me, I noticed her visibly tense up. I recalled what the girl's mom had said about the past week being difficult but not elaborating any further.

"Yeah," she seemed to be going for a casual tone but her voice came out sounding strained. "He's going to physical therapy right now in the afternoon. He has to use crutches for the time being and it's making him even more of an ass." 

"Even more of an ass, eh?"

The thought of him being mean to her kind of pissed me off. It kind of made me want to punch him in the face. Remembering the picture I had seen in the news article that day I visited her at the hospital, I imagined the cracking sound it would make when my fist connected with his smug face. The thought sent a shiver of excitement through me.

"You have that crazy look on your face," she said, breaking through my thoughts.

"Hah?" I asked, turning to look at her.

"You get this crazy look on your face, where it's like you're going to rage and burn down a village but you're smiling," I noticed her smirk then. "It seriously makes you look insane. You usually do it while you're fighting,"

She seemed to become embarrassed then, turning away and rubbing the back of her neck so that her arm blocked my view of her face. Before I could respond, she said, "So anyways, the weather is really nice, huh? Wow, that sun does feel good, doesn't it?"

"The weather?" When she didn't look at me, I rolled my eyes. "You idiot."

She peeked at me over her arm so I could only see her eyes. I was close enough to see those tiny specks of gold that were scattered throughout the green. It was even more pronounced in the sunlight.

"What's your family like? Do you have any siblings?" she asked.

"Hell no!" I responded. The thought of having siblings filled me with disgust.

"So what about your parents?" she prodded.

"There's nothing to tell. They're both annoying as hell. The old hag is always getting on me about every little thing and my old man is a complete pushover. It's obvious who wears the pants in that relationship. He'll do anything that fucking witch asks him to with a smile like he's some love struck moron. It's weak and it makes me sick."

"Pretty harsh..." The girl murmured.

"Fuck you, emo chick! You don't know them so what the hell gives you the right to say? You don't get to sit there and act like you're better than me when you were literally just bitching about how horrible your old man is," I yelled.

The silence stretched between us and all I could hear was the sound of our feet hitting the ground with each step. She took a deep breath in before she spoke and when she did it was quiet enough that I had to lean in closer to hear her.

"I guess I just wish that my own father was more like that...weak as you call it," Her hands came up and used air quotes as she emphasized the word weak. "Because honestly, I don't think he loves my mom at all. I think he's good at pretending. Especially in public. But I think at the end of the day he just cares about himself. So I think if your parents are together and they're happy, even if they get on your nerves because they're doing their job as parents, you should probably be grateful for what you have."

Grateful? Who the fuck does she think she is? I don't need a Goddamn lesson on gratitude. Why the hell did I decide to walk this girl home? I'm already annoyed with her. I thought.

My foot collided with a stone lying on the sidewalk and I hit it with more force than I realized, rocketing it forward as it skidded across our path. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her flinch and I felt the knot of anger inside of me start to loosen.

"You piss me off, you know that?" I said.

"Everyone pisses you off," she said and laughed. The sound of her laughter was intoxicating and I resisted the urge to look at her, worried that I wouldn't be able to look away from that smile.

What the fuck is happening to me?! I thought and forced myself to push away those thoughts and feelings.

"So when are we going to start training again? Tomorrow, or...we could today still, if you want?" She seemed to be hopeful as she said this.

"Tch. You really need to learn how to take care of yourself, emo chick. You were literally just out sick yesterday." I said. "Why did you stress yourself out so much, anyways? That's probably what got you sick, you know."

"Yeah..." she said, gripping the strap of her bag tighter. "I just feel so far behind everyone else. I know, I know, I need to work harder and all that but as a class you guys have literally fought villains. As much big talk as I threw around back then about wanting to be there to help you guys out, now that I'm in the hero course and I see the realities of what it means to become a hero I'm terrified. If I had to face an actual villain I think I would just freeze. My quirk isn't that powerful and my physical abilities can only take me so far. And all of this isn't even taking my academics into account."

As I listened to her I watched the sun start to sink towards the horizon. The sky was beginning to shift to a canvas of pastel colors. A few birds flitted across the sky as she continued to speak.

"It's just a lot of pressure. And with my father coming home from the hospital, it's been super tense at home. It's like constantly trying to avoid land mines but when you step on one..." She shook her head and made an explosion noise as she exaggeratedly threw her hands in the air. "You know what I mean, explosion boy?"

I gave her my deepest scowl, which was usually enough to shut someone up but she just grinned at me.

"What, so you can call me by a shitty nickname but I can't use one for you? Come on, you've never even used my actual name."

At this, I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God she doesn't remember that...I'm just going to assume she doesn't remember any of it...

"I do whatever the hell I want, emo chick," I said, emphasizing the nickname.

"Obviously," she said, rolling her eyes.

After another minute or two of walking silently, I said, "You have to let yourself rest. Don't push yourself today or you're just going to get sick again. Finish up your schoolwork and go to bed at a reasonable time. We can train tomorrow."

She nodded her head once. "Okay," she said, although I thought I heard a trace of disappointment in her voice.

When we arrived at her house, she turned to me, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Thanks for walking me home, Bakugo," she said before turning and beginning to walk up the path to her house.

"Ah!" I exclaimed, caught off guard by her comment. "I was walking this way anyways, don't flatter yourself!"

"Sure, sure!" The words were spoken over her shoulder as she waved her hand. "See you tomorrow, friend!"

Friend. The word reverberated through my mind before it finally settled. There were little to no people that I would consider friends, but rather there were certain people that I tolerated more than others. Maybe that's what this new feeling was that kept pulling me towards this girl? But in all honesty, it terrified me and excited me with equal amounts of force. What the hell have I gotten myself into?