Saving Me [Monoma x Reader]

o6. The Devil Himself

Once Todoroki left, I was sitting alone, but I was no stranger to eating lunch by myself. That wasn't new, but today was my first lunch with another student in years... and it was kind of nice. I just hoped that Todoroki and I could eat together again tomorrow, and maybe talk a little more, too. And maybe without a text pulling him away.

Lost in thought, I had an elbow propped up on the table and laid a cheek in my palm while absentmindedly staring off into nowhere. My mind wandered off into the land of daydreams and memories, and I realized how the start of my high school journey was already so different from my middle school experience. For the most part, it was a good kind of different.

"Wow~ What have we here? So pretty."

Huh?

I blinked, abruptly shaken out of my thoughts, and slowly turned my head to lay eyes on a blond boy with beautiful, grey-blue irises and a smirk that beamed with confidence. And the way he spoke? His voice sounded like caramel and silk pouring into a fountain of chocolate fondue.

Did-... did he just...

"Uh... m..."

I've had crushes here and there--cute little ones from elementary school, and a couple in middle school, but nothing significant ever came from them. The ones from elementary school were just that. Elementary. Sweet little puppy loves where we just held each other's hands while sitting on the swings and kissing each other on the cheek. I did nothing about my crushes in middle school. I wasn't in the right head space since Dad died around that time. But, I did know what attraction felt like, and today it struck me from out of nowhere.

The blond let out a small laugh, obviously noticing how tongue-tied I was, but he returned to that relaxed, half-lidded expression of his. "Say, what class are you from?"

How was he still here? And how was he still talking to the jumbled up mess that was me? This was a joke, right? This had to be some kind of prank. This kind of stuff only happened in fairy tales and anime.

"Um... 1-... 1-A," I managed to sputter.

His eyes widened and his smirk grew into a grin when he heard my answer. "1-A, huh? Makes sense. I thought I smelled garbage over here."

I froze, and any blood rushing to my face from embarrassment had swiftly drained away in sheer horror.

...What?

The boy tilted his head and shot me a smug look. "What, did you actually think I was complimenting you earlier?" He feigned an expression as if he suddenly realized something, then lifted a single index finger in the air and twirled it around as he lifted his eyes upwards. "Ohhh, that's right. I did say you were pretty." His eyes flung back at me and his mouth twisted into a manic grin. "Pretty gross."

My soul left my body as I internally shrieked.

So this was a joke. I hated that I was right.

In that moment, I was nothing but an empty, pale husk with my mouth hanging agape, gazing with soulless eyes into the rotten face of Satan himself. There was a saying out there, something like "God has many faces." Well, today, I wholeheartedly believed that the devil wore many faces, too, and one of them was right in front of me.

I was shell-shocked. Completely petrified by this jerk's cruel joke, and he knew it.

"AhahaHAHAHAH!! You're such an idiot. Did you really-" He pointed and jabbed a finger at me while holding onto his stomach with his other arm and continued to laugh in my face. "Did you really think... that I would come all the way over here just to say something nice to you? As if I'd do such a thing for a pile of trash from Class 1-A! HahaHAHAHA-uGH!"

And then the hand of God struck down upon this foul demon.

"Sorry about that...!" A sheepish laugh came from an orange-haired girl who caught the boy mid-air and was now hanging onto his limp body by the collar of his uniform. "I hope he didn't cause you too much trouble. I'm Itsuka Kendo! From Class 1-B. And..." She looked down at the unconscious blond and grimaced. "This is Neito Monoma. He can be pretty heartless sometimes," she pointed out with a pained expression. "When I hear him cackling in the distance, that's usually my cue to go and get him."

"Uh... well, I-I'm... [Y/N]... [L/N]..." I barely wheezed out. I still couldn't move a muscle with everything that just happened within the past minute. It felt like I went to hell and just came back.

"Nice to meet ya, [L/N]!" She flashed a bright smile at me, but her expression turned into one of worry. "Hey, uh... you don't look so good. Do you need to go the nurse's office? I can take you there if you n-!!" Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as realization hit her. "WAIT, WHAT DID HE SAY TO YOU?!"

Girl. If only I could tell her. Whoever said "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt you" was either a dirty liar or a complete fool.

Shakily, I lifted a hand and waved a negative. "I-it's... fine... I just- um..." My voice was just pitiful puffs at this point. "I just... n-need to... sit here... for a bit..."

"Alright... if you say so," she gave in with a look of worry creasing on her face. "Hey, if you do need any help, just give me a shout, okay? I'll be right over there." She pointed into the distance at a table with some other students, probably her friends or other classmates. She used the same hand to wave. "I'll catch ya later, [L/N]! Please feel better. And I'll make sure to have some serious words with this one!"

And away she went, dragging Monoma's slack body behind her.

"Byyyeeeee..." I rasped, like an elderly senior missing their dentures.

How. How could they let people like this into U.A.? It was absurd. First Bakugo, and now this Monoma kid? Didn't U.A. do interviews or something to... I don't know, MAYBE FUCKING FILTER OUT THEIR APPLICANTS?!

"[L/N]!!! Hey! I'm so glad I found you! Wanna come and sit with- WOAH!!"

I turned my zombie-esque corpse to look at Hagakure, who had come skipping over to me.

"Oh my gosh, you look like you've just seen a ghost! Are you okay?! Do you need to go to the nurse's??"

This was the third time in two days that someone asked if I needed to go. Apparently, I looked like the most sickly child at U.A.