Saving Me [Monoma x Reader]

13. Intruder Alert

"Oh hey, it's [L/N]!" I heard Kendo call out, probably noticing my hunched-over figure after she took out the tra--I mean--Monoma. "Oooh... is she okay? She didn't get food poisoning, did she?"

"Well, she got some kind of poisoning," Jiro muttered under her breath.

I felt a hand lay atop my back. It felt gentle, yet firm, but also warm.

"We'll take care of her. Don't worry." It was Todoroki's voice, and I realized that it was his hand on my back.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you then. I'm glad she has good friends to look out for her! As for me, I'm gonna drag this one back and have a serious talk with him. See ya around!"

I heard Monoma's limp body being hauled away across the cafeteria floor and turned my head so that my cheek pressed against the table. "Th-... thanks, everyone," I rasped, still recovering from Monoma's appearance while also trying to figure out how to dislodge the bit of rice in my nose.

"We've got your back, [L/N]!!!" Hagakure reassured me.

Ashido nodded. "Yeah, and you're one of us now, Todoroki!"

"Thank you," he murmured.

"That Monoma character is sure revolting," Yaoyorozu groaned. "I can't believe someone like him exists."

"Like a wolf in sheep's clothing, ribbit. But now we know what to look out for."

Out of nowhere, the school's alarms blared overhead, startling me so much that I lurched and managed to blow out that damn rice grain out of my nose, and thankfully, into the napkin I still held around my mouth. I felt color finally returning to my face as sweet, sweet relief washed over me.

"Usually, people grow pale when they're suddenly frightened." Todoroki must have noticed how I jumped at the sound of the alarms. "But you look a lot better. I'm glad." His voice was eerily calm despite the chaos that blew up around us and students began to flood like ants towards the exit.

"Uh- girls?! And guy? This could be serious, we should get a move on!" Ashido cried out.

Jiro nodded and stood up. "Yeah, that's the alarm for a break-in. Let's get out of here."

We moved as one unit and tried to stay together amongst the sea of yelling and panicked students, but I was torn apart from the rest of the group.

"[L/N]!"

"Todoroki! Hagakure!!"

I tried reaching out my hand to grab for them, but I was only carried further away by the river of screaming and frightened bodies.

My figure was jostled around until I ended up with my back against the hallway's floor-to-ceiling windows, and my head made a hollow thud against the glass. Another student got shoved and tossed into me, and their back was pressed against my face and chest.

"Mmrph-... rrRGH!" I struggled to jerk my head to the side so that my mouth wasn't muffled by their clothes. "I know we're in a tight spot..." my voice strained, "But your back-... is suffocating my... rrrgh... face!"

"On the contrary, your face is suffocating my back!"

My stomach dropped to the floor when I heard that cocky voice.

Really? Fucking REALLY?!

Terrified yells continued to clamor around us, but I didn't dare to speak again for fear of the person pressed into me turning around... but I got exactly what I didn't want.

"Why so quiet all of a sudden? Are you that easy to shut up?" he questioned, craning his neck back to look over his shoulder. 

With my cheek pressed against said shoulder, our noses were now only mere inches away from each other and I hated it. I hated how attractive he looked. I hated how nicely his hair was parted. I hated that he had a handsome jawline. I hated that I could get lost in his eyes. But I would strangle myself before ever falling for a prick like him.

His eyes widened like a little kid who found a new ant to sear with his magnifying glass, and his mouth opened into an eager grin.

"Ohhhh," he snickered, "Well if it isn't [L/N]. Of course you'd be the thorn in my back."

YOU'RE THE THORN! I wanted to shriek. I was livid. I was sweaty. Almost all of U.A. was crammed into that hallway, and my face grew red with the pressure squeezing me, both literally and figuratively.

"Careful now," he taunted. "With a color like that on your cheeks, people might get the wrong idea."

Who the hell did this guy think he was?

"You know, I wouldn't blame you for falling in love with me, though. After all, I'm quite a catch, but I'm way out of your league. I wouldn't date trash from a rival class."

The insults flew out of his mouth relentlessly. I didn't know why I couldn't make a stand against him like I had with Bakugo. Maybe it was because I knew that he still wouldn't shut up, even if I did say something back, and then I wouldn't be able to keep up with his onslaught of mockery.

A smirk spread across the lower half of his face. "But from the looks of it, I'd say you're already falling for me. You're speechless. I have you tongue-tied."

His eyes locked onto mine, and I scowled back with a look that clearly said I'd shank him a thousand times over.

"Well, your front side is rather soft. I suppose I could just keep you as a nice carpet."

I wanted to kill him. I wanted to rip out his spine, leave his corpse for the worms, and send his foul soul back to whatever hell he came from.

Enough was enough, and I fought to wring out my arms from behind Monoma's fatass. If I punched him or elbowed him in the crotch, no one would blame me, right? We were in the middle of a wild stampede and some collateral damage was bound to happen. Right?

"Struggling much, [L/N]? Don't bother. You can't resist me, ahahaha!" His laughter was the sound of nightmares.

"GET. LOST!" Finally, I was able to yank my arms free and sent a sloppy uppercut right into his nose, then quickly shoved him off of me and into the crowd as he reeled back from my sudden strike.

My breath was heavy, either from sheer rage or trying to fight my way out from behind him, and my hands were still balled into fists as I held them by my sides. I didn't know what came over me, but I stared that punk down and... to my surprise, he looked just as shocked as I was by my outburst. Our eyes were fixed on one another as Monoma clamped a hand onto his nose, and a single streak of blood crawled past his mouth and down his chin.

Our attention was swiftly broken when Iida somehow ended up on the emergency exit sign and bellowed out for everyone to calm down. Apparently, it was only the media who somehow bypassed security and came through the gates. The pandemonium that caused everyone to panic melted away as quickly as it had erupted. 

Students began heading back to their respective places, and when my eyes flicked back to where I last saw Monoma standing, I found that he had completely disappeared. Did it work? Did I chase him off? Would he finally leave me alone?

A sigh exhaled from my mouth and my body relaxed.

Wait a minute... I just punched someone. I just... PUNCHED someone... and it wasn't for a training exercise. SHIT, am I going to gET DETENTION?!?!!