Emerald Eyes

Part 18; Echoing Quietly

Midoriya was tired. That was very obvious. He had bags under his eyes, his skin seemed incredibly pale, his usually plump cheeks drooped signifigantly, and he just couldn't seem to focus on one thing. Actually, he seemed almost distant, like his mind was in a completely different place.

That was worrying to Uraraka, Todoroki, and Shinsou. They knew Midoriya well enough to know that if he was lacking sleep, it ment nothing good. Sure, he didn't have much a sense self worth, but he still tried to take care of himself. Plus, he had a tendancy to be self-destructive when he was too deep in his head. His own mind was a toxic place for him.

So, the three of them tried to figure out what was going on. But, he wouldn't give an answer, no matter how much they tried. He just brushed it off as nothing, or claimed that it didn't matter in the end.

Now that was concerning. Even if he thought it didn't matter, he would usually give them some hint towards what was going on. He knew that they cared about him, didn't he?

They ended up getting some answers during lunch.

"C'mon, Midoriya-kun, just talk to us..! We're your friends!" Uraraka pleaded, using his last name rather than the usual nickname. He became suddenly hyperaware at that, confusion etched into his expression, while his antena became purple. He backed away from her, "Uraraka-chan doesn't call me by name...!! A-Are you an imposter?!"

Her own expersion morphed into confusion and worry, "What? No, it's me! Why would you think that, Deku-kun?" The slight tenseness in his shoulders disappeared, "Oh.. Sorry, I guess I'm just a bit on edge..." Midoriya gave a small smile, but it was apparent that it was fake, based on the grey glow his antena took on.

Midoriya really did hate how his antena displayed his true emotions for the world to see...

"You sure you're okay?" Todoroki questioned, and Midoriya nodded, "Yeah, I'm just tired... Didn't get much sleep is all!" He wasn't lying. After that sleep paralysis episode, he had a multitude of nightmares, and eventually gave up on getting a proper rest. "And why would that be?" Shinsou tried. This was where Midoriya lied, "Oh, I just couldn't get comfortable, that's all..."

Midoriya hated lying. Lying was bad, especially when it was for selfish reasons. But, being a burden by worrying his friends was bad too. In the end, it was a competition of which was worse, and Midoriya dubbed worrying them worse.

He knew bottling things up wasn't healthy, but he didn't particually care. An alien like him didn't deserve to be helped. He was a monster, after all. That's what everyone else said, so it must be true. That's how it always was.

They seemed to buy it, though, much to his relief.

Shinsou didn't believe it for a second, but he wouldn't push right now. Midoriya would talk when he was ready. He always did.

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Izuku colapsed onto his bed, sparing a glance towards his unfinished homework. He knew that he could easily just finish it, but he felt far to drained to bother right now.

He had run up to his room to avoid the wrath of Bakugou, who seemed extra mad that day. Hopefully, it wouldn't worry his classmates too much.

"Creepy.."

"Is he some sort of stalker?"

"Poor Yaomomo, I wouldn't want an alien taking notes on me.."

"That's super weird, dude.."

"Ew, that's disgusting!!"

No, they wouldn't care enough to worry. Other than the Dekusquad, but they all knew that Izuku was scared of Bakugou.

He burried his head in his arms, moving his tentacles to put his backpack on it's rack. The extra ones swayed mid-air, wagging around like a dog's tail might. Except he wasn't actually all that happy. For a moment, he thought of taking some notes on Alien Hunters, or maybe his classmates, before deciding that he was just to tired.

He ended up falling asleep in that exact positon.

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It was the day of the Sports Festival. Izuku gulped nervously as he and the rest of his class walked to the stadium. It was giagantic, and Izuku had a feeling most of the seats would be taken.

Meaning a giant amount of people staring at him, watching his every move.

He did NOT like the idea of that.

His antenna were a deep purple, as he walked through the entrance. The crowd roared with excitement, and the noise only seemed louder due to his hearing enhancments. Jiro seemed to be having problems with the noise as well.

He wondered if his mom would be watching...

That thought calmed his down a bit.

A/N

Whoop!! Next chapter will be interesting to write.