Pyre - (Dabi X Reader) BNHA Fanfic

~ Part 31 ~

꧁༒☬𝓝𝓸𝓽 𝓼𝓸 𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓰𝓸 𝓘 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓪𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓽;        
𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓬𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓪𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰
             𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓘 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓱𝓸𝓶𝓮☬༒꧂

You entered the fast-food restaurant, thick, warm air hitting you like a slap in the face. The smell of burgers and fries filled your nose. Surprisingly, quite a few people had the same train of thought as you and Dabi; the restaurant was filled with the quiet murmur of a handful of people talking and eating some food at the tables. Other's stood in a small line, still waiting for their turn to order.

You and Dabi added yourself to the small line, looking up at the menus that glowed bright. In all honesty, you weren't hungry in the slightest bit, but you chose to order F/F and F/D, nonetheless.

It didn't take long before it was your turn. You each ordered, and to your disbelief Dabi dug out some wrinkled cash out of his pockets, handing it over to the lady at the counter. Grabbing your food, you sent Dabi a perplexed look.

You took a seat at one of the window tables. Dabi raised his eyebrow at you in question. "What?".

"I didn't know it was humanly possible for you to actually pay for something".

"I'm offended", he dramatically held his hand to his chest, "what; do you think I'm some sort of animal?".

You pursed your lips, awkwardly looking away. Dabi glared at you. "Gimme back my food", he grumbled. You shook your head, chuckling. "Too late".

He sent you a challenging look, smirking. His hand reached across the table, heading for your food. You caught his hand, sending him a glare. "Don't", you held his eyes, which grinned at you playfully, "I will slap the McShit out of you".

His grin deepened. Suddenly his hand twisted around your arm, pulling you towards him. Your one hand hit the table hard as you tried to stop yourself from face-palming into it. "Dabi!", you hissed as a few people turned to stare at you.

He brought his face closer, only inches from yours. You were in a restaurant for heaven's sake! "Hmmm?", he grumbled deeply, "is that the only thing we'll be slapping tonight?".

You felt your face explode in heat; your eyes so big you were sure they were about to fall out of your eye sockets. "Dabi!", you hissed once more, trying to pry your arm out of his grip, "there are people!".

"What? Are you embarrassed? Do you want to go somewhere more private?", his eyes bore into yours, so close that you could clearly see how they exploded into different wave-like hues of blue. So close to his face, it was hard to keep your train of thought – his eyes mesmerizing. "Let go", you growled through clenched teeth, forcing yourself to glare.

He let go, falling back into his seat, chuckling. You retreated to your own chair, glaring at him. He grinned at you, taking a bite of his food. The English vocabulary didn't have enough words for the things you wanted to call him right now.

You took a bite of your own food, chewing on it. It didn't taste as you expected it to. This wasn't what you ordered. You looked down at your food in confusion.

Then it hit you. Dabi had really meant for you to give him back his food. You looked up at him, alarmed. He smirked at you. He knew you hadn't realized you had taken his food. You sighed, digging your face into your hands. God. Kill me.

◇♧♧♧◇

By the time you and Dabi had made it back to your mother's house, nearly all the guests had left, leaving only your mother and a handful of her close friends. The moment you entered the house, Dabi had declared that he was going to bed. You motioned for him to go to your old room, allowing him to use your old couch, before heading outside.

You walked towards the small setup, seeing your mother sit around a table with her friends, who had taken some more chairs from the other tables to sit. It was depressing how your mother had more trustworthy friends than you did.

She looked up, spotting you. "There you are! Where did you guys go off to?", she sent you a knowing look. You shook your head frantically, trying to hide your blush. "No, mom. We went to McDonalds", you quickly cleared.

"Alright then", she snickered, before returning to indulge in the conversation with her friends. You looked around. Where was Jason? He wasn't anywhere here, that was for sure.

You sighed. You were so emotionally drained. You headed for the fire pit, where the large bonfire had turned into a small, dwindling flame. Sitting down in front of the fire, you stared at the orange-yellow flames that danced in uneven patterns.

As you sat there, you felt the emptiness creeping up on you. It stung in your chest like a knife wound. You pulled up your knees, thinking that maybe it would make you feel a little less hollow inside. It didn't really help much.

Even though the short trip to McDonald's had made you feel a bit better, the fear and sadness came back, crashing down onto you like an unbearable heavy weight on your shoulders, wearing you down with every breath you took.

You continued to stare at the fire, the flames hypnotizing, when suddenly, you heard shuffling behind you. You looked up to see a woman you had never seen before take a seat next to you.

She had black hair that was tied into a messy bun, piercings in her ears, lips and nose, a large dragon tattoo running up her shoulder and disappearing beneath the spaghetti top she was wearing. She pulled out a cigarette, holding it between her lips as she lit it.

"Do I know you?", you mumbled. She exhaled a large cloud of smoke before answering. "Probably not", she had a raspy voice, but the nice type. You nodded, not knowing what else to say.

"I've been your mom's best friend since high school", she added a short while later. You looked over at her again. "Really? Strange that I've never met you until now", you mumbled, trying to remember if maybe you had seen her before.

She chuckled dryly. "The universe times everything perfectly, love. If you'd have met be before ... I can see why your mom kept you from meeting me", she mumbled, staring off into the distance. You pursed your lips. "Do you really think so?".

She looked over at you, questioningly. "That the universe times everything perfectly", you explained. She smiled softly. "Yes. People and events meet when they need to. The universe doesn't give you what you can't handle".

"That is debatable", you murmured, drawing small drawings into the sand with your toes. "Oh? And why do you think so?", she asked, taking another puff from her cigarette. You chewed your lip, trying to put what you thought into words. "Well, I feel like everything gets too much sometimes. I want to give up. I'm so tired of struggling, ... constantly fighting a war within myself to just keep going. That everything will turn out fine, when in reality everything is going down in flames. I can't even lie to myself at this point anymore. I'm tired of crying. Tired of trying. Why is everything a constant struggle? Why does it feel, ... why does it feel like I'm the only one struggling? Why is it so easy for everyone else to be happy? To be okay?", you took a shaky breath, "or maybe it's just me, maybe I'm just weak or whatever. But I don't get it ... I just want to know what it feels like to be happy again. Like don't get me wrong, there are moments when I laugh, when everything is okay, but that's only when I forget about the hell I'm in. It's only a distraction for a short while before I get consumed again".

She hummed, smiling sadly. "I hate it", you whispered softly, "I hate being sad. I hate feeling empty. I hate the fact that I hate being alive. I hate – I hate that I don't even know why I can't seem to get myself out of this hole".

She looked over at you, her eyes filled with a sadness that you couldn't quite pin point. She looked back over at the fire, tossing in her cigarette, before turning to look up at the sky. There weren't a lot of city lights here, so the stars were many and brightly visible.

"Love, ... please stop overthinking life like you have to have an answer for every feeling or situation", she looked at you again, "That's not how life works. We figure it all out by just living, by fucking up, by missing an opportunity, by seeking advice and not taking it. We learn what's important and what isn't. Sometimes we have no fucking idea what to do and it's scary, but it's okay. Always trust your gut and know that everything will work out exactly the way it is supposed to be. It always does. Relax dear, we were never in control anyway".

You swallowed hard, looking back up at the sky. There was truth in that statement, and you knew she was right.