Battle of Wills ~ (bakugou x reader)

Chapter Ten

Art Credit: @lapinhg on Twitter

A/N: One more chapter for today cause I got bored watching the Presidential Debate lmao

***

For the rest of the day, you avoided Bakugou like the plague. Yes, normally, you tried to stay out of his way at school. However, this time, every peek of blond hair amongst the hordes of students sent you sprinting towards the nearest exit. You hated the sense of paranoia you had begun to feel in between classes.

I can't believe I got myself into this mess, you thought to yourself with a groan.

Truthfully... you hadn't hated the kiss. But somehow, that made you feel worse. You had seen the kind of damage men like him wrought on the women who made the mistake of falling for them--their eyes too glazed over with love to realize the manipulation. You were never going to become a victim to those tactics; you knew better.

Eventually, between second and third period, you had a real sighting of him. His hands were shoved into his pockets, his body language screaming "don't touch me!" His steely red eyes had yet to catch sight of you, and you took the opportunity to spin around, walking at a fast pace in the opposite direction of your third period class.

Sadly, the quick movement caught Bakugou's eye. No sooner had he turned his face than his eyes widened in surprise at seeing your form weaving between the masses of students to escape from him.

"Wait--!" he yelled.

The blond pulled his hands out of his pockets as he tried to rush after you. Luckily, some girls from General Studies obstructed his path, taking his distraction as an opportunity to attempt to talk to him, allowing you enough time to duck around the corner. You had recognized the girls from your English class--they were aspiring heroes and idolized many of the students in the Hero Course, including Bakugou. In fact, one of them you recognized from the group hanging around Bakugou's table a few days ago.

However, they had a good chance of making it into the Hero Course. From your interactions with them, the two seemed very capable and intelligent.

Why am I thinking about this? You shook your head, peeking around the corner to see if Bakugou was gone.

Meanwhile, Bakugou ripped away from them, looking around the cramped hallway for you. "Fuck off, dumb extras," he muttered.

"Dammit!" he shouted once he realized you had disappeared. Some passersby looked at him strangely, giving him a wide berth. Outbursts like this weren't uncommon for Bakugou, but he somehow seemed angrier than usual.

Finally realizing he had missed his opportunity, the blond angrily shoved his smoking hands back into his pockets, walking tensely towards his next class.

***

You let out a breath as the crisp outdoor air hit your warm face. All day, your thoughts had been anything but collected, causing you to zone out in your classes. Now, even though it was lunch time, you just wanted to head back to your dorm, even if that meant abandoning your friends in the cafeteria. On the plus side, you likely wouldn't run into Bakugou this way either.

Taking out your phone to text your friends, you saw the screen unlock to reveal the video-taking app. The preview of your last-recorded video covered the screen: Bakugou's worn-out face, in the middle of rolling his eyes. Against your better judgement, you pressed play.

"--If I die, that's on me," his gruff voice played on the small screen.

"Is that good enough for you?" you heard him mutter, voice muffled as he faced away from the camera.