Electric Current: Not Past

Take Me To Church

My blaring alarm woke me up the next morning. I got maybe three hours of sleep and even that was pushing it. My parents words haunted me throughout the day, but also in my dreams. Apparently there was no reprieve from them.

Soft knocking sounded at my door before I heard mother say my name.

"I'm up..." I grumbled, loud enough for her to hear.

I waited until I heard her fading footsteps before getting out of bed and heading towards my closet. Since returning, my parents had made very strict guidelines for me to follow.

1. No identifying as a boy or using the name Denki.

2. No more boy clothes or short haircuts.

And finally...

3. No contact with my friends at UA.

Basically, anyone who supported or called me Denki. The first two I could live without, though it would be a rough transition, but the no communication with friends.... It was slowly killing me. Not hearing from Shinsou or Ibara and I couldn't directly communicate with Aizawa either.

Sighing, I shift through my closet until I find a plain, black t-shirt and dark blue jeans. Simple and gender neutral. It was hard to find clothes that I could wear comfortably and that would still be considered "appropriate" by my parents.

"Dai, you almost ready?" Her voice was muffled by the thick door.

Instead of answering, I turned my Spotify playlist to a random song and blasted it in my bathroom while I brushed out my matted hair. In the month or so I'd been back, my hair has also grown longer, making me look more like a girl.

Most of my features were more "masculine"—something I was always happy about—but my hair made it easy to tell who I was. The breast-lifting bras my mother bought didn't help my case either. My naturally flat chest looked larger than normal because of the padding.

"I have been calling your name for the past five minutes." My mother says calmly as she leans against the bathroom doorway. 

After running the brush through my hair one more time, I finally turn to face her. Her eye was twitching, but she didn't reprimand me for the obvious disrespect.

Playing innocent, I widen my eyes and give her my most apologetic look, "Sorry, I guess I didn't hear you."

Anyone could see that my "apology" wasn't much of an apology at all, but she nodded.

"It's alright, just make sure you're ready in the next ten minutes. Grace and Zeido will be here any minute."

"I'm already ready."

She gave me a once-over with her scrutinizing gaze, not bothering to hide the disgusted curl of her lips.

"You're wearing that?" She asked with barely-concealed distaste.

I hummed in response and started applying mint toothpaste to my toothbrush. I was hoping that it would be the end of the conversation, but no such luck.

"That isn't very church-appropriate..."

Toothbrush in mouth, I turned to face her again. She was completely serious. Quickly, I brushed over my teeth and rinsed my mouth so I could speak clearly.

"There's nothing inappropriate on what I'm wearing. It's just a t-shirt and jeans."

"Couldn't you—I don't know... Wear something a little more... Pretty?"

"What I'm wearing is fine." I say quietly.

She sighs and I thought she was going to drop it, but she just had to continue.