The next morning, I was sending up silent prayers to whoever was listening that Katsuki would skip first hour. Of course, whatever higher power existed seemed to laugh at my misery. The blond was already sitting at his desk, staring out the window, when I walked in. 

He didn't look toward me until I sat at my desk. His crimson eyes widened at the sight of me, but I tried my hardest to ignore him. My plan failed when he spoke, his voice rougher than usual. "I thought your mom was sending you away." 

I forced a light-hearted chuckle to leave my lips. "Turns out, if you shed a few tears and mention a relapse, the woman's putty in my hands." 

His eyes widened and I thought it was from my cruel words. "You relapsed?" 

Now it was my turn to be surprised. "You didn't know? I thought Uraraka called Ashido." 

"She didn't mention that part," he said quietly, almost in disbelief. 

I eyed him, trying to gauge his thoughts. "I can see the little gears in your head whirring away, Kacchan," I teased, trying to remain unfazed by him. "Trying to figure out my poison of choice? If I'm still high now? If that's the real reason I left? I can't quite figure it out," I admitted, watching intently for any reaction I might get. I shrugged when there was none. "I'll just answer them anyway, maybe it'll help your brain process. Let's see... cocaine to the first question, unfortunately, I'm not high still, and oh, look at that!" I wore a wicked smile that seemed to catch him off guard. "My generosity ran out. That's all the answers I've got." 

Katsuki was so hard to read when he wanted to be. He had a mask that could rival Todoroki's. "You're a sick, little fuck, ya know that?" 

I snorted at the insult, pretending to remain unbothered. I'd asked for it after all. "I thought you were trying to be creative, Kacchan." 

"Don't fucking call me that," he snapped, and this time I knew he meant it. 

My attention was redirected as Mr. Aizawa walked into the classroom, nursing a cup of coffee. "This has been fun," I told the blond, standing from my desk. "Let's do it again, sometime, yeah?" And then I was walking to the door. 

"Mr. Midoriya, so kind of you to join us today," my teacher called out. "Take a seat." 

I faced him but continued backward towards the door. "I'd love to, but I've got about a million other things I'd rather be doing right now. Maybe tomorrow though?" 

I headed straight for the front door, shooting my mom a text as I went. 

Izuku~

I tried. 

I'd try again tomorrow. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday was a more successful run than Thursday had been. Katsuki was completely ignoring me, so it made my first hour much easier. I made it all the way to lunch without the threat of a breakdown. Uraraka was sending me encouraging messages all day, making me smile at my phone every time a new one came in. 

Which is what I had been doing at lunch when a carton of milk was spilled over my head. 

I had decided to sit at the same table I had the last time I was ignoring the bandmates. The social rejects at the table eyed me wearily once again, but stayed quiet. If I didn't bother them, they wouldn't bother me. 

I hadn't been expecting the cold liquid to cascade down, causing me to gasp and abruptly jump to my feet. I turned to locate the culprit, my heart falling when I saw Kaminari holding an empty carton and Sero standing next to him, both laughing obnoxiously at me. 

I forced a cold smile, wiping the milk from my face and shaking my wet hair at them. They stopped their laughter, scowling as they stepped away from the droplets that flew toward them. "It's cute, watching you two rub your last remaining brain cells together and still only coming up with a middle school plan," I tsked at them in disappointment. "Now run back to your table and give Ei and Kacchan my regards." I shooed them away with my hands. 

"You've got some fucking nerve-" Kaminari started, taking a threatening step towards me. 

He didn't get far before Ashido appeared behind him and Sero, smacking both of them in the back of the head rather aggressively. "What the hell are you two doing? Leave him alone," she ordered through gritted teeth. 

Sero crossed his arms, glaring hard at me. "He deserved it." 

"Doesn't matter," she hissed at him, grabbing both boys by the ears and dragging them away. "Have you ever heard of being the bigger person?" I heard her voice as they walked away. 

I released a tense sigh, turning back to my seat and grabbing my bag. It was mostly unscathed from the milk assault, just a few drops that weren't going to cause me any issues. I slung the back over my shoulder, sending my mom the same message as the day before, and walked home. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My weekend was spent with my window firmly closed and my curtains drawn. I was texting and calling my friends back home almost constantly, and when I wasn't, I was spending time with my mom. We had two different movie marathons and ate two meals a day together. We hadn't been that close in over a year. Some long-forgotten part of me finally settled. 

Monday, on the other hand, was hell. Somehow, Sero and Kaminari passed me in the halls in between every class. I was the target of projectiles, bumped, tripped, and called nearly every mean name in the book. By the time sixth hour was over, I was fed up with their shit. 

I saw them again as I walked to my last class of the day. They were heading straight towards me and I braced myself. I tried to dodge them, but Kaminari slammed his elbow right into my side. 

"Goddamn it!" I yelled, whipping around to face them. My shouting had gathered a few students' eyes to us, but none of us seemed to care. They held their ground, glaring down their noses at me in challenge. "If you've got a problem, say it to my face. What's with this petty, mean girl shit?" 

"Yeah, we've got a problem," Kaminari spat at me. "You cheated on our best friends. You're a pathetic excuse for a human." I'd never seen the happy-go-lucky blond so angry. It was unsettling to witness. 

"I'm so glad I could help you get that off your chest," I said in a faux sympathetic tone, my hands over my heart for added effect. "Can you both fuck off now?" 

Kaminari gritted his teeth at my response. It clearly bothered him, how unbothered I seemed. Why couldn't he just let it go? "You don't deserve it." His words were laced with venom, something I definitely never expected from him. 

I crossed my arms over my chest, sending him a deadpan expression. "I don't think the administration would care that I cheated on your friend, this is still considered harassment," I pointed out. Anything to get them to just leave me alone. I couldn't keep doing this every day. 

Sero laughed harshly at the threat. "Really? You of all people are gonna tattle on us?" 

"There's a first time for everything, stoner boy," I told him with a sigh. 

He didn't seem to like that answer, marching right up to me and getting in my face. "Do it. When have we ever listened to teachers in the first place?" 

"Back the fuck up," I told him in a surprisingly calm voice. I really didn't want to get in a fight, especially with them, but they were damn near begging for it. 

"Make me," he said with a smug smile from above me. I had nearly forgotten that none of them had seen me throw a punch. Due to my short height and small build, I bet he didn't even know I could throw a punch. 

So I hit him square in the jaw, causing him to fall back as I chorus of gasps rang through the gathered student body. It wasn't long before I was tackled to the floor by Kaminari, fist flying. I took a hit to the mouth before I was able to push him off, gaining the upper hand again. I had only gotten a handful of solid hits in before I was ripped off of him and dragged back. 

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Katsuki's voice rang through the defending sounds in my head, snapping me back to reality. I went limp in his arms, looking down at Kaminari, who was being fussed over by Ashido. 

"Shit," I mumbled, looking down at my hands. They were bruised and bloody already. 

Once Katsuki realized I wasn't going after the bleeding blond in front of me, he dropped me. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he asked me, his eyes wide as he looked down at his friend. 

My hands were shaking in front of me. I hadn't meant to go that far. I hadn't even wanted to hit him in the first place. I just snapped, everything that had happened the past two weeks finally catching up with me. Once I started, I couldn't stop. 

"I don't know," I spoke truthfully. I backed away from the scene slowly as my brain tried to catch up. 

The next second I was taking off through the halls. I heard Ashido call my name, but I barely even registered it. I was in a blind panic, trying to put as much distance between me and my path of destruction as possible. I found an empty classroom that wasn't used much and slammed the door behind me. I made it two steps in before I crumbled to the ground in a mess of sobs. 

I heard the door open, but I hoped that whoever entered would see my pathetic mess and leave again. I wasn't so lucky. 

"Midoriya..." Ashido had followed after me. 

"I-I didn't mean to, he was just fucking with me all day and then Sero got in my face and I just... I just reacted. I didn't mean to, Ash, I promise," I sobbed, no longer caring about my plan. Every fiber of my being was in pain. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to die. 

"Kaminari is gonna be fine," she reassured me, slowly lowering herself to the ground, to be on my level. "It's just a bloody nose and a few bruises. He's been in worse shape." 

I took a deep breath, registering her words. Another sob escaped my lips, but this time from relief. It took a few more moments for me to somewhat compose myself, at least enough to talk. "I didn't cheat on them," I admitted to her in a whisper. "It was just a lie to get them to leave me alone." 

"I kind of assumed so." 

My head snapped up, looking at her in disbelief, but she just giggled at my reaction. "I know you pretty well by now, Midoriya. I know you'd never do that, not to them." She took a deep breath, sitting down fully in front of me. "I can't say I understand why you did it though." 

I pulled my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around my legs tightly like I was trying to protect myself from the memories. I took a deep and shuttering breath. Then I told her everything. Even the picture Shinsou had taken. 

By the end of the story, Ashido had pulled me into a tight hug. "You need to talk to them," she whispered to me. 

"I don't think that's an option anymore," I quietly responded, a sad smile on my lips. 

She shook her head, pulling back from the hug so she could look at me. Her hands still held me in place by my forearms. "Those boys have been a wreck for weeks, blaming themselves for letting you go. If you really love them, then you'll talk to them." 

I let out a watery chuckle, wiping at a few tears that spilled down my cheeks. "That's a low card to play." 

She smiled at me, easing the tension I was feeling. "Desperate times."