My shower took a little longer than normal for the simple fact that it was a quiet opportunity for me to catch my breath and think. After being ambushed by my friends and repeatedly harassed by Shinsou, I needed a break. By the time I left my bathroom, fully showered and dressed, forty five minutes had passed and I had a few texts from Eijirou and Katsuki. I shot a quick response letting them know that I was on my way over again.

I shoved my phone in the pocket of the oversized hoodie I was wearing, just as I entered my room. My eyes flashed up and I stopped dead in my tracks. Standing in the center of my room was Shigaraki, lazily letting his eyes glance over every inch of my space. It felt incredibly violating. His red eyes lit up when they caught sight of me, just as the last of the air was ripped from my lungs.

"Hello, little snitch," he greeted, his voice scratching like nails on a chalkboard.

I hadn't expected this to happen. Shigaraki was a creature of habit and routine, I was completely blindsided by the visit. My brain was lagging behind, unable to come up with a proper response to the man.

"You know," he said in a nonchalant tone that still sent shivers down my spine, walking towards my open window. "You should really start locking this thing." He flashed a smirk, a hand shooting out and pushing it closed, flipping the lock for good measure.

It took me all of two seconds to realize that he'd just trapped us inside together. I could make a run for the front door, but there was no guarantee I could make it. Even if Shigaraki didn't particularly look like he could beat me in a race, I didn't know if he was armed yet.

"What're you doing here?" I asked, willing my voice to be as even as possible. The last thing I wanted to do was reveal exactly how scared I was.

He smiled in a way that made my skin crawl, as he leisurely strolled over to the end of my bed, taking a seat with a shrug . "I've thought about what you said, about running out of friends," he spat the word like it was poison on his tongue. "Which means I need to add some new players to my party."

Hearing the lame ass video game reference made me want to bash my own brains in. I forgot how annoying he was with that shit. "Doesn't explain why you're here," I pointed out, keeping my cautious gaze trained on him, waiting for any sign that he was about to pounce.

His laugh was harsh at my words, a grating sound that made me want to curl up in a hole and die. "It explains everything, little snitch. You want out of the game, and I'm offering one." His words were vague and cryptic, but I knew instantly what he came for.

"You want me as your lackey," I mumbled in utter disbelief. If anything, hadn't our phone call been a clear testament to how I would never roll over for him?

Shigaraki stood and walked towards me. I thought he was going to walk out the door, but he stopped next to me, making me shrink back. "Think about it. You join me and I forget all about your loved ones. You can smoke, drink, party, whenever you want. You get to live the dangerous and fast life you were meant to. Don't try to pretend that a white picket fence future is what you really want. I know the darkest parts of you, Izuku Midoriya, and that's something you can't run from." He sent me that sadistic grin one last time before disappearing through my bedroom door.

I couldn't even breathe until I heard the front door shut and my house go silent. I inhaled until there was no room left in my lungs, and as I exhaled all the tears followed. He'd been in my room, my space, somewhere even my friends were rarely allowed in. It was mine and he had been there, destroying any peace it had to offer me.

My knees buckled underneath me, causing me to crash into the floor. I could still feel his presence, tainting the air and making it thick. It was so heavy, pressing in on me as breathing became impossible.

A fleeting scrap of sanity told me that I was having a panic attack and all I had to do was breath, but it was washed away quickly in my tears. I was losing feeling in my limbs, my phone nearly slipping from my fingers and I scrambled to call someone, anyone.  I hit the most recent contact, not caring who it was.

"Hey, what's up? I thought you'd be back already?" Uraraka's confused voice flooded my ears, fighting back the panic, even if just a fraction.

I could barely speak through my hyperventilation and sobs, but I managed to croak out a weak "help".

"Izuku? What's going on?" she asked, her concern growing as she spoke.

I couldn't speak anymore, just sobbed into the phone.

"The boys are already on their way, okay? They'll be there in two seconds, just breath, Izuku," she coached, trying her best to keep her voice steady.

I nodded my head, not caring that she couldn't see. I started to rock back and forth as I forced air into my lungs, trying to calm myself. I fell into hysterics as soon as I heard the front door slam shut again. He's back, he's back, he's back.

"Izuku? Izuku, it's just the boys, keep breathing." She sounded like she was underwater, fuzzy and barely there.

"Iz," a louder voice spoke, this time right in front of me. "Izuku, look at me." At the time I couldn't recognize it as Eijirou.

I flinched back as people were suddenly surrounding me. I couldn't see anything through the tears, still so terrified that Shigaraki decided to come back.

"Izuku," the stern voice forced me to look up, even if it was only out of fear. I blinked through my tears, vaguely making out the shape of Katsuki and Eijirou crouched in front of me. The redhead looked terrified, but Katsuki wore his soft smile that he reserved just for me and Eijirou. He held his hand out to me, keeping a few inches between us still. My eyes shifted between him and it, but he didn't move, not until I slowly placed my hand in his. My crying hadn't calmed, but I found it a little easier to breathe with his warm hand wrapped around mine.

"Hey, baby," he said softly, rubbing his thumb in calming circles on the back of my hand. "Do you think you can hold onto this ice pack for me? It'll ground you," he explained, holding up the small blue ice pack that someone must have grabbed from my freezer.

I nodded a little too aggressively, just wanting to make it all stop. He placed the ice in my free hand and I tried to completely focus on the sting of it and the firm grip he still had on me.

We sat like that for some time, waiting for me to finally calm down. It took a while, but eventually my breathing became more even and my tears slowed. "I'm sorry," I croaked eventually, once I found I could actually talk again. "I just-" I had to cut myself off before another sob could escape.

Eijirou shook his head, letting his hand come to rest on my arm, a reassuring pressure I welcomed. "Don't apologize, darlin'. Just breathe for us, it's okay."

"He was here," I rushed as I looked into his bright red eyes and tried to not think about the similarity to Shigaraki's. "He was in my room and he- he-"

Katsuki squeezed my hand, reminding me that they were here and he wasn't. Reminding me that I was safe. "Just breathe, you can tell us what happened later."

I shook my head, I needed to tell them. "Shigaraki," I forced the name past my lips as quickly as possible, like I was ripping off a bandaid. "He was here, in my room."

"Well, fuck." I peaked around Katsuki's head, noticing Todoroki and Shinsou in the doorway of my room for the first time. Shinsou had been the one to speak, hitting Todoroki's shoulder as he turned to leave. "We'll check the house."

"Never thought I'd be grateful for that guy," Eijirou mumbled, shifting so he was sitting crisscrossed in front of me.

I took a breath, seeing a way to ease the tension. "Even when I'm having a panic attack, you still start shit," I weakly humored, my voice wavering slightly.

Eijirou's shoulders sagged in relief after hearing me make a joke. He smiled brightly as he said "You're coming down from a panic attack, so it's fine."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Douche," I mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Aw, no need for name calling." He wore a frown I knew was fake.

"I call you anything I want, I just had a panic attack after Shigaraki was in my room," I said back, pulling my knees to my chest and resting my chin there.

"Touche," Eijirou responded with a nod of his head.

I turned my gaze to Katsuki, who had just been watching the interaction carefully. He raised an eyebrow when we locked eyes. "What is it, nerd?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"Thank you," I said softly, hugging my knees a little tired. "You handled that really well."

He rolled his eyes, but there was no malice behind the action. "Don't act so surprised."

It was my turn to raise a brow. "Really? You expect me not to be surprised?"

Katsuki's only response was to turn to Eijirou and give him a pointed look. I followed suit, turning my curious gaze to the redhead.

He rolled his eyes at us. "Kats has panic attacks sometimes, apparently he doesn't want to admit it out loud."

The blond scrowled at the answer, but turned back to me as if to continue our conversation. My next question was for Eijirou though.

"Shouldn't you be used to them, then? You seemed just as freaked out as I was," I added the joke last second, worried I'd upset him with the question.

"I'm used to Katsuki's panic attacks," he explained. "Yours are totally different." He stated it as a fact, shrugging nonchalantly.

"What're his like?" I asked curiously. From my knowledge, my panic attacks were pretty generic, I wanted to know how they were different from Katsuki's.

Eijirou turned an expectant look to the blond in question, my eyes following. Katsuki crossed his arms in annoyance, clearly not thrilled about being put on the spot.

"I blindly swing," he grumbled, looking anywhere but Eijirou and I.

I looked at the redhead, a little shocked. He pointed at the scar on his eyelid with a mischievous smile. "How do you think I got this?"

"Shut up about it already!" Katsuki said, a little too loud. At my flinch, he shot me an apologetic look.

I brushed it off, letting my legs stretch out in front of me. "Okay, I think it's time to get the fuck out of this room." 

Both boys were on their feet, no questions asked. They each reached out a hand in offering and I gladly accepted both. I was gently pulled to my feet and then held steady by Eijirou when I wavered. I righted myself as the feeling came back in my legs. They both kept my hands firmly locked in theirs, as I was led out of the room.

"He's gone," Todoroki said from the lower level as we reached the stairs.

"Well, you're not dragging his dead body behind you, so I assumed as much," I bitched as we reached the bottom.

"Look who already bounced back," Shinsou joked, leaning back against the wall that divided my living room from the entryway.

I sent him a 'really?' look, "When was the last time it took me longer than half an hour?"

He shrugged, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Ninth grade, probably."

"Exactly," I said with my own sarcastic smile.

Eijirou's hand squeezed mine, causing me to look down. I followed his arm up to meet his eyes. His face was blank, but I knew he wasn't happy about the 'normal' interaction I was having with Shinsou. I just squeezed his hand back in reassurance.

Todoroki, being Todoroki, completely ignored the weird atmosphere that had befallen us. "So, what's the plan then?"

a sequel??? am i already planning a sequel??? do i have soooooo many ideas???????