Bakugou wakes up the next morning with what feels like a heavy weight on his chest. "Hmm," he groans as he pushes at it. When it moves, Bakugou's eyes fly open. He lets out an aborted scream as he jumps up from the bed with racing breaths and looks at whatever animal had somehow gotten into his room.

When his eyes land on a confused and blearily blinking Kirishima, all he can do is blink back for a moment. Kirshima yawns and starts rubbing at his eyes when he freezes. His bright red head, his face now matching his hair, twists repeatedly toward Bakugou, then the bed, then himself repeatedly before he seems to have a malfunction. Bakugou mentally notes that he can practically see steam spewing from the red-headed boy's ears.

"I—I'M SO SORRY!" Kirishima screeches as he shoots up and sprints out of the room, leaving Bakugou standing awkwardly as his brain continue's to trying to figure out what on earth just happened.

Oh yeah, he thinks. Last night we...talked...and fell asleep...to-together. His face goes bright red and twists into an odd mix of anger and embarrassment. "Fucking Shitty Hair," he mutters gruffly.

After laying in bed with a pillow flipped over his head for a few minutes, Bakugou finally inches back off of it, face still flushed. He goes through his morning routine, making sure to wash the dried tear tracks off of his face, until he is closing his dorm door behind him. As he turns, however, he almost slams face first into somebody. He scowls. "Watch where you're going, dumbass," he spats before he gets a good look at the offender.

He peers up and his brow furrows when he sees Jiro looking off to the side with a awkward expression, Asui at her side looking straight into Bakugou's eyes apologetically with her tongue poking between her lips.

Bakugou internally sighs as he stares at them expectantly. "Bakugou, we are very sorry, kero," Asui says seriously.

Bakugou leans his shoulder against the wall as he faces the girls, his hands in his pockets. Another apology pair, huh? "For what?"

Tsuyu blinks for a moment. "For listening in to your conversation with the detective."

"So you're talking for the both of you, now, huh, frogger?"

"No!" Jiro splutters as her head spins towards Bakugou with a frantic expression. She seems a bit embarrassed by her volume and quiets down. "Sorry I was letting Tsu do all the speaking, I just felt...really guilty."

Bakugou raises an eyebrow. "Well, Miss. Emo, doesn't that mean you have even more of a reason to fucking speak for yourself?"

Jiro smiles slightly at the Bakugou-esque rude but somehow encouraging call-out. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Sorry, Bakugou." Her face hardens as she looks deeply into his eyes. "I am so sorry for listening in on your conversation. We knew it was wrong but went along with it anyway. I more than anyone should have said no. They couldn't have listened in without my quirk, and I knew that. For my actions, I am really sorry, and I'm sorry for trying to apologize in such a roundabout way."

Bakugou smirks approvingly. "That's more fucking like it, Earbuds."

Jiro smiles sadly. "It still shouldn't have been necessary."

"Well, we can't fucking change the past, can we?" Of all people, Bakugou wishes he could.

Jiro looks down. "No. I guess we can't."

"Well, Frog Face, are you going to finish your emotional shit or not?" Bakugou asks, turning toward the other girl, who nods.

"Yes, Bakugou. I am very sorry, too, kero. I could have done my best to stop our group, or even just walked away, myself. I was selfish and prying, so I am sorry for my behavior and actions. You do not deserve to deal with any of it, kero."

Bakugou nods. "Damn right I don't."

"And...Bakugou?" Tsuyu asks carefully.

"The fuck is it?" He easily tosses back, pushing himself off of the wall. Something in the back of his mind telling him to worry. Asui, the bluntest speaker in the class, doesn't often ease her way into saying things.

"You know we are here for you, right?"

Bakugou gives Asui an appraising look. They are all silent for a long moment. "Why?"

"Why?" Jiro mimics, as her brow furrows. "We are your classmates, and we care about you, Bakugou. Especially after everything yesterday, we are just wanting to help you out if you need it."

He scowls. "Didn't seem too much like it when you listened in on my private conversation."

Jiro steps back like she'd been burned, a pained expression on her face. "We are very sorry about that, Bakugou," Asui says, "but, despite the outcome, we ended up doing it because we care about you, whether our actions were misguided or not, kero."

Bakugou is silent, staring at the two who silently eye him back as if in a standoff. Why now? Why does he matter so much to them now? Because they think he's vulnerable? Because they think he's weak? Something at the back of his mind tells him that is wrong, though. These are some of the students he has been training with, and he knows them better than that by now. Asui, especially, doesn't lie about anything. Shit, he knows them all well enough to know they don't think he's weak. Why, then, are they treating him like damn glass?

"Alright," he mutters gruffly. "Sure. You care about me," he spats out the word. "If you really fucking care, though, treat me like normal. Got that, ya damn extras?"

The girls blink for a moment before they each grin and nod.

Asui pipes up again. "I'm glad that you seem to be feeling better today, Bakugou."

He throws her a glare. "Fuck off. I feel normal. All the shit-heads in class and in passing are gonna be a damn pain in the ass, though." He begins walking down the hall and the girls follow behind him to the elevator.

Jiro nods along. "They are all just idiots."

Bakugou smirks. "Damn right they are."

"They'll all move on as soon as another rumor comes their way, kero."

Bakugou's smirk leaves his face, replaced by a neutral expression as an aching pit seems to grow in his stomach. Would it, though? Isn't this a major bombshell to the school that they'll be pestering him about for years as they treat him like a porcelain doll about to break? It doesn't fucking matter if they are right or not. They don't get to treat him like that, and it's insulting. The problem is that there's no way another rumor would ever take over like that.

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Sorry about the long wait! I just don't particularly like this chapter, and it's hard to get myself to read it through and edit when I don't like it😅

-Angry
Word Count: 1127