The moment the bell rang for the break, I slipped out of the classroom before anyone could notice. My ribs still throbbed from Bakugo's earlier punches, and my head felt like it was full of static.

The rooftop called to me like a whisper, and before I knew it, my legs were carrying me up the stairs. Each step felt heavier than the last, my thoughts spiraling faster and faster.

This is it. Just get some air. It'll be quiet. It'll be peaceful.

I pushed open the metal door, the sunlight hitting me like an old friend I didn't deserve. The air was cool, crisp, and oddly calm. The rooftop was empty, save for the faint hum of the city beyond the school gates.

I walked over to the edge, gripping the railing as I stared down at the ground below. My hands were trembling, my breaths shallow.

Maybe this is where it ends.

I thought about the cat again—the way it had sat on the edge yesterday, so fearless and unbothered. I wondered if it had gone through anything like this. Probably not. Cats didn't get bullied. Cats didn't have to deal with Bakugo.

And as if my thoughts had summoned him, the rooftop door slammed open behind me.

"Deku!"

My heart sank, my shoulders tensing as that familiar voice echoed across the rooftop.

Of course. Of course he had to ruin this too.

I didn't turn around, keeping my eyes fixed on the ground far below.

"Still trying to play the tragic loser?" Bakugo sneered, stomping toward me. "What, you thought you'd sneak up here and cry in peace? Pathetic."

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. My throat was too tight, and the weight in my chest was too heavy.

Bakugo's laughter rang out behind me, sharp and cruel. "You thinking about it, huh? Taking that swan dive for real?"

My hands gripped the railing tighter, my knuckles turning white.

"Go on," he taunted, leaning casually against the railing a few feet away. "Do it. Prove me right, Deku. You're never gonna be anything. Never gonna be a hero. So just jump and get it over with."

His words cut deeper than any punch he'd ever thrown.

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my ears.

"You think anyone would care?" he continued, his voice dripping with venom. "Nobody gives a crap about you, Deku. Not your classmates, not the teachers, not even your own damn mother. You're just a waste of space."

I felt my knees start to shake, my body trembling under the weight of his words.

"And you know what the best part is?" he said, leaning in closer. "If you do it, I'll still win. Because I'll be the hero, and you'll just be a sad little story nobody remembers."

With that, he straightened up, laughing loudly as he turned and walked back toward the door.

"See you in class, Deku. Or maybe not," he said with a wicked grin before disappearing through the door, leaving me alone on the rooftop.

His laughter echoed in my ears long after he was gone, mixing with the sound of my own ragged breaths.

I stared down at the ground below, Bakugo's words swirling in my mind like a storm.

Maybe he's right.

The thought struck me like lightning, sharp and final.

Maybe it's time to stop pretending.

The rooftop was silent except for the wind whistling past my ears. My fingers gripped the cold metal railing one last time, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst.

This is it, I thought. No more pain, no more Bakugo, no more anything.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let go.

For the first second, there was nothing but the rush of air and the weightlessness that came with falling. It was strangely... peaceful. Almost like the world was apologizing for how loud and cruel it had been.

But then, halfway down, everything stopped.

Like, literally stopped.

The wind stopped rushing past me. The world below froze in place. Even my hair, which had been whipping around my face a second ago, hung motionless in the air like some bad CGI effect.

I was just... floating. Suspended in midair like some cosmic joke.

"What the—?!" I tried to move, but my arms and legs wouldn't budge.

I looked around, half-expecting to see Bakugo leaning out the window with that smug grin, yelling something about how even gravity didn't want me.

But there was no one. Just me, dangling in the middle of the sky like a broken marionette.

"Oh, come on," I muttered, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Really? I can't even do this right?"

I squinted up at the rooftop, which was still eerily frozen in time. "Is this some kind of cosmic intervention? Did the universe finally decide to give me a quirk, and it's this? The ability to fail at falling?"

I sighed, letting my head loll back as I stared up at the empty sky. "Great. Just great. I try to end things, and life's like, 'Nope, sorry, not today!'"

I twisted my head as much as I could, trying to see if there was some kind of invisible harness holding me up. But nope—just me, floating like a sad balloon someone let go of at a kid's party.

"Is this karma?" I asked aloud, glaring at the heavens. "For what, exactly? For existing? Because if that's the case, you really could've just let me finish the dive!"

The silence was deafening.

"Of course," I muttered. "No answers. Figures. The one time I want a sign from the universe, and it gives me this—whatever this is."

I tried to wiggle my fingers. Nothing. I tried to kick my legs. Still nothing.

"Seriously, though," I said, laughing bitterly. "If this is some kind of divine punishment, you've got a sick sense of humor. Like, what's next? You gonna drop me now that I've had time to stew in my own failure?"

The air shimmered faintly around me, like heat rising off asphalt in the summer. For a second, I thought I might actually be hallucinating. Maybe I'd hit my head on the way down and this was my brain short-circuiting before the end.

But then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something.

A figure.

Floating in the air beside me.

"Oh, great," I muttered. "Now I'm seeing things. Perfect. Just what I needed to cap off the worst day of my life."

The figure moved closer, and I squinted, trying to make out its features.

"Let me guess," I said, my voice heavy with sarcasm. "You're some kind of guardian angel here to tell me life gets better, right? Or are you just here to rub salt in the wound?"

The figure didn't respond, but I swore I saw the faintest glimmer of amusement in their eyes.

"Fantastic," I grumbled. "Not only am I stuck midair, but now I've got an audience. Can this day get any worse?"

Spoiler alert: It could. And it would. But for now, I was left floating there, stuck between falling and not, with no idea what was coming next.