DAYBREAK ᵇⁿʰᵃ

²⁰ HOMESICK

───CHAPTER 20───

Find me, Dynamight.

A snap between fingertips makes him jolt awake, Kirishima furrowing his brow as he leans back into his seat. It's been a couple of days now since he's noticed his best friend doze off randomly, the blonde quieter and withdrawn.

"Am I some kind of dog to you, Weird Hair?" Bakugo sneers, gripping his spoon tightly.

Kirishima smiles widely anyway. "Of course not! You just seem to be. . . distracted these days," he says, Bakugo groaning in response.

Before Bakugo can bite back, the hall starts to grow with chatter. Both of them notice Mina perk up in the lounge and run towards the elevators, even their friend Kaminari drops his phone to follow. A few others turn and stare like them, however, only their faces twist with complication.

It was true what they heard about Rai, the ends of her hair damp as Mina commented loudly about it. Ever since she went to Recovery Girl's office, Rai's been waking up at dawn for a run. They heard it in class from Kaminari, the boy closer to her nowadays.

Bakugo and Kirishima wondered what had happened between them in the infirmary that day. Kaminari acted as if it was no big deal, that his relationship with her was that easy to make. They were expecting him to brag about finally getting a girl, but instead, he was oddly humble about it.

Both boys were pushed to the sidelines; Rai rather cold with Kirishima and then Bakugo. . . who couldn't trust her for his reasonings. To them, it was clear that they were separated from everyone else when it came to Rai. Yet, the rest of their circle couldn't see it from their isolated end.

Kirishima sulks when Rai ignores his attention, Bakugo clenches his jaw instead. "She's definitely ignoring us, man," the redhead sighed. He shifts back to Bakugo, propping his elbow on the table and cradles his cheek with a pout.

Bakugo takes a spoonful of cereal. "So what? Saves us the trouble."

A wrinkle appears between Kirishima's brow. "You haven't even apologized for shaking her the other day."

"SHE'S THE ONE WHO KICKED ME THE F—"

"But you picked a fight, man."

"Then let me pick one with YOU—" Bakugo points his spoon at him with a stiff lip—"You haven't been able to stop looking at her like some lost puppy! So what's your problem?!"

His posture immediately straightens to the volume of his words, Kirishima peering around the hall, glaring back at his friend. "Can you keep it down—" He relaxes back into his seat, red eyes dragging across the table—"And I don't have a problem with Dupont. . . It's just. . ."