An autumn story

Chapter (4)

The girl he chose is chatty. Too chatty for his taste. She has spent the last ten minutes talking about herself, unfaced by the glares Bakugou gives her, by his crossed arms and the loud breaths he takes. She just switches her attention to the boy beside him, who seems willing to listen. Bakugou gives him side glances, yet the boy is nodding his head, invested in the story of the aspiring model. She is not a model, but she wants to be. The only remotely good thing is that her voice is not squishy. So Bakugou decides to master the last drops of his patience and focus on her features and the way they fit in the picture he wants to take. She is blonde, her hair almost passes the middle of her chest, her skin is touched by the sun and her features are elegant, almost taken from another decade. He can see her in brown clothes, a 70's look maybe, sitting on that shallow wall, staring at the building across. Yeah, she fits into it, so he doesn't yell at her to stop just yet. He is almost thankful that Todoroki is here, almost. He takes her words and Bakugou can focus on planning.
The cafeteria inside the campus is starting to fill in with more crowd than what he prefers, so he coughs. Once. Todoroki turns at him, but it takes one more cough for the girl to stop.
"Oh, I talked too much." She says with a giggle.
"I think it's nice to know about the person behind a picture." Todoroki says, earning a glare from him. But as always he remains unfaced.
"So tell me more about you."
She is testing his patience.
"I am doing the writing and Bakugou does the photography." He responds.
"So will you write about me?" She asks with enthusiasm.
"He will write about the picture." Bakugou scoffs.
"But won't I be in the picture?" She says then.
He clicks his tongue. Then he scoffs once more.
"The you in here and the person in the picture are two different things." He tells her as if she is an idiot.
"Oh how so?"
He breaths.
"I don't give a damn about who you are." Bakugou tells her like he is explaining the basics to a toddler. "Only how the way you look fits in the story I want to show. He will write about the person in that story."
She looks amazed and Bakugou shakes his head, turning his attention to Todoroki, almost telling him an insult about the girl.
But when he meets his gaze, the mismatched eyes are looking him intensely and it drops all his will about any more word.
He turns his attention to his right. A group has sat at the other end of the big table, they are occuping in the moment.
He doesn't know them, not even know from what department they are in. He shouldn't anyway, he was never interested in other people in general.
"So when do we start?" The girl asks again and she caughts their attention. They say something between each other, something, that he can't hear, but knows all too well, that makes them snicker.
Then one of them turns to the girl.
"What a rough voice for a woman." He says and she freezes for a moment. Only a second, before she turns to him, smiling politely.
"I guess." She says.
The man moves his upper body forward and Bakugou watches as it takes all of her strength to not flinch back.
"Are actually a dude?" He says, making the rest of his group to burst into laughter.
"No." She answers seriously, but her jaw is clenched.
"Maybe we should go." Todoroki gets up and the girl follows.
Bakugou just sits and watches.
"Show us your little dick." Another one says and another laughter breaks.
This time she doesn't turn, doesn't respond but Bakugou sees her from this angle.
He gets up.
"Faggot." The man across him says and it takes a moment for Bakugou to jump at the table and grab him. He punches and the man falls from his chair, dragging Bakugou with him. He hears the commotion, the grasps and the silence after his second punch. Someone tries to push him away, but he looks at the man and he smirks.
"Are you ready to be crashed?" He says and he sees the terrified look on the other's face.
The force behind him grows stronger, making them separate, but not before he kicks him on his private parts, making the man on the floor winch in pain.
"Both of you at the principal's office." A teacher says, he isn't sure which one. "Now."

____

He is standing in front of the man, that almost looks like an animal, with his short body and his black little eyes. He hears the scolding about how violence is not allowed in the grounds of this campus, how nothing good ever comes from punches. He hears the man beside him saying that Bakugou jumped into him out of nowhere and it takes just a glare from him, to mumble something about a joke and how it meant nothing.
He is terrified. Bakugou is at least happy with that. He is scared and his face is bruised and it makes him at peace. He knows the type. Big words and loud mouths, but a punch makes them to shut up and run in terror. The principal asks what kind of joke it was, a poorly explanation comes and the little black eyes grow darker. He looks at Bakugou, tells him that he won't tolerate this behaviour again, that it is the first and the last time he will get away with it. Then he motions him to leave. When the man he beat up tries to follow him, the principal stops him. Yeah, he is at peace.
He closes the door behind him, taking the first step away, but not before he hears the voice of the man that occupies this office. It's loud and scary, he has never heard it before like this, and it makes him almost smile.
He puts his hands inside the pocket of his pants and raises his head. Only then he spots the girl, whose name he fails to remember. Todoroki is right beside her, his hand on her shoulder. She seems like she cried. He rolls his eyes and starts to walk, almost passes them.
"Thank you." She says and he stops.
"Whatever." He responds and he walks again, but the two of them follow.
"I'm sorry. Did they punish you?" She asks and then. "I should have said something myself."
"Yeah, don't be a loser like that." Bakugou answers roughly.
She nods.
"I..It's just.." She tries to speak.
"A good beating makes me creative." He responds. "We will start on Friday. Halfie will give you the address and the clothes that you should wear. Don't be late."
"I..I won't." She smiles. "Thank you."
He scoffs and his steps make him walk a little further ahead.
He hears as Todoroki shares departing words when they reach the entrance. She mumbles again, sniffs and then laughs, her hands waving a goodbye at the end.
They walk in silence, passing the stairs and finding themselves at the corridor.
"You could have been expelled." Todoroki finally speaks as Bakugou touches the doorknob.
"I am the best. They could not expell me." He says and turns his key.
"Bakugou." The man speaks. "I am serious."
"What a surprise." He laughs at him and when the silence meets him he turns around.
The boy stares.
"What do you want loser? Afraid to finish this project on your own? Get off my back."
Todoroki doesn't flinch, does nothing in matter of fact.
But his mouth opens after a while.
"That was a noble thing to do." He says, catching Bakugou off guard.
"Whatever halfie." He says. "They just got on my nerves. They needed a little beating to remind them that they are losers."
"But, don't do that again." He says with his serious tone.
"Huh?" He takes a step towards the boy. "What are you, my guardian or something?"
"They won't let you get away the second time." He says.
"Don't worry halfie. I always win my battles."
The boy smiles faintly and Bakugou steps away.
"I didn't think you even liked Aya. Not fight for her sake." Todoroki says.
"I didn't fight for her." Bakugou says.
"No?" The boy asks.
"No." He answers and looks at him for a brief moment until he turns to his door.
"I just hate that word." He says and opens the door to his room.