All My White Lies | bnha

ten | shrouded words

"SHE WON'T MIND?"

I sniffled, adjusting my grip on the sweater that Nejire had lent me. It was her father's and apparently, he was always away on business trips so what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him according to her. However, her mom was coming home in the next few hours. I'd only met her once before, back when she was in the crowd at the Yuuei Sports Festival.

She had congratulated me briefly and looked happy to see me, even going as far as exposing Nejire for speaking so highly of me. I still remember that day and how her face had turned an adorable shade of red. "Of course not. She sees you, Tamaki, and Mirio like her sons," Nejire reassured, grabbing a towel.

I was about to ask her what she was going to do but grunted at the feeling of her pushing my head back. Her fingers moved through my locks, roughly drying them and pulling out some leave-in conditioner. "Seriously, you boys. Do all of you rely on some five-in-one product?" She tutted disapprovingly.

I didn't know what to respond with, barely able to get a word out when she manhandled my scalp again. "No, sorta," I stammered, feeling her tug my chin upward to get a look at my face. Her eyes searched mine and I gulped, growing more and more flustered the longer she held me.

"At least your quirk keeps your skin clear,"

Nejire let go of me and I shuddered, missing the warmth that her touch had brought me earlier. However, I definitely wasn't going to admit something like that. "Thanks for getting me long sleeves, by the way. Sorry if it was a bit of an annoyance," I muttered, feeling her return her fingers to my hair again.

This time she was gentler, that teasing notion diminished within her figure as she curled and uncurled each piece of my hair. "Don't be. You're my. . . " She paused for a moment, searching my features before speaking. "My friend. I'd do anything for you." She swallowed hard, washing off the remaining conditioner that stuck like residue to her palms.

"Do you. . . do you want to cover that up?"

Nejire gestured at the blossom of red that stained my cheek, which traveled upwards from the corner of my eye down to an inch above my jawline. "No," I shook my head. "I know your mom won't ask unless I speak on it. Neither will you apparently," I chuckled lowly, glancing over at her.

It was true. Nejire had pursed her lips after a few minutes of gazing at me, realizing that I had a giant bruise along the side of my face that was clearly not self-inflicted. "Of course, I'm curious. . . and concerned. But it isn't my business and you don't exactly like it when people pry either," I could tell she was slightly frustrated over how reserved I was.

As if she wanted to drown in all my concerns, watching them overflow like a running faucet. "Sorry," I apologized again. I ruffled my hair slightly, something she clearly didn't approve of as she glared at me disappointingly. However, her anger withered away at the sight of my grin, her periwinkle eyes averting to the box of wet clothes in the corner.

"Is there anything else you need washed before I toss these in there?"

Nejire scrunched her nose at me, looking me up and down briefly. I shook my head, thanking her quietly as she left the room, hauling the damp box in her arms. I don't know how she put up with me. Looking around, her room was fairly organized. Some childhood pictures, a few achievements here and there, posters of shows and bands.

A typical teenage girl's room, I figured.

I traipsed over to her desk, a particular picture catching my eye. It was the day I had gotten second place in the Yuuei Sports Festival, a heavy silver medal laced around my neck. Tan arms wound around my shoulders, Mirio on one side and Tamaki on the other. The sun had tugged me down with him, Nejire's head popping up above mine.

She had her fingers held up, hovering over my head in a playful peace sign meant to insinuate bunny ears. It almost looked like a halo of my own. "Never seen it before?" I hardly heard her bedroom door creak open before I turned, Nejire smiling at me brightly. Although her bedroom light wasn't on, she seemed illuminated.

Long blue hair pulled up into a ponytail with a soft pink scrunchie, an identically colored hoodie hanging over her frame with a bright white star on the front. It was so long it looked like she wasn't even wearing pants, but I wasn't going to degrade what she considered comfortable.

"No, not really. Don't see many pictures of myself," I awkwardly smiled. Mom had taken most of them down a year after Kioshi passed. My cheek ached at the motion and I winced, squinting slightly as the reflection of the glass on the photo showed the bruise on my cheek. "I got something for it if you want," She offered.

She held it up, eyeing me carefully before dropping her gaze to my hands. More doodles were scattered over my skin and I knew she'd latch onto my fingers and turn them over to her own satisfaction later. "Yeah, that'd be nice," I smiled tightly, making sure not to make my pain as apparent this time.

I half-expected her to give it to me herself, but Nejire wasn't that type. She let the gravity do as it pleased and I couldn't hate her for it, not when it brought her fingers up against my cheek for the second time that day. "Do Mirio and Tamaki know?" Nejire hummed, dipping her fingers into the ointment.

She traced the sore on my skin, taking an extra amount of time to peer at the tattooed scythe that hung under my right eye. "No, they don't. You don't mind keeping it a secret, right?" Her eyes flitted to mine briefly, as if contemplating on answering a different question entirely. As if she didn't have the answer ready for the one I had just asked.

"Of course not," Nejire whispered. "I'd do anything for you."

Her tone was different this time, her words held a heavier weight. Her fingers paused for a moment and I looked at her, jaw angled to her touch. I wanted to give into that gravity now, to pull us closer. Her mouth was just a few inches above my own, her figure in between my legs as I sat at the edge of her bed.

However, I wasn't going to beg for the gravity to work if she didn't want it to either.

Her face flushed red and she realized the intensity of what she said. "You and Mirio and Tamaki, y'know?" She stifled but her words were already said. All I could do was provide her an out, chuckling softly under my breath and shaking my head in amusement. "Yeah," I nodded.

Nejire pressed an elastic bandage against my face afterward, keeping the ointment in place in hopes that the swelling would go down. "Let me know if you need any ice," She chirped, wiping away the rest of the ointment onto a tissue before throwing it into the trash. I nodded under her gaze again, eyeing my things that sat in the corner.

"What is all that? It looks heavy,"

"Just my tattoo supplies. It's expensive so I'm glad she threw that out too,"

The words slipped past my mouth before I could think of them, instantly pursing my lips. Nejire sent me a shocked look, periwinkle blown wide at what I had just said. "Y/n—" Her voice was filled with unwanted sympathy and I screwed my eyes shut, shaking my head harshly.

"—don't wanna talk about it."

She wasn't good at that; at keeping herself quiet, reserving questions to herself. Nejire, naturally, was a curious being. And for some reason, she was the most curious about me. Her gaze faltered, a glimmer of hurt apparent in her features. Maybe she wanted to help, maybe she wanted to know more.

Whatever disgraced her was hard to pick apart, especially when she put a soft smile on her lips. "My mom's coming home soon, so I'm gonna go start dinner. Take the time you need."