All My White Lies | bnha

twelve | stealing youth

I NEVER IMAGINED MYSELF AS A THIEF. Certainly not the type to grab my things slowly, sneak them out the window, and hope to a higher power that one of my friends would manage to make sure that some of my belongings didn't break on the way down. "Laptop next," I whispered into the night sky.

The wind billowed as if it were a response, but I caught Tamaki's eyes gleaming in the moonlight as he silently nodded at me. His arm was extended forward into a large octopus tentacle, dark pink ringlets glimmering in the moonlight. I passed the technology to him, his suctions sticking to it to make sure it stayed on.

"Why are we doing this in the middle of the night?" Nejire mumbled. She levitated with the help of her pro-hero suit that we had snagged from the school earlier. She reached over, grabbing another box of trinkets. "Because my parents don't like me," I replied, pausing for a moment as I tried to recollect what else I needed to grab.

Clothes were already passed down alongside personal belongings. All my school stuff was already stowed away in Mirio's house, thanks to his help. "What does that mean?" Nejire scrunched her nose quizzically. I shook my head at her, deciding that I would answer her question later.

She pouted, but left me alone. I managed to collect the last of my objects into a much bigger box, sliding my window open all the way as I crawled out of it. "Kioshi, now would be a great time to help me out," I muttered lowly. Ink seeped through the tattoo on my shoulder, the sludge figure shaping itself into a humanoid figure.

Once again, his long arms extended, large hands curled forward. His crooked fingers grabbed at the big box, heaving it out of my hold. "I meant get us down, you buffoon," I retorted. Kioshi glared back at me, giving me the box again as his inky arms maneuvered against the window sill and on the side of the house.

He managed to bring me down gently enough as my sneakers thumped against the grass. "Are you sure you don't want to move in with one of us? I'm sure my mom will let you stay in our—" I shook my head at Mirio. I took the box from Kioshi, watching as he hovered instead, refusing to leave just yet.

"I have it figured out. Don't worry," I reassured quietly. He nodded, slowly pursing his lips in response as he grabbed a few of my boxes. The blond managed to heave it into his arms, barely bending his back as he made his way across my backyard and out the side. Tamaki followed suit, Nejire skipping just behind him.

She was carrying boxes of my clothes while Tamaki occupied himself with my tattoo utensils and my technology supplies. He probably saw himself as the safest option when it came to carrying those fragile things considering Nejire's clumsiness and Mirio's obliviousness.

"Am I the only one who doesn't know what the L/n family does?"

"Yes,"

"Probably,"

Mirio and Tamaki looked at one another, smiling briefly as the moon paced himself forward to drift alongside him.

"Yeah," Kioshi chimed, slightly late. I glared over at him and he slumped over, soon popping away as he seeped back into my skin. Nejire tilted her head back with a frown, blue eyes locked onto my expression. "We're rich, that's pretty much it. Generational wealth and my father being the CEO of a pro-hero support gear company keeps our money together."

Nejire blinked at me, studying me before moving to look ahead. I didn't mean to sound so bitter when talking about my own family but I couldn't help it. You can't make things go away; the ghost of what used to be doesn't leave. It stays because that family we had died. Death leaves, memories linger.

We made it onto the sidewalk near the driveway, showing my parents' window with the curtains closed. One eye open, the tragic house gazed at me, dust glazed windows begging me to fix it one last time. It wasn't frost anymore that kissed its panes, just the evidence of age.