I don't have a choice, do I?

Catastrophe

Somewhere in the center of town, a bell chimed once, twice, eight times.

Curfew for class 1-A.

Midoriya opened and held open the door for his friend. They walked down the dark corridors and into the common room, where they were greeted with a shriek from a certain pink skinned girl who was chasing a sorry-looking Kaminari with a spatula. To anyone outside of class 1-A, this scene would look quite odd, but what else would you expect from a group of twenty high school students, forced to live together? Midoriya gestured to Todoroki to walk further down the hallway with him, and they sneaked past the others, quietly sidestepping past the couch.

The elevator was dimly lit and the lightbulb was flickering on and off, and there was no air conditioner.

Not very convenient for the middle of spring, especially since the sun had been mercilessly beating down on the students lately, leaving the students hot and miserable.

"Would you like to talk in my room?" Todoroki asked, his voice slicing through the silence like a knife. "Ah....sure" Midoriya replied, his gaze fixed on the floor. Up until now, he and Todoroki hadn't talked much since the bathroom incident and the silence had become nearly unbearable, and quite frankly, awkward.

Todoroki leaned over and pressed the "5" button which should've brought them to the fifth floor, but about halfway there, the elevator let out a low groan, shook, and stopped.
"What..." Todoroki muttered as his brow furrowed, once again reaching towards the elevator and pressing the "5" button.
Nothing happened.
They were stuck.
"Here, let me call Mina, she's downstairs, she should be able to get someone." Midoriya said nervously, frantically pounding his thumbs on his phone screen and bringing it up to his ear.
It went to voicemail after six rings.
"Should i try another number?" He asked, turning to Todoroki. "Yeah, maybe Kaminari will pick up" the other replied, refusing to meet Midoriya's eyes.
"Ah.. okay"
It rang three times until Kaminari picked up, who, was out of breath and sounded like he had been running. "Get back here!!" someone yelled on the other end of the phone, presumably Mina. "Hold on Mina, i've got a call" Kaminari said between breaths.
Finally, his breathing slowed "What's up guys?" he asked, clearly confused as to why Midoriya was calling him this late.
"Well, we're in a bit of a... situation" Midoriya said.
"Huh?" Kaminari replied. "The elevator stopped working" Midoriya said, answering his question.
"Well shit, dude! Mina! Get over here, there's an emergency!" quick footsteps pattered on the floor on the other end of the phone and Mina could be heard asking "Huh? What's happening? "Well" Kaminari started "Their elevator's stuck"
"What?! What do we do?" she yelled. Todoroki sighed and grabbed the phone from Midoriya's hands. "Just get aizawa. If he can't get maintenance to fix it, then have him call the fire department. Thanks." He hung up and handed the phone back to Midoriya, who pocketed it.
What now?
Silence blanketed the elevator, the only sounds being the creaking of the elevator and the pattern of footsteps and yelling outside the elevator, slightly above them. If he was to guess, he would figure that they were right below the fourth floor. Panicked, muffled voices resonated above them, barely audible through the metal doors of the elevator. "Bro!" kirishima yelled. A door could be heard slamming open, rebounding against the wall. "Fuck you want now, barbecue sauce lookin ass?" bakugou yelled back. "You've been bothering me all day!" he said, clearly irritated. "I know..." Kirishima responded. "But Midoriya and Todoroki are stuck in the elevator! Aizawa might have to call the fire department."
A beat of silence from above.
"Good for them!" Bakugou scoffed. "They're probably takin advantage of it and eating each other's faces as we speak. It's just their luck to be trapped together, everyone knows they have the hots for each other"
Midoriya's face flared, and it wasn't because of the heat in the elevator.
"Hmm... You're kinda right for once, Bakugou." Kirishima said, dead serious. "Midoriya once said Todoroki looked cute while he was muttering to himself. Guess he didn't know he was thinking out loud."

Fuck.

Todoroki bit his lip and snuck a glance at Midoriya, who was wringing out his hands and trying desperately not to make it look like he heard what the others had been talking about above them.
Someone needed to break the silence.
Todoroki cleared his throat.
"So... what did you want to talk to me about?" He asked, trying to wash away the awkwardness of the situation.
Midoriya's face seemed to cool down as he turned towards Todoroki and took on a serious tone. "About what happened in the bathroom today... why would you do that to yourself?" The question sounded accusatory, and even Midoriya could hear how bitchy it sounded. He tried again. "Sorry. I just... don't understand."  Todoroki's shoulders tensed.
What should he tell Midoriya? Should he tell the truth, vent to him about his father and his high standards? Spill every secret he's been hiding for years? Or would Midoriya think he's doing it for the attention?
Ah, there it is.
The one thing all teenagers crave.
Attention seeking was especially common in UA, every student wanting to catch the eye of a pro hero with flashy power moves and determination.
Todoroki didn't have much of an opinion on the subject, but he had never tried to draw attention to himself on purpose; it already happened on the daily. With a scar taking up 40% of your face and the number two hero as your father, who wouldn't receive attention? He was sick of it.
Which is why he would never want Midoriya thinking he did all this for the attention from his classmates.
Midoriya met his eyes with a curious expression on his face, clearly anticipating his answer.
"Well..." Todoroki finally spoke, running a hand through his hair. "...My father always had high standards for me." He thought back to his childhood, remembering the vigorous training his father put him through every day, pushing him to the breaking point. "He would make me train for hours, wanting me to become the best hero and surpass All Might, as you know."
But what you don't know is that those high standards  wore off on me, and now i can't go a day without training or weighing myself. I feel as though if i don't weigh a certain amount by a certain time, then i won't succeed, or even amount to anything."
Midoriya didn't say anything at first. After all, what was he supposed to say? His friend had just poured out his feelings to him, and if he were to say the wrong thing, he could ruin everything."
Sometimes actions are stronger than words.
So for the second time that day, Midoriya wrapped his arms around the other boy.

Midoriya was warm. This is what Todoroki thought as his friend embraced him in a hug.If he was a color, he would be green. Soft around the edges, loved by most, and comforting. His shoulders relaxed, and even with the awkward height difference ( Midoriya's head was pressed against Todoroki's chest, which was slightly uncomfortable), the hug was calming his anxieties.
Midoriya lifted his head to look into Todoroki's eyes.

And that's when the intercom in the elevator crackled to life.
Surprised, they jumped apart and focused their attention to the ceiling, where the speaker was located. " This is the fire department. Stay calm, we're getting you boys out of there soon, just hang in there."

Time passed, and still they were stuck between the third and fourth floors.
Until finally, the elevator creaked and slowly moved down to the first floor.
The metal doors slid open, and upon stepping out, they were greeted with their worried classmates, asking  them if they were okay.
Midoriya and Todoroki took the stairs to the second floor after assuring everyone they were okay. Todoroki waved goodbye  to the other as he ascended the stairs towards his room on the fifth floor.
What a day.
His mind had been foggy ever since the bathroom, but the days events suddenly came back to him like a knife to the heart as soon as he was alone in his room. He hugged his crush? Who thinks he's cute? Who might be interested in him? Who caught him purging in a public bathroom?
Shit.
Calm down.
Midoriya is a nice person; he wouldn't go around telling everyone what happened, he thought as he reached the bathroom.
He ran his hands under the water and brought it to his face, relaxing at the cold sensation.
He stared  at himself in the mirror, water dripping down his face. He had stopped looking like himself. Dark circles were permanently painted under his eyes, once bright skin had turned pale, and if you got close enough, you could see that his eyes were lifeless and dead.
They had always been like that.
Todoroki laid his head on the pillow beneath him, and closed his eyes, one hand draped over the side of the bed, the other laying beside him.
And everything slowly faded into darkness.