I don't have a choice, do I?

Wakeup

When Todoroki awoke, he was in a bed. He was on his back, positioned so he was staring at the ceiling. Confusion overtook him as he tried to remember why he was in a hospital. 

He reached to put a hand over his throbbing forehead, but was stopped by the sharp pain in his forearm. There was an IV stuck in his pale skin.

He sat up and looked around the room. Midoriya was sat in a chair next to his bed. His head hung and his shoulders were slumped over. Asleep. 

"Hey." Todoroki said, hoping not to startle his companion.  Midoriya's head raised. 

"You're awake!" He exclaimed, smiling. Todoroki took note of his eye bags. He had been here for a while. 

"Why am I here?" He asked, still genuinely confused. He didn't remember a single thing from the past few-how long had it been? Hours? Days? 

"How long have I been here?"

"You've been here for two days now, you passed out during a mock battle during class." He looked concerned. "You don't remember?"

"No." 

"Oh...well, you blacked out in the middle of it."

They were silent for a moment as the other studied his face carefully. 

"Todoroki, you passed out because you haven't been eating." Todoroki's eyes widened. Had he known all along? 

"I've been eating just fine." He immediately felt like punching himself in the face. That was such a lame lie. And why would he lie? Midoriya was his friend. 

"I'd hate to accuse you of lying, but I feel you aren't telling me the truth. I've seen the way you've been feeling lately. And it's okay."

It's okay?

" We all have our struggles, it's okay to have some issues. But what's not okay is refusing help when you need it the most." 

Todoroki was deeply touched, and his heart swelled in his chest. 
"Midoriya...I-"

"Please, just let us help you. I'm not the only one who's worried about you. I've watched you fall,  I hope I can watch you get better too." 

Midoriya grabbed his hand as he said this. Todoroki's face flushed, mind wandering. No- this wasn't the time for dirty thoughts! Damn his hormonal teenage brain. 

The door swung open suddenly, and Midoriya removed his hand from his rather abruptly, and Todoroki immediately missed the warmth of his skin.

"Oh, good you're awake. Izuku, honey, i'm going to need you to step out for a bit. Thank you for watching him." Said the nurse with a smile.

She examined him carefully, making sure he was in stable condition. 

"You know, you're friend was very worried about you." She said. 

A sickly, deep guilt seeped into Todoroki. He couldn't believe he had been so blind- he was shutting out the one he cared about the most, because he was so focused on himself. How foolish. He thought selfishly for a moment, thinking about how lucky he was that Midoriya was being so patient with him. 

"Yes, I... I know." he replied solemnly. 

"Well, i'll let you rest now. You need it, sweetheart." She left the room, leaving Todoroki alone with his thoughts. How selfish he had been... he could only hope things would get better from here.

*

Hey! Long time no update. Sorry 'bout that. Good news is, no one's allowed to go anywhere so... more updates. Hopefully.

If you are struggling with an eating disorder, know that you're not alone and things are very hard, considering many states and countries are on lockdown. It gets better, I promise. Talk to a friend. Go outside. Read fanfiction. Whatever helps you- do it. No shame.

If you like my writing, consider checking out my ao3. Link below. ( copy paste the link into your browser and press search)

https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosemary_09