Halfway to the Moon

Drowning in Moonlight

A deep sigh escaped Izuku's lips, falling from his mouth with a heaviness he had yet to properly address. His desk was covered in written insults, chewed gum, and... what even was that?!

Izuku decided not to think about it too long and instead just grabbed a cloth from the teacher's supply closet. It was always left unlocked - though he wasn't sure if that was an accident or if the teachers actually felt sympathy for him. Either way, it made his life easier, so he wasn't going to mention it.

He glanced at the clock and got to work scrubbing his desk clean. He had 10 minutes before people would start arriving for class, and so he let his mind wander as he pressed the cloth into the desk, surrendering his awareness and allowing his body to move on auto-pilot.

A few weeks ago, he'd had both the best and worst day of his life. The worst because he'd fallen apart and been the one to unintentionally bring harm to Kacchan. The best because he'd finally been told, after all these years, that his dream was within reach.

Since then, life had been absolute hell, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. Izuku always knew he'd have to work harder than others. It was a lesson taught to him at only four years old- in the cruelest way possible, because life was just like that.

Despite the unfairness and mistreatment, however, he persevered. When his heart began to fracture, he taped it back together with delusory dreams and pretty lies. When his lips began twitching downward, he manufactured a smile out of leftover sunlight and sewed it into his skin. And when it all became too much, when hot tears would start leaving cold tracks on his cheeks, he would lock himself in his room at night and paint the pale skin of his forearms red with slick metal, hiding the evidence beneath layers of clothing so no one would worry.

He knew it wasn't healthy, but it was the only way he knew how to live, and the only way to keep others from worrying about him. He would be okay as long as no one saw beneath his mask. He couldn't handle it if his suffering started dragging those around him down, too. Especially his mother. She didn't deserve that.

He was broken out of his thoughts at the sound of a door slamming wide open, which caused Izuku to nearly jump out of his skin. Heavy footsteps thudded their way over to Izuku and the green haired boy didn't have to look up to know who it was.

"The fuck are you doin', nerd?" Came the low growl of a particular angry blonde. Slowly, Izuku lifted his eyes from the white-knuckled grip he had on the white cloth over his now-clean desk and up to angry red eyes.

Which were steadily getting angrier.

"Oi! Are you deaf or just ignoring me, bastard?" He asked, voice low and gravelly with warning.

"A-Ah,n-no! Of c-course not Kacchan! I just- I was just cleaning my desk because it was a little dirty, see, and I guess I was just a bit lost in thought and-" Izuku started to ramble, his nervousness creeping in and taking control of his vocal cords. Kacchan got even angrier the longer it went on, shoulders tensing and hands clenching into tight fists until finally-

"Shut the fuck up! I don't actually give a shit what you were doing! Just get out of my way, damned nerd!" Kacchan bellowed, fists already rising and unfurling to release threatening explosions and an almost comically large scowl on his face.

Izuku flinched at the bright sparks dancing in the other's palm, hands flying up and legs backing up on instinct. Kacchan simply scoffed and rolled his eyes at this show of weakness before walking to his desk, brushing Izuku's shoulder harshly with his own on his way.