I didn't really notice it until I actually sat down in my room and had nothing else to think about. Insomnia was an awful thing that I've had for years, but it was only getting worse. As I laid in bed, all I could think about were my friends.

We've had so much fun over the last few weeks—playing games, going to the mall, or even just chilling in one of their dorms. It was never boring and I found that I sometimes forgot the thoughts that usually plagued my mind.

And it hit me this night how alone I really felt. They were my friends, but was I theirs' ? It was an awful feeling to have. To feel like I didn't fit in with the goofy and, most of the time, kind group of friends.

Out of sheer boredom, I wrote each letter of the Bakusquad in a vertical column and filled in the empty spaces.

Bakugou
Ashido
Kirishima
U
Sero
Q
U
A
D

I wanted to fill my name out in the empty spot next to the D, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Folding the paper up with a sigh, I made a mental note to show it to the Bakusquad in the morning.

Before I could fall back into my bed, Zeido's dorky ringtone filled the otherwise quiet room. I was laughing when I answered the call and he huffed, probably because he knew why I was giggling.

"Why do you still have that as my ringtone, Denkiiiii..." Zeido whines loudly into the phone speaker.

I shrug and then realize that he can't see it, so it only makes me laugh harder. I've always been really awkward over call.

"Okay, you need sleep. You're getting slap-happy."

Now it was my turn to whine, "Noooo, please I'll be good!"

He sighed and I pumped my fist in victory, knowing I'd won. Zeido was a sucker for Yima and I, even if he wouldn't admit it. I missed this—our playful banter and just talking.

Though he said we'd hang out on weekends, when I told him about my new friends, he told me to spend some time with them. It made me feel bad to put them before my childhood friend, but he basically peer-pressured me into it.

"So, how have you and Christa been?"

"We—We've been great. We're living together, while we go to the same university." The happiness in his voice makes me smile.

"I love Christa, so you better keep her for a long time."

He laughs on the other end and I can hear some shuffling and then another voice filters through my phone.

"Hi, Denki. You doing alright?"

"Always am Christa." I reply with a grin.

Christa and I became closer after the Monoma ordeal and now she's one of my closest friends, aside from Yima. She still offered their apartment for any deliveries I needed, but couldn't ship here. It would be bad if someone decided to go through my mail in the dorms.

"I heard you made some friends, what are they like?"

"I'll talk to you later, Denks! I gotta get to work, but we'll talk about hanging out sometime soon!" Zeido yells over the speaker, followed by muffled noise and the sound of kissing.

It sent a pang through my chest, but I pushed it away. I'm happy that my friends have found happiness in each other.

"Be safe Zei. Love you."

"Love you too!"

"Your friends?" Christa reminds me once we hear the door slam.

The excitement in her voice must be contagious, because I start to rant and tell her about them. I sounded like a school girl with a crush, but I really just enjoyed my friends. The only friends I had in school were Zei, Yima, and now Christa, so this was new to me.

After I finish speaking there is silence on the other end. When her voice filters through the phone again, a blush stains my cheeks and I sputter.

"Do you have a crush?"

"N-No!" Then, I sigh and break down a little bit. "I-I don't think I c-can after... After uh- Monoma..."

"I understand. I'm sorry I teased you about it." The sadness and guilt at being reminded of what happened to me made me feel even worse. She was only trying to learn more about my life.

"I don't have a crush, but guess who showed up at UA a couple weeks ago..."

"Who?"

"Lea—"

"That bitch! What was she doing at a top hero school?! I wouldn't call her grades stellar, she was barely passing."

I startle at the foreign curse from my friend. Christa was always a soft-spoken and kind girl that never said anything ill about anyone. But, warmth filled me at her protectiveness.

"She doesn't go here from what I've seen and she hasn't been back since, so don't worry about it. One of my new friends, Kirishima, took care of it."

"I'm glad you have friends to protect you when we can't..." She sighs and I hear her muffle a yawn. "Well, it's been a while and I really hate to cut this off bu—"

"Sleep well, Christa. I love both you and Zei. Remind him to text me about us meeting up sometime, so I can introduce you to the Bakusquad."

"Sounds great and will do! Love you too, night Denki!"

The phone clicks, ending the call, and I plug it in and set it on my nightstand. I shut my eyes briefly, but then my body has other ideas and I fall asleep.

⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡

The force of the air leaving my body wakes me up and I look around dazed. When I'm finally able to breathe again, I glare at Mina and shove her off my bed. She doesn't weigh a lot, but you don't have to when you jump on top of someone.

"Brooooooo! We're gonna be late if you don't hurry..." Kirishima whines.

I'm not a morning person, pair that with not getting a lot of sleep and the way I was woken up, I was about to explode. They must've noticed, because they all rushed to leave my room. Everyone, except Kirishima.

"I have to change." I say tiredly, trying to hide the panic and nervousness I was feeling.

"We're both dudes and I'll turn around. I wanted to tell you something."

He spins around without another word and waits until he hears the rustling of my clothes to start. I was worried he'd turn around while I was fitting my binder, but he stuck to his word and didn't turn around.

"Hey, bro?"

"Yeah, bro?" I ask, throwing a white undershirt on before pairing it with a gold and blue plaid shirt.

"Close your eyes, bro."

Where is he going with this? Closing my eyes, I continue to pick through my closet until I find a suitable pair of skinny jeans that will match my outfit. 

"Okay, bro." I say out loud, since he can't see my eyes closed with his back turned.

"What do you see, bro?"

What am I supposed to see with my eyes shut? Is this a trick question? I sigh and say, "N-Nothing bro."

"That's my world without you bro."

I turn around as a faint blush takes over my cheeks. That was the nicest thing anyone has said to me at the school and I couldn't choose between hugging him or laughing. Finally, I settled for both.

"Bro..." I mutter, hugging him from behind. 

It was like he knew what I was thinking last night, the insecurities that followed me. He turns around and hugs me back, no awkwardness between us. I'm the first to pull away with a grin on my face.

"That was cheesy bro."

Kirishima flashes his sharp teeth and rubs his nape sheepishly. Only then do I notice his hair. 

"You left your hair down!" I screech excitedly, making color flood to his cheeks.

His hair was straightened and brushed out, some of it falling against his nose and hiding the corners of his eyes. There was a black and red Crimson Riot hat on backwards to keep his hair flat against his head.

"Well, I did what you asked and went to Bakubro to see what he thought... He said it looked good."

"I think this is the first time Bakubro and I have agreed on something..." I put my finger on my chin in though and we both laugh.

The thing about Bakugou was that he was always right, even if he wasn't. No one could change his mind and anyone who tried was going to be in for a world of hurt. Thinking about the Bakusquad reminded me of the thing I figured out last night.

Before we left my dorm, I stuffed the folded piece of paper in my pocket and then we were racing to get to UA before the bells rang. The others had ditched us so they wouldn't be late and I was thankful that Kirishima had stayed.

I didn't want the attention of the class on me. At least with Kirishima here, the attention will be split between us. I was paying so much attention to my anxious thoughts that I didn't know Kirishima had stopped until I ran into his back.

There was a tenseness in his shoulders that wasn't there before and it instantly made me on guard. I looked over his shoulder and immediately wished I hadn't, Leah was standing in front of the UA gate with a smug grin.

"Could you please move, so we can get to class?" Kirishima asks politely.

She walks closer to us and drags a finger slowly down Kirshima's chest.

"I don't think I will." She cooed.

Before her finger could go any farther, he gripped her finger and triggered his quirk to keep her hand in a vise grip. I just couldn't believe that she would stoop so low as to basically sexually assault someone.

She grins, but I still caught the flash of fear in her eyes when she looked down at her hand. I stood at the red-head's side and sent her a less than friendly smile. 

"I don't think my friend gave you permission to touch him." I say smugly.

Leah scoffs and her eyes flash with so much disgust and hatred that I almost flinch away. Almost. Kirishima lets her go and gently pushes her away to put some distance between her and us.

"Don't know how you could ever be friends with Daike. I wouldn't be able to." She sneers in my direction before turning her attention back to my friend.

Her words send a spike of fear through me, something she doesn't miss. Leah's grin widens and she opens her mouth to probably spit more insults, but Kirishima interrupts her.

"I don't see how you can hate from outside of the club... You can't even get in." Kirishima starts laughing before he turns serious again.

His hardened fists crash together and he looks at me with a lopsided grin. Knowing what he's asking, I throw up both my hands in a thumbs up and grin at him. He turns back to the stunned girl and winks at her before grabbing my hand.

"Let's go."

Kirishima pushes past her and drags me to our classroom without another word.

"You have some explaining to do. That is the second time that chick's bothered you." While speaking, he gives me a look that means he isn't going to drop the subject anytime soon.

I nod meekly and, taking that as the best he'd get, he pulls me into the classroom. All sound ceases when we enter the room and the rest of the Bakusquad looks relieved. We were probably really late because of not only me but the confrontation with Leah.

"Why are you late? Nevermind. Just take your seat and don't let it happen again. I'm taking a nap so do whatever, but be quiet." When Mr. Aizawa says the last part, he sends the Bakusquad a pointed look.

When we pull up our desks to sit with the others, they look us over with confusion.

"What took you so long?" Mina asks curiously.

I send a pleading look to Kirishima, begging him to keep quiet about what happened. He smiled and put an arm around my shoulder, giving it a quick, comforting squeeze.

"This dude takes longer to get ready than you do Mina. I swear I thought he'd ask me to help him with makeup."

Everyone chuckles at that and it diffuses the situation, but a small part of me wished he'd have just told them instead. I didn't want to be reminded of who I was forced to be in the past, even if Kirishima did it unintentionally.

My eyes lifted to meet Bakugou's, but I instantly turned away when I saw the understanding in his crimson gaze. No one saw our quick exchange and started talking about random things. Mina was in the middle of a rant about the mall when I remembered the paper.

I shuffled in my seat and pulled the paper from my back pocket, sitting it on our joined desks. Mina stops talking and sends me a confused look that I return with a toothy grin.

"So... I figured something out!" I whisper-yell excitedly.

They wait expectantly, so I unfold it and smooth it down to the best of my abilities. Instead of asking what it is, Mina turns to me and asks an unexpected question.

"Where's your name?"

"W-What do you mean?"

She rifles through her bag until she finds a pink pen and then she fills the rest of my name in next to the D. My eyes widen at the visual proof that I was, indeed, part of the Bakusquad. 

And it was Bakugou, of all people, who said, "You're part of the Bakusquad too, Dunce-Face." I laugh awkwardly at my obvious stupidity and shuffle in my seat. 

"Yeah, duh... Uhm I must've fallen asleep before I finished..." It was an obvious lie, but no one calls me out.

To get rid of the awkward silence, I change the subject. I turn to Bakugou and he raises his eyebrow in question.

"What's green and has wheels?"

"I don't know uh... A green bike." He says with a confused shrug.

"Grass! I lied about the wheels!" I exclaim happily.

The other start laughing at Bakugou's surprised face and then he surprises us all by joining in. Mr. Aizawa peaks over his desk, looking very much like the caterpillar I secretly believe he is, and sends us a glare.

I give him an embarrassed smile and he rolls his eyes before collapsing back behind the desk. The dull thump makes me start laughing again, so I shove my hand over my mouth to muffle it so he won't wake up again.

The rest of the class goes by with us just chatting and making stupid jokes. It was strangely relaxing, even though we were kind of loud, and I found myself not wanting class to end.

At lunch, things got even more interesting. Mina had again brought bentos for everyone, but Kirishima offered to buy us all drinks. It made me feel bad, but I couldn't really complain since I was getting a free drink.

Mina pulled a water out of her bag and Sero had a Red Bull already in his hand, so that just left Bakugou and I. I just asked for a 7-Up, knowing I'd probably feel sick after lunch anyway and then it was Bakugou's turn to answer.

"What do you want, Kat?"

He blushed at the nickname and huffs out his answer, though no one heard it.

"What?" Kirishima presses.

"Whole milk."

That would've been a perfectly normal response if it wasn't for the way he said it. He pronounced it like malk, the a sounding like it would in the word apple. It was odd, but I wasn't one to judge.

"No no no no no, say milkshake."

Bakugou says milkshake normally, so I thought that he was messing with the red-head. 

"Okay, so now say milk."

"Malk..."

I decided to play along when he turned to me with a pleading look.

"Are you hearing this?!" Kirishima asks desperately, trying to figure out if he was just hearing things. It was both funny and a bit sad. His bright red eyes were swirling with confusion and irritation—a strange combination for the red-head.

"Yeah," I say with a shrug, "the man wants a glass of molk."

It takes everything in me to keep a straight face and not give in to the giggles bubbling up in my throat. He looked so lost and confused and it was hilarious.

"Molk?!" Kirishima exclaims with disbelief.

Mina and Sero were snickering behind the red-head's back and it made it that much harder to keep calm. Bakugou looked so serious when he nodded that I honestly couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"Give him the molk, Kiri!" I yell with faux irritation.

Bakugou raises his arms in a 'why do I even bother' pose and points at me. Though Kirishima's face still holds that confused look, he scrambles to get what we asked him to. When he was far enough away, I turned to Bakugou.

"I kinda feel bad. He looked so confused..." I said, biting the insides of my cheeks to keep from cracking a smile.

He snorts before shoveling some rice balls in his mouth. Bakugou didn't look the least bit sorry and no one expected him to be. I've never done anything like that before, so maybe that was where the guilt stemmed from.

"Just act normal when he gets back and no one say anything." Bakugou speaks around a mouthful of food.

"Can you really not say milk, though?" I honestly wanted to know.

"Pfft, of course I can Dunce-Face! I'm not stupid."

I raise my hands to show I meant no harm and start slowly eating the contents of the bento. Instead of hogging it down like I did at the mall, I ate slowly so I'd know when I reached my limit. My limit happened to be when nearly half of the food was finished.

Kirishima returned before Mina could say anything about my eating habits, and for that I was thankful. The red-head tossed me my soda and sat milk in front of his boyfriend. A sigh left his parted lips when he sat down and he leaned his head on Bakugou's shoulder.

Sero interrupted the silence by yelling, "It was all a prank, bro! Bakubro actually knows how to say milk!"

Kirishima quickly moves his head off his shoulder and turns to Bakugou with a hurt and angry look. It was the first time I'd seen genuine anger take over his features and Bakugou's too, if the surprise on his face was anything to go by.

"Ba—" Kirishima interrupted the blonde with a glare.

"I-I thought that you just genuinely didn't know, you know, so it made me feel bad for questioning you. Then, Sero tells me it was a joke. That's just cruel, making fun of people with speech impairments..."

"Bro, I don't thin—" I try to defend him, but Kirishima whips around to face me and interrupts me.

"And you! Y-You knew he was messing around and you played along. You're just as bad as he is!"

"A-Actually I—"

"I don't care." Kirishima spoke before I could finish and then grabbed his stuff and left the cafeteria.

Bakugou and I's eyes were wide as saucers at the obvious anger and hurt in his tone. I seriously doubt Bakugou was making fun of speech impairments. I mean, he's rude and sometimes cruel, but to an extent.

"Bakugou..." I turn to say something, but stop when I see the death glare he has aimed at Sero.

"That is it dude! You're about to get it!" Bakugou stands up, making small explosions with his hands and drawing the attention of a few students.

"Wai wai wai wai wait...." Sero says, holding up his hands to protect himself.

"What?!"

"I'm baby."

I crack up at Sero's words and cover my mouth to keep Bakugou from hearing me. Sero sends me a wink before smiling back at the fuming blonde. I don't know how he wasn't shivering in fear, but it was amusing nonetheless.

"What the hell does that even mean?!"

Deciding to help him out, I say, "Hey stop, wait! You can't do that."

"What?" His voice had softened out of confusion.

He looked almost as lost as Kirishima did with the milk incident. A spark of guilt hit me and I frowned for a quick second, before continuing with the ruse.

"He's baby you can't... You can't just do that."

Sero's smile widens and he blows a raspberry at the shocked blonde. That snaps him out of his confusion and a loud explosion goes off in his palm as he snarls at the ravenette.

"He f'ckin—"

"Yeah, well he's baby so..." I say with a small laugh, covering my mouth when Bakugou turns his glare to me.

Bakugou turns away with a huff and gathers his stuff before leaving the cafeteria after his boyfriend. Mina had been quiet throughout the whole ordeal, so I turned to her for an explanation.

I was expecting amusement or maybe anger at us offending her friend, but I wasn't expecting the soft sadness in her golden orbs. She slumps in her seat and rests her chin on her closed bento.

"Why was he so upset, Mina? Y-You know we didn't mean it like that, right?..." I ask quietly, fearing her answer.

I've never been accused of bullying or making fun of anyone before and it had me on edge. The guilt was slowly building up and I felt my anxiety spike with it. Before I could panic, she placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I know, Kami, and deep down so does Kiri.. It's just hard for him sometimes. When he was younger, he had a speech impairment due to his teeth. He doesn't show it, but I know his past still bothers him."

My mouth gapes at the new information. I would never have suspected that the happiest and brightest person I knew went through something like that, but who was I to judge. I had my own secrets and a past just as painful.

We share a look of understanding and wait for the bell to ring. I was going to have to think of an apology that would fix what I—what we—had done. I know what it's like to rehash the past and it wasn't fun.

"Just give him time." Mina says before we split off to go to our separate classes. 

This was the only period that I didn't have with the Bakusquad, so that gave me time to think of an apology. Hopefully, I'd see Kirishima next period, so I can explain that Bakugou and I didn't mean it like that.