BNHA is not mine, only the characters that are mine.

Chapter 14: Face it Head On

The rest of the week commenced normally. Studying, occasional training, and chatting with my classmates.

The one thing that I've been avoiding like a plague however, is lunch.

After my first incident with Monoma, I've been terrified to go in there again and possibly have another episode.

I rub my face down as the bell rings and my desk neighbor, Tsuyu turns to face me, "Will you be getting lunch from the convenience store again, Chi-chan?"

I nod, "Yeah, probably, but I'll be back before lunch ends,"

We get up from our desks and she walks with me as she says, "You could always eat with us, it's not like you don't have someone to sit with,"

I smile at her words, "Thanks, Tsuyu, but I was gonna study in the library anyway,"

"Like you need to study, Chi-Chan," she states and I giggle.

"Chiharu,"

I turn my head to see my father beckoning me over and I look back at Tsuyu, "Go on ahead of me, Tsu," I say and she nods before leaving.

I make my way over to his desk, "Yes?" I ask and he places his pen down before shifting his gaze to me as he says, "Why have you not been eating lunch in the cafeteria?"

I sigh at his words, "You heard that, huh?" I ask reluctantly and he nods, "Yes, and I want to know why,"

I bite my bottom lip as I ponder telling him the truth or not. Or at least just keeping the part where I almost went back to cutting to myself.

"Chi," my dad says impatiently and I sigh, "It's Monoma," I fess up and he raises his eyebrow, "What about him?"

"On the first day of school, I ran into him and..." I pause to chose my next words carefully.

"It just triggered my anxiety,"

My fathers eyes grow wide with worry and I immediately set the record straight.

"I'm fine!!! Nothing happened, I promise. I ran to the bathroom to calm down and did my breathing techniques like they told me to do,"

His body relaxes and he sighs, "But you're okay?" He clarifies and I nod.

He nods as well, "Good, however," he says as he gets up and walks to the front of his desk to lean on it.

He crosses his arms over his chest as he looks at me sternly, "You can't keep going to the convenience store to eat lunch. I'm going to stop giving you money for it,"

"What? Why?" I ask and he rolls his eyes.

"Because, Chiharu, I put money in the meal plan at school so you can use it. I won't keep giving you money for the convenience store when you have better food at the cafeteria,"

I look away from him as I feel my heart thudding painfully against my chest.

The familiar rush of fear starts to rear its ugly head on me and I can already feel hot tears building up behind my eyes.

I don't want to see him again. Why would he make me do that when he knows how Monoma affects me??

"Chiharu,"

I look back at him, feeling my throat constrict as my anxiety starts to spread throughout my whole body.

"Why are you doing this to me, dad?" I ask honestly and he sighs, "I'm not doing this to make you feel bad, Chi, but I am also your father. I can't keep watching you let someone push you around like this anymore. You've got to start sticking up for yourself or you will never be able to take care of others,"

"Yes, I could," I argue defiantly and he shakes his head, "No, you couldn't. When you break down you can barely function by yourself, so how are you to save and protect others in that kind of mind set?"

I shrug, "I'll figure it out,"

"Chiharu," my dad snaps and I sigh.

He's right, I know he's right. I'm not arguing with him to be an ass or because I think I'm in the right, but I just can't face Monoma.

He holds too much power over me.

I don't like it, but it's true.

"So what am I supposed to do?" I ask as I look back at him.

"I won't ask for a lot. I'm not saying you have to hurt him or even say a word to him. The next time he tries to talk to you, just walk right past him," he simply states and I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Walk past him?"

My father nods.

"Isn't that kind of counter productive?" I ask, confused on how not saying anything to my bully is 'standing up for myself'.

"Because, he's the kind of person who thrives off of the reactions he can get out of people. So, the minute you take away the reason he does this, that's when you take away the satisfaction he gets from doing it. The minute you pretend he doesn't exist, is the minute he loses to you, because you finally refuse to give in anymore," he explains and I listen carefully to him.

It makes sense and it's a sound plan.

I can tell myself that, and I understand that in my head, but it's my heart that screams for me not to.

And I hate that my heart is the one that's saying no, because if it were my head, my heart could sway its opinion.

But this is my heart we're talking about, it controls everything. The minute it's set on something, that's it.

"I know that you can do it," my dad encourages and I feel myself let out a breath that I wasn't aware I was holding in.

I nod my head, but still feel hesitant. He pats my shoulder, "Go, Chi, if things get bad, you know you can call me or any of your classmates,"

Before I can say anything, he's pushing us out of the classroom and down the hall towards the cafeteria.

I feel my heart jump and I spin on my heels, "Dad, I can't do this,"

"Yes you can," he says as he turns me around and I start trying to pull away from him.

"Let go, come on! At least give me a day!! Please!!"

"Whenever people say they're gonna start something the next day, they are more likely prone to putting it off to another day. There's no better time than now," he explains and we stop in front of the cafeteria.

He looks down at me and waits.

I look between him, the cafeteria, and even my friends at their respective table area, before looking back to my dad.

"Lunch will be over before you even take a step in there if you keep doing that," he states and I huff in annoyance.

"I'm going!!!! I just...need a minute," I explain as I take a moment to breathe.

In through the nose.

Then slowly out the mouth.

I repeat this process for a minute before nodding to myself.

I can do this.

I just want to have lunch with my friends.

It's really not that big of a deal.

I turn my head to see that my dad was already gone and face the cafe again.

Before I even knew what I was doing, my feet move on their own.

It's just like last time. I grab a tray, fill it up with food, and when I go to get a bottle of water, I hear his smug shit eating voice from behind me.

"So after a month, you finally get the courage to come back in here?"

I take a deep breath before turning around with the tray in my hands and see Neito Monoma in all of his awful glory.

"I'm surprised. I thought that I'd scared you off, Chi-chan, but it seems as though I didn't do a good enough job," he states simply and I shake my head.

My fingers curl painfully tight around the tray and Neito notices.

He grins, "Oh, I'm sorry, was it something that I said?" he asks sarcastically.

I bite my bottom lip as I shift my gaze over to my classmates.

I see Uraraka and Iida chatting with Midoriya while Bakugou tries to start a fight with Kirishima.

How he never knows that Bakugou is serious, I will never understand.

But everyone is laughing and smiling.

I find myself grinning at their dumb antics.

I have such weirdos for classmates.

"Chi-chan," I hear before feeling a pinch to my arm.

I reel back in pain, exclaiming as I keep a firm grip on my tray, so as not to drop it.

"Don't ignore me when I'm talking to you, it's very rude," Neito points out to me and I glare at him.

You've got to be fucking kidding me with this guy!!

He crosses his arms across his chest as he taps his foot impatiently, "Well, aren't you going to apologize to me, Chi-chan? It's only polite,"

I feel myself tense up, but I shake my head.

No.

I won't let him do this to me.

I should be able to walk into the cafeteria to see my friends. I shouldn't have to feel like my back is being watched whenever I walk in here. It's a room full of future heros, and I am one of them.

Before I can say or do anything, however, I hear my name being called.

"Chiharu! You came after all!!" Momo exclaims as she walks over to me, but stops when she sees how Neito is looking at me.

She looks between the two of us cautiously before turning her attention to me.

"Chi, is this guy bothering you?" She asks me seriously and I look back at Neito to see him glaring daggers at me with his cold, lifeless eyes.

Eyes that have haunted me for at least four years. A cold glare that has struck fear into my heart from the very beginning.

But with Momo there, with my friend by my side, I feel more grounded.

The weight that was on my shoulders is lifted and I finally feel like I can stand and walk properly.

I give her a smile as I stare back at him and say, "No, not at all," I turn back to her and nudge her with my free hand.

"Come on, let's eat," I say as we walk to the table together.

After I place my tray down on the table, everyone shouts and exclaims cheers for me.

"I'm so glad you finally joined us, Chi!!" Uraraka says excitedly.

"Of course!!! Having you here makes a perfect seating arrangement, we no longer have an unnatural odd chair off!" Iida states and I roll my eyes.

Tsuyu pats my shoulder, "I told you that you'd always have a seat with us, Ribbit,"

"Chiharu!!! I'm glad you're finally joining us, it gets old to sit with these guys after a while," Denki says and I throw a straw at him.

"Denki! That's not nice to say! Even if it's true in regards to Bakugou," I say with a grin on my face.

"WHAT?!?!? YOU WANT TO GO, SHIT FOR BRAINS!???" Bakugou yells and I scoff at him, "Yes, just like when I beat you on the first day of school?"

"THAT DOESN'T COUNT!!! I WASN'T READY!!!"

"Uhuh, whatever you say," I reply nonchalantly, which infuriates him, but I don't mind.

Honestly, this is the most relaxed I've felt in a while and it's nice to be here with my friends like this.

Just spending time outside of training and studying together.

For the first time in a while, I feel like I can enjoy the moment.

Little did I know, Neito Monoma was gawking at me from across the room.

He doesn't believe that I could deny him, dare he say, even ignore him.

He was baffled to say the least, but even though he felt dooped, he wasn't done.

No, he wasn't anywhere near done with me.

I may have taken a small step towards breaking the control he has over me, but I still have a long ways to go before it's truly over.

A/N

Yes, a victory for Chiharu!!! A small one, but a victory none the less!! Thank you for reading, leave a review if you'd like and I'll see you guys next week with a new chapter!!!~