CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT - RUMOR HAS IT

A few weeks later…

"The dates for finals are up." Kai announced, eyeing the class communication board with interest.

"Fucking great." Shigaraki blew out a hard breath beside his friend and pushed his fingers back through his unruly mass of light-coloured hair as he scanned over the official notice.

"What?" Kai asked, brow raised in confusion. "This is a good thing. It means we're close to getting the hell out of here."

Shigaraki lifted his shoulder, pushing the strap of his bag higher on his arm. He was so acutely away of this and could actually feel how fast things were changing now that they were in the final stretch of school. First, exams and then soon enough they would be kicked out of the dorms and expected to begin the next phase in their lives as independent, society contributing adults. That thought alone was terrifying for Shigaraki. He wasn't quite ready, not mentally or monterarily. And if he thought he was anxious before well, this new feeling was a whole cut above.

"Still don't feel like a hero?" Shigaraki asked, staring ahead at the board and those dates that made his heartbeat just a little more erratically and his stomach turn over.

"Definitely not." Kai shook his head. "What about you?"

"I don't feel like a hero," Shigaraki replied, "You think after three years of school and all this work at the agency we would, right?" He said, snorting an incredulous laugh and shaking his head.

"Do you think that means something?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"I don't want to be a hero." Kai said point-blank. "That's why I don't feel like one, I guess."

Shigaraki sighed and scratched absently at his neck, almost frustrated that his new gloves prevented him from really feeling his nails against his skin. This wasn't the first time Kai had shared his opinion on turning pro and whenever he did, Shigaraki felt like he truly understood him, deep down into his core. And that feeling conflicted with everything that he ever thought he wanted.

"What will you do then?"

"Whatever I want." Kai said, looking wistfully over to Shigaraki.

"You need a lot of cash for whatever you want."

"I have money," He confessed, "Right now, I just have nothing to do with it. But once school is over…"

Shigaraki scoffed. "Doesn't sound like a bad problem to have."

"It's not." Kai shrugged, and then tucked his hands deep into his pockets.

There was a brief silence between them as they both looked at those exam dates, bold and alarming in front of them. Was this all really almost over?

"You'll do fine," Kai said, nudging his friend's shoulder with his own, "You have some of the best grades in the class."

"Thanks," Shigaraki replied simply, "If it even matters in the end, you know?"

"Yeah. I know."

After some final contemplation, Shigaraki was just about to turn and walk away when he heard them. It had been happening for days now. Anywhere he went, the whispers followed him - in the classroom, through the halls, even in the cafeteria at lunch. Fucking rumors and people gossiping behind his back. He tried to ignore them, but curiosity ate at his insides like a disease, and he couldn't just walk away without knowing what was being said about him. And Dabi. These rumors put them both on entirely different ends of a scale. One good, one bad.

"I heard he asked her to prom."

"What? No way!"

"Yeah. They were totally flirting too."

"Isn't he dating Shigaraki though?"

"I don't know anymore. He is definitely interested in Rumi."

"Well, she is so cool. And beautiful. Fuck, I'd date her!"

Shigaraki sneered.

In High School, it was only natural for there to be rumors. About anyone or anything. Some were true, some were not. Mostly, Shigaraki couldn't care less about them, not giving them much thought - he wasn't into gossip, but this, this was different. He was plagued by hushed whispers and curious glances wherever he went. This was about him. And these rumors were spreading like wildfires on the hottest, driest Summer day. Not to mention that with each day that passed the existing rumors morphed and changed, distorting into something completely fictitious and so unbelievable.

"Dabi could have anyone he wanted."

"I heard Shigaraki was fooling around with that friend of his anyway."

"Who?"

"You know, Kai. The transfer student who always wears a mask?"

"No way? Shigaraki is with him now?"

What. The. Actual. Fuck. Shigaraki's brow furrowed. He didn't understand. Where were these rumors coming from and why was he being singled out? What had he done? What had happened? The likely answer was nothing, he had done absolutely nothing, and it was a someone instead, someone who held a grudge and was spreading these rumors. But for what? What could they possibly gain from this?

Shigaraki was becoming increasingly agitated by it all. He didn't need this. He had more important things to worry about, yet he couldn't let it go. Not when it was constantly being thrown at his face. Hell, he couldn't walk into a room without everyone going quiet before they resumed their whispering and giggling. How could he concentrate or anything but that?

"Come on." Kai carefully brushed Shigaraki's arm to gain his attention, "Don't listen to that bullshit." He tentatively grasped his friend's wrist and gave it a gentle tug, forcing Shigaraki to start walking with him and away from the gossipers.

… … …

"Can you believe how fast rumors spread around this school? In less than a week it's gone from Dabi flirting to you and I basically fucking."

Kai glanced over at his friend with considerable interest as Shigaraki stormed ahead into his dorm room, throwing his UA blazer haphazardly onto his desk - which he missed by a foot - and then collapsed down onto his bed, face buried into a pillow. Kai grinned behind his mask, picking up the discarded jacket and laying it over the back of his seat so it would not get wrinkled. He didn't like that Shigaraki was so bothered by these rumors, but he really enjoyed hearing about them hypothetically fucking. It was fodder for his late-night bedroom… activities.

"It'll go away eventually. People will get bored of it." There was a dip in the bed as Kai sat down on the edge. He raised his hand slightly, wanting to place it against Shigaraki's back but thinking the better of it, he pulled it away and laid it on his own thigh instead.

Shigaraki turned his cheek against his pillow and looked up at his friend. "Do you think…"

"What?" Kai shifted, scooting back on the bed until his back hit the wall. He settled in, getting comfortable, his legs resting against his friends.

"That there is any truth to… any of it?"

"No." Kai scoffed and shook his head, "We're obviously not having sex, and Dabi is, like, obsessed with you."

Shiagaraki couldn't help the small grin that touched the corner of his mouth. It was a small assurance, but he needed it.

"It's probably just a misunderstanding." Kai added, his golden gaze locking on to Shigaraki with slight mischief.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Rumi and Dabi, they have obviously been spending a lot of time together."

"Because of the committee…"

"Right. Isn't that where he is now?"

"They're not the only ones on the prom committee." Shigaraki stated, rolling over onto his back. He threw his arm over his eyes to shield them from the harsh lighting above.

"Yeah. But someone probably saw them doing something completely innocent and took it the wrong way." Kai shrugged, like it was no big deal and then stretched out alongside Shigaraki, his voice lowering, "You know, like, making out or something."

Shigaraki smacked Kai with one of his free pillows earning him a haughty chuckle in return.

"If you want, we can make out. Even things up a bit." Kai pulled his mask down to his chin and gave Shigaraki one of his best, wanton smiles. One that reached his eyes. It was a serious question masked by a little joke and he raised himself up a little, leaning in closer to his friend. All Shigaraki had to do was say the word and Kai would not hesitate. He was definitely willing to make at least one of those rumors true.

"Ass." Shigaraki gave him another half-grin and then shoved him playfully away.

Kai chuckled half-heartedly and tugged his mask back into place, so he could hide the hint of disappointment that crossed over his face. He wondered if Shigaraki ever noticed his chagrin, or his not-so-subtle passes at him. He supposed it didn't matter much anyway. Shigaraki was involved with Dabi so even if he did notice, he was never going to entertain his advances. Not unless Takami could come through on his promise. Which, so far, was not playing out all that well.

"You want to get something to eat before we go to the agency?"

Shigaraki sighed and closed his eyes. What he really wanted was to see Dabi and for Dabi to reassure him that things between them were fine, that these rumors were all just disinformation, fabrication. He didn't actually believe they were true, but it didn't hurt to hear it directly from the horse's mouth so to speak. And he supposed it was weighing heavily on him, more so than it usually would, because over the last couple of weeks he hadn't been able to spend that much free time with his boyfriend. They had conflicting schedules, Dabi had committee meetings, Shigaraki had work. Then when Shigaraki was free, Dabi was at the Endeavour agency training with Takami and his dad. And school hours were full and busy now that everything was ramping up for finals that they barely had time to talk. Adding that all up together, Shigaraki wasn't surprised he felt so… down in the dumps.

"Yeah." He responded and with another sigh, he retrieved his phone from his pocket to check for any messages. Nada. Nothing from Dabi. Disappointing. He tucked it back away and then sluggishly sat up.

"But no fast food today." Kai declared, grinning as he too sat up. "I think that lady at McDonald's is just a bit too familiar with our orders."

Shigaraki half-smiled, "Okay, but she might get worried if we don't drop in like usual." He joked.

Kai snorted a laugh and then brushed an unruly lock of hair away from Shigaraki's eyes. "I like your hair like this," He admitted, unable to help himself.

"Like what?" Shigaraki asked, flicking the nuisance hair out of his face with a small jerk of his head.

"Long." Kai allowed his eyes to wander over Shigaraki's face, "It's lighter now too."

"Oh yeah, that's the stress."

It was another joke, but Kai could see that there was some truth behind it. It was pretty obvious that Shigaraki was more tense than usual. He laughed it off a little.

"Well, if you need anything to help with that, I'm your guy." Kai disclosed, crawling over Shigaraki's legs so he could climb off the bed and get to his feet.

"Oh right. Your contacts." Shigaraki smirked.

Kai chuckled low, "Mhm."

"Yeah, okay." Shigaraki scoffed and followed Kai off the bed, "Let's just go eat."