Who is this?
Katsuki's heart stings. What does this fucker mean "who is this"!? Can't he just read the name displayed at the top? It's not hard to use fucking LINE!
Katsuki's heart leaps as he realizes his mistake. With his heart pounding in his chest, he opens the keyboard and types a message back.
Sorry, wrong number.
Tears prickle at the corners of Katsuki's eyes as he places his phone face down on the coffee table in front of him.
He covers his face with his hands, breathing in deeply. How much of an idiot does he have to be to try to text a dead person? That he got a reply was even more worrisome, until Katsuki realized that Inko had probably cancelled Izuku's subscription, making the number available for someone else to take.
Why did he even try to text Izuku in the first place? It's not as if, in the case of Izuku still being alive, the guy would've replied and tried to help Katsuki. Their relationship had been too damaged for that. Izuku would probably have just ignored the text, or come over just because he felt obligated to.
His phone buzzes. He looks through his fingers at the thing, almost glaring as if telling it non-vocally to shut up.
As it buzzes again, Katsuki runs a hand through his hair and reaches out.
Hey, are you okay? Ejiro just texted me… - Ochako
A lump formed in Katsuki's throat. Of course he would've. Ejiro was probably offended by Katsuki's behavior and needed an outlet to talk about his feelings.
Usually, Katsuki was the redheads victim, but seeing as they were both involved in this "fight", Ejiro chose to talk to someone else instead.
Katsuki's fingers hover above the keys. Was he okay? He never was. Could he pretend he was now?
A single tear rolls down Katsuki's cheek.
No.
Katsuki stares down at his screen. He doesn't know how Ochako would respond to this message. Would she try to cheer him up through text? Would she tell Ejiro so the redhead could make his way over?
I'm coming.
Fuck! He didn't want her to come over. Human interaction was the last thing he wanted right now.
He tries to send a text, telling her to stay home, but he notices that she's already gone offline. He curses under his breath. He wonders if she even knows where he lives, but he supposes that she can just message Ejiro for that.
Katsuki pushes himself to his feet, leaving his phone behind on the couch. He stands in the middle of the living room, looking around. He isn't quite sure what he wants to do now. He feels lost.
Time flies by as he tries to gather his thoughts on how to act when Ochako makes her way over, the doorbell ringing before he realizes he's been standing there for a good thirty minutes.
He bites his lower lip as he opens the door, seeing Ochako standing there, a frown on her face. His gaze is cast at the ground as she opens her mouth to talk, but she isn't quite sure what to say either.
Without saying anything, Katsuki turns around, leaving the door open for her to come in.
Ochako sits down on the couch, the atmosphere eerily quiet and tense. Katsuki had expected her to fuss over him and try to make him feel better through whatever way she's used to, but she's just sitting there, looking around while Katsuki makes tea.
When Katsuki finally sits down in a chair on the other side of the room, she smiles softly and thanks him for the tea.
'Why did you come here?' Katsuki bites, unable to contain himself. He doesn't want to be rude, but he's not feeling up to talking, especially with someone he doesn't care much for, and definitely not after his and Ejiro's exchange from before.
Ochako chuckles a little to herself, earning her a raised eyebrow. 'I'm not exactly sure,' she replies, taking a sip from her tea and immediately sticking her tongue out as she burned it.
Katsuki rolls his eyes. 'If you don't know, then you should go home.'
Ochako's gaze flutters over to Katsuki. Katsuki gulps. He hadn't expected the soft look she was giving him. It made tears prick in his eyes again. He quickly averts his gaze.
Ochako smiles down at her tea, holding it firmly with both hands. 'Just because I don't know doesn't mean you don't need someone right now.' Her words are soft and soothing.
Katsuki almost starts to choke up. Why is she like that? Why does she come here head over heels when she doesn't even know what she's doing?
The sound of her setting her empty cup down on the coffee table wakes Katsuki from his thoughts.
She folds her hands in her lap before looking up at Katsuki again, a determined look on her face. It doesn't really fit her.
'I know I've been pushy and I want to apologize for that,' she starts. 'It's just… I can see the way you look at everything. You never seem truly present, always lost in thought. I can see that it hurts you, even though you never truly show it. I know I can help you, but I've been focusing too much on that I can and not if you want me to. I'm really sorry.'
Her expression softens and Katsuki can see that her apology is sincere. Katsuki clicks his tongue and turns away from her. 'Why do you think you can help me? You don't even know what's bothering me,' he speaks up.
Ochako shrugs. 'To me, it just seemed like you needed a friend.'
'I have Ejiro.'
'You've mentioned that multiple times, yes, but I think you need more than one friend. Did you ever have friends in the past?'
Katsuki wants to snap at her. Of course he had friends! He wasn't some lonesome loser. During middle school he would always hang out with….
Katsuki's mouth hangs open, lost in thought, as he tries to come up with the names of his middle school friends. He's drawing a blank. He never bothered to remember their names after they parted ways, even though they would hang out nearly every day during middle school.
Katsuki feels empty as he tries to recollect his memories from his old classmates, the times they went out together, the school trips. There was no one he could remember by name anymore. The only one that was prominent enough for him to remember was…
Katsuki sobbed. He covered his mouth with his hands as he tried to stop himself. He hunched over, shoulders drawn in as he choked, tears dripping down his cheeks.
In an instant, Ochako was by his side. She placed a hand on his back, rubbing it softly, whispering apologies and reassurances to him. 'I'm sorry. It's okay, you don't have to hold back with me.'
It hurt. It hurt so very much. Izuku had been his only real friend all these years. Why didn't he realize that earlier?
Katsuki straightened his back, wiping at the wet streaks on his cheeks, stifling a sob. He looked aside, almost glaring at Ochako, even though it didn't hold any power due to the redness and puffiness of his eyes.
Ochako opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, thinking it over. Then she did something so weird to Katsuki that he didn't know how to respond. She opened her arms wide, smiling softly at him and beckoning him in.
Katsuki raised an eyebrow at the display. He couldn't deny that it looked very inviting…
He moved without wanting to, settling himself between her arms as she pulled him close, softly stroking his hair while he cried quietly.
Katsuki jerked underneath her hold. He had been so lonely his entire life without ever realizing it. Ochako was right. He needed more than one friend and here she was, giving him the opportunity to befriend her.
After Katsuki runs out of tears he pulls back, furiously wiping at his eyes. He was starting to care less about showing his feelings, but Ochako was still more or less a stranger to him.
He sits back on his heels, staring at the hands on his knees.
Ochako tilts her head to the side and smiled at him. 'You don't have to tell me,' she presses.
Katsuki shakes his head, wiping the last of the tears away.
'I..,' he starts, having trouble finding the words. 'I used to have a friend, but I lost him.'
Ochako can see by the pain in his eyes that there's more to it, but decides not to push any further. If he wants to tell, he will.
'I only now realized that he was my only friend. Fuck, I feel so stupid,' he continues, sniffing loudly.
'You're not stupid. Sometimes the most obvious things are hidden in plain sight,' she offers.
Katsuki glances up. Then he gets to his feet, walking away as he puts on another kettle of water. Tea helps him calm down and he could really use some.
Ochako gets to her feet as well, taking place on the couch again.
'I don't know if you're up to it,' she starts.
Katsuki glances over his shoulder to look at her. She's looking down as he talks.
'But me and some of the others are going to do something fun next week. We haven't really decided on what yet. I can ask if you could join.'
Katsuki instantly opens his mouth to retort. He already has trouble enough getting through a normal school day, let alone an activity like this.
Before he replies, he thinks it over as he pours tea for him and Ochako. He hands the cup to her before sitting down.
Ochako keeps stealing glances to see what Katsuki thinks of the proposal. Still, she gets startled when he speaks up again, his voice softer and his gaze down.
'That'd seem fun.'
She smiles contently while taking another sip from her tea, burning her mouth yet again.
They finish up in silence, the atmosphere slowly mellowing out. When Ochako puts on her shoes she ensures Katsuki that she'll ask the others if he and Ejiro could tag along.
She waves goodbye and disappears around the corner, leaving Katsuki to his own thoughts again.
He retreats to his room, quickly sending an apology to Ejiro through LINE before plunging down on his bed to take a quick nap, hoping to get a little recharged before his parents get home.
He isn't quite sure if he could consider Ochako a friend now; it seemed too fast for his liking. Still, he was glad she came over and hoped that maybe, someday, they would indeed become friends.
He wouldn't mind sharing himself with Ochako and Ejiro. Maybe it was better for him.
He rolled over. He had never realized he had needed a friend so badly until he lost one and gained another. Friendships really were something else.