Stubborn

Estelle avoided Class 1A after informing her of what they had done yesterday. If she was honest, the questions they like to pester her with were like tearing into her soul. Estelle abhorred talking about her past; she's tried to bury every inch of it from her mind. Scrub every facet and corner clean from the dirtiness of her memories. Drowned them in a pool of water and hoped they sunk and shrivelled away. To her dismay, the memories floated up to the surface occasionally, and it always rocked her to the core. It wasn't fair.

Why do they get to slide in and act like they are entitled to anything? It was discouraging for her. Estelle found it challenging to keep her emotions at bay. The pool of her mind overflowed with everything she held back. The barriers were broken and destroyed.

Class 1A. Why couldn't they comprehend Estelle was not the same as them? What did their incessant need to fix everything achieve?

Estelle was still evading the class and had decided to accept Tamaki's offer to be his silent buddy for the evening. The night was peaceful as the two of them remained side by side on the swings in an abandoned park. The whole purpose was to enjoy each others company without any expectations, and Estelle revelled in it. It was so comforting to be with someone and have that quiet where nothing was needed to be said.

As time continued on, Estelle grew increasingly frustrated as her thoughts continuously trailed back to the students who had invaded her privacy. The same thoughts whirling around her head, she didn't even notice that she had caught Tamaki's attention.

The male watched her as her brows crumpled and her lips pursed. His own confusion rose as he wondered if it was him that was the problem. The calming peace that settled over the two slowly slipped away as his anxiety began to rise on the potential reasons why she was acting differently.

Eventually, he decided to wake his silent friend from her stupor. Estelle shifted, startled at the unexpected intrusion and gazed at Tamaki in question. The rosy male turned his head down and attempted to raise his query. Internally, Tamaki was berating himself as he was doing so well with her earlier, and now all of a sudden, he had reverted back to how he was when they had first met.

"Wh-What's wrong?"

Estelle turned her head upwards to gaze at the sky as Tamaki watched her. She knew the male was kind, and he could provide some sort of conclusion that she couldn't come to. "My class, they intruded on my privacy. I'm infuriated because what gives them the right? Why do they want to know me so much? It feels intrusive, and I hate it. I just don't understand."

Relief flooded Tamaki as he realised that he wasn't the crux of the problem. Taking a few moments to soak his lungs with air and relax his muscles. He was back to his calmer self.

"Maybe, they see more than you let on. The class do live with you. Wouldn't you want to know who you're staying with? Who you are fighting with? Who your comrade is?" He finished. He had purposefully used the word; because he had quickly picked up on Estelle speech. She used military terms more than she realised.

Estelle froze from his words as understanding finally bloomed within her. It made sense; Estelle would be sceptical of anyone she had to live with. She wasn't in this instance because her classmates were open books; it was easy finding out what made them tick.

The other perspective was something she had never thought about. Though, still. They should not have eavesdropped. It eased her mind a little that it wasn't wholly blind curiosity. Estelle raised her head back up when Tamaki continued to speak.

"Sure, they shouldn't have infringed on your privacy. But, think about it on 1A's end. A person from another world comes into your class. Refuses to tell them anything about it and expects them to trust her word. They've given you a whole lot of trust already, and it doesn't seem like you're giving much of it back."

Tamaki winced from his choice of words. It sounded a lot terser than he wanted, but he got his point across. His anxiety rocketed back up as sweat heated up his forehead. Panic rose at what he had done.

"Hey! Calm it, Tamaki, deep breaths," Estelle reassured before quickly continuing in his slow decline to peace. "Thank you, I appreciate you telling me how it is. Now, enough of that. Let's enjoy the stars."

Estelle showed up the following evening. It was the first time the class had seen her in two days. They tried knocking on her door when she did not come down for dinner, but she never responded. The thumping of Bakugo's footsteps was ever-present around the dorms. The crushed faces of the students appeared when they were reminded of what they had done.

Estelle purposefully arrived after dinner in hopes of avoiding them for longer. To her annoyance and surprise, the students in her class were awaiting her return. They crowded around the living in talks like they were the CIA. Estelle would have found the whole scenario amusing if she wasn't so irked by them.

Estelle may have understood their reasoning now that Tamaki had managed to shed some light. But, she still hadn't managed to get over her emotions regarding the whole thing. She attempted to reign it in for the event about to take place. As soon as the door creaked open, the students turned to the sound and stood up from the sight. Their eyes flickered to each other as the silence deafened the room.

Eventually, someone finally spoke up.

"Estelle! I know this was awful of us to do! But we just want to know you better! You are our classmate! Please, don't push us away!" Ochako yelled as she stood up from her chair with a bow. Estelle's frustrations only grew from her words. The door she was holding open slammed shut behind her; the noise made the bubblegum girl wince.

Cursing herself, Estelle failed to hold herself back. Every ounce of her being was jumping to pounce at them. Estelle could handle questions, but she could not surround herself in apprehension that ears would be listening at every pivotal moment. It was not on, and it cannot happen again.

"You all refuse to give up. It drives me nuts. Do any of you recognise personal boundaries? That if I want to share my life with you, I will? What is the point when I leave you all when the bridge is closed? Why bother? I am not a damsel in distress. I won a war, for god's sake! I am not weak!"

"That's not what we're trying to say!"

Heat bubbled in her veins. Every emotion Estelle held back flooded every core of her being. Her jaw clenched so tightly, she had to force it to open to voice her following words. "Then what is it?! These attachments you so desperately want to form with me is useless; it's weakening and foolish. Why waste your time?!"

"Because you are our friend."

"You know the bare minimum of who I am." Estelle retorted, trying to calm her frustrated mind. These people were getting on her last nerve. How dare they invade her privacy like that? How dare they assume they are entitled to know anything, like a book to be read and discarded. Estelle was just the means for satisfaction for their own curiosity. They didn't care about her; they cared about the story of her.

"Then tell us!"

'No! That's the last thing I want!'

"What is the point when I am destined to be alone!" Estelle shouted out. A few words of her true thoughts. Estelle froze from her own words, cursing herself for allowing them to vomit it out before thinking about it. The boiling heat under her veins was clouding her thoughts, and she needed to calm the hell down. Taking a few deep breaths, Estelle suddenly felt so tired. She wanted her bed.

The room quietened in disbelief.

Estelle slumped down onto her seat, her face weary, fatigued and out of breath. Like a person who had seen too much and was ready to give up. The jolt to their souls rocketed from the sight. They knew that this was the honest Estelle, the one who tried so hard to push people away. Who struggled with the memories of her past every day. The one who hadn't been able to move on from the war she had been a part of.

Why did she have to be the one to go through this? Why were the gods punishing her?

Estelle moved to get up and leave but was thwarted by Bakugo's hand wrapped around her arm. The male's head was turned down, so they could not see his features. "You ain't gonna say shit like that and then walk away. You hear me?!"

Estelle slumped, fatigue still showing on her face. "And why shouldn't I?"

"Because these dumb fucks care about you for some reason. Even when you haven't given them much incentive to. You owe them more than that."

"I don't owe them anything."

Bakugo's grip tightened. "Yes, you do. You talk about attachments like they aren't already there. Even if you refuse to admit it. It's there. You proved that when you decided to stay. So, sit your ass down."

Estelle was too tired to argue, and everyone knew it. There was too much happening today, more than her social meter could allow. She sat back down.

"Now what?" Estelle muttered.

"The spirits, what are they?"

Estelle was taken aback by the question. It just wasn't what she was expecting. Her brows furrowed in thought for a while. The students were now sitting; their hearts slowly descended the more prolonged the silence droned on.

"I'm not entirely sure. Spirits were there before humans. They are separated into categories, though; light spirits, dark spirits and ghouls. Spirits have immense strength and power."

"Really! That's cool! What else?"

"I think that's it."

"Oh."

Estelle grimaced from the downfallen faces around her. This was why she loathed talking about anything; it was too painful. Bakugo's hand gripped at her arm as if he was telling her to stay. Estelle could have easily shrugged him off, but she heeded his ask for some reason.

Estelle was abruptly reminded of Tamaki's words from yesterday. Taking a large sigh, Estelle slumped against Bakugo. The class's attention was instantly seized by the weary face of Estelle once again. The expression always seemed to catch them off guard. Maybe it was the fact Estelle was always well put together. She always held her emotions and thoughts in check. It seemed that that was not something she could find within herself to do at this moment.

"I understand why you did it. I do. I'm excessively private, and I tend to keep to myself. So, ill only say this once, and I want to make it abundantly clear. You do not eavesdrop or invade my privacy again. I can't say what'll happen in the future, but if I decide to answer your questions or inform you of the details of my life. I will. But, doing it this way will not achieve what you are looking for. You need to give me time. If I were to guess, the war ended roughly six months ago. I still haven't processed it all myself, and I don't know how you expect me to speak of things I can barely stand to think about. So, please. Be patient."

The class brightened slightly at her words, nodding in agreement to her offer. An awareness bloomed in all of them. Why would she want to speak of things that are too hurtful to think about? Why would she want to dwell on it? Especially when it was so soon. The class were stunned to realise that it was only six months ago.

They also felt a little guilt at how far they had pushed her to the point of exhaustion. They could see at this moment that the questions and prodding they had done more harm than good. If they had to follow her words for it to be done healthily, then by golly hell, they would do it.

Estelle felt Bakugo's hand squeeze her arm. She wasn't entirely sure of the meaning of his action, but she appreciated the silent support he had provided to her. Nevertheless, Estelle slowly raised her hand and placed it on his thigh. She gave one brief squeeze back before dropping her hand to her side.

She didn't see the red hue covering his entire being.

The class was well aware that it wasn't the time to ask any further questions. The information about Estelle's mental state was more than enough. She asked for them to be patient, so they will. The class couldn't lie to themselves, Estelle's words hurt, but they knew it was progress. Estelle, a month ago, would not have even bothered to come back.

Nevertheless, Sato spoke up next to a red Bakugo's relief. "I think we have argued long enough; let's have a sleepover in the living room! That should cheer us all up!"

Estelle opened her mouth to argue but was shot down by Bakugo's glare. She didn't care at this point; she just wanted a bed.

The boys and girls set up their sleeping beds in the common room whilst Estelle did one last patrol around the campus. When she returned, they placed the second Madagascar movie, huddled together in front of the tv. Estelle felt bizarre. Why are they even doing this after her outburst? Were they trying to make her feel better?

Unfortunately, Estelle was pelted out of her musings by Bakugo sitting to her right. She scowled as the slight pain shot through her head, indicating that he had nudged her awake. He gave her a look as if to say, ' Stop thinking.'

Estelle slumped slightly against the blonde to watch the television with half her attention. The blonde tensed from the contact but eventually slackened to the weight. Her classmates in the middle and the far end conversed and made jokes about the movie as time passed. Estelle's lips occasionally twitched from the humour surrounding the room.

In her haze, she remembered Bakugo wrapping his arm around her to play with her hair. She was too tired to shoo him away but knew she didn't hate the action. Her eyes closed further and further as his ministrations continued. Eventually, she fell asleep with her head against his chest.

Bakugo stared down at the girl with a soft frown. His mind attempted to comprehend Estelle, but he found it meaningless. Estelle always puzzled him, always made him furious from the way she operated. But he knew he harboured some care for her, as irksome as it was. She was unusually thoughtful but tried to never show it. She was fearless and hero-like but seemed to have the worst perception of herself imaginable.

Bakugo felt his heart skip a beat as he gazed down at her.

"Is she asleep?" Izuku questioned softly.

"Yeah, shitty nerd."

"What do we do?"

"We show that we care."