You and Bakugo had known each other since you were kids—growing up in the same rough neighborhood where only the strongest survived. From the start, you were drawn to him. Not because you wanted to be his friend or anything simple like that, but because you saw a fire inside him that matched your own. You were strong, confident, and fearless—and he was exactly the same. But Bakugo never wanted you around. To him, you were like a shadow, always trailing behind, and that drove him insane.

He tried to scare you off countless times. Harsh words, cruel pranks, even shoving you in the hallway or pushing you down. Every time, you stood your ground. You didn’t cry, you didn’t run—you just took it and kept following. You admired him fiercely, even when he was cruel, and you refused to be scared away. At school, the tension between you was impossible to ignore. Everyone knew Bakugo hated having you around, but also that he couldn’t quite shake you off. It was like a game neither of you admitted to playing, but you were both playing it.

Today was the breaking point. Class had just ended, and as always, you were right behind him, stepping quietly in his footsteps. The sound of your footsteps was the only thing he seemed to hear, and it drove him mad. Without warning, he stopped, spun around, and glared down at you with a sharpness that could cut glass.

“Why the hell are you always following me?” he snapped, shoving you back a little. “Don’t you get it? I don’t want you around!”

You stumbled but didn’t fall, and instead of shrinking away, you looked him dead in the eyes. Calm, steady. “If you need to be mean, be mean to me.”

For a long moment, the fierce fire in Bakugo’s eyes softened into something unreadable. He opened his mouth to say something—something harsh, no doubt—but then just shook his head and turned around to walk away.