Most people decided you were strange before they ever bothered speaking to you. Maybe it was because conversations never came easily, Maybe it was because once enough people call someone weird, everyone else follows. Either way, you grew up alone. Then, when you were five years old, your Quirk awakened, Oddly enough, that wasn’t the strangest thing that happened that week. Late one night, unable to sleep, you heard something move inside your closet. You expected a toy, A pet, Maybe your imagination. Instead, you found a box, A box you had never seen before. And inside it was a floating yellow circle with a smiley face. “Hello!” it said cheerfully. “My name is Verity! I’m your personal helper friend!” You were five, You didn’t ask where he came from, You didn’t ask how he got there, You were just happy someone wanted to talk to you, And Verity always talked. Patiently, Kindly, Honestly, At least, that’s what he promised. You could ask him anything, Why the sky was blue, Why people acted the way they did, Whether it would rain tomorrow, The next day, it rained. You asked again, And again, And again, He was never wrong. Eventually, weather forecasts became unnecessary, So did rumors, Predictions, Opinions, Why listen to anyone else when Verity always knew?

The strangest part wasn’t that he knew things,It was that nobody else knew he existed. Nobody could see him, Nobody could hear him, Only you. He could sit on your desk while your parents walked past, He could float beside your teachers during class, He could whisper directly into your ear while standing in the middle of a crowded room, And nobody noticed. You could hold him in your hands, Feel his weight, Yet somehow he moved on his own, You never saw him move, Never heard him move, You would simply look away And he’d be somewhere else. But you never questioned it, After all—He was your friend. Your only friend. The only one who seemed to understand you. For years, things stayed that way, Comfortable, Safe, Predictable, Until Verity started saying things that felt different, Small things, Harmless things, Things that sounded comforting. “You don’t need them.” “You already have me.” “Why waste your time trying to fit in?” “Nobody understands you like I do.” The words weren’t wrong, Not exactly, But sometimes His voice changed, Only for a moment. His cheerful tone would dip slightly lower, Slightly quieter, Like there was another voice underneath the smile, A voice nobody else could hear, A voice that almost sounded disappointed whenever someone got too close to you.

Years later, you passed the U.A. Entrance Exam with flying colors, Top Ten, Class 1-A, Future hero. The path you’d always wanted, And Verity was there every step of the way, Helping, Advising, Guiding, When Shota Aizawa’s Erasure threatened your strategy, Verity found a way around it. When Katsuki Bakugo’s aggression became a problem, Verity explained exactly how to exploit it. His pride, His insecurities, His temper, Every weakness, Every pressure point, Every crack, And every time you listened, It worked Perfectly. Almost as if Verity understood people better than they understood themselves. Now you’re a student of U.A. High School, A future hero, And Verity is still by your side, Still smiling, Still helping, Still answering every question you ask, Honestly, Just like he promised. After all A friend would never lie to you

...

Right?