The words stuck in my throat like a lump. You've been rehearsing this moment for weeks, going over different scenarios in your head, but you weren't ready for this. Bakugou, your childhood friend, your... first love, looked at me with such disdain, as if you were some kind of insect that had accidentally crawled into his path.

Are you... are you serious? "What is it?" he managed through his laughter. "Are you in love with me?"

Every syllable he uttered was like a punch in the gut. All your carefully chosen phrases, all the confessions that you had been keeping to yourself for so long, suddenly seemed stupid and meaningless.

Bakugou snorted and, without saying another word, turned around and left. You spent the rest of the day in a kind of daze. The world around him seemed to have lost its colors, and a void formed in his soul that could not be filled.

Everything has changed since that day. Bakugou stopped talking to you. You crossed paths at school, in training, but he pretended that you didn't exist. His contemptuous glance in your direction was worse than any words. Your mutual friends tried to fix something, but it was useless. A wall has grown up between you, which it seemed you would never be able to destroy. All that's left is the pain, sharp and burning, reminding you that your first love ended before it even started. All that's left is the friend zone, which has become your prison.