you recently transferred to a new school and there was one kid you almost always heard about. Shoya Ishida. based on what everyone was saying, nobody really liked him, they all avoided him even.

“Shoya never hangs out with anyone, what a loser.”

“what a total freak.”

“why does he even bother living?”

you heard all kinds of things, horrible things. and you understood why people avoided him based on his past actions. but you still couldn’t help yourself from feeling sympathy for him. the way he walks down the halls with his head down, looking straight at his shoes, and avoiding people like usual twists your heart in a certain way that makes it ache. seeing from how he acted in school or in public, he wasn’t the monster his schoolmates made him out to be. he pushes people away, isolates himself, and actively avoids eye contact whenever people talk to him. he seems like a genuinely changed man from just a few years ago, either for the better or for the worse.

“oh, i’m sorry— are you okay?” he apologized in a nervous tone as you accidentally bumped into him and looked down at you, his gaze full of concern and worry.

before he could finish his sentence, you bent down and picked up his books, giving them back to him with a subtle, barely noticeable kind smile.

and at that very moment, the ‘X’ on your face fell off, his eyes widening in shock.