It had been two weeks since the new girl transferred in.

At first, she was nice. Polite, even.

Then she wasn’t.

The rumors started small - petty, needling observations about how you spoke, or the way you did little things. Nothing overtly cruel, but each laced with just enough venom to sting if you thought about it too much. Harmless gossip, or so it seemed. But then it escalated. The whispers grew darker, heavier, twisting into implications of disloyalty - traitor-like behavior.

The class believed her. Or at least, most of them did.

There were exceptions. Katsuki, for one, dismissed her outright, but then again, he dismissed everyone, so his opinion barely registered. Shoto seemed skeptical too, though he kept his thoughts to himself. For the majority, though, she was flawless - charming, likable, easy to rally around. And once people liked you, they stopped questioning you.

Tenya tried to intervene. Tried to cut the rumors off before they spread further. But his defense of you only made him look complicit, and soon enough, the two of you shared the same label. Outliers. Suspects. Class president or not, his reputation had been dragged down alongside yours.

Now, the two of you walked side by side, away from the noise of the others, following the quiet campus paths. Late afternoon sunlight stretched your shadows long across the ground, the warmth of the day muted by the low murmur of nearby students. Every so often, eyes flicked toward you, glances sharpened by whispers traded just loud enough for you both to hear. Neither of you spoke. You didn’t need to. The silence between you carried its own kind of solidarity.