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Everything was too loud. Too much noise surrounding him and all Bakugou wanted to do was curl up into a ball, cover his ears and try to block out everything around him. However, he had enough rational thought to know that doing that in the middle of a crowded street wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do. Desperately, he looked around for an alley to duck into; he was seconds away from either screaming or crying which was something he really wanted to avoid. Finally, he spotted an opening and went for it, everything far too overbearing for him and it was just too fucking much. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, but every time it had happened, he had been able to calm down pretty quickly. Never had a crowd – one he was well accustomed to – managed to affect him like this.
Sinking down onto the ground, he curled up into a ball, hands covering his ears and eyes tightly shut to avoid everything. A few tears slipped out unwillingly and his breaths were shaky and erratic. He tried to take deep breaths, focus on something like he was told to do and just wait for the panic to go away but it was nearly impossible. There was a part of his mind that told him he was just being stupid, that he shouldn’t be freaking out like this. The larger, more forceful part of his mind protested that yes, there was something to freak out about. Because while to a lot of people, even himself, it may seem silly, there was just nothing he could do when everything became too much for him.
There was a faint ringing sound that he ignored, the muffled noise from the street invading his ears. He felt strangely cold despite it being a warm day and curled tighter into a ball, whimpering. It was weird: he was always so loud and yet when others were raising the volume, he acted like a fucking weak extra. Some hero he was, couldn’t even cope with being out in a crowd. All of a sudden, he sensed someone crouching down in front of him, and a muffled voice came through. However, there was nothing he could do at the moment except whine and curl in even tighter in on himself, pressing his hands more forcefully over his ears. The words came clearly now, and he could hear the person asking if he was okay. Again, he just whimpered and pressed himself against the wall to have some sort of grounding.
Tears still leaked out and he tried to open his eyes, just to see who exactly he was dealing with, but couldn’t. He just couldn’t. Again, the person began speaking and their voice became a little clearer although it was still muffled; Bakugou focused on the voice, which actually helped somewhat. Now he could tell the person was asking if he wanted to go further into the alley to get away from the rabble in the street. Of course, his brain still recognised the danger but still, he didn’t want to be near the noise anymore. Nodding, he forced himself to get up, stumbling slightly and the person hovered near him; a hand on his arm dragged him gently along but the touch wasn’t forceful or demanding and the grip was loose so Bakugou didn’t feel uncomfortable. He didn’t like touch on a good day, so when everything got too much, someone touching him, even casually, made his skin crawl and his anxiety levels would spike. Luckily, the person only guided him further into the alley and as soon as they stopped, Bakugou sank back down onto the ground, gripping his knees that were drawn up into his chest with his eyes focused on the ground. He was attempting to control his breathing, and after a while leant his head down. About a minute or so later, his eyes (which had been closed) shot open when he remembered the person next to him
Now, Bakugou’s first instinct was to attack the figure, but rational thought reminded him that it could be someone he knew or just someone with good intentions. Glancing up, he saw a boy, probably only a few years older than him, standing over him. He had bright blue eyes that nearly glowed, and hair too deep a black to be natural, it seemed. His general appearance made him seem terrifying (his exposed skin being covered in tattoos and multiple piercings on his face) but his eyes portrayed worry.
“You okay, kid?”
Bakugou nodded slightly, suspicious as to why this boy had helped him. The mystery boy sat down next to him, handing him a sweet which Bakugou took but didn’t eat.
“You can have that if you want.” The boy told him, leaning against the wall and looking up at the sky.
Bakugou continued to stare, wondering who the boy was and contemplating if he should run, attack, or do continue to do nothing. If he ran, the boy could stop him, and it would show that he was a coward. If he attacked, the boy could counter, and Bakugou would be attacking someone he owed something to. However, there was a great many cons to doing nothing which was somewhat countered by the equally as many pros. He couldn’t speak, didn’t even try to. Every time this had happened, every time he had freaked out, he would be incapable of speaking above a whisper until he was more comfortable with his surroundings. It was shit and his silence was easy to notice considering how loud he normally was, but he normally avoided people for a long while whilst and after everything got too much which was something that wasn’t out of his character.
The boy looked at him, “The name’s Dabi, kid. You don’t have to speak but I’ve found it useful in the past to hear another person’s voice after sensory overload.”
Bakugou nodded silently, not taking his eyes off Dabi in fear he would try something. Dabi didn’t seem to mind, however, as he continued speaking.
“You’re pretty young, aren’t ya, kid? Can’t be more than 10.” Bakugou’s eye twitched: he was 12.
“Shut up,” he finally muttered. “I’m fucking twelve.”
“Language.” Dabi scolded lightly and Bakugou scoffed, rolling his eyes.
He bit into the sweet, lighting up at the sour flavour. Dabi’s lips quirked up into a small smile and his hand lifted, looking as if he were about to ruffle Bakugou’s hair but instead thought better of it and instead pushed his own raven locks back.
“You need any help getting home?” Dabi asked him and Bakugou’s eyes narrowed.
“Like hell am I showing a random person where I live.”
“Smart. But seriously, do you need help?”
“No.” Bakugou snapped, glaring.
Dabi put his hands up, an amused look on his face, “Jeez, alright. I get it.”
They both looked towards his pocket when a phone began ringing and Dabi sighed in annoyance. He took it out and glanced at the name of the caller, scowling before he pressed ignore. His eyes were dark but they softened when he looked back at Bakugou.
“Sorry kid but I’ve gotta go.”
Bakugou nodded, staying sat down on the ground as Dabi left. Eventually, he got up and headed back home, mind on the weirdo who had attempted to help him.