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Saiki Kusuo was not one for social interaction. People were loud and messy and fragile. They’re never as good as they would have you believe. Their thoughts always betray them. It’s how he first found out that his brother hated him. That his parents were afraid of him. That his ‘friends’ often only put up with him because they wanted something. That nobody cared about his feelings on anything. His only emotions were annoyance and indifference, right? He didn’t feel things. He was strong. He had to be, or nothing would ever get done. People would get hurt, killed.
Nevermind how his chest knotted up whenever there was a knock at the door. Disregard the lump forming in his throat each time a classmate approached him. Neglect the exhausted look in his eyes as he is dragged around town. Ignore each and every sign, cue, warning that the constant noise was just too much , the sympathy too little , the intermissions too few .
Go ahead, invite him to go with you somewhere. He’ll go. What other choice does he have? He’d be a monster to refuse.
This school day was no different. Pester, invite, follow, rinse and repeat.
The only part of the school day that was mildly bearable was lunch. Each day, he managed to slip away; first to the bathroom before teleporting to a secluded bench in the woods several miles away.
So Saiki sat, eyes straight ahead, alone.
Because, sometimes, even a cruel and taunting voice in his head is better than the screaming minds of the others.