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A cacophony of laughter filled the class 1-A dorm. A dozen smiles scattered throughout the common room, all pointed towards a single blond boy currently laid out across the couch. Thumbs slightly pointed up, eyes glazed over, and lips parted just enough for a soft groan to escape. Denki Kaminari had overused his quirk again. But in his defense, Sero was the one who wanted to know if his quirk could be used like one of those electric pulse massagers. And well, the result was clear. Sero has a patch of skin that was slightly discolored from the attempt, and Kaminari was out of commission until his body could recover.
To everyone else it was just another funny situation that he had gotten himself into. But they couldn’t see the reality behind it. From their position it probably just looks like he fries and short circuits. A mental paralysis you could say. But that was the furthest thing from the truth. He was fully coherent, able to hear their laughter as his body was unable to move. As he felt the agonizing shudder of constant spasms rake across his body. His thumbs were up in his own futile attempt to remind himself that he can survive this. He is ok. His body literally rejects the use of high voltages by sending pain signals to every nerve in his upper body. Not even allowing himself to scream or cry, the blond can only grunt and muscle through the episode. ‘At least they are happy. I'm glad I can make them smile’ he thought as a wet sheen streaked down from the corner of his eye.
…
Roughly an hour later he was alone in his room with a heating pad against the back of his neck and a weighted stuffed animal in his lap. Silent and unmoving as tried to let his mind go still. NO more laughter, no more faking he was really ok. Pushing away the memory of his classmates not helping him up when he was able to move again.
Bakugou had just called him another name and continued cooking in the kitchen. Mina and Sero were still laughing hunched over the side of an armchair together. Kirishima just smiled and turned on the T.V moving on from the moment. If there was anybody that he could say might’ve realized something was off, it could be Izuku. The viridian eyes flashed a moment of strange recognition as Kaminari quirked up the corner of his mouth and waved him off, “Catch you later Midobro”
But now he was safe in his dorm room, away from the others. No masking required as he sat against the wall, his head rolled back, and knees pulled up against his chest, smothering the plushie that he was clinging to for dear life. “If I get better control and stop short circuiting, will they stop caring about me. If I'm not the focus of their jokes?” He whispered into the empty room. Nobody there to hear him, nobody there to answer. No one was ever there at the end of it