Burnt Out (Hawks X Reader)

Chapter 24: Exposed

So on my way back from the wedding venue—which, that gig ended horribly—inspiration struck. It was pretty late at night, but I still sat on a bench and pulled out my guitar.

Yes, I know I can absolutely get murdered, but that's okay.

I ended up plucking the string, hearing the weird noise it makes when it's out of tune.

Then I heard a stick crack.

I'm not normally one to get scared—except when I'm high in the air, but we don't talk about that—and I know I just said I was fine with being murdered, but not today.

Yeah, I made my way back to the apartment as quickly as possible.

And upon entering, I saw that Hezā was sitting on the couch with Keigo. They were watching something on the TV.

I tried to go to my room as quietly as possible, but my guitar ended up bumping against the door frame.

Damn coordination. Always getting me caught.

Upon hearing the noise, Keigo turned his head to see me struggling to get my guitar through the door without breaking it.

Damn, it wasn't this hard to leave, was it?

"How was the wedding?" he asked, getting up to help me with my instrument.

"Eh," I said. "They never gave me the music I was playing beforehand, so someone just kinda shoved a song in my hands and said 'play this.' They gave me until the bride started walking down the aisle to quietly practice it."

"That sounds like it sucks," Keigo said, placing his hand on the area where the head and neck of the guitar met. He pointed it towards the door and led it inside, taking it from my hands and resting it against the wall. "What song was it?"

"Kiss the Girl from the Little Mermaid," I said. "With some kind of pop twist." I shrugged, grabbing my guitar and walking to my room. "Alright, continue your date with your girlfriend."

I entered my room, putting my guitar to the side and flopping down on my bed. I hugged a pillow and just laid there, sniffing and thinking about life.

And thinking about when I could breathe through my nose and how I took it for granted.

Damn weather, always making me it breathe. Screw you man.

Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep, waking up a few hours later due to . . . noises.

"Keigo, stop fucking your girlfriend while I'm trying to sleep!" I yelled. "The walls are really fucking thin here, bro!"

The sounds suddenly stopped, followed by what I think is a muffled apology.

Or maybe I'm just hearing things.

You know, now that I think about it, it's kinda weird knowing the person you like is fucking their significant other just across the hallway.

Yeah, kinda messed up.

I woke up the next morning, still in my formal attire from the night before. I quickly changed out of the sparkly silver dress and made my way to the kitchen, craving a waffle.

Bro waffles just sound good right now.

Except one problem.

"Keigo, just because you have a girlfriend doesn't mean you can make out with her on the counter," I said. "I just wanted a waffle first thing in the morning bro. Not to see you and Hezā eating each other. Bro, literally what part of you thought it was a good idea to make out on the counter? Where we prepare food that we eat. Jesus, man."

"Are you alright," Keigo asked, pulling away from Hezā and helping her down from the counter. "You seem snappy this morning."

"I'm just tired," I responded, looking around for the toaster. "I didn't sleep great last night since someone"—I gave him a look that heavily implied I was talking about him—"decided it was a good time to fuck. Dude, where the hell is your toaster?"

"I don't have one."

I looked at him, a look that had many emotions mixed into it.

"You don't have a toaster," I repeated. He nodded nonchalantly, putting an arm around Hezā. "Why don't you have a fucking toaster? Even the League of Villains has a toaster! And they're villains!"

The words left my mouth before I could even process I was saying.

My eyes widened at what I said. I put my hands to my mouth, trying to figure out a way to cover up my words.

Yeah, there's no way around that. I blatantly exposed myself.

Fuck. I didn't wanna expose myself like this. Talking about a damn toaster. What the hell kind of way is that to expose yourself?

"Hey, I'll see you later, yeah?" Hezā said, sensing the suddenly tense atmosphere in the room. She kissed Keigo's cheek, saying bye to both of us before leaving the apartment.

"So waffles," I said. "They're basically pancakes with abs. But they're the superior—"

"You can't cover up what you just said," Keigo said. "How do you know the League has a toaster?"

"I just assume stuff, I guess," I said, laughing nervously. "I mean, who doesn't have a toaster?"

I'm a terrible liar.

"How do you know the league has a toaster," he said more sternly.

I kept quiet, not wanting to expose myself or my friends further.

"Y/n, please."

"You can't tell anyone," I finally said. "And you can't go after them. They're my friends."

"What do you mean friends?"

"My best friend," I started, "her name is Himiko Toga. She's a suspect in a string of murders from her old high school. My ex-boyfriend, his name is Dabi—"

"You dated one of them?!" Keigo yelled. "Why would you do that? Were you expecting a happy ending from that love story?"

"I don't know, Keigo! It was a stupid decision I made that I deeply regret," I said. "Sometimes you do things without thinking it through first."

"You still dated a villain, Y/n. How does someone willingly do that?"

"I didn't," I said. "I didn't willingly do it. I didn't choose a few years of villainy, that lifestyle grabbed my hand and told me to run, so I did. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, and I know I'm probably not making any sense right now, but I'm just aggravated. Why can't you see that I care about these people?"

"Because they're villains, Y/n," Keigo shot back. "Why would you ever care for one?"

"Because they care for me," I said. "Maybe except one."

Keigo opened his mouth to say something, but before words could leave his mouth I started talking again.

"Listen, Keigo, something happened recently that got me really fucking depressed," I said, referring to the fact that he has a girlfriend. "Something you're too oblivious to see because you're all lovey-dovey with Hezā."

"Because she's my girlfriend, Y/n. What do you expect me to do, push her away? Of course I'm not going to do that. I really like her, Y/n. Weren't you the one that said I should focus on my relationship with her than my relationship with you."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean completely forget I live with you," I said. I was almost yelling at this point. "When you two were fucking last night I—"

I stopped myself from saying anything else, not wanting to expose myself further.

I let out an exasperated breath, running a hand down my face. "Just leave me alone."

I walked back to my room, grabbing my guitar and leaving the penthouse. I'm just so done with people's shit today, and it's not even ten in the morning.

Jesus, I just need a break from life. Like death without dying. Is that possible?