Chapter Text
Truth be told, Shouto is fucking lonely. He has friends and people like him. But he's not hanging out with anyone after school, he's going to his room alone with nothing to do, and maybe the isolation got into his head too much. But who can blame him? Humans can't survive all on their own forever.
It’s strange not being close with anyone, but knowing so many people. It’s odd seeing everyone just click. Shouto knows he’s quiet, he knows he’s strange, he knows he’s not like everyone else, but it can't be that bad?
And getting upset every time you open social media, staring at all your friends posting pictures from only a few halls down having fun without you really gets tiring. So when Shouto’s offered a solution, of course he’ll take it!
He’s only 15, and his dad is forcing him to attend a party for networking that he’ll never need. He’s alone at first, until he’s not. Until he’s huddled up in a bathroom stall and everyone's giggling at his first hit from a vape. But they aren't making him feel embarrassed, and no one’s given up on teaching him, no one's leaving him in the background. They’re all complaining about their parents, about school, about their friends. Everyone's spilling their feelings with no fear, and Shouto doesn't hear an ounce of judgment from anyone. So he talks too. And he giggles too. And he kind of feels normal again, like when he was a kid. And he’s never felt himself belong so much.
So when he goes back to school the next day, he’s off-put by the isolation. The excitement from the day before doesn’t leave, and it causes him to struggle to keep everything to himself. He wants to run up to someone, anyone, and tell them that he is normal. But he doesn’t, and for the next week, everything's the same, until he feels like he can't do this again.
It’s not hard for Shouto to get his hands on a vape, or to get the money. He knows plenty of people who are above legal age from all his dad’s past parties. All he had to do was ask the right person. It is hard to find someone in UA to do it with. And for a few weeks no one knows. He finds going to the bathroom for most of lunch to scroll on his phone with his new strawberry banana vape is better than sitting with a group of people who barely even look at him anyways, people who leave him in the background.
No one finds out until Shouto’s stopped by Sero in a bathroom at the end of the day to ask ‘what's the big thing in your pocket?” Shouto’s immediate response is his phone, but he feels a smile start to form on his face as Sero’s eyes lock onto his phone in his left hand. He’s relieved when he hears laughter, and he's overjoyed when Sero tells him to go near the stalls. And he thinks he might go crazy from the happiness when Sero’s friends tell him to hurry up and the black-haired boy responds, “Just go on without me.”
And when Sero pulls out two things, he recognizes one as a vape, and his context clues tell him the others a weed pen. He remembers the stall at the party when someone pulled out theirs, and everyone squealed in excitement. He remembers watching everyone huff on them stronger than their vape, like they're trying to get all that they can, like it's that good. He remembers them telling him they wouldn't let him use it, saying they needed it to be quiet and alone for his first time.
So when he sees Sero’s hand holding the cart towards him with his eyebrows raised, he’s flattered that he’d even offer. But he doesn’t say yes. He remembers watching people cough, despite it not being their first time, and he doesn’t want to embarrass himself. So he says he coughs too loudly for him to do it at school. He wouldn't know that, because hes never done it. But he doesn't what Sero to know he's never done it yet.. But Sero just smiles, “What? Have you not tried vaping as a chaser? You won't cough at all, just use it right after.” And that convinces Shouto a little too fast. And as he inhales from the cart, he can smell the weed, it's skunky. He can't taste it yet, and he's not sure if anything's coming out until he inhales and the coughing hits. He tries to hold it and instantly brings his vape to his mouth. He expects it to completely stop his coughing, but it only calms it down for a bit. He hears Sero laugh as he tries not to gag. “Yeahh the flavor is real gross, but it hits good.” But Shouto feels like the cough is never-ending. He can't understand why anyone would do it, the taste is nauseating, and he was sure he was gonna die for a good minute.
When Sero hands him the cart again and tells him he can do more, Shouto lights up, he mustn't have embarrassed himself that badly if Sero’s offering more. He doesn’t feel anything for a bit, but he remembers how everyone in the stall from the party told him about the embarrassing stuff they’ve done while high to scare him out of it, and Sero’s so cool, Shouto thinks, so he tells him he has to go and gets out of the bathroom as fast as he can before he can embarrass himself. As he walks towards his dorms, he feels his lips curling into a smile, and suddenly, he can't stop smiling, and Shouto feels better than ever.