𝔢𝔩𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫

word count: 1565

Midoriya POV

A few days later...

Since the sports festival, I feel like my life is slowly falling apart at the edges, fraying like a scrap of fabric. Aizawa-sensei mercifully gave us a couple of days off to recover, but now we've returned to school. My mind constantly wanders during class, and I catch myself staring at the back of Kacchan's head. He hasn't spoken a single word to me.

On the other hand, Todoroki-kun is perpetually around me. He sits next to me at lunch and often comes up to me before and after class, making small talk. Honestly, I appreciate it, for him not making everything awkward after my turning him down.

Aizawa hands a leaflet to each student. "Make sure you get a guardian to sign this so you can come on the summer camp trip. There's also a list of what to pack, so make sure to bring everything because if you forget stuff it's not my problem."

I grip the paper in my hand. A summer camp... that sounds fun.

"Yaaaaayy! Summer camp with our friends!" Mina squeals, throwing her arm around Yuga.

"Oui, je suis tout excité!" Yuga agrees with his best friend enthusiastically.

"English, please, kero," Tsuyu pleads.

"He is very excited," Iida translates.

Momo, holding Jirou's hand, squeals. "We should go shopping together as a class!"

"Yeah!" Uraraka gives a thumbs up. "Let's go after school today!"

"Okay!"

"Enough talking," Aizawa says tiredly. "We still have to get through twenty minutes of class."

I turn my attention back to the whiteboard. Or I try to. Either way, the remainder of the class was filled with excited whispers of eager students.

"All right, time to go home," Aizawa sighs.

Mina leaps up onto her desk, hands planted on her hips.

"You are disrespecting school pr—"

"Okay, whatever! We're going to the mall as a class to buy stuff for our trip," Mina announces. "You can't say no — looking at you, Bakugo — so let's go, go, go!"

"Yay!" most of the class cheers.

"Hmmph," Bakugo grunts.

We flock out of UA's gates and make the short walk to the mall, which is just ten minutes from the school. Standing in the main area of the mall, the class splits up into groups to shop for what they need.

Todoroki comes up to me. "What camp supplies do you need, Midoriya-kun?"

"O-oh, probably..." I shuffle through the paper, scanning the packing list. "Some bug spray."

"Really? I also need bug spray. Let's get it together, then?"

"Um, okay..."

"Camping store?" Kacchan demands, appearing behind Todoroki and I. "I've gotta get some stuff there, too."

"Let's go, then," I make an attempt at a fist-pump in the air.

"Huhh? Me too!" Kaminari joins us.

"Well, hurry up, Dunce-face," Kacchan snaps, grabbing Kaminari by his shirt collar and dragging him as the rest of us walk to the camping store.

I wander over to the section of medical concoctions and bug repellent. Todoroki follows me.

Selecting a small spray can off the shelf, I flip it over to read the label. Not that I need to, but just for something to do...

Todoroki picks a bottle and we walk over to pay together.

"Where have they gone now?" I muse. I can't see Kacchan and Kaminari.

"Why don't we wait out the front of the store, and we'll see when they come out of the shop?" Todoroki suggests.

"Sure."

We walk out of the store and take a seat on the provided bench.

... god this is awkward, I think. What do I say? "Um, I don't think I congratulated your second place at the festival!"

"Oh, thank you."

Just then, I see Kacchan emerge from the store. I'm about to wave him over, but Todoroki suddenly drapes his arm over my shoulder and leans against me slightly, surprising me so that I make a choking noise.

Kacchan's face creases angrily as he stomps over to us. "Get the fuck up, we lost Dunce-face."

I stand up, untangling myself from Todoroki's arm. "What? How?"

"He wandered off following some damn purple-haired extra!" Kacchan snaps.

Todoroki sighs and rubs his brow. "Let's split up to look for him. I'll—"

Kacchan immediately grabs me by the arm. "Deku and I will go to the food court."

"Waa— acchan!" I protest as he drags me away from Todoroki.

"Walk by yourself, damn nerd, I don't wanna fucking drag you!"

I pull myself away from his grip. "You're the one who grabbed me!"

"Yeah, whatever!" he yells at me, earning us a few stares from passers-by.

"K-kacchan," I start. I'm practically skipping after him to keep up with his large steps. "We... we need to talk about what happened at the sports festival."

He doesn't break his stride. "I'm fucking sorry, okay?! I didn't know you and Icyhot were a damn thing!"

I stop in surprise. "W-what?"

"Keep walking, shitty Deku!" he thunders.

I run over to catch up with him. He think's Todoroki-kun and I are dating? It must have been because he...

"Ka...cchan," I pant slightly, grabbing his shoulder to stop him from walking away. "We're not... dating."

He glances at me quickly, and I see his cheeks are dusted pink. Then he turns his head away and grunts. "That's not what he fucking said!"

"W-what did he say?" I bite my lip.

"He said that you were his damn boyfriend, alright?! I get it, okay! I was... I was wrong... to kiss you." He swipes at his eyes furiously with the back of his hand.

"K-kac—"

"Drop it, nerd! Let's just go find stupid Pikachu."

I trail after him, staying silent on the outside, but my head is screaming with a jumble of thoughts. Why would Todoroki say that to him? Why? Kacchan wasn't wrong to kiss me... I wanted him to.

We step into the food court and survey the area quickly.

"There," I point to where Kaminari is sitting at a two-seater with another boy.

"Hmmph," Kacchan stomps over to retrieve our friend. I scamper after him.

"Think it's fucking funny to leave us to look for you, huh, Dunce-face?!" Kacchan plants a hand on Denki's shoulder.

"Hey, Bakubaku!" Denki replies, unfazed.

"Get up, damn idiot, and stop flirting with random strangers!"

I cut in, "Kacchan, don't yell at him." I turn to the other boy, who is watching the scene play out infront of him with a bored face. "Sorry about him..." I suddenly recognise him from the sports festival. "Shinso, right?!"

"Yeah, that's me. It's okay. Kaminari and I were getting to know each other," he offers a small smile at Kaminari.

Kacchan drags Kaminari out of the chair. "We're fucking going."

"Wahhh, Bakugo! You're not my dad!" Kaminari protests. "Shinsoooo, don't let him take me!"

Shinso's mouth twitches in a smirk. "We can catch up later; I gave you my number."

"Awww!" Kaminari sighs. "Byeee..."

Kacchan storms off, dragging Kaminari, with me following in the rear. "We're getting back to meet with the others," he snaps.

"You're so angry, Bakubaby!" Kaminari whines.

"SHUT UP!" Kacchan shouts.

I laugh at Kaminari's nickname for him, but when I see Kacchan's thunderous expression, I turn it into a cough.

We return to the main area of the mall, where our other classmates have assembled to return to their homes.

Todoroki's eyes light upon me, and he ventures over. "Midori—"

I cut him off. "Todoroki, we need to talk. Can we meet by the lockers after school tomorrow?"

—

I've chosen to confront Todoroki, even though a part of me just wanted to back down and leave it alone. But I have to clear this up... then, maybe Kacchan...

"Midoriya," Todoroki walks up to where I stand next to the boys' lockers and gives me a little smile.

"Todoroki..." I take a deep breath. "Did you tell Kacchan that we are dating?"

The smile drops off his lips and he falters. "I—"

"Please tell me the truth," I ask quietly. I desperately want it to be a mistake, because I do like Todoroki, as a friend, and I don't want to ruin any of my relationships with any classmates.

"I did," he says simply.

"Why?"

"Because he's not worthy of you."

I know that Todoroki thinks that he's right, but I believe that Kacchan is a good person, deep down in his heart. "I don't want to be mad at you," I whisper, "but you shouldn't have said that. It's... it's the equivalent of spreading rumours."

He doesn't meet my eyes. "I didn't think of it that way, Midoriya. I'm sorry."

"I forgive you," I say, because I don't want things to be awkward between us.

"But," he adds, "I'm going to try to show you who I am, because I want you to like me. I'll show you who I can be, so that you think I'm worthy of being your boyfriend."

Honestly, I admire that about him. "Thank you," I respond.

As I walk away, I'm a little numb from surprise. I really need to sort this out... I need to talk to someone about this... someone who I can trust. I pull out my phone and type a text.

i need some advice. can u help me?

sure. you can come to my house for dinner.