𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 (𝗏𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖺𝗂𝗇! 𝗍𝗈𝖽𝗈𝖽𝖾𝗄𝗎)

chapter fourteen

deku

Something is wrong.

I was sitting on the couch next to Uraraka, who was casually playing on her phone. On the couch next to us, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Ashido were all sleeping peacefully, snuggled up like the best friends they were. Sero and Jiro were sitting at the table, having woken up before their friends. Bakugou was probably sleeping in his room. Their movie night had gone on much later than expected.

All of those things were normal, though. What struck me as strange was the irritation I felt—or the lack thereof. Considering I had been in the common area with those wannabe heroes for the past hour, it was surprising that I wasn't longing to escape back to my room yet.

I reminded myself that it was only ten in the morning. Most of the students were still asleep, and those who were awake were quiet for the three sleeping on the couch.

Next to me, Uraraka stirred and put her phone down. She stretched her arms out, then turned to me. "Kirishima mentioned that you didn't find a jacket you liked," she said quietly, stifling a yawn.

Slightly confused as to why she was mentioning it, I just said, "Yeah."

"Do you want to go to the mall tomorrow to get one? We can even make it a group thing," she suggested. "I know Tsu and Kirishima wanted to check out a new store. Todoroki can come too."

"Oh, sure. That would be great."

"Okay! It's a plan," Uraraka answered, smiling before returning to her phone.

I absorbed the quiet as we fell silent again. Apart from the click of Uraraka's phone screen and the loud snores coming from Kirishima, there was barely any noise in the room. Outside, the wind howled, rustling the trees and banging against the windows.

The barely-audible sound of soft footsteps came from the staircase and I looked toward it. Todoroki walked down the stairs, dressed in a basic grey shirt, a jacket, and jeans.

For a reason unbeknownst to me, I smiled at the sight of him. His slightly ruffled hair, his heterochromatic eyes, just his presence sent a small burst of glee through me.

I shook the brief happiness away. He's a hero, I reminded myself as I stood up.

"Good morning, Shoto," I said, giving him a quick kiss. As much as I didn't want to, appearances came first.

He smiled softly. "Good morning." Todoroki slipped his hands into mine. "What do you want to do today?"

"I don't know," I answered truthfully.

"Do you want to go for a walk outside?"

"That sounds fun."

Five minutes later, we were outside, walking across the school grounds as the wind rushed past us.

"There must be a storm blowing in," I stated, rubbing my bare arms in a feeble attempt to warm them up. Being jacket-less had its disadvantages, of course.

"Do you want my coat?" Todoroki asked, taking it off without waiting for an answer.

"Won't you be cold?"

He put the blue coat around my shoulders. "No, I'll be fine." Todoroki made a small flame in his left hand to prove his point.

"Thank you," I said, pulling the jacket tighter around myself. The sweet smell of cinnamon and smoke filled my nose as I held onto the garment, so I took a moment to enjoy it.

We continued walking. The howling wind overpowered our voices, so we stayed quiet, simply wallowing in each other's company.

After a few minutes of the quiet, Todoroki's hand brushed against mine ever-so-gently, and I wrapped my pinky finger around his. Even though it was a small movement, I smiled to myself at how cute it was.