𝟏𝟑𝟏𝟐 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨 𝐭.

𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞

Talking with Todoroki hadn't ended up being all that bad as he made really good points and actually heard me out instead of just claiming over and over again that he was right.

Along with being one of the cutest and capable teens in our class, he was also one of the most well-rounded and respectful- abuse does a good job of that-

So, when I'd gotten out of class late that next day and walked through the hallways and down the stairs to the tune of raining falling outside again, I smiled lightly wondering if Todoroki had waited for me. Probably not as he didn't seem like he would- the only people he considered friends in the class were Izuku and his friends and Bakugo for some reason.

I, on the other hand, more or less hung out with Momo and Mina, though the entire class was entirely close-knit together. We were all friends, though we did have our designated lunch groups. I did enjoy a good lunch session with Tokoyami.

Stepping outside of the building and under the cover that kept me from the pouring rain, I paused and looked up, as if the sky would stop on command. I still didn't have an umbrella, so I just sighed and went to go sit down on the concrete steps again, wondering how long it would take for this rain to let up.

"What are you doing?" I jolted in surprise before turning around to see Todoroki standing behind me, an open umbrella already over his head. His head was tilted as he stared down at me with a confused look, gesturing me to stand with his head as he took a step backwards.

Grunting, I did so and then stared at him with the same look he'd just been giving me as he walked past me and stopped at the last step, turning around to look at me. "Are you coming?" My mind clearing, I nodded quickly and stumbled down the stairs, falling into step beside him as we were quickly immersed in the sounds of the rain around and above us, the plastic of the umbrella amplifying the noise.

Once again, after a few seconds, I found myself extremely bored of just walking and reached into my bag, pulling out the case for my Airpods. This time, I pulled out the right one and held the case out to the teen beside me, who only hesitated for a second before taking the other one. Snapping the lid shut and tossing it back into my bag, I quickly scrolled through a song that would satisfy my songly desires and pressed the title when I finally found it.

"This ain't for the best; my reputation's never been worst, so, you must like me for me..."

Again, an absolute banger by Taylor Swift that I nodded and hummed along with, doing her absolutely ridiculous dance moves the best I could, even as Todoroki not-so-subtly sped up as to get away from me.

Honestly, for Miss Taylor, I would've let myself get caught in the rain. It would've brought me closer to her just like in the music video. Except the splits would've been a total fail, so I didn't even try it.

Instead, I just threw myself up the steps as we came up to the dorm building and dramatically posed as Todoroki shook his head, gently taking the Airpod from his ear and handing it to me.

"That was a very nice song." He said suddenly as he set the umbrella down and opened the door for me. I gasped dramatically.

"You appreciated the song? Yes! No one ever does so that's amazing- in my humble opinion Delicate is one of her best songs and everyone else can shut the hell up otherwise."

He coughed suddenly, hunching over himself and I patted his back as I walked into the warm building, wondering if he was getting sick.

Oh, well. Better to stay away from him if he was.

++++++++++

He found me later, sitting on the floor behind the couch with my back to the sofa as I waited for Uraraka and Tsuyu to finish making dinner. It's not like I was hiding or anything, though. Anyone walking by could see me, but I was a little surprised when he walked past me three times and only said hi the fourth time, hovering awkwardly in front of me.

"Todoroki, please sit down or something- you're freaking me out." He knelt down in front of me and reached for my face, pressing his warm side to my forehead, squinting at me as he ran his eyes over my face. I just stared at him with a blank look on my face, wondering what the hell he was doing.

"Do you need some air? Are you having a panic attack- should I call Iida?" Oh, right. Every day I forgot how dense he was, and every day he reminded me.

"Todoroki," He paused and pulled his hand away, tilting his head as he leaned back, "I'm fine. I just meant that you don't need to hover around me; if you wanna talk, just sit down and open your mouth, dude." I laughed slightly and nudged him with my foot as he nodded and sat down cross-legged, sucking his lips into his mouth as he seemed to struggle with something that was frustrating him.

"The song. I-it was very nice, but also very confusing. I don't know how to interpret it- what did she mean in the lyrics? Maybe it's because I don't know very much about her, but since you do, you can tell me."

"You are really into this music thing, huh?" I deadpanned and he avoided my gaze. Hmm.

"Okay, well, the song is kinda referencing to the early Taylor- back when she wrote songs about how scared she was of love because there was something wrong with her. People see her as a woman that jumps from man to man and she acknowledges that, but in the song she's like because of that reputation I have, you have to like me because no one else does. Basically it's her wanting to be obsessed with this person already, but her being worried because she's scared she's rushing things and the other person doesn't feel the same." I gave him a simple summary and he looked at me with his head tilted and mouth pursed.

"Can we listen to it again?" I smiled sweetly and let out a "yeah" as I reached for my Airpods. Gently, he took the case from me and pulled them out, handing me one as I searched the video online.

"Here, I put on the slowed down version so you'd be able to hear the lyrics better." He gave me a slight- almost invisible- smile and put in the earbud.

And there we sat for another few minutes, listening to the song and talking about it like we were in a music discussion class.

I really need more friends.