Losing Streak [[Shigaraki x Reader College AU]]

2: A Foggy Night at the Pub

You texted Shigaraki before practice started to confirm that the two of you were still meeting, but he left you on read. You sent two more from the locker room, but those didn't even get opened. Once you'd showered and changed you decided to just head to the library anyway. Even if he didn't show up, you could use the time to do other work.

When you stepped into the lobby you saw a familiar shock of blue hair. Shigaraki was leaned back in one of the lounge chairs with his bag at his feet. He was on his phone, probably playing another game. He didn't seem to notice you approaching him. Even once you were standing in front of him, he still didn't look up.

You kicked his foot. "Shigaraki."

"I see you," he mumbled, not looking up from his game.

You pinched the bridge of your nose. You couldn't wait to be done with this stupid project so you'd never have to talk to him again.

A little retro jingle sounded from his phone. You figured it meant he'd won or something. A wide smile spread across his face. You hadn't noticed before how rough and chapped his lips were.

"Done?" You asked, barely hiding your impatience from your tone.

"Yeah," he said, grabbing his bag and pocketing his phone as he stood. "American lit is on the second floor. We could grab a table to work at up there."

"Sounds good."

You let him lead the way up the stairwell to the second floor. The American lit section was tucked in the back corner. You grabbed a few of Poe's collections and brought them to a nearby table. The two of you split up his works, deciding who would do slides on what. You jumped at pieces like Nevermore and Annabel Lee while Shigaraki wanted The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado. You couldn't help but think how fitting his choices seemed given what Akiko had said about him.

By eight o'clock, you had a few solid slides prepared on Poe's background and some of his works. You figured it was a good enough start, so you decided to call it a night. Shigaraki wasn't opposed to ending so soon.

You put the books on the return cart and agreed to meet again that weekend before leaving the library. You started walking in the direction of your apartment, but you couldn't help but notice that Shigaraki had started going the same way. You stopped. So did he.

"What are you doing?"

He looked at you like you were an idiot. "I'm heading back to my apartment. What the hell are you doing?"

"The same."

"Why'd you stop?"

"I thought. . . nothing, forget it." You hurried ahead of him. You didn't want to walk with him just because you happened to be going in the same direction. You didn't want him to get the wrong idea.

Your apartment was on the other side of campus, so you had to cut through the bustling center of the university to get to it. Shigaraki stayed about ten feet behind you the whole time.

As you were passing by the campus pub, you heard music and looked inside. Through the glass, you could see your crush sitting at a microphone, playing guitar. You had no idea he was a musician. There was a sign on the door advertising an open mic night. You hesitated for a moment, considering going in to watch.

"You okay?" Shigaraki asked as he came up beside you.

"Oh, I—I was just thinking about popping in for the music."

"Into the pub? After dark? By yourself?" He shook his head. "Do you have any survival skills?"

You rolled your eyes. "I'll be fine."