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the smell of stale beer and cheap cologne still clung to y/n's jacket as she stepped into her dorm room the next morning. tossing it onto the back of her chair, she flopped onto her bed, replaying the events of last night in her head.
it wasn't as if she'd expected much. parties weren't really her thing, and she'd made that clear to mina before they'd even stepped out the door. yet somehow, the entire night had ended up revolving around one unexpected conversation with a certain blonde frat guy who couldn't seem to decide if he wanted to be aloof or slightly tolerable.
her phone buzzed against the nightstand, pulling her out of her thoughts. she grabbed it, already knowing who it would be.
mina's texts were blowing up her phone, relentless and full of exclamation marks. did you talk to him? how was Bakugo? was he nice? come on, spill the tea!
y/n groaned, grabbing a pillow and shoving it over her face to muffle the inevitable scream of frustration. nice? nice wasn't exactly the word she'd use to describe bakugo. standoffish, blunt, and maybe just a little mysterious? sure. nice? not so much.
she reached for her phone again, staring at mina's texts. a part of her wanted to leave her on read just to be petty, but she knew mina would eventually show up at her door demanding details if she didn't answer.
before she could type a response, her fingers hesitated, and out of pure habit, she opened instagram. the usual flood of filtered posts and selfies greeted her, but one notification at the top of the screen caught her attention.
@katsuki.bakugo requested to follow you.
her lips twitched into a small, knowing smile as she saw the notification. well, it wasn't exactly a surprise—she'd typed her Instagram into his phone, after all—but something about seeing his name pop up still made her pause.
mina's texts were momentarily forgotten as she tapped on his profile. the username was just as nonchalant as the guy himself, with no bio and a scattered collection of posts. most were candid snapshots of random things—sunsets, food, and the occasional group shots where he seemed perpetually annoyed to be in the frame.
her finger hovered over the notification, her smirk growing wider. "took you long enough," she murmured, hitting accept without hesitation.
as her phone chimed softly to confirm the new connection, she leaned back against her headboard, wondering just how long it would take for him to message her—if he even had the guts to. "let's see what you've got, bakugo."
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bakugo woke up to the faint hum of his phone vibrating against his nightstand. squinting against the early morning sunlight streaming through his blinds, he reached for it and frowned at the messages flooding in from kirishima. so? what'd you think of her? don't pretend you didn't notice her, man. come on, bro, i know you asked for her insta.
"idiot," bakugo muttered, tossing the phone onto the mattress. why was everyone so damn nosy?
he leaned back against the headboard, running a hand through his messy hair as last night replayed in his mind. he hadn't planned to ask for her instagram—it just slipped out. something about the way she'd looked at him, unbothered by his attitude and completely willing to call him out, stuck in his head. she wasn't trying to impress him, wasn't trying to sugarcoat anything, and that confidence had caught him off guard.
reaching for his phone again, he opened instagram and scrolled to his notifications. there it was: the notification confirming she'd accepted his request. he hesitated, thumb hovering over her profile. clicking on it felt too deliberate, like it'd mean something he wasn't ready to acknowledge.
"tch," he muttered under his breath, closing the app and tossing his phone onto the nightstand again.
shoving himself out of bed, he padded toward the small kitchenette, grabbing a protein bar and a water bottle. he wasn't about to sit around overthinking something so stupid. yet, as he leaned against the counter, taking a bite of the bar, her face popped back into his mind—sharp eyes, confident smirk, and that maddening curiosity that made him feel like she saw more of him than he wanted to show.
bakugo groaned, rubbing the back of his neck in frustration. "why the hell does this even matter?" he muttered, grabbing his phone again. he stared at her profile for a moment before locking the screen and heading toward the shower.
whatever this was, he wasn't about to let it distract him. or at least, that's what he told himself.
