Something Further than the Universe

Chapter XIX ~ A Beautiful Disaster

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Mina tried on her whole closet before deciding what would be her cutest outfit to date.

Well, her cutest cute-casual outfit to date, the cutest she could create. She could, and had, come up with better.

A sweater shredded at the seams, multicolored stripes, all of her favorite pastels, and a pretty pair of blue ripped jeans. Just at the knees, though, as she couldn't let herself get too cold.

She finished the look off with a couple of cute accessories—a heart necklace and some hoop earrings—her wallet, and a pair of thigh-high boots resting not too high, but just above the knees. The coffee color tied it all in, created this colorful blend.

At 12:30 p.m., she headed downstairs.

She was careful not to draw too much attention to herself—to neither her nor Izuku. They decided they'd rendezvous wherever everyone else was not, just to be safe. Sadly, this happened to be the courtyard, still icy cold from the winter weather.

She waved when she saw him, standing there on the sidewalk. He'd gone and gotten himself dolled up, which for some reason got her all giddy. Deep black jeans, a white t-shirt with embroidery of some kind she couldn't really read, and a black-and-red-patterned flannel left completely unbuttoned—but it was okay, because he looked good that way. In fact, he looked good every way.

But she did think if he buttoned it up he'd look a bit more posh, a bit nervous, a bit more uptight.

And that was certainly the last thing she wanted. She wanted this to go smoothly. She wanted them to be comfortable around each other, like a couple not dating for days, but for weeks, months, maybe even years.

After a quick hello, they headed sneakily back through the dorms and out the main entrance. They were lucky to have not caused a scene.

"So, where do you wanna go? I was thinking we should wait until now, since, you know, it'd make things a little more natural," Mina suddenly started.

"Well, um, I know the guy is kinda supposed to think of this stuff, so why don't we just take a train into Musutafu first—if that's what you wanna do—and see what's around. Maybe a movie. Maybe dinner. Whatever you want," he said. And as he walked, right in the middle of his talk, he grabbed her hand, swinging it back and forth just slightly like sitting on a seesaw. She swooned as soon as he did so.

"Okay," she said, her heart still jumping out of her chest. "I wanna do karaoke! I suck at singing, but it always brings back good memories. I haven't been in forever."

She added on, waving her hands frantically in front of her face. "But only if you want to!"

Izuku laughed. "No, no. Don't worry. I want to. I haven't been in a while, either. Although, for me, at least, it doesn't exactly bring back the happiest of memories, as I never really went in middle school. I've only ever gone this year. And it was once."

That's right!" Mina quipped. "You were a loner back in middle school, right? Back before I knew you. I totally forgot."

Izuku blushed bright red. "A-Ah, who told you that?"

"Bakugo, I think. But then again, he's irrelevant. Apparently wasn't wrong, though," she said, staring straight at him, humiliation written all over his face. Both were very aware that she'd caught him red-handed.

"I-I guess he wasn't," Izuku admitted, explicitly stating it outright, opening up to her and rubbing the nape of his neck. He let go of Mina for just a second, palms growing sweaty, before once again holding her hand. He couldn't leave her for too long. Who knew what she'd do if he let her roam free, left her to her own devices? Mina could be kooky sometimes.