"I'm ready." He said, at once to his opponent and himself.
Todoroki met the call, raising one of arm and waving it across his body to put out the flames in the fire pits behind him.
"No." He said, doing the same and stepping into the arena as the humming of the crowds intensified to screeches of anticipation. "You aren't."
***
Everything was so loud again.
And now you didn't have the convenience of relying on your earpieces.
Your quirk obeyed now, more than before, but the anxiety had to be let out somehow and tapping your foot a million times a minute was the only way to do that.
Everyone else in the class was fairly relaxed, each of them waiting for the match to start below, some of them even conversing with each other like Sero and Kaminari.
You couldn't do that right now.
You were too embarrassed from earlier anyways, so foot tapping and hyper-focusing it was.
Of course, the constant vibrations and clicky-clacking wasn't exactly relaxing for anyone else around you.
On your left, Bakugo sat without so much as a shaking finger; arms crossed, leaned back, his focus lazily kept on what was going on below.
However, every thirty seconds or so his eyes would drift to the side.
The sadness he'd witnessed in you was still there, back-cast by stress.
You were still lost in yourself, everything building up, the energy let loose in those fricken annoying movements you kept repeating.
He was patient with you the first few minutes because hey, you killed your parents when you were five, had your trauma unwillingly told to two of your classmates, as well as been cast aside and told your only purpose in life was null in void, but now- god damn it couldn't you just calm down?
Without warning, Bakugo reached over and grabbed your knee.
He pushed it down, gripping it just firmly enough to stop the tapping, but not enough to hurt you.
The force of his hand caused you to stumble forward a bit in your chair, your focus temporarily broken from the scene down in the arena.
"Sorry." You mumbled, shifting back again and tucking loose strands of hair behind your ear.
Bakugo didn't let go.
You hadn't spoken to each other yet.
All he'd done was give you room, let you sit by him, but there was still some uncertain air.
Just as you were about to look away again, he tightened his grip a bit, demanding you keep your attention on him.
"What did I tell you about apologizing?" He asked, his voice quieter than usual, but still with a connotation of his usual impatience.
You blinked, still a bit distracted by your own thoughts.
"I don't know," You shrugged, holding his eye-contact. "Something about not letting me take notes I think."
Making his 'tch' sound, Bakugo let go of your knee and crossed his arms even harder than before.
Once he was looking away and at the match, you subtly tried to mimic his posture, sit like him, cross your arms, focus calmly rather than with fidgeting.
He noticed, looking you up and down as he did.
Maybe it was a subconscious effort.
Sitting like that.
Maybe you thought if you somehow acted the same, he could lend some of his strength.
But you were still shaking slightly.
You were still scared about what was about to happen.
"So," Bakugo said, louder now. "Are you back?"
