So, what're you doin' over here all by your lonesome? You're too pretty to be a wallflower.
*
By some miracle or unknown force of nature, Ren's car made it back to the UA parking lot before the engine completely shut down. The car seemed to half collapse on its own suspension and sink low like a deflated bouncy castle.
"You park like shit." Bakugo mumbled when she'd half pulled into a spot.
"The engine's stopped, asshole." She muttered back. "Add it to my list of things I'm gonna regret helping you for later."
The three of the hoped out, the doors squeaking and scraping as they opened and closed them and for the first time Ren actually took a moment to observe the damage. The car looked just about as bad as her dress did; peppered with holes, scrapes and pieces missing. Night had fallen and they could hear the bass of the music playing from the school gym in the cold night air. There was a light layer of snow covering the trees and paths, illuminated softly by the lamps and lights.
"Can't believe I totalled my phone." Midoriya mumbled as he looked it over again. It had been in his jacket pocket, destroyed along with the garment.
"You better get to the gym fast, Midoriya." Ren said to him. "Ochaco's probably been freaking out that she can't get hold of you. I'm gonna see if I've got something else to wear... I'll see you guys later." She waved them off before she made a dash for the dorms, leaving a trail of hastened footprints in the snow.
Midoriya and Bakugo headed in the direction of the gym, all the while both awkwardly trying to fix their appearance. Bakugo looked completely fine aside from his hair returning to its usual messy and uncontrollable state. He ran his hands through his hair repetitively so it would smooth back down but every time he did it would just puff back into place like his hair was as defiant to instruction as he was.
Midoriya retightened his slightly tattered tie and tried to mould the broken pieces of jacket back into place, only to have them flop back out or fall off. He thought maybe at this point he'd be better off having no jacket, and pulled his tattered used-to-be-a-jacket from his shoulders. Sadly, his shirt wasn't in any better condition.
"Ren was right, why'd I have to pick today of all days to be a hero?" He mumbled sadly. "Uraraka's going to hate me for this, I'm already late..."
Bakugo stared at him, an irritated furrowed brow etched onto his face. Why's he gotta look so fucking pitiful?!
"Dammit, Deku!" Bakugo barked at him before he pulled his own jacket off. "You're lucky you copy me so much!" He thrust the jacket against Midoriya's chest.
"B-But Kacchan-!"
"Shut it. Just take the damn thing!" He muttered as he loosened his tie. "I fucking hate these things anyway."
Midoriya smiled softly and nodded once before he slipped into the garment. Bakugo's jacket was a little ill fitting but it worked well enough to cover the mess that was his shirt. Bakugo thrust the tie into his grasp next and helped him retighten it once it was around his neck.
"T-that's- too tight- Kacchan!" Midoriya croaked as he felt his windpipe begin to collapse on itself.
"Oops." Bakugo muttered sarcastically before he straightened Midoriya's jacket and brushed out the shoulders. "You can't even tell you spent your afternoon balancing on the roof of a moving vehicle."
"Thanks, Kacchan." Midoriya gave him another soft smile and little nod.
"Whatever." He mumbled back before he unbuttoned his top two buttons and rolled up his sleeves.
"Ochaco, it's freezing out here. Wouldn't you rather wait for Midoriya inside?" Tsu asked Uraraka from the safety of the warm gym.
"No thanks, Tsu!" Uraraka called back to her. She put on a brave face but she was freezing in her dress out in the snow. Midoriya had been late to their agreed plan of walking from the dorms together to the gym but when he didn't answer his phone she thought something important must've come up. Still, she kept her hopes high and chose to wait for him outside while the rest of her friends went in. Most of the grade were already there and she assumed Ren's absence was probably due to her work study running overtime.
"Are you sure he's still coming?" Tsu held a finger to her chin.
"He'll be here! I know he will!" Uraraka clenched her fists and furrowed her brow in an attempt to reassure herself. Her pure faith in Midoriya's paid off when she spied him coming down the snowy path with Bakugo walking next to him. "There he is!"
Now that he was here, a whole new set of nerves hit Uraraka. How were they supposed to act? What would she say to him? Was she meant to hold his hand? Was she supposed to be mad at him for being so late?! Would they-
"H-Hey Uraraka!" Midoriya stopped in front of her and waved awkwardly. "I, I'm so sorry I'm late. I kinda got held up by a traffic incident on the way here." He chuckled uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his head.
Bakugo quirked a brow at the two of them.
"That's okay, Deku!" Uraraka laughed awkwardly too. "I'm just glad you're here!"
It took a moment of awkward and strange hesitations and jittering before they decided to walk inside together.
"Ah- Ochaco..." Midoriya began.
"Y-Yes, Izuku..." She said quietly.
"You look really pretty!" He blurted out and they instantly both turned a bright shade of red.
Bakugo rolled his eyes as he followed behind them quietly with his hands deeply shoved into his pockets. Fuck me, they're both so awkward it's nauseating. Midoriya and Uraraka walked past Aizawa at the entrance first, Midoriya giving their teacher the same excuse as to why he was a little late.
"Hang on, Bakugo." Aizawa held his arm up to stop him when he tried to enter without sparing him a glance. "I don't think I can let you in, that doesn't comply with the dress code." He gestured to Bakugo's half put together look.
"Listen, teach." Bakugo rested a hand on Aizawa's shoulder, who immediately gave him a quizzical look. "You're gonna get a call later from the Endeavour Agency and probably the police too. And when you do, you're gonna be annoyed at me. So can you save this irritation for then so I can go have some fun before you bite my ass later?"
Aizawa stared at him blankly. "On one condition..."
"Name it."
"Don't touch me again." Aizawa muttered darkly.
"You got it." Bakugo snapped his hand away and shoved it back into his pocket. The gym had been transformed into an almost unrecognisable event hall. There were balloons and streamers covering the roof, decorations and garlands plastered over the walls and colour-changing lights timed to the repetitive dance music added to the atmosphere.
Bakugo glanced around at the crowd of his grade filling the space. The dance floor was packed with ridiculous moves while the sides of the gym housed groups of laughing, chatting teens in their rainbow of dresses and suits. His eyes kept searching until he saw Kirishima's spiky red hair poking out of the crowd on the upper left side of the gym. He growled and barked at anyone who bumped into him or got in his way as he made the journey to his best friend.
"Bakubro! There you are!" Kirishima waved him over to where he stood with Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu from class 2B. Kirishima slapped Bakugo's shoulder as soon as he got to him. "Where's your suit, man?"
"Fucking Deku's wearing it!" Bakugo grumbled back.
"Uh..." Kirishima scanned the crowd but he couldn't see their messy green haired classmate. "Why?"
"Long story." Bakugo groaned as he scanned the room again. "Where's the drinks? I'm dying."
"On that side, I'm come with ya!" Kirishima pushed his hands onto both of Bakugo's shoulders and used him as a battering ram to get through the crowd more quickly. As they made their way to the drinks table, they passed Iida in an immaculate plum coloured three piece suit.
He glanced at the two of them and took no notice at first until he saw Bakugo's attire. "Katsuki Bakugo, what are you wearing?!" He boomed at them, making Kirishima stop shoving Bakugo through the crowds as they turned to Iida. He marched up to them mechanically, his brows furrowing deeply beneath his glasses. "Where. Is. Your. TIE?!"
"I don't wear one normally, do I?" Bakugo asked sarcastically.
"This is a school event-!"
"If you're looking for my tie, ask Deku." Bakugo muttered before he grabbed Kirishima's arm and they disappeared amongst the teens once more.
Bakugo immediately downed two glasses of water once they got to the drinks table, holding a finger up to Kirishima when he asked him what had delayed him and why Midoriya had his suit jacket.
"Aah!" He gasped as he slammed the glass onto the table. "What did you say?"
"I asked you what happened before you got here." Kirishima said mildly annoyed.
"Right. Deku and I kinda ran into some trouble on our way back from seeing our parents. Just two dumbasses trying to rob a bank, I could've taken them alone easily but that dork had to follow me." He scratched the back of his neck and rolled his eyes. "We handled the two guys easily, got the money back and everything but another two guys with guns showed up and that's not really something we can handle..."
"What did you do?!" Kirishima asked with wide eyes. Bakugo glanced around them to see who could be listening before he pulled Kirishima away from the table to the side of the gym where less people were gathered.
"Ren showed up."
"Really?!"
"She told us afterwards that she was on her way back from Endeavour's when she saw us chasing those jackasses through the streets. We took off with the cash but the guys followed us onto the highway, firing shots at us and shit like that." Bakugo continued to explain nonchalantly but Kirishima was gripped by every word.
"Sounds like an action movie!" He said excitedly.
"It gets crazier. Ren made me drive while she and the other dork got on the roof of the moving car. Fucking numbskulls. It's kinda a rushed blur after that, I think they did something with Midoriya's strength and her wind controlling quirk to take their car out right in front of Endeavour's Agency. They went flying off of the car, she totalled her dress and his jacket and shirt were ripped to shreds. But after that Ren really wanted to get Deku back here in time for his date with Round Face."
"So that's why Midoriya has your jacket?"
"Yeah. He's welcome."
"Jeez, that sounds intense... You drove?! What's it like?!" Kirishima pulled on Bakugo's arm as if doing so would make him answer quicker.
"Aah, ya know. Some people said it's hard but I thought it was piss easy. Didn't scare me one bit." Bakugo said cockily. Lying, obviously.
"I guess you're lucky she showed up when she did..." Kirishima mumbled.
"She's probably gonna be in a lot of shit with Endeavour... After that mission, her place there is hanging by a thread..." Bakugo grumbled. "Now she's gone and dumped a case in their hands without an explanation just so her friends can be happy. What a dumbass." He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall and scowling at nothing in particular.
"She's a good friend, that's why she doesn't care about what happens to her." Kirishima added but when Bakugo rolled his eyes again and clicked his tongue he just sighed before he looked back to the dance floor. Midoriya and Uraraka were dancing together with Tsu and Yaoyorozu, all laughing and bouncing joyfully. Kirishima smiled softly to himself before his eyes lingered to the gym's entrance. "Ah, speak of the devil and she shall appear."
"What?" Bakugo snapped.
"Dude, you're about to blow your load." Kirishima grabbed his shoulder to pull him off of the wall.
"What?!" Bakugo snapped at him again and this time Kirishima pinched his chin and turned his head in the direction of the entrance. "H-holy fuck."
Ren had just arrived from getting cleaned up at the dorm. Her hair was straight when they'd gotten into the car that afternoon but puffed back to its curly state after the whole ordeal and now lay messily behind her shoulders. She'd swapped her destroyed blue dress for the backup she had tucked away in her closet, a sleek red dress with a low back, thin straps and a slit that travelled up to her thigh. To complete the look she matched a striking red lip to her dress.
"Ren! There you are!" Hagakure's shining iridescent dress bounced up to her at the entrance, followed closely by Ashido in her black two piece pant set. "Oh em gee, why did we make you buy a dress when you had that?!"
"See?" Kirishima asked Bakugo, his fingers still pinching his chin but keeping his jaw from dropping off. "You better say something to her tonight, cause if you don't I'm sure someone else will." He turned Bakugo's head in the direction of some of the guys in their grade who'd stopped to stare when Ren walked in.
"Fuck. Yeah. Okay." Bakugo slapped Kirishima's hand away.
"Really?!"
"Yes! I'll do... Something." He grumbled back to him before he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"What took you so long?!" Ashido asked Ren as she and Hagakure steered her into the crowd to where they were dancing together.
"Um, I ran into some weird traffic." Ren said as her eyes darted around. "And... Tore my dress out of frustration."
"Driving sounds intense..." Ashido mumbled back to her. "Well, ya look amazing!"
"Thanks, Ashido." Ren smirked. "You guys look great too!"
They joined up with Midoriya, Uraraka, Tsu and Yaoyorozu and Ren exchanged greetings and compliments with them too. She eyed Midoriya's jacket quizzically for a second before she noticed it hung a little big on his shoulders and long on his wrists, realising Bakugo had donated him.
"You guys having fun?" She asked Midoriya and Uraraka, instantly making them both blush.
Jiro and Mic played the crowd well, keeping the mood buzzing with bass heavy dance music and timing the lighting to match it. After a few songs, Hagakure broke from the group to find Ojiro, Midoriya and Uraraka slowly edged away as they danced to get a little more privacy, Tsu left for the edge of the gym to regulate her body temperature after getting too hot from dancing, and Yaoyorozu was called over by Yosetsu Awase from class 2B for a dance.
Ashido asked Ren if they could break for a drink and the duo made their way to the drinks table for some refreshment. Both of them were instantly bombarded with guys from their grade asking for a dance or to talk to them alone, and while Ashido enjoyed the attention, Ren really wasn't in the mood.
"You promised me a dance, remember Ashido?" Tetsutetsu asked her hopefully and Ashido sighed dramatically.
"H-Hey, not before mine!" Sero chimed in.
"Excuse me, I asked her first!" A support class student butted in. "Want me to get you another drink, Ashido?!" He practically hoped onto his knees begging her for some attention.
"Boys, boys, please!" Ashido held her hands up. "The night is young and so are we!"
Ren used the opportunity to get away while the guys all turned their focus to the pink. She spoke a little louder and more demanding of attention when she noticed Ren trying to make a getaway to ensure her friend could be left alone. Ren slipped away to a quiet side of the gym and watched for her classmates.
Uraraka and Midoriya were still dancing together, Tsu had been joined by Iida, Todoroki, Shoji, Sato and Koda and were all having a refreshment and a chat. Mineta was lurking around the dance floor, looking for someone to perv on. Yaoyorozu was still dancing with Awase, Hagakure and Ojiro were jiving with Tokoyami and Aoyama. Jiro was on stage with Present Mic and she could just make out the top of Kaminari's head as he stared up at her. Ashido was still being pursued by the same group of guys, and she even spied Kirishima staring over at her longingly. She found herself wondering where Bakugo was and what he was up to when she noticed someone joined her against the wall.
"You're Ren Chinami, right?" He asked her as he dropped a hand into one of his pockets, leant against the wall and tilted his towards her.
"Yeah. Hitoshi Shinso, right?" She asked as she turned to him and gave him a little nod. "You're the guy with the mind control quirk."
"And you're the girl with a hundred quirks." He raised an unimpressed brow, to which Ren just chuckled.
"Who told you that?" She turned towards him and rested her shoulder against the wall.
"Eri did." He said with a little smirk.
"How do you know Eri?" Ren furrowed her brow.
"Aizawa has me babysit in exchange for extra training." Shinso ran a hand through his messy purple hair.
"Damn. I'd do it for free." Ren muttered.
"So, what're you doin' over here all by your lonesome?" He gestured his head to her. "You're too pretty to be a wallflower."
She chuckled again. "I needed a breather and... I guess there wasn't anyone in particular I wanted to dance with." She said with a shrug.
"What about Katsuki Bakugo?" He quirked the same unimpressed brow.
Ren felt her voice catch in her throat but she tried to play it off coolly. "What makes you think I'd want to dance with him?"
"Denki's a friend." Shinso glanced over at the blonde still gazing up at Jiro. "He's had his suspicions for a few months now... Is he wrong?"
Ren placed a finger to her chin. "Damn, Kaminari, I'm impressed." She leant back against the wall and folded her arms over her chest. A few moments of nothingness passed between the two of them, the silence filled by people laughing or cheering, and the bouncing beat slowly changing into slower music. Groups slowed down and more couples emerged from the crowd, some of them even coming in closer together.
"We're gonna slow it down for a while so all you ~lovebirds~ out there can have a chance to get nice and close..." Present Mic announced dramatically from the DJ booth.
"Would you dance with me?" Shinso asked to break their silence. Ren stared at him for a moment, his tired eyes, his messy hair, his half smirk that reminded her too damn much of Aizawa.
"If I answer, you gonna take control of my mind?" She asked with a little smirk.
Shinso's eyes darted back and forth a few times. "I can't promise anything." He mumbled jokingly.
Ren chuckled but answered of her own free will. "Yes, I'd like to dance with you."
Shinso offered his hand to Ren and led her onto the dance floor. She placed her free hand on his shoulder while he placed his other on her waist. They glanced at each other awkwardly a few times and sniggered when they made eye contact but mainly focused on something else in the room while they swayed together.
"Kaminari mentioned some ugliness between you and Bakugo. Am I wrong if I put two and two together to conclude you had a bad breakup?" Shinso asked Ren after a few minutes.
Ren felt her face fall from irritation rather than sadness. "Can you break up if you're never technically an item?"
"Did you stop doing what you were doing?" He glanced down at her and she nodded. "And you cared about him?"
"It frustrates me to hell and back that I still do." She muttered through her teeth.
"Yeah. I'd call that a break up." Shinso said with a little shrug. Ren grumbled to herself before she looked back to the rest of the dance.
Uraraka and Midoriya had broken through enough of their awkward wall for the two of them to be holding each other as the danced to the slow music, and past a few more couples Ren could see a lightly flushed Todoroki dancing with a blushing Yaoyorozu. Seeing both couples together spread a small smile onto her lips.
"Okay, Miss Jiro." Mic said to her as he slipped both of their headphones off. "You've been a fantastic help but that poor boy has been waiting all night for you to dance with him." He glanced over the edge of the booth to see Kaminari's bright, beaming and expectant face.
"B-but-!" Jiro began nervously.
"No buts, young lady. If you don't go now I'm kicking you off for the rest of the night! Go! Be young, have fun!" He pushed Jiro away from the DJ booth and held his hand up when she tried to argue. "Don't think I'm not serious."
She huffed off of the stage, growing more nervous and flustered the closer she got to Kaminari. "O-okay. I've got just a few minutes so-" She looked off to the side and tapped her earphone jacks together. "I-I'll dance with you." He beamed at her like the happiest idiot on earth, because frankly, he was.
Present Mic smiled softly to himself as he watched her take the giddy blonde's hand and step out to the dance floor.
"Oi, you take song requests?"
Ashido was still being bombarded with dance requests that she continuously turned down. That is until a particular voice made her turn her attention as her heart skipped a beat and butterflies swirled in her stomach.
"Uh-um. Mina..." Kirishima mumbled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Did- did you wanna dance?"
"Jeez, Eijiro!" Ashido smiled widely. "I've only been waiting for you to ask me this whole time!" She stretched her hand out for him to take it so he could pull her away from the group of disappointed guys.
Tetsutetsu wiped a single tear from thick eyelashes. "There's only one guy I can accept losing to, and it's that manly machine right there."
The song transitioned into the next and then the next until a gentle piano riff started playing, one that made Ren crinkle her brow as she recognised the tune. It had the pairs on the dance floor slowing down and getting even closer.
Shinso glanced down at Ren and tightened his grip on her hand to make her look at him. "Would you like to keep dancing or is this too weird now?"
"I mean, it's kinda weird but I can look past it if you can." She said with a little shrug.
"I think I can but..." He stopped their swaying and glanced up. "I'm not sure about him." He nodded his head in the direction behind Ren, and she turned to see what he was looking at.
I'm in my bed
And you're not here
And there's no one to blame
But the drink in my wandering hands
Forget what I said
It's not what I meant
And I can't take it back
I can't unpack the baggage you left
Bakugo stared back at her, his hands in his pockets and for once a scowl not carved into his face. His eyes were soft, sad even, and his lips lay slightly parted as he continued to stare at her. Shinso backed away from Ren, leaving the two of them standing a few feet away from each other as pairs continued to sway together to the soft music. They both hesitated at first but as soon as one moved forward the other did too until they met in the middle.
What am I now? What am I now?
What if I'm someone I don't want around?
I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling
Ren's eyes trailed over his arms, his shoulders, the top two unbuttoned buttons on his shirt, up to his parted lips until her gaze met his crimson eyes. Bakugo removed his hands from his pockets and slowly inched them against hers. Her heart felt like it would implode as soon as their skin made contact, and as much as it confused her, she had to squeeze her eyes shut so she wouldn't burst into tears.
What if I'm down?
What if I'm out?
What if I'm someone you won't talk about?
I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling
Bakugo guided her hands up to his shoulders and placed them gently before he trailed his own hands back down her bare arms, over her shoulders, and down her exposed back until they rested on her waist. They pulled each other in simultaneously and began slowly swaying to the sweet music. Ren glanced up at him, her hands instinctively moving to wrap around his neck as his trailed to the small of her back to pull her even closer.
You said you care
And you missed me too
And I'm well aware I write too many songs about you
And the coffee's out
At the Beachwood Cafe
And it kills me 'cause I know we've run out of things we can say
She bit into her bottom lip, her mind racing at a million miles a second as she tried to process what her next move should be, what the right thing to do was, but more than anything she just wanted to enjoy being held by him again. To feel his warm hands against her bare skin, to stare into his softened red eyes rather than the pained scowls he'd been giving her for weeks, to indulge in his sweet burnt caramel scent. Ren rested her head against his chest and sighed softly. It was just...
So nice.
What am I now? What am I now?
What if I'm someone I don't want around?
I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling
What if I'm down?
What if I'm out?
What if I'm someone you won't talk about?
I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling
Bakugo rested his chin on her head and revelled in the smell of her hair. As much as it annoyed him when he saw her with Todoroki, as much as it hurt when she beat the shit out of him, as much as he tried to convince himself he absolutely despised Ren, all that he could think about in the back of his mind was how much he wanted to hold her. So now that he was, why did he feel like crying?
And I get the feeling that you'll never need me again
They held each other so closely and swayed so lightly they were practically hugging and shifting to the music rather than actually dancing. Ren tilted her head up to his again, her breath hitching in her throat when she saw how glossy his eyes had become, and a few tears were hanging out along his bottom lashes.
What am I now? What am I now?
What if you're someone I just want around
I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling
"Would it be lame to say... I miss you?" He asked quietly and Ren felt her tears trying harder to escape her. Bakugo furrowed his brow and bit into his trembling lip as he felt himself moving into the small space left between himself and Ren.
What if I'm down?
What if I'm out?
What if I'm someone you won't talk about?
I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm falling
"Alright everybody! We're gonna speed it back up before we round off the night so let's get everyone back on the dance floor! YeeeEEEAAaaah!" Mic announced excitedly, instantly smashing the romantic vibe he'd created so hard.
Ren and Bakugo were shoved and bumped apart as the whole grade swarmed the dance floor. Bakugo gripped onto her wrist before the sea of teenagers could drag Ren to the other side of the room.
"Fucking-! Stop shoving, assholes!" Bakugo screamed to the people getting into his personal space.
Present Mic pumped up the music and soon the gym was filled with the sound of the beats bopping once more while the whole grade danced and bounced along, some people whooping, cheering or laughing as they got into it. Bakugo was bumped into again and ready to explode at whomever had just done so until he turned to see it was Kirishima, followed closely by Ashido, Kaminari and Sero.
"Where the hell did you idiots pop up from?!" He growled at them as Kaminari wrapped an arm over his shoulders and broke the grip between Bakugo and Ren.
"We thought we've gotta have at least one dance as a squad, right?" Kirishima said excitedly. Bakugo glared at his best friend, trying to visually communicate how pissed he was at his friends for being such cock blocks.
Ren was saved from being cast away by Kaminari when Uraraka swooped in and locked their arms together. Midoriya, Tsu and Iida surrounded the duo as the two different squads danced excitedly to the music. Ren and Bakugo continuously tried to catch each other's eye but their groups of friends made it impossible for them to see anything other than their bright happy faces. Not that that was a bad thing.
Present Mic and Jiro got the crowd involved; getting them to cheer at certain points in the music or having them go quiet before a beat drop. One hyper song flowed into another, making the evening feel like a blur of flaying arms and shaking hips. There was a break in the songs for the crowds to catch their breath, and Uraraka and Tsu headed for the side to grab a drink.
"Hey, did you see where Ren went?" Tsu asked as she glanced around the gym.
"Wasn't she right behind us?" Uraraka followed Tsu's gaze. "She got here late then left so early, what the heck?" Ashido and Hagakure joined them while they continued to look around as they had their drinks.
"What're you guys lookin' at?" Ashido asked as she filled a glass.
"We're looking for Ren." Uraraka mumbled to her.
"Oh, really?" Ashido piped. "The guys can't find Bakugo either." She said with a shrug. Tsu and Uraraka froze before they exchanged a knowing glance.
"Huh." Uraraka scratched her cheek awkwardly. "How about that..."
*
thx harry