Two weeks had passed.
I would cry every night, but I no longer felt the heaviness that wore and tore at my soul the way it used to before that day. I stopped hiding my emotions, I became an open book, not acting discreet towards my thoughts to my closest friends.
That day changed my life. Izuku, Bakugo, Denki, and Kyoka surrounded me when I woke up under the pine tree at the top of the forest, they coerced me to confront the demons that had been plaguing my life since I was a kid. They personally saw to it that they hammered down any final walls of my defenses, ready to catch me as the fragments of my old self reveled in the dark, showing how shattered I felt inside.
As if it was natural, they glanced at my broken pieces and reassured me that I would still be their friend, still the same girl to them.
My relationships had changed with these particular classmates, but I didn't consider it to be a bad thing. Denki was still the same teasing flirt and jokester he's always been, but there were times where he was comfortable with sitting in silence, not trying to coax a conversation from me. Kyoka grew clingy, but that didn't bother me in the slightest, I was happy that the girl didn't feel pushed away, rather she would talk to me about anything that bothered her or anything that made her happy. Yaoyorozu and Mina had noticed it as well as they began to call us a musical note; we always seemed to be on the same page, playing the same tune.
Izuku remained as the kind and considerate sweetheart he is since the day we met, but there was an intensity about him now. He became more truthful about his quirk, One for All, and also spent more time with me than we ever had before. Katsuki Bakugo changed the most. He would actively seek me out to talk, he would insult me as his typical behavior, but showed no frustration or irritation about my presence.
If it was a trait that they all adapted, it was their fierce overprotection of me. They grew defensive when anyone made the slightest negative comment, even if it was innocent ones. I had to restrain Bakugo and Jirou several times whenever Neito Monoma from class 1-B neared me, his mantra was to demean our class but I couldn't be brought up without them wanting to use their quirks on him. Izuku and Denki hovered over me, glaring at anyone that I even seemed slightly distressed to be around, particularly Mineta.
I thought of these transformations as I headed to the locker rooms with Mina and Uraraka at my hips, they were discussing the sleepover that we'd be having in three days time.
When we began changing back into our uniforms, I would still drift to the last changing room in the corner, hiding the faded scars that became a singular trait in my appearance.
I stepped out, tucking my uniform shirt into my skirt as I saw my favorite girls crowding around the wall not too far from me.
"What are you guys doing?" I asked, frowning since they just seemed to be staring at it, saying nothing. They didn't respond, only holding up a hand and signaling for me to still myself.
"Did I miss the induction ceremony into a cult?" I whispered, tugging at Kyoka.
She kept the same serious face, and I grew worried. "I think Mineta's trying to be a peeping tom. Look at this hole." She pointed to the barely noticed hole in the wall as we all began hearing the pervert's excited voice.
Oh, gross. Who's ever going to teach that nasty grape a lesson?
Jirou plugged the extensions of her ear into the wall, and Mineta's voice amplified slightly.
"I want to see Yaoyorozu's huge boobs, Uraraka's small waist, Ashido's nice thighs, Tsu's cute boobs, Reyna's sexy a-"
His lustful speech got interrupted by his squeal, Jirou's fists were clenched tightly, her extension must've made its way into his eyeball.
I heard a familiar yell, Bakugo was threatening the small boy and Mineta cried out, "You too? Man, stop electrocuting me, it hurts!"
Denki and Bakugo, huh? I shook my head to chuckle softly, before cheering with the girls who were praying on the grape boy's downfall.
The girls finished changing and exited the locker room; making sure to leave no one behind, I glanced around but found my best friend staring at the sink, eyes displaying sadness.
I approached her, "What's wrong, Kyoka?" She didn't reply at first, showing reluctance before embarrassment made its way onto her face. "It's just... I know I shouldn't be wanting to hear stupid, perverted comments from Mineta, but he didn't say anything about me." I blinked, trying to understand her.
She's upset that he said nothing about her? The girl was always beautiful to me, but I wouldn't necessarily say that I looked at her similarly to Mineta. It wasn't that she was unattractive, I just wasn't the type to leer at anyone in that manner, no matter how pretty or handsome the person was.
"I mean, you didn't let him finish, it seemed like he had a characteristic to say about everyone so I'm sure he was going to say something even though we shouldn't be wanting that from an ugly person like him." I told her playfully, nudging her with my shoulder as she smiled. I decided to continue.
"And if you want someone to tell you how pretty you are, I'll tell you. You have eyes that are unique but attractive, the color of your hair makes your smile and skin radiate whenever you laugh. You're cute when you wrinkle your nose or pretend to be angry, and you have a nice figure. I'm sure I'm not the only person who notices your looks." I finished that with a wink, tugging on her arm to get her to leave the changing rooms with me.
She didn't say anything, did I upset her? I looked to her nervously, but she had a smile on while her entire face was covered in red. I only shrugged, figuring that she'd tell me if something upset her.
-
It was the day of Mina's "Class 1-A Girl Power Sleepover" and we were all gathered around the towering gate of Yaoyorozu's home.
This has to be an acre wide, I admired the multiple floors of her mansion, the pearly white walls reflected the beauty of the day as the pebbled pathway was embroidered with the finest of plants. I grew excited, straying close to each one. No wonder she was so knowledgeable with nature. I found myself stroking the ghost orchids that were near the bush of calendulas. I smiled when the plant extended itself towards me, welcoming me as I helped it grow by only glancing at it.
I remembered Aizawa's conversation with me before I left the class with Jirou, Tsu, and Hagakure.
"You're gonna be alright spending the night somewhere else?" My teacher asked me in a low voice when I handed him one of my assignments.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll text you if I get uncomfortable, you don't need to worry." I smiled, doodling on his paperwork while he only studied me. After I returned home from the day spent in the forest with my friends, I had to apologize and explain myself to Shota. He told me he was worried and it took everything in him to ignore Endeavor's call saying that I'd be okay because of Shoto's brief statement to him and just find me himself. I had begun crying, realizing that I was just as afraid to lose Aizawa, too. He led me to the couch, kneeling in front of me as I finally confessed my past to him. He listened intently, maintaining a calm expression but his eyes had pain and anger pouring from them, he couldn't control it. After I finished, I sat limply, not knowing what else to say. He hugged me, promising that he wouldn't let those things happen again under his watch, swearing that I was safe with him. Following that talk, he became even more overprotective than my friends had been.
Shota finally relented to my request of spending time with the girls of my class, "Fine, no funny business. If I get a call from any hospital, your teenage privileges will be taken away." I opened my mouth in feigned shock, before closing it and grinning. "Thanks Shota, I'll make some of those tacos you like when I get home tomorrow." He rolled his eyes, shooing me off with a simple gesture.
Uraraka tugged me from my thoughts as she flung her arm through mine, whining, "Flo, it's so big! This has got to be bigger than my house times infinity!" I laughed, leaning my head against hers as we walked to meet the tall, raven-haired girl that awaited for us at her door. Ochaco and I had similar financial burdens, so we grew closer over that aspect of our lives and her bubbly, loving personality complimented my quiet and observant one.
We met with Yaoyorozu and Jirou, they were talking about classical music when Jirou stopped and turned to throw herself to me. I caught her, giggling slightly when she flew right off, continuing her conversation with my other classmate as if she never did that.
Mina was chattering excitedly, rushing the rest of the girls and I to enter the home. The interior definitely matched the exterior as I gaped with the amount of chandeliers I saw in one glance.
"Your home is lovely, Yaoyorozu," I told the girl while keeping my hand latched to Mina's jacket to prevent her from running up the stairs as she kept squealing.
"Florence, call me Momo! We're friends, you don't need to address me so formally." I smiled at her suggestion, turning to maintain my grip as I flew up the stairs with Hagakure and Mina towing me upwards.
We spent the afternoon and evening getting pampered by Momo, I was flustered so many times throughout the day as people who worked for her insisted that I didn't lift a finger for anything except to eat my own dinner. We all painted our nails matching colors and Momo took us to the guest floor to make matching bracelets. I nudged Jirou with my elbow, "Let's have our beads the same, okay?" She blushed, agreeing as Hagakure worked her way to casually laying her upper body on my lap. "Play with my hair, Reyna." The invisible girl insisted, grabbing my hand and guiding it to her waves. I laughed and went along but Jirou's slight narrow of her eyes made me hesitate. Was she mad at me? I went back to crafting our matching bracelets carefully while Tsu talked to me about her internship experience.
"Florence, Momo said she has a nice garden so come see it with me." I lifted my head at Jirou's words, carefully laying the already drowsy Hagakure near Ochaco.
After about a solid ten minutes of being lost in Momo's large estate, we finally saw the exit to her backyard. When I stepped out, I gasped and pressed my hands together. "It's beautiful!" I cried out, looking to see Jirou watching me as I gave her an impish smile. We walked down the pathway that had lights strung on different stands, illuminating the different rows of tulips that welcomed us. I felt like I was in a personally crafted version of my paradise, different sculptures of gods and goddesses would litter the scenery and the perfectly crafted light structures would bring out the different shades in the various types of plants Momo had.
I took out the disposable camera that Aizawa gifted me the other day, "Be the first picture?" I asked, holding it up for her to see. She eagerly nodded, striking a goofy pose underneath the vine canopy. After the flash went off, I waited for the square paper to appear, she approached me as I shook the paper and the image became viewable.
"You're so pretty, Jirou. Can I keep it? I'm thinking of making a collection of my favorite moments." I told her while we began making our way back to the shared room with the other girls. She stopped walking and grabbed my hand.
"Florence, you can't go around complimenting people like that and being so nice!" Was she scolding me? What did I do?
I furrowed my brows, trying to separate what phrases or words in my previous sentence that might've came off as offensive.
I held the image out to her, "If you want, you can have it." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she released a dramatic breath.
"People might misread your gestures, what if someone falls in love with you? How would you react to that?" She watched me as the words slipped from her mouth.
Whoa, falling in love? Where is all this talk even coming from? My natural reaction was to press my hands over my face and hide the red that blossomed there.
"I don't know why we're talking about that, no one would fall in love with me, Jirou. I don't even think I would know what to do if I ever fell in love with anyone." I was filled with embarrassment to my admitted truth, but there it was.
I wasn't the easiest person to grow fond of, I knew that my personality was most likely a response of my past, and how would that be fair to someone that wanted to be my partner? Who would even be a person that I could be romantically involved with? Those sort of thoughts never crossed my mind, and even if they did, I wasn't likely to act on my feelings.
Jirou chuckled softly, tugging my hands away from my face. "I'm sorry, Reyna, I just get worried that people might throw themselves on you and you'll be too kind to say no. As your best friend, I've got to look out for you." Her explanation made sense, but now she had just wedged in an idea that I didn't even want to ponder over.
I thought I could escape this talk about romantic love, but Mina seemed hellbent on forcing us to think about it as Jirou and I returned to the room.
"So, girls, tell me something. Do any of you lovely ladies like a boy from our class? Or a boy from U.A?" The pink-skinned girl asked us tauntingly, placing her hand in an opened bag of chips to chew on the contents inside.
All of us immediately began acting awkward and shy, no one wanting to either admit their feelings or discuss the subject in general. I noticed that Momo had to shove her face in a pillow to hide her reaction while a blanket floated, so I figured Hagakure was doing the same thing.
Do I even have a type? Is there a boy in my class that I felt that way for.... or a girl? My features finally contorted to that of fearing the unknown, I caved into my confusion as I neared Momo and hid myself with a pillow, it was all too much for my teenage mind to handle.
"Aha! Momo, Hagakure, Reyna, spill. Now." Mina demanded, finger pointing at all our guilty faces. I whined, trying to cease the way my stomach twisted unusually. I read so many romance novels when I was younger, I analyzed so many movies that showed how a person would act if they're in love, but now that a possibility of that might be in my life, I couldn't even get a grip.
Momo spoke. "I mean, it's not a big deal because I'm sure everyone feels the same way, but I think Todoroki is the prettiest boy." I shot my head up from the pillow; for some reason, her sentence made my classmates and I break into huge grins. Is this what it's like to act like normal girls in school, gushing over the possibility of a tenderness that was beyond anything friendly or familial?
"Oh my god, Momo! I think Todoroki is totally hot! I can see where you're coming from, but I kind of like spending time with Ojiro," Hagakure stated, I saw her pajamas moving slightly so I knew she felt flustered.
Mina took the fuel to this chaotically ignited conversation and clapped excitedly while squealing. Tsu mentioned that she enjoyed spending time with Shoji and Iida the most, but she felt attracted to Shoji's appearance. Ochaco said that she didn't have feelings for anyone, but she cared a lot about Izuku and Iida. I frowned at that, not because I was upset, I just hoped that Izuku saw Uraraka's friendship dearly the way she did to him. My hand drifted to the floor to scratch it aimlessly while I thought of that, feeling exhaustion seep through as an effect of how overwhelmed I became with the discussion.
"So, Reyna. Who's the lucky guy you're crushing on?" Hagakure tugged the cuff of my pants while I felt all the girls turn to look at me. Stop, I'm going to turn into a tomato. I broke my gaze away from them and stared at the paintings of angels on the ceiling before responding.
"I've never had a crush on anyone before; I wouldn't really know what to expect if I am developing feelings for someone, y'know? So if I am, I guess I wouldn't realize it until it hits me in the face like a brick, until it's undeniable. But to be honest, I wouldn't be shocked if I fell in love with one of the people I'm closest to. That's what happens in all those movies and books, right? I guess you could say that maybe someday I'll fall in love with one of my four best friends." I tore my eyes away from the roof as I finished my opinion, startled to see that the girls were studying me intently, listening with interest. One by one, they flashed the widest smiles I've seen, all releasing giggles.
"Who are your four best friends then, Reyna?" Tsu asked while dragging a comb through Uraraka's hair. My reply was immediate.
"Bakugo, Izuku, Denki, and Kyoka."
Jirou began choking on the glass of water she was drinking, I squeaked in worry before running to her and thumping her back while she attempted to recollect herself.
"What if all of them are in love with you and they confess and you have to choose one?" Mina was leaning towards me as if I was her favorite soap opera. I didn't miss the way she glanced at Jirou.
"That would never happen, so I don't have to worry about that," I told her, shrugging and hoping that this talk would end already.
Luckily, it did. The girls began getting settled on the huge mattress that was wide enough to fit all of us. I tugged a blanket that had purple flowers embroidered on it as I curled up to the space that was unoccupied. Jirou crawled beside me before relaxing into a position where we both faced each other.
"Goodnight, Kyoka." I shut my eyes, but I felt her fingertips stroke my cheek lightly.
"Goodnight, Florence."