Hi, I finished this chapter a little early so I made Emery an official character design! If you'd like to see it go back to the intro :)
- TW: MENTION OF VOMIT -
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"Smile wider," Midoriya whispered.
I held Eri's hand and rang the doorbell.
"Can you shut up! Be a real man by standing in front of me instead of behind like a coward!"
Midoriya insisted on being by my 'side' even though the others were in the car.
"Have you ever heard of lady's first Em?"
I rolled my eyes. Though I couldn't see him I could hear his stupid smile through his words.
"Here if you go along with I'll pay you." He implied.
Now, he had my attention.
"How much?"
"10."
"Make it 20, but if this Aizawa person is as scary as you say he is I hope he kills you fi-"
The door opened. A tall black-haired man, who I believed was Aizawa, stood in front of us with an unwelcoming glare.
"Midoriya I told you to bring her home by 6!" He yelled.
He didn't bother acknowledging me, his eyes were darting at Midoriya. I let go of Eri's and she ran inside.
"Did you say 6? I could have sworn you said 7:30." He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.
He tossed his arm around my shoulder trying to take the attention off him and sadly, it worked.
"Who's this." He asked.
He looked at me for a split second and looked back at Midoriya, hardly acknowledging I was here.
"Emery," Midoriya replied as if I couldn't answer for myself.
His expression changed. I couldn't tell if it was for better or worse. It was like he was peering into my soul.
"This is Emery?"
Midoriya nodded.
"Hm, I expected her to be... brighter."
What the fuck was that supposed to mean.
"He's an asshole," I mumbled.
Midoriya side-eyed me before looking back at Aizawa.
"Well we did what we came here for, we should get going," He smiled.
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me through the grass. I was praying there were no tulips in it.
"Midoriya,"
We both turned around.
"6 sharp next time."
Midoriya gave him a bright smile and we got into the car. I reached my hand out to the passager seat and he just stared at me.
"You want a high five or someth-"
"My money?"
"You'll get your money later, the store closes in 20." Shoto interrupted.
"Or I could just get it n-"
"Later."
"Fine but we better be going to some fancy high-class store."
-
It reeked of weed and definitely wouldn't be classified as a "fancy high-class store". It had white and yellow checker floors with isles filled with chips and candy. There were freezers in the back that I assume were filled with soda and ice cream.
"Get whatever you want," Midoriya stated.
"Really!?" Denki cheered. "See I've always liked you more tha-"
"I was talking to Emery."
Denki's face shifted extremely fast causing me to laugh a little. Midoriya looked at me waiting for a response.
"I don't have any money on me."
"I didn't ask if you had money."
"I don't want anything anyway."
Just as I was about to walk away and catch up with Bakugo he grabbed my chin, leaning in.
"Why not?"
"Because you're gonna take whatever I buy out of my 20 bucks."
"No, I won't."
"You won't?"
I was hesitant not because I needed the money simply because I wanted it.
"Nope." He said.
"Then don't be mad when I spend hundreds of dollars on sour candy."
I pulled myself away from his grip and walked away.
I scanned the aisles searching for one thing, strawberries.
I figured they would be near the freezers but where I was looking there was nothing but ice cream sandwiches, Blue Bells, Baskin Robbins, and a few cans of Dr. Pepper.
I stared at the freezer for a second as if I was hoping that would make it magically appear.
I sighed and walked into the candy aisle.
I walked through the aisle hoping to automatically find what I was looking for until my eyes dropped on a bag of Reeses Peanutbutter Cups.
I stared at it debating whether I should take it or not because of my peanut allergy. My allergy wasn't deadly it would just make my stomach hurt for a few hours.
"Screw it."
I grabbed it along with a pack of Sour Patch Kids.
I went back to the freezers hoping that strawberries would appear out of thin air.
I searched the bottom shelf, nothing.
Middle shelf, nothing.
Top shelf.. how did I not see them before.
On the top shelf there it was a small bag of strawberries.
I went on my tippy toes and tried to reach them but I couldn't. I turned around and everyone was busy, which was good because I didn't want help.
I jumped but still couldn't reach them which was unbelievable because I wasn't even short.
"Need help?" Midoriyas called behind me.
"No, I was doing just great by myself thanks."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, I was doing great."
He ignored me and bragged the bag anyway.
"I thought you didn't like these anymore." He smirked.
"I don't, I was reaching for something else."
"Really? I guess I'll just put these back the-"
I snatched the bag out of his hands before he could put it back.
"Maybe if you weren't so short you would have been able to reach it on your own."
"I am not short!" I cried.
"Okay, then how tall are you?"
"5'8."
"6'1."
"That doesn't make any sense! I was taller than you for all of middle school and early high school, when did you randomly grow?"
"Are you upset because I suddenly started looking down at you?"
"Yes!"
I shoved my stuff into his arms and stormed off into the chip aisle. As much as I didn't want him to, Midoriya followed.
"You know you shouldn't be hovering over me like this, don't you have a girlfriend or something?"
"Girlfriend!?"
"Yeah, you know short brunette, blushy cheeks, bob cut."
A few years back Mina took me to a Halloween party and we were playing Truth or Dare. I got dared to stalk one of my ex's and I chose him. When I clicked on his recent post I saw a picture of him in a bunny costume and the girl next to him in a cat costume. I assumed they were dating because of the heart in the caption.
"How'd you know I had a girlfriend?"
"Denki told me."
"Liar."
"I'm not lying."
"Really? That's odd because Denki was the first one to know when we broke up."
I felt my cheeks heat up from the embarrassment. I looked up at him only to see the amused smile on his face.
"I guess it was just a lucky guess."
"Still choosing to lie, gorgeous?"
"I may have stalked your Instagram once or twice," I muttered.
"What was that? Couldn't hear you."
I death stared at him for a second before taking a deep breath.
"I stalked your Instagram a few times! Was that better?"
"Much." He laughed.
I rolled my eyes and walked in front of the cash register.
Midoriya placed my stuff on the counter and took out his wallet.
"Are the Reese's for Mina?" He asked, pulling a 10 dollar bill out of his wallet.
"No, they're for me."
"Aren't you allergic to peanuts?"
"Yes, but I've never tried them before."
I knew he wasn't gonna buy it because he's always been the more responsible one.
He side-eyed me and placed a two-dollar bill on the counter.
"If you die it's not my fau-"
"Yeah yeah whatever mom, finish paying I'm gonna go tell the others we're leaving."
I walked to the back of the store to find Bakugo and Kirishima fighting over a chip bag while Denki was recording.
"We're leaving."
They all stopped and looked at me.
"Can you and Midoriya just wait outside for a few? We're kinda busy here."
"Busy doing what fighting over a bag of Hot Cheetos?"
Denki tilted his head and gave me a pleading look, he was enjoying watching them more than he should've.
"Fine," I groaned. "Does anyone know where Shoto is?"
"I don't know probably somewhere debating over what type of ramen he wants." Kirishima groaned, trying to keep the chip bag away from Bakugo's grasp.
"If you see him tell him Midoriya and I are outside."
Denki nodded and I turned around to see Midoriya leaning against the door holding two plastic bags.
I walked up to him and grabbed my bag.
"Don't put your germs on my stuff," I whined while opening the door.
"I paid for your stuff."
"Didn't ask."
I sat on the cold curb and opened my bag. The sun had gone down a few minutes ago and I was starting to appreciate my jacket more than I did earlier. Midoriya sat beside me and opened his bag.
I pulled out the Reese's first and put it in my pocket. I was sparing it for last just in case I didn't like it. I opened the bag of Sour Patch Kids and ate the first one I saw.
"Where are we going after this?" I asked.
He unwrapped his ice cream sandwich before he said, "Shoto's place. His sister invited us for dinner."
"Well if we're gonna eat dinner why'd we buy snacks?"
"It's a tradition to go to this store on the last Friday of the month."
"You guys have traditions too?"
"It was their tradition way before I moved here don't be so jealous."
I didn't bother defending myself because it was obvious I was jealous. He probably didn't even remember our traditions anymore, not like they mattered to him in the first place.
Then again I was "nothing but a small fragile toy."
"If it makes you feel better, I still follow our traditions." He spoke.
That did make me feel better. A lot better. Not because I was still attached to him but because even the smallest bit of hope that I meant something to him was comforting.
"Tell me about your ex." I attempted to change the subject.
"Well um, there isn't much to say we didn't spend much time together."
"What do you mean? You guys didn't go on dates and stuff?"
He shook his head, "We mostly talked when we were hanging around other people, not so much when we were alone."
"Oh."
"What about you? Do you have any ex's?"
He seemed to be more enthusiastic when talking about me than his ex. I assume they probably didn't end well.
"I dated this girl when I moved to Florida, she was pretty and rich so it kinda felt like a win-win."
"I'm guessing you used her?"
"What no!? My dad sends me money every week I don't need to use anyone for their money. I dated her because it felt like I needed to not because I wanted to."
"Go on." He said, handing me a Pringle.
"Her name was Yaoyorozu, she was the daughter of my dad's assistant. I started going to work with my dad a week after we moved so we could be closer, of course, it didn't work because after a few days he told me to stop coming. Me and her still kept in touch though. Then she developed feelings for me and my dad said I should date her too, 'Keep the money in the blood line' or whatever."
"So why'd you guys break up?"
I faced Midoriya and he was laying on his back, facing the stars. I laid down beside him and continue to talk.
"I told her it was because I was moving again and couldn't do long distance but it was actually because it felt like an arranged marriage."
"That's pretty fucked, you should have just told her the truth."
I turned to him.
"That's fucked up? Fine then, tell me how you broke up with bob cut."
He laughed and sat back up. "We should check on the others."
I grabbed his shirt before he could get back up.
"I could sit here all night pretty boy."
I was the one smirking this time and it made me feel powerful. He sighed and sat back down.
"I broke up with her on C-."
The door opened.
Kirishima walked out with a bloody nose and Bakugo with the bag of chips. Denki was rewatching the video on his phone while Shoto walked out last holding two packs of ramen.
"Sorry we took so long Kirishima got his ass beat and we couldn't find Shoto for a while," Denki explained.
"Doesn't matter we should get going, we wouldn't want to keep Fuyumi waiting," Midoriya spoke.
He was trying to avoid the top of his ex and it was frustrating.
I picked up the empty wrappers of all the snacks I ate and threw them in the trash. They took so long I had ended up eating everything including the Reese's. I wasn't feeling any side effects yet and I hoped it stayed that way.
I hopped in the passenger seat and Kirishima started the car.
-
"Your stomach hurt yet?" Midoriya whispered.
"No." I lied.
My stomach had began to hurt on the way here but I chose to ignore it since it didn't hurt that much.
Shoto rang the doorbell, a few seconds passed and the door opened. We were greeted by a pretty white-haired lady with crimson streaks in her hair. She wore glasses, along with a welcoming smile.
"We brought a guest if that's okay." Midoriya pointed to me.
"That's okay I'm glad Shoto's making more friends!" She grinned. "Come in, but make sure to take off your shoes."
I slipped off my shoes and walked inside. The house smelling like fresh vanilla and a hint of rice. Another boy was helping Fuyumi in the kitchen, he also had white hair and a crimson streak but his was at the back of his head. Wasn't sure why they all had dyed their hair red but I'm guessing it was just a family thing.
"Dad, Shoto, and his friends are here!" Fuyumi shouted.
I pulled out a chair and sat at the dining table. A tall man with broad shoulders walked into the room. He also had crimson-colored hair but it didn't have any white streaks in it.
He looked at me, causing a shiver to run down my spine. I quickly turned away, making eye contact with Bakugo instead.
"What are you looking at!" He yelled.
"Nothing, geez."
Fuyumi placed a plate of food in front of me and I gave her a light smile in response.
Everyone sat down at the table and we ate in comfortable silence. Or at least silence that I thought was comfortable, considering I spent most of my dinners alone.
I could feel Midoriya looking at me but I chose to ignore and keep my eyes on my plate.
"Is the red hair like a family bonding thing or..?"
Asking that was extremely random but I had been holding it in since I got here and couldn't take it anymore.
They all gave me confused looks before they realized what I was talking about.
"We were born like this, our mom's hair is white," Shoto explained.
I looked around the house. There seemed to be no pictures or signs of a lady with completely white hair.
"So where's your mom?" I asked.
There was a pause, and then I panicked.
"Oh shit, I'm so sorry! Is she dead?! My moms dead and I wouldn't want someone asking where my mom is because it's obvious she's six feet under," Stop talking. "I'm sorry for your lost, if I knew I wouldn't have brought up the hair thing." Shut up. " That was extremely insensitive of me! The hair looks cool though, like really cool! I wish my hair was red and white but it's just blonde and blonde isn't that great of a colour!"
Everyone was staring at me.
"Sorry..." I muttered.
"She isn't dead. You should ask Endeavor where she is." Natsu replied.
"Natsu, you promised!" Fuyumi whispered.
"I came, that's good enough right?" He picked up his plate and tossed it in the sink.
"Shoto stop him!" She whined.
"If he wants to leave I say let him leave." He said.
The pain in my stomach grew and I felt as if I was going to throw up.
"Where's your bathroom?" I asked.
"Down the hall to the right." She directed.
I nodded and walked down the hall. I sat on the bathroom floor for a while regretting my decision to eat that stupid peanut butter cup. I didn't even like it that much. I put my fingers on the back of my throat to help me throw up but it wasn't working.
There was a knock on the door followed by a long pause.
"You okay?"
It was Midoriya.
"I'm fine." I lied.
I got up as I heard his footsteps leave the door. I washed my hands and walked back out. Fuyumi's hands were covering her face and she looked like she was in utter distress. I guess I did too because Kirishima was looking at me with concern.
"Are you okay? You're extremely pale."
I nodded.
"I'm okay, I think I just need some rest."
"Really? We were gonna watch a movie but if you're not feeling good I could take you home." Denki implied.
"No it's okay I'll just get an Uber." I grabbed my jacket and started putting on my shoes.
"Was there something you were allergic to in the rice?" Fuyumi asked with a look of concern.
She seemed nice and had done enough for me tonight so I didn't want to bring her any more worry.
"It's probably just a really bad period cramp I'll be fine."
I hugged her and made eye contact with Midoriya over her shoulder. I could see the concern in his eyes but he was the last person I would want help from. I didn't want to constantly feel his eyes looking down at me. I would rather pass out on the way home than feel that sort of shame.
I pulled away and walked out the door.
I took out my phone and called an Uber. I wandered around for a while searching for the park they said they'd meet me at.
I sat on the swings for a while praying that they would come soon because all I wanted to do was sleep.
An hour passed.
Then another.
I still had Midoriyas number in my pocket and my entire body was begging me to drop my pride and call him.
I took out the piece of paper and stared at the numbers for a while.
I swallowed my dumb ego and called him.
It rang for a while causing my anxiety to worsen with each passing second.
He picked up.
"Hello?"
"Pick me up."
"Who is this?"
I could hear the smile through his words, he knew exactly who he was talking to.
"I don't have enough energy to fuck with you right now, pick me up."
"Text me the street you're on."
"Fine, but hurry up if I spend 5 more seconds here I'll take a hand full of peanuts and finish the job."
"On my way, love."
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I really hope this chapter was more enjoyable than the last :) Thank you for reading.