Hi! Thank you sm for 8k reads! :))
a song I think fits this chapter: I Will by Mitski
"I thought you said no chapter this week" I was feeling motivated!
I wanted to show you guys to see how he viewed her so I wrote this chapter. Sero's party is next week I've kinda been stalling on that.
Enjoy the chapter! <333
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Izukus POV
I opened the door to the cafe only to be greeted by Emery's cold stare. She didn't roll her eyes at me nor tell me to leave anymore so I think that's a step in the right direction.
She had her hair in a mediocre ponytail and her edges were done. She had her sweatshirt tied around her apron and as always, she looked beautiful.
"Not telling me to leave anymore?" I smirked.
"That would be useless considering even if I told you you wouldn't leave."
"Touché."
I pulled out the rose I was hiding behind my back. It was yellow this time because I did my research.
She started at it with a blank expression, "Mina!" She yelled.
When I went to their apartment I'd see Mina had a vase of the flowers I brought Emery in her room. She took care of them and made sure they didn't die.
I considered Mina one of my closest friends. Whenever I'd come over Emery and I would cook and then after I'd let Mina mess with my hair while we talked about manga and other things.
Emery would stay locked up in her room after we finished cooking. I always wish she would hang out with us but I could tell she didn't feel comfortable around me.
"Izuku, why'd you bring flowers now?" Mina whined, taking and admiring the yellow flower, "They'll die before I can get it to the vase."
"It was a gift to thank Emery for taking care of me last week."
I looked at Emery. Her eyes were on the floor, she didn't have an attitude, it was just her regular 'resting' face.
I don't know why but I wanted her to look at me. I craved her attention and the fact she was looking at the floor and not at me was upsetting.
"You should bring me flowers next time, I'd actually take good care of them." Mina nudged her in the arm jokingly but she only returned a small smile.
"Do you want a cake pop or something Midoriya? I'm sure your group of friends are waiting for you." She muttered.
"My friends are busy today. I came here to ask you if you were going to Sero's party tomorrow night?"
I tried to make eye contact with her but she kept turning somewhere I wasn't.
"N-"
"What do you mean no!" Mina invited herself into the conversation, "You told me you would!"
"I don't have any fancy clothes." She replied, making eye contact with Mina.
"Izuku can take you dress shopping." She smirked at me like she was doing me some sort of favour.
Emery finally made eye contact with me then pulled Mina into the back. They started whispering to each other and I sat down at one of the stools.
"You shouldn't get so attached to him," Emery whispered, "He isn't your friend nor is he mine. You should enjoy the moment until it leaves just as quick as it came."
"Oh come on Em, he's nice. Give him a chance. If he fucks you over again you can kill both him and me."
They muttered a few more things before walking back out. Emery got a latte and handed it to me, "4 o'clock. If you're any later I'm not going."
I handed her money in exchange, "Yes ma'am."
Just as I was about to walk out she called my name.
"This is 15 dollars extra." She stated.
"I know. I promised didn't I?"
-
I was at her apartment by 3:30.
Mina let me stay on their couch while I waited for Emery. They were both in her room while I admired their home decor.
Mina told Emery I was here but she didn't look at me, nor greet me in any way shape or form.
It's not like I expected her to. She didn't owe me anything. She'd only seen what I'd done from her point of view of course I was gonna look like the villain.
She wasn't all confident and intimidating as she put on. It was just an act she had to protect herself.
All of my friends have seen Emery but they hadn't really seen her. I knew it and she did too.
That's why I liked when she was sleeping. That was the only moment when her face was completely resting and I got to see the girl I'd fallen in love with once more.
Emery acted like everything around her stupid and pointless but in reality, she enjoyed and admired things. I got to see a little bit of that last week.
If there was one thing I knew about her is that she didn't know how to do laundry. Before she met me she'd ask one of her dad's assistants to do it for her.
So when she asked if she could 'wash' my clothes I knew I wasn't getting them back.
"Come on, let's get this over with," Emery said, walking out of her room.
Her hair was in an afro again and her edges were laid. She had my hoodie on with baggy jeans and fishnets under it.
We said our goodbyes to Mina and walked out of the apartment. As soon as we walked onto the concrete I saw Emery's eyes automatically start scanning the world around us.
She saw this place every day and yet she looked at it like she'd never been here before. I wonder how she'd viewed this place when she first moved. The light in her eyes I was seeing now probably hasn't changed since.
"Just so you know," She turned to me, "I'm doing this for Mina, not because I want to go to your stupid friend's party."
"I'm well aware," I replied.
"Good." She said taking my hand and dragging me along.
A part of me loved when she did that. I knew she didn't mean it romantically, or even platonically, but even the slightest bit of her touch made me feel as if we were still connected somehow.
Like when I woke up to her in my arms I didn't move for a good 10 minutes. I laid there admiring her features, playing with her hair, and trying to match her breathing pattern.
Just being near her brought me a sense of security and comfort no one else could bring me.
When we reached the store she let go of my hand and it left me feeling cold.
"So what kind of dress are you looking for?" I asked.
"Just stay quiet and follow me." She stated.
We walked around for a while. Emery picked up a bunch of dresses, not letting me see any of them because she said "you'll get to judge later."
I would recommend things I thought she'd like but each time she'd be extra picky and say things like, "I want it in black." when it was literally black.
"What are parties like?" She asked, looking at a white two-piece dress.
"You've never been?" I asked, following her into another aisle.
She gave me her "are you stupid," look and then started talking again.
"We went through middle school and high school together so you can answer this. Have I ever been to a party?"
"Well, I know but aren't you like 19 now?"
"20." She answered bluntly, "Mina's invited me to parties before but I haven't gone to one until now."
I went to the aisle so when looking over the clothing rack we were making eye contact, "So what do you think they're like?"
She looked up at me, "Weed and sex games that involve alcohol."
I laughed a little, "Guess you're just gonna have to find out love."
I liked calling her things like that out of a habit from when we were kids. I'd barely call her her actual name because she had gotten so used to the nicknames if I called her anything else it would be considered an insult.
I'm guessing she didn't pay much attention to them now because she assumed I called everyone those. Which I didn't, I didn't even call Uraraka those. It would be awkward because I couldn't bring myself to even say her first name.
"Emerald can we go to fitting rooms now?" I complained, "I'm getting bored."
She glared at me, "You're acting like a child. Come on."
She took me by my wrist and dragged me to the fitting rooms.
"Sit here." She demanded, "Don't move."
I nodded and she walked into the fitting room. Eventually, 30 minutes passed I got bored so I took out my phone.
"Pst."
I looked around to see Emery poking her head out of the fitting room door.
"Help," She mouthed.
I shook my head. She was a girl, and most likely half-naked, I wasn't going to willingly walk in the middle of her changing.
She gave me an angry look then closed the fitting room door. A few seconds later my phone rang.
Em <3
E: Help.
Beg.
She didn't respond for a few. I'm guessing she was mentally cursing me out.
E: Please.
You can do better than that.
E: Midoriya.
Fine geez. I'm coming.
I put my phone in my pocket and walked into her fitting room. She had a plain black dress on but the back wasn't zipped. The other 5 dresses she picked out were hanging up on the wall.
She was sitting how she usually did, with her knees to her chin.
"That wasn't funny."
I gave her a soft smile, "I thought it was rather funny."
She looked up at me, my smile dropped as soon I saw her eyes. They were slightly puffy and she looked upset.
"Were you crying?"I crouched down so we were face to face.
"What? No!" She aggressively wiped her eyes and looked back at me, "I don't cry. Besides I feel fine."
I stared at her for a moment, she was lying.
"Sorry for jumping to conclusions. Which dress do you like best?"
She pointed to the one she had on, "This one."
"So what's the problem?"
Her cheeks turned red, she looked away and muttered something under her breath.
"Look at me," I said, my voice stern.
She turned to me, "I don't like the way it makes me look." She mumbled.
It was obvious she was embarrassed and uncomfortable. And the same guilt that I had felt washed over me. I couldn't help but think I was the reason she constantly cared about what other people thought about her.
Sure she was like this before but it was worse now.
I placed out my hand in front of her and she just looked at me.
"Come on," I gave her a comforting smile.
She hesitantly took my hand. I pulled up and placed her in front of the mirror.
She wasn't looking in the mirror, instead at the floor while I tied the back of her dress. She had a trail of red butterflies tattooed on her back just under her bra. I wanted to ask about it but it didn't seem like the time.
I looked over her shoulder and into the mirror. I wasn't seeing what she didn't like. The dress fit her perfectly and my mom was right Emery had definitely... grew.
In the right places of course.
I moved her head so she was looking at herself in the mirror, "I think you look beautiful."
She looked at me in disbelief, "It would look better with jewelry."
"I agree," I took off my rings along with my chain and handed them to her.
I saw her face lighten up a bit while putting on the rings.
"You want the earrings too?" I suggested.
She turned around and gave me a confused look, "You have earrings!?"
I nodded and she quickly jumped into my arms to look at my ears. She slightly pushed me against the door and I could feel her breath brush against my neck.
I closed my eyes and threw my head back, allowing her to get a proper look at my ear. I took in the scent of her perfume. Jasmine perfume.
Her hair was in my face but I didn't mind.
"When were you gonna tell me you had earrings?"
"When you told me you had a tattoo," I answered.
I rested my hands on her waist while she kept touching my ear lope.
"I got them because Denki wanted them but his mom said no, so he made all of us get our ears pierced in hopes that would prove to her it wasn't bad."
She pulled back, "Did she end up saying yes?"
"Can penguins fly?" I asked, looking down at her.
"No?"
"Well, there's your answer."
She laughed at that causing me to delicately smile. I turned her around so we were facing the mirror.
Her back was pressed up against my chest and she was fiddling with one of my rings.
"You look stunning," I muttered.
She was about to say something else but I pressed my thumb against her mouth and dragged it down her lips.
Our eyes locked in the reflection of the mirror.
I admired her dark brown eyes and the light reflecting off them. I looked down at her lips then back up once I had started to feel an urge.
I was lost in her eyes and she in mine. I never wanted this moment to end. I liked the feeling of her being just as lost in me as I was in her.
"Excuse me, ma'am, are you still in there?"
Emery broke eye contact when we heard an employee's voice through the door.
I opened the door and peeked through, upset that the moment was over.
"It's been an hour I'm going to need to ask you two to leave." The employee stated.
I nodded and shut the door while Emery started picking up her clothes. She reopened the door and pushed me out.
"Thanks for the confidence boost, Deku, but I need to change." She muttered through the door.
I didn't respond instead I just slightly smiled and sat where I was before. She came out a few moments later in her regular clothes with the dress in her left hand and the rest in her right.
"Can you go pay while I go out these back?" She asked, handing me the black dress.
"Sure."
I headed to self-checkout and placed the dress on the counter. Emery eagerly ran to me a few moments later with the biggest grin on her face.
"Midoriya look!"
I looked down and she was holding a silver necklace with Saturn on it.
"Okay..?"
She looked at me like I had offended her, "What do you mean okay!? It's Saturn on a necklace!"
I got why she was showing me this, I was the only one who would get it.
Emery used to go stargazing with her mom, when she was sober of course, and one of those days she asked her to chose a favourite planet and she chose Saturn.
She'd me asked me the same question during one of our roof picnics and I answered with Saturn but she got mad at me for it because "that one was hers."
So I ended up picking Jupiter since it was right next to Saturn but bigger so it looked like it was protecting it in a way.
Of course, she got mad at me for picking a planet that was bigger than hers but I didn't change it because it would "ruin the effect."
"Well do you want it?" I asked, taking the necklace from her.
She nodded eagerly and placed the necklace on the self-checkout counter.
We'd paid and were walking down the street on the way back to her apartment. It was cold and I figured Emery might need a jacket so I looked at her to see she was already wearing mine.
"Is it washed?" I asked, just to mess with her a bit.
She turned to me, "Hm?"
"You said you'd return my jacket once it's washed. Is it washed?"
"This isn't your jacket." She answered.
"It's not?"
She shook her head and I grabbed her hand to make her stop walking. I looked in the hood of the jacket to see my name.
"It's not my jacket?" I smirked.
She gave me a dirty look and started taking it off.
"You can keep it," I stated.
"Really?"
"Mhm, on one condition, you consider me your friend."
Her face dropped and she continued walking. I ran up next to her and stared at her until she got annoyed and answered.
"I'll think about it."
My eyes widened and I ran in front of her, "When you say you'll think about do you mean I'll think about being your friend or I'll about tolerating you."
"I'll think about tolerating you. But don't think you'll get any special treatment, I still hate you."
A huge grin displayed on my face.
"You know you love me." I teased.
"Shut up before I change my mind!"
-
I stayed up most of the night thinking about her and what our future held. I didn't believe in fate nor any of that romance stuff but I refused to believe that we'd met again for no reason.
The day I'd walked into her coffee shop I didn't doubt it was her. It was as if something had connected us as soon as we had locked eyes.
I wasn't in love with her, at least not anymore, but I would be lying if I said I didn't want to be by her side. Platonically of course.
She could insult and kick me all she wanted but a part of me would always want to be in her company. I hadn't felt that way for anyone else and I don't think I ever will.
I didn't know what was going to happen now or in the many days to come, but there was one thing I did know.
Meeting her may have been an accident but it surely wasn't a mistake.
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I hope this chapter kinda showed development in their relationship. That's what I was hoping for. I'm gonna try and change Emery's hairstyles a lot bc most black women tend to do that and I don't want to pull away from the fact that she's black but also don't want to make the entire concept of the story so I gotta balance it out somehow.
Please point out any spelling mistakes. And I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for all the birthday wishes!! Love you all!! <333