A/N part two of a double update! Enjoy! Please vote and comment!
Lani POV:
"Alright, Shouto. Class is officially in session."
The half and half guy blinked at me boredly as he sipped his boba and chewed on the pearls.
"But, I'm not in class. We're at the park." He explained as if I wasn't aware, leaning his back against the picnic table he sat at.
Classic. He's adorable, isn't he?
I remained standing in front of him, unable to sit in one place for very long.
"Oh yeah—well, I spend so much of my time stuck at a desk, I wanted a change of scenery." I said, gesturing to the giant tree that shaded our heads. "It's still class and you're still my student."
I have to admit - I was surprised Shouto agreed to commit to this 'heartthrob' role last night. But, definitely pleasantly surprised. It's been a long time since I met a hero I couldn't make desirable. Sure, he might present some challenges, but I haven't given up hope yet.
With autumn starting, the leaves were already beginning to change colors, softly raining down shades of orange and red atop our heads.
Shouto continued to sip his boba—the one I bought him to bribe him into coming to the park, not noticing the orange leaf that floated atop his hair.
"I don't want you as my teacher." His tone was plain, looking me up and down uneventfully.
And, while a comment like that early on in our partnership would have had me fuming steam from my ears, now I've come to know Shouto and how he operates.
He's trying to make a joke—actually, maybe he's not—it doesn't matter, because he already agreed to keep our partnership. I know he wants to be here—or, if he doesn't, he's here anyways.
...okay, forget it.
"Too bad." I grinned deviously, pacing the damp soil of the grass. "Starting now, I am gonna turn you into the hottest, sexiest, most delicious piece of eye candy the world has ever seen."
His eyes remained half lidded and unaffected.
"I don't eat candy."
"You don't eat candy?" I gawked, giving my tongue a small click. "Man, I have so much to teach you—not the point."
The sound of his straw sucking vigorously to the bottom of his drink was loud, chewing the last boba pearl in the cup.
Wow. He must like boba. I've barely touched mine.
Okay. Boba and cold soba. That's two things I've learned he likes.
"Today's lesson is your first and probably one of your most important ones during your...glow up? Whatever. But, it all starts....with this." I grinned, pulling my phone out of the pocket of my coat.
Shouto looked at it as I held it up for him to see, dual colored hair fluttering softly in the fall breeze.
"Your cracked phone screen?" He guessed in confusion, causing me to shake my head.
"No, sir. It's the wonderful, cutthroat, messed up world of.....social media." I gasped, dangling the device with lazy awe.
I was trying to hype up the idea, but Shouto didn't buy into it.
"Oh. I don't really use it." He dismissed, glancing over at my full boba cup with more interest.
"I didn't think so and that's fine." I reassured, walking back towards his spot. "You still don't really have to. As your PR, I can run your account and pretend to be you. That's what most celebrities do."
He watched as I swiped my drink off the table, taking one more generous sip before handing him the rest.
His dual colored eyes barely warmed at the sight of the taro milk tea, giving the lavender liquid a stir.
"You don't like it?" He asked, glancing up at me to be sure.
Actually, I did like it. But, it's clear he likes it more.
"I had enough. Go ahead." I dismissed lightly, hearing him murmur a small 'thanks.'
His lips closed around the fluorescent straw, unintentionally pressing into the faint lipstick mark I left on it.
He pulled back with a hum, gliding his tongue along his lips curiously.
"It taste like peach." He uttered in confusion, looking back at the drink. "It's taro, isn't it? Did you add peach?"
I looked at him blankly before the dots connected in my head, feeling my eyes go a bit wide in realization.
Whoops.
Rubbing the back of my neck, I puffed out my cheeks and broke the news to him. "Sorry. That's actually...my lipstick. If you want, you can take the straw from yours and put it in my drink."
His pupils barely shrunk at the words before he glanced back to the drink, only now seeing the lipstick mark on the straw.
The look on his face was neutral in a way I couldn't understand—only for a few seconds before he continued on as normal.
"No. That's alright. I don't mind." He said, taking another sip from my straw.
Once again, the tip of his tongue glossed along the seam of his lip when he pulled away, sparking a bubbling heat within my stomach.
Oh...I....
I think...he likes the taste of my lipstick.
Unintentionally, I grazed my fingers along my mouth, suddenly feeling a little warm under my coat.
Everytime he closes his mouth around the straw....around the lipstick print...
Hey, maybe he does have some natural heartthrob qualities after all. It makes my job easier, so that's great...
I cleared my throat and loosened the top button of my jacket, looking down and watching my boots crunch atop the leaves instead.
Our conversation naturally broke as Shouto enjoyed my drink. Even so, the silence wasn't awkward. Silences with him never seem to be. Especially not on such a beautiful day.
To top it off, we weren't the only ones with a day off, it seems. The park was big and beautiful, filled with families and couples having picnics in the grass or jogging. Even if we found a secluded table under this tree, the faint sound of people's laughter was still a nice treat.
Puffy, gray clouds stamped the sky, but the faint spots of sun shining through let everyone know the storm was still a few hours away.
I didn't think Shouto managed to absorb any parts of my social media celebrity conversation until he spoke minutes later.
"If the celebrities don't want to post on social media themselves, then why do they have the accounts?" He inquired genuinely, shaking the autumn leaves out of his hair.
"To stay relevant, of course." I mused, shoving my hands in the front pockets of my coat. "Like, how else will we know they had a hotdog for dinner if they don't tell us?"
His brow quirked up as I lost him again, causing me to chuckle at his funny, confused face.
Heh. He's got a good meme face.
"We...wouldn't..." He said slowly, still not grasping the concept.
That's okay. We'll get there.
"Exactly. Now you said you don't use social media much. Does that mean you have your own account and it's just inactive?" I asked, watching him reach behind him and set my half empty drink on the picnic table.
He nodded and pulled out his phone, typing in his passcode before navigating to Instagram.
I took a seat next to him on the bench, leaning in close as he directed the screen to his personal page.
He has a jacket on, but somehow I bet he'd feel just as cozy without it. He's got a natural warmth on one side and that comforting smell of soap all the time.
His elbows rested on the picnic table as he rotated the phone in my direction, showing me his Instagram profile...
Shouto Todoroki.
29 followers. 2 posts.
I leaned in even closer to get a better look, feeling the strands of our hair intermingling.
"Alright. I see your account is private. We'll need to make it public after posting more pictures." I said, looking up from his phone and to his face. "Is that okay?"
He glanced at me when he sensed my gaze, meeting my eyes before they slowly trailed towards my mouth.
"Sure." He murmured, shooting his attention back up in an instant.
Being so close, I can smell the remnants of sweet milk tea lingering in his breath.
"Great. Now let's take a look at your actual pictures." I spoke quieter with our distance, looking back towards his phone.
He followed my lead and looked with me, scooting just a little closer into my vicinity so I'd be able to see.
He had two pictures. Both posted from last year.
"Okay. One picture is a blurry screen and the other is a picture of your sock...with a hole in it?" I pursed my lips in confusion. "Why did you take this?"
Shouto adjusted in his spot, knocking his knee against mine under the table.
"Well, Midoriya's the one who told me to make an Instagram. He said social media was used to document things that happen to you. I got a hole in my sock that day, so I told people about it." He explained, making me press my lips together so I wouldn't laugh.
I didn't want to laugh because I was chastising him. I wanted to laugh because he's cute.
....like I said, it just makes my job easier. That's all...
"Alright, well, you have the right idea." I encouraged, squinting my eyes in contemplation. "Ehhh. Kinda. The thing is, social media isn't really about honesty. If anything, it's about making your life appear hotter to others, compared to how it actually is—from a celebrity perspective, anyways."
He hummed softly in thought. "I don't know how that would work."
"Then I'll explain it. We want people to fawn over you, Shouto." I smirked. "To have their heart race when you post a selfie—to share your account with all their friends, and make them swoon."
"Swoon?" He asked before I gave him a more detailed example.
I pressed my hand to my forehead and gasped, leaning my back into his side. "'Ohhh, Shouto, you're so hot!' 'Shouto, you're amazing.' 'Shouto is sooo daddy!'"
Resting my head on his shoulder, I looked up at him with teasing awe, seeing him meet my gaze unbothered as he said...
"I don't want to be their father."
"Exactly. Play hard to get just like that." I winked, lightly 'boop-ing' the tip of his nose.
His eyes blinked a few times in surprise, nose twitching and scrunching from my touch.
Chuckling, I sat back up and adjusted myself on the bench, looking back at his phone. "Can I delete the sock and blurry pictures? Or do you wanna keep them up?"
Sure, it might be weird to ask him that. It's not as if the sock pictures are gonna draw any swoon worthy attention on him.
But, at the same time, it's these little things that make up Shouto's identity. No matter how small, I don't want to change things he feels relate to himself.
He pursed his lips in thought, before shrugging.
"I'd like to keep them up actually." His voice was pure, almost seeming prideful of his two pictures.
"Okay, I won't touch them." I nudged his shoulder reassuringly. "But, I will say, we need some pictures of you and your life. Am I allowed to go through your camera roll?"
Definitely need to ask for that one-
"Sure." He agreed instantly, tossing me his phone.
Brave boy? Or just too innocent? I can't tell.
Taking his phone in hand, the two of us looked at the screen as I navigated to his camera roll.
Upon the first few scrolls, nothing seemed to stick out. There were pictures of his meals before he ate them—which did look delicious, a screenshot of a free hero suit repair coupon from Mei Hatsume's shop in his email, a picture of his green haired friend who was laughing with chopsticks up both of his nostrils....
My heart stuttered to a halt in my chest as I came across a very unexpected picture, unintentionally gasping out loud.
It was a picture of Shouto and a woman—an incredibly gorgeous woman. She had her arm around his shoulder, with her other arm extended to take the picture. She was smiling. Shouto wasn't.
"Whoa. Who is that?" I breathed out in surprise, unable to stop myself from zooming in. "She's beautiful."
Shouto melted closer to me to get a look, seeming neutral about the whole thing.
"Oh. That's my ex-girlfriend." He said casually, causing my eyes to bulge out of my head.
What?
That—that'ssss Shouto's ex-girlfriend?—Shouto has an ex-girlfriend???
For one of the rare times I've known him, he left me speechless. My mouth open and closed like a fish looking for food.
I mean, we hadn't gotten to the topic of intimacy and relationships yet, but I wasn't so naive to think Shouto hadn't been intimate with someone—or was I? I don't know, I feel pretty damn shocked right now...
Like I've been saying, he seems like he's got the romantic IQ of—say it with me—a piece of corn.
And now I've come to find out he's dated before—and dated this woman who looks like she could be on the cover of every modeling billboard in the country?—hell, I think I've actually seen her on stuff before!!
Am I missing something here? I'm not saying this woman is out of Shouto's league because the man is absolutely just as gorgeous as his ex. It shouldn't be a surprise. But...I...I just...
I don't even know. My brain can't comprehend my current thoughts.
Suddenly, I find myself incredibly curious. He said ex girlfriend. Why did they break up? Who broke up with who? How does Shouto feel about her now? What kind of boyfriend was Shouto to this woman?
Did he kiss her?—of course he did. Duh. That was his girlfriend. But, still, I can't even picture the sight of Shouto kissing anyone—Shouto being romantic with someone—intimate-
And—these questions are all related to work, by the way. His romantic history is incredibly important for my job-
"Are you okay?" His voice suddenly cut through my thoughts, causing me to blink my eyes and look at him.
"H-Huh?"
He was already looking at me, balancing out my shocked state with his lazy one. His eyes glided upwards towards my hair, instinctively reaching his hand out.
His fingers tickled my scalp as he plucked the leaf free from my locks, looking down at the thing softly before letting it catch on the fall breeze.
"I asked if you were okay. You stopped talking and started touching your face a lot. You do that when something stresses you out." He said, causing my pupils to shrink.
I do?—how does he even know that? I had no idea I do that when I'm stressed out.
He's way more perceptive than he lets on—hell, apparently he's more romantic than he lets on as well.
What if....
Omg.
What if he's been fucking with me this whole time?—what if he's a closet fuck boy?-
"Does it upset you that I had a girlfriend?" His voice cut through my thoughts a second time, only this question instantly threw me off guard.
I felt discombobulated—my poised, snarky facade slipping completely out of my mouth and replacing with my true face.
My heart jumped as if he just caught me in something. But, he didn't.
"Wha—no!" I defended, slapping a hand over my mouth as I felt my cheeks starting to heat up. "Of course not-"
"Really? Because you seem very upset." He simply said again, unknowingly frazzling me once more.
He makes it sound like it's a fact he's just pointing out!
Oh my god, I need to chill. I haven't been frazzled over any man since I've been a teenager. This is ridiculous.
And I'm not about to let Shouto Todoroki be the one to trip me up. Can you imagine?
Inhaling deeply, I tried to relax, resting my elbows on the picnic table before turning to him.
"I'm not upset. Just....surprised." I explained calmly, admittedly taking another look at the picture. "You...you never told me you had such a beautiful girlfriend."
"Well—ex-girlfriend, remember?" He reminded me with a stolen glance. "And I guess it makes sense that she's beautiful. She models."
Of course she models—I told you she probably modeled, didn't I?
"I...I'm not surprised." I said, running a hand through my hair. "How long were you guys together?"
He shrugged, not seeming nearly as interested in the topic as I was.
"Three years."
Ah. That's a long time...
Being the nosy person I am, I wanted to pry further. But...
I feel like I've already come across overly eager towards this topic, and I actually feel embarrassed about that...
Besides, the point of today is to build up his social media.
Clearing my throat, I clicked Shouto's phone closed and handed it to him, shifting one of my legs so I straddled the picnic bench.
"Alright, well, I don't think you have a lot of pics on your camera roll we can use." I chuckled. "That just means we'll have to take new ones, and that brings us to the next phase of this plan."
I stood up from the bench and Shouto turned around so he was facing me, looking curious now.
"Really? What's the next phase?" He asked, before my lips curled with a smirk.
"Shouto, it's time for a photoshoot."