A/N: Holy woah it's already been over two years since I've last updated this. Hell, I've rarely been active at all. I really appreciate those who have been remaining patient, so please don't think I've forgotten about you readers!
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[CHAPTER 12]
After a very, very long day of shopping- you and your friends gathered at the rendezvous location and shared your experiences. The sun was gathered over the horizon and setting slowly, now the excitement you all had prior rekindled into satisfaction—as well as happiness.
As for you, this was a day that felt rather.. memorable, in a way. You gazed at two printed photo reels in your hand, the left being the snapshots you took with the nonchalant Todoroki, and the other on the right being with your charismatic boyfriend. Silently, you walked amongst your friends, carelessly lagging behind as you took the time to inspect Todoroki's face.
To think he'd actually take photos with you.. and to think that this mess he has created was simply because it was his own reckless way of 'fighting' for you.. not because he wanted to ruin your relationship with Kirishima.
Your mind wandered without your knowledge, leading to the persistent memory in which you always tried to dismiss; that moment where Todoroki stole your first kiss. Thinking about that brought nothing but discomfort... but now; as the air between you two had been cleared, the reality of that kiss had been crashing down at full force.
You felt your cheeks becoming hotter and hotter, and before you knew it you were squeezing your lips together and covering them hesitantly. 'Cut the crap, you stupid brain!' You shoved the reel into your pocket, and then gripped Kirishima's photo and held it close to your chest. 'He may have apologized, but that doesn't change the fact that he stole something from me! That bastard!' You thought in a grumble as you agitatedly tousled the back of your head.
But suddenly, his words from that day was beginning to make much more sense...
You thought they were incredibly vague, but they were as clear as crystal... How he wanted to, "take his time to get you back." That all may be true, but.. you had only one concern amidst all of this;
What about your feelings?
You couldn't help but feel like he'd barely take them into account. He ignored every rule of caution and got between you and Kirishima, fully aware that you didn't want him to be. In order to truly move past this, part of you wanted to be certain that he wouldn't try anything more. Todoroki is bold, and for that—you are somewhat wary to be around him.
"Hey! Whatcha' laggin' around back here for?" Kaminari slowed his pace and matched yours, evenly walking alongside of you with one of his genial, friendly grins. To your bewilderment, you hadn't noticed that Todoroki—who was listening to Iida and Uraraka before, gave you a curious peer at the corner of his eye. And as for Kirishima, he was far too tied up with playing rock-paper-scissors with Bakugou; perhaps betting on something there.
"Ah.. I was just thinking about a lot of stuff today. I had so much fun!" You'd outsmart him with a lovely smile, "Next time we should all hang out together as a group, I know that we'd all have a blast!" The more you radiated energetic energy, Kaminari wanted to eagerly do the same.
"All right! Now that's the talk I was lookin' forward to!" He leaned his elbow up against your shoulder, shooting you a thumbs up. "Let's get the group to do the same again, maybe we all could go to a theme park or something. Don't go and forget about this, yeah?"
Out of the blue, a done-deal was decided between you and class 1-A's most cheerful male. You had no difficulty expressing your fondness over the idea, and after the plans were in motion, the both of you kept up with a delightful conversation after that...
Yet, you were blissfully unaware of the jealous eyes watching your every move.
Heights Alliance
>[6:43 PM]<
"We're back everyone—safe and sound." Announced Kirishima. He stayed by the door and crouched down to untie his shoelaces, and while the rest of your group entered the common area—you could see the faces of your other peers who were lounging around and watching some T.V casually. Ashido beamed up upon the arrival of all of you, to which she happily approached with a remote in hand.
"Gooosh! Do you guys have any idea how bored I was?!" She'd quickly saunter up to the rest of you, making a dash right up to Uraraka so she could interlock arms with her. "I thought I'd die of boredom!!" There she pouted childishly, starting up a bit of laughter from her friends in the following area. Kaminari, on the other hand—who spent his time entering the room and taking his seat on the couch—immediately relaxed, but also had a bit of speculation he wanted to get off his chest.
"Then why'd you stay here? You could've came with us, y'know. The more, the merrier—" He slumped his head back, "And it's strange.. I kind of figured you'd be the first to jump up to the mall with us."
Kaminari's sentence, ever so oblivious, caused your nerves to flinch as it'd reminded you of your guilt from before. You took a peek towards Ashido and then lowered your eyes again—fighting the urge to pull your own hair out. Everyone had been given an unpleasant look from Ashido; and as she'd known that it was impossible to hide her dejection.. she cheered up nonetheless, clenching her fists energetically. "Ah, well, you know me! A girl needs her lazy day."
After her words, you felt repulsed by yourself. Now you could only feel regret considering that you allowed a friend to suffer. While it wasn't completely deliberate... There's still no denying your role in this matter. And as you stared at the pinkette silently with guilty eyes, the layer of thick tension hadn't actually been noticed by your classmates — only a certain pair of optics noted the strange atmosphere.. but he refused to confront it right away.
"I'm going to put my things away now." Todoroki was the first to open his mouth after a bit of silence trespassed. He raised his small bag full of the mall goods he had bought earlier, and by the time most of you knew it — the young man was off to his bedroom. As always, he leaves just as quietly as he appears.
Everyone quickly dispersed after that. Ashido and Uraraka went on to converse with Tsuyu, Midoriya went outside to perhaps get a few hours of training in, Kaminari would leave to take a shower, and as for you — you stayed behind in the common area once you noticed Kirishima sitting alone on the couch, gazing at something. It wasn't until you approached some more from behind did you finally steal a glance at what was snagging his attention.
"Oh! I love looking at our photo reel too." You surprised your lover by leaning over him from behind, towering over the young man who sat unsuspected on the lush cushions. Obviously due to the shocking surprise of your voice— it prompted him to jolt before whipping his head around. "[Y/N]!! Would you quit doing that?" Kirishima yelled, but then inwardly breathed out in relief. Him getting frightened easily isn't very manly at all. Yet he returns his eyes back to the photo of you both — smiling to himself sheepishly in the process. "But uh, yeah.. I really like this picture. I just wish we could've gone there on an actual date together, y'know?" Kirishima scratched his head as he shyly blushed in embarrassment. Under normal circumstances you could easily resist the urge to tease him, although today you seriously couldn't fight that temptation.
Suddenly you slung your arms around his neck as if you were an overwhelmingly clingy toddler; puckering your lips whilst leaning your head into his space just to invade it annoyingly. After all, you know how embarrassed contact makes him!
"Awh! Is the manly red riot pouting on me? Knowing just how much I wuuuv him?!"
"[Y-..Y/N]! Give me some space, otherwise everyone'll get the wrong idea!"
The voices of two lovebirds preceded into the backgrounds while the focus shifts subtly. You and Kirishima were having a friendly, intimate moment, however the same couldn't be said for the most mysterious person in your class. By the time Todoroki had approached his bedroom door, he looked as boring and dull as ever—despite this, he was staring at his door handle in an odd sort of grimace — like he was currently hesitating.
But with some more time he'd finally reach to twist and pull against the door handle, and in return his door opened enough for him to get inside. From there, he hit the light switch and dropped the bag he carried next to the door in an orderly fashion, just before finally propping himself down at his traditional desk—one where he'd have to sit on the floor in order to use.
"I finally get to unwind..."
Todoroki muttered. He had flipped his hands over and looked at his palms.. just staring at them blankly. He thought about his day, and his memories with you that came along with it steadily resurfaced. That's when he smiled to himself. It wasn't a bright smile, yet it was relatively happy... That's something that everyone around him doesn't see often, either. "You had fun too, didn't you?" Almost as though he was asking himself that peculiar question, Todoroki took out his singular photo reel—on it were the photos he'd taken with you. His fingertips carefully scanned your face in a loving manner, before his attention would suddenly divert to his desk drawer.
Pulling the small brown knob in a swift, gentle motion — quickly what revealed to be was a compartment of items.. all of which were a little random, yet uncanny—considering these neatly assorted things did not belong to him.
Well, I suppose they did in a sense... Because what's yours is also his.
Those times you'd have a pencil or two in class only for them to suddenly vanish, or when you seemingly 'missplaced' the eraser you were using after break. Losing school materials was next to practical though. It's not like he stole your straws or toothbrushes... That'd just make him a creep, and he wouldn't want that. Your phone was also one of the many things he kept neatly preserved in his drawer — and once Todoroki diverted his gaze right towards it, he thought about his 'plan' to take you back.
The things that he's doing may seem irrational, but they were for a reason—for a noble cause—because as he saw it; you were his prized posession..
Ever since the both of you made that fateful encounter.
[Chapter END]