It was something you had from childhood: Pyrophobia. An irrational fear of fire that you couldn't explain simply. Your parents had perished in a massive house fire, leaving you with burn marks and mental wounds. The Pro Hero, Endeavor, had gone to stop the villain causing the inferno, but only succeeding in making you even more paranoid.
Since then, you avoided all mention of him on the television, going so far as to turn it off whenever he was shown. You completely rejected anyone with a fire-based quirk, not out of spite, but fear for your life.
So it terrified you when you were accepted into UA's hero course, Class 1-A with none other than Shouto Todoroki, son of the man who still gave you nightmares. You would not talk to him, let alone be within ten feet of him. You were incredibly apprehensive upon learning of his quirk, so much so that you were nearly ready to quit UA.
However, he really surprised you. He seemed to reject his father's power almost as much as you did. This piqued your curiosity, but your nerves never allowed you to start a conversation. You didn't think his left side was unsightly – rather, you liked it.
In all honesty, it scared you; not wanting to be reminded of the horrible event plaguing every dream you had. But, sometimes, it was like you couldn't look away. Your eyes refused to leave the bi-haired boy. Whenever he caught you staring, you would internally shut down, squeaking quietly and shifting your gaze.
He sighed. How many more times were you going to glance his way, follow him in the corridors, or become jumpy around him, before you actually made an effort to formally introduce yourself?
He knew who you were, but that wasn't the point.
It worried him – upon your first encounter, you flinched, looking at him as much the same manner as his mother, before she poured boiling water on his face. Once more, he was left saddened and wondering if you thought he was ugly.
You kept up the same routine of awkward, shaky glances and silent judgements (at least, he thought you were judging him) for a while. That was, until he decided he'd had enough. When class ended, he walked to your desk with a serious, but slightly troubled aura.
"Hey." He greeted, monotonously.
Your eyes snapped towards him, and you jumped up, causing the desk to move forward. Your face quickly started to show fear and confusion, as you tried in vain to think of an excuse to free you from the situation.
Giving up, you averted eye-contact. "H-H-Hi..."
"We need to talk." He stated, now clearly nervous.
He heard you gulp, and you swore he would be able to hear your heart pounding against your chest.
"W-What ab-bout?" You questioned, growing increasingly tense.
"You don't like me."
For a moment, your world split into two. You stood, gaping at the boy in front of you, trying to work out if he was genuinely concerned with that thought.
"I-I do." You muttered, red-faced.
"Then why do you always avoid me?" He asked.
"I h-have...I-" You stuttered, clenching your fist in an effort to calm yourself down.
Shouto remained mute, acknowledging and respecting your need for focus. He was willing to stay the entire day if he needed to – there was something about you that had caught his attention, and he was going to make sure you didn't hate him.
"P-PYROPHOBIA!" You yelled.
Covering your mouth with both hands, you turned away, murmuring to yourself in embarrassment. Shouto let it sink in. It made sense – you never seemed comfortable when someone talked about his father, or any hero/villain with a fire-type quirk. But, he really saw no reason for you to be afraid of him.
He never used his left side.
"I-I have p-pyrophobia." You whispered, edging ever-further from where he stood.
With every step you took, he also took one. Meaning, you weren't able to escape him. He soon had you cornered. By the end of the day, he would make sure you knew there was nothing to be fearful of.
[Word Count: 695]