December 20th
Uraraka's eyes were trained on the ceiling. She fell asleep for about four hours, but it wasn't steady. She kept waking up, resulting in a bout of tossing and turning until sleep finally pounced on her.
The sun shone through her windows, but a curtain blocked its rays from entering. The pink sunlight that was emitted from her red curtains spattered onto the floor.
She needed to stop being selfish. She should at least do something productive. Maybe she should go visit Deku, or help a classmate find a Secret Santa gift. Asui might need help. Uraraka's Secret Santa was Aoyama, and that was a piece of cake. He would've liked anything as long as it was shiny or sparkly. She had gotten him a silver glittery scarf she found, and it just screamed Aoyama to her.
However, when thinking of all the ways she could help her friends, her muscles didn't move at all. Her heart felt like a dead weight, and it was restraining the rest of her body to actually get up because it was so heavy.
Why should she get up, if Bakugou would just hurt her even more? She didn't think she could handle any more damage at the moment.
She wasn't feeling sorry for herself, but extremely disappointed. Compared to last night, she was feeling a little better, but only because she had released all of her anger.
A few notes sat at the bottom of her door. The other girls must've slipped them in while she wasn't paying attention. It was tempting, but Uraraka still didn't feel like leaving her bed.
Time to get back to scolding herself. She closed her eyes, curling into a tight ball underneath her blankets. Only her nose peeped out so that she could get air.
It took four minutes, but the doorknob rattled and jiggled. Uraraka ignored this, just as she had the night before. She still wanted to be alone.
To her horror, the door finally swung open. Uraraka wished that she was Hagakure at this moment. She wanted to be invisible. She retracted her nose into the covers, and stayed as still as possible.
"Uraraka? I know you're there." A deep voice growled.
Bakugou?
She heard the door shut, and a squeak as an added weight applied itself to the foot of the bed.
"I'm not going to force you to get out of the blanket, but we need to talk." Her heart melted at how gentle Bakugou's voice sounded.
Anxiety simmered at the bottom of her stomach. This was the very last person she wanted to see. Here he was, just pulling her heartstrings like a broken cassette tape.
"I know why you're hurt. It's more than what happened with Mineta." Bakugou's voice was still soft, like trying to coax a bunny to come closer. "Still, what you did was pretty badass. Mineta reported you to the teachers, but they considered it self-defense on your end. You're not in trouble."
Uraraka felt some of her burden lift from her heart. She peeked up from her covers, seeing Bakugou's red eyes right on her. "Really?" she asked, her voice a bit husky from its temporary deactivation.
Bakugou nodded. "Really."
Uraraka sighed. "That's good to know."
"Yeah. But like I said, this isn't what I wanted to talk to you about." Bakugou crossed his legs, looking back over at Uraraka. "I.. I heard what you told Deku awhile back, okay?"
Uraraka felt her heart almost burst out of her ribcage, and shock ran up her wrists and chest. Before she could panic even further, Bakugou placed a hand on her shoulder. It wasn't violent, but calm. He wasn't going to get mad and use his explosions. It was quite a contrast from the way he had treated her at the Sports Festival. Maybe he was sorry. You never knew with Bakugou.
"I thought a lot about what you said. You've been standing out to me since. I know it's a bastard move to get with Kirishima after hearing your side of things, which is why I could tell you were hurt. I know an apology won't do very much, so I came here wondering if there's anything I could possibly do."
Uraraka's eyes widened, and she sat for a moment, stunned. She was right all along. Bakugou did have a sweet side. She slowly shook her head. "No.. I think I just need time to recover, is all.." She felt hurt. If Bakugou knew about her feelings before Kirishima, then that meant he didn't like her back for sure. She had beaten Kirishima to it, and yet, Bakugou still picked him.
Bakugou looked like he knew what she was thinking. "Ochaco," he murmured. Her face burst into a blushing mess. He had used her first name! "I liked you, too. Don't tell yourself that you're not good enough, because you are. This just wasn't meant to work out. I'd rather have you with a person you're happy with, than to end up with me. You think you'd love me, but I know how hard it is to have me around. I don't get much better than I already am.
"Besides.. I was already worried that the relationship we had was only hung by a thread. The only way we connect at all is through Deku and the Sports Festival. If things were to break off, we'd probably never talk to each other ever again. I can't afford to risk that. The truth is, I see you as a person I could trust. A close friend, if we got to know each other better. Don't take that harshly, because that's not what I'm saying."
As the more Bakugou had talked, Uraraka was realizing that he was right. It made sense. The Sports Festival and Deku weren't really their greatest sources. For one, Bakugou hated Deku, so that wasn't a very strong link anyway. At the Sports Festival, Bakugou was practically bullying her.
The friend thing, though? She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Bakugou hated the fact that he was even connected to Kirishima, let alone her.
She saw the opportunity though, and she had to take it. "Yes. I can do that. Be your friend, I mean." This felt like she was betraying Deku, so she said, "Only under one condition, though."
"What's that?" Bakugou asked.
"I don't ever want you or Deku fighting over me. Also, I want you to go easier on him, and me. I know how difficult it is, but the only way I'll know you actually care about me is if you prove how much you want to be friends. Katsuki, you're great, but I don't want to be treated as harshly as you treat Kirishima and Kaminari."
Bakugou nodded in understanding, somehow maintaining his cool. Uraraka could hardly believe that this was the real Bakugou. "Wait a minute.. are you Toga disguised as Bakugou?" She shrunk away from him.
Bakugou scoffed. "No, you i-", he cut himself off, then tried again. "No. I'm the real Bakugou." He set off mini explosions from his hands. "See?"
Uraraka was worried that he'd set her bed on fire, so she patted out her blankets just in case. "..Why are you being so nice to me?"
"Because I'll scare you away if I act like I normally do. Plus, I don't really have any reason to be angry at you." He ruffled her hair playfully. "Pink cheeks."
"I appreciate the effort, Katsuki." Uraraka finally smiled genuinely, and she playfully batted at his hand.
Bakugou cracked a half-grin. "Anytime. Will you come out of your room now? You've been worrying us."
"Yeah," Uraraka answered with a nod. "Hey.. how did you get into my room in the first place?"
Bakugou held up a mangled paperclip. "Picked the lock."
"Makes sense." Uraraka smiled softly. "Thanks for talking to me, by the way. I didn't realize how much I needed it."
Bakugou nodded. "Yeah. Anytime. By the way, you can't tell anyone that we had this talk."
Uraraka held up her pinky. "I promise."
Bakugou, being the nerd that he is, linked his own with hers. There was a blue flash between their fingers, and Bakugou began to defy gravity, floating up to her ceiling. "OCHACO!" he shouted, flailing as he tried to get back down.
Uraraka smiled innocently, then started to laugh as she saw how frustrated he was getting. Explosions were sparking from his hands, but she knew that he wasn't going to aim them anywhere.
"I still promise to keep this secret! I just wanted to see if you'd stick to your word first!" Uraraka winked.
Bakugou looked a little amused. "Smart. Now, let me down."
So she did.
Without any attempt to catch him.
Needless to say, Bakugou still proved to keep his promise.
(A/N: The votes and reads I've been getting make me so happy. Thanks so much, guys! You're the best!)