[CHAPTER 2]
It's been at least a month since you and Kirishima became a couple. It was embarrassing to let your classmates in on it, but in the end there was really no choice. You remembered Sero choking him out about spilling everything.
You were living a content life now. It wasn't completely full of flowers and sunshine though, but that was fine. During class, you sneaked occasional glances toward your lover with red hair. Unfortunately you couldn't get a good look of him considering you sat behind Ochako Uraraka, but as usual; that red hair of his stood out almost too much.
Being passed an assignment from the girl ahead of you, you politely muttered a thank you, and then read the contents on the sheet as your teacher, Ectoplasm, was on the subject of a presentation. "For this project, you'll be working in pairs. Your partners were selected by me, and the help of your homeroom teacher, Mister Aizawa."
"Awe man, I'm paired up with Sero.. don't make me take care of the work all by myself..." Said Ojiro. Sero grinned sheepishly. "No way I'd do that! Have some faith!" On the other hand, Uraraka clenched her fist followed by an adored smile. "All right! I'm with Tsuyu!"
Midoriya was gazing into your row, however he wasn't looking at you, but towards his good friend Iida. "Looks like I'm paired up with Iida, this might have worked out better than expected..." From listening to everyone in the room, they were going on about who they were partnered up with, whether they were elated or heavily disappointed. And thanks to the uneven number of students in the room, only one group had to work with three students.
Looking down at your assignment, you were curious to see who you were working with, and to your surprise... it was someone who made you gather a peculiar sensation.
Shoto Todoroki.
You weren't nervous, afraid or even disappointed. Todoroki has always been the quiet and reserved type, so you knew next to nothing about him unlike Midoriya and Bakugou. There were many times were you wanted to know what he was thinking, and during the entire year he never showed any interest in people around him, including you. Perhaps this was a golden opportunity to break him free of his shell?
You looked into his direction. You already knew that he discovered the fact that the two of you were partners by now, and just like always he didn't seem to flinch. He simply.. sat there... gazing at the sheet in his hold. It was until you watched him lift his hand, and once Ectoplasm acknowledged this, he spoke up. "..Are we allowed to make partner changes?"
Heart dropping, his question was awfully rude and offensive. You looked down at your desk with burrowed eyebrows. You could hear a few students whispering, wondering who he could've possibly been paired up with to have him ask something like that, which was... out of character for him.
"No way, maybe he's teamed with Mineta?" Ashido covered her mouth, blue lines of discouragement amending. Mineta dropped his jaw. "No, I'm not! I'm with Shoji! What's that supposed to mean anyway?? Everyone likes me!"
A lot of people rolled their eyes. Their teacher calmed their chatter with a mere clear of his throat, continuing furthermore. "No, you can not. If you are dissatisfied with your current partner, it can't be helped." Not long after his sentence, the bell had rang loudly, signalling for their lunch break. "If you don't like your partner, think of it as a way to strengthen your bond. Class dismissed."
Ectoplasm left the room, leaving very few people to groan in agony. You sank down into your seat, sneaking yet another glance toward Todoroki. It looked like he was asking Yaoyorozu a question, leading to your sigh. 'He doesn't even look at me, how am I supposed to talk to him? I don't want to annoy him since he considered changing his partner...'
Little to your knowledge, your lover approached you. Kirishima would flick your forehead as a toothy smile arose. "What's gotten you so down, huh [Y/N]?" The worries you had relinquished once Kirishima was in your perimeter. Sitting up a little bit more, the eagerness scouring your expression was contagious and was also plastered onto your lover's face. "Eijiro!" You exclaimed.
Uraraka turned around a bit, giggling aloud. "You know, I still can't get used to this! It's a refreshing sight to see though!" Her honest remark caused your heart to squeeze. You couldn't believe it either.. it was like every day you were living in a dream.
Kirishima was abashed as always. He didn't ignore Uraraka's comment, mostly because it was difficult to do. At the same time, he didn't necessarily mind it, it was like enjoyed the attention regarding your relationship with him.
The abrupt noise of someone standing up made all eyes fall toward the individual. She was seen standing, her unkempt pink hair concealing the expression she wore. She started gathering her belongings to make her exit, causing Hagakure to stand in the process. "Ashido! Where are you going? You usually go to lunch with us.."
The pinkette hadn't uttered a word until she slid the door to the side. "I feel sick so I'm going to recovery girl..." And with that, she left. Kirishima held somewhat of a guilty look on his face, and amidst the strange atmosphere, other students started to leave as well.
"Hey, Shitty hair. Let's go. We should grab our lunches and then start planning for our assignment." The egotistical, mussy haired perfectionist spoke, earning your curious eyes. "Oh, you're working with Bakugou?"
Your lover nodded. "I guess Ectoplasm didn't want him working with others like Midoriya since he doesn't get along well with anyone. I respect his decision, though." He was about to turn and leave, but before that he leaned close to stroke your head with a grin. "I'll try and finish as soon as possible so we can have free time together! See ya, [Y/N]!"
He never failed to make you feel so much warmth in your chest. Lifting your hand up to wave, a small giggle left you at the sight of Bakugou kicking the redhead out of the door, his hands tucked into his pockets.
Since it was only you residing in the room, you stood up to prepare yourself to leave, though in the process you felt a pensive stare glue onto you. Naturally it occurred for you to look around, and in doing so it struck you that you weren't alone. In fact, there was another classmate of yours harboring different hair colors, as well as eye colors. 'I thought Todoroki had left...?'
Well, there goes the thought of you being alone.
Todoroki averted his eyes back onto his desk, coming off nonchalantly which never failed to make you twitch a brow. After a few seconds, he then rose as well, putting the strap of his bag along his shoulder.
This was strange. You never really felt it before... But he made you feel extremely wary. Your mind urged you to avoid him, however another part of you knew that avoidance would end up futile. He started making his way to the door, uttering not a word or even sparing you a glance.
He was supposed to be your partner, so why isn't he saying anything? The more you thought about it, the more your irritation rose, to the point you stormed up to him and clenched your fists behind his back. "T-Todoroki!"
You had to do something. The both of you were partners.
The male continued looking at the door for a few more seconds before finally turning on his heel, facing you only slightly. "..Do you need something, [L/N]?"
You closed your eyes and exhaled, relieving yourself from a bit of tension. "..Yes. I was wondering.. if you'd like to work on our presentation together? Maybe after school.. Or a-"
"No thank you."
At his response, you flinched and even became painted white. You didn't expect him to refuse. Just what was his deal??!
It looked like he was going to carry on with his day since he was on the verge of turning, but you instinctively reached for the rem of his uniform blazer, your fingers clinging to the fabric while looking down. This immediately stopped him. "Um.. I know we've only just been assigned with each other... but... it already feels like... you're pushing me away.."
Todoroki averted his eyes onto you, giving you an odd look. As seconds ensued however, his expression went back to his trademark calm. "I'm not pushing you away." He simply replied, igniting an infuriated fire under you. "O-Oh yeah? Then how can you explain the fact that you wanted a partner change? Or the way you just rejected me just now?"
Your classmate stared towards you, that blank look of his steadily becoming something more.
His entire body shifted to face you. The sounds of his steps filled the air, and what alarmed you most was the air beginning to take form around the both of you. Todoroki seemed... strange. Your body was overrun by impulse resulting in your stagger backwards and your brief collision against the teacher's desk. By the time you locked eyes with Todoroki, you gulped, meanwhile his pensive gaze never relinquished.
He slowly tilted his head, making you feel like he was inspecting every twitch in your face. The hands which were previously kept in his pockets slowly moved; one hand pressed against the surface of the desk to trap you, the other reaching up to stroke your head. In that instant, it felt like he was mimicking Kirishima.
"...How am I supposed to say no now? I was content with the way you looked at me, but seeing you get angry towards me and me only... It .. makes you irresistible.." There was a temporary throb in your chest. What was he talking about? Why was he saying this so suddenly? It didn't make sense, no matter how many times you tried to come up with a solution within your mind.
This ... wasn't the Todoroki you knew a few minutes ago.
"Do you want to spend time with me that badly?" The hand that stroked your head dragged down, his eyes leaving you as he instead gawked at your [H/C] hair he delicately held, watching as your strands helplessly dangled between his fingertips. "Alright then. Let's stay after school and plan for our project." By the time he made up his mind, you'd slap his hand away from you, even going so far as to moving away from the desk.
"The hell are you going on about? I have a boyfriend, and you know this. What's gotten into you?" This side of him was peculiar. Was he just pretending to spout nonsense? Or is this intentional? The male scoffed because of your retort, looking at his hand while he rubbed his fingers together, feeling the lingering affects of your soft hair. "Ah.. Kirishima? I've only tolerated him because...-" He cut his own words brief, like his upcoming words were certain to make you feel uncomfortable.
He moved into your line of path again. "...I wanted to take my time to take you back, but you make it.. very difficult.." He touched you again out of the blue, sending shivers down your very spine. Before you had the time to evaluate, you recognized his head tilting towards yours... and eventually felt his warm lips that yearned to connect to yours.
Face erupting with red, Todoroki restrained your movement by grasping onto your wrists tightly. In that instant, your fluster was pushed aside by a sickening feeling rushing through you in waves.
You had a bad feeling about him.
Shoving him away, you touched your lips delicately, not even a dust of pink on your face. You felt far too violated to feel flustered. "Todoroki .. why would you..."
Not even a coin could determine your fate,
After all ... it was already decided.
[Chapter END]