Aesthete

Chapter 8.

My body was rigid with nerves as I sat at a cold, metal table with Jirou, Kaminari, and Kirishima.

They were forcing conversations to try and take away the anxiety that all the students felt. I was only focusing on biting my nails, ignoring the way moths seemed to be roaming around every inch of my body.

I was glad I cut my hair, the long length would only get in the way of any activity I had to do to win.

Iida approached me, offering me gum to chew on. "You keep biting your nails and they'll start to bleed, that's not going to feel pleasant."

"Thank you, Iida." I chewed on the gum, wringing my hands that sat on my lap.

Why can't I calm down? I knew the answer.

It was because no matter what, I needed to win. The thought of my siblings' and mother's disappointed faces flickered through my mind.

"Florence, your haircut looks nice." Kaminari whispered, flashing me a reassuring grin.

"Thanks. You're not nervous?" I whispered back, studying his appearance. He was leaning back on the chair, arms behind his head with a light-hearted aura.

"Nope, I'm just going to try my best."

Jirou used my silence as an opportunity to tuck in an earphone, Green Day was playing as Uraraka walked towards me to grip my hands, insisting we use breathing techniques to relax.

I was so zoned out with Jirou resting her head on my shoulder, that I missed the first words being exchanged between Izuku and Todoroki. Jirou nudged me, and I removed the earphone to look at what was happening.

"All Might has his eye on you, doesn't he?" Todoroki was looking at Izuku with hostility.

I tensed, where is this coming from? Midoriya looked just as shocked, mouth parting.

"But, I'm going to beat you." He finished, with a scary look of ice and determination.

Kirishima tried talking and grabbing Todoroki's shoulder to calm him down, but he shrugged him off.

"We're not here to play at being friends, so what does it matter?"

Is that how Todoroki really felt? I knew there was something deeper in his words, but I wasn't the type to force anyone to open up.

As he turned to walk away, he was halted by Izuku's statement.

"Todoroki, I don't know what you're thinking when you say you'll beat me, but of course you're better than me. I think you're more capable than most people, I can't afford to fall behind."

That last line seemed to be directed more at himself, I frowned, wanting to tell him that he was doing just fine at the way he was developing his quirk, but Izuku didn't stop.

"I'll be going for it with everything I have, too."

Todoroki's eyes had anger coursing through them, but he met my eyes for a brief moment, pausing before looking away.

So much bitterness in the air today. I went back to chewing the rest of the gum before Iida yelled at us again to begin making our way towards the stadium.

I noticed the way Bakugo seemed to be in a hateful mood, his face was contorted to match the rage he felt.

Gripping his shoulder, I told him, "It's pointless being angry, just try and catch them off-guard to show them you're competition, too."