fate , todoroki

what

"l/n, what are you doing?"

"i'm hiding from—" she was cut off when she turned around to see todoroki. "i mean, nothing!" she said quickly, avoiding his gaze. she mentally berated herself—you managed to avoid him successfully until break! what are you doing?—and stepped away from him. "i have something to do! i'll be going first!"

"wait, l/n—" he tried to say, but she already bumped into the professor.

he sighed.

"oh!" she looked aghast. "i'm so sorry!" she squeezed her eyes shut, bowed a 90-degree bow, and the professor laughed it off. he was one of the only nice ones, and he taught both of them psychology in the additional class that only two of them opted for.

"i always find it funny that you two are the only ones who signed up for the additional classes," the professor beamed at them, probably unable to sense the awkwardness. y/n looked away, eyes rather empty. "yeah..."

"but i think that's fine, too. you two are both bright kids."

"ah! thanks, professor!" y/n grinned, eyes sparkling while todoroki gave him a small smile and a nod in response. they headed inside the room, and then y/n realised—

she normally sat next to him.

the long tables spread out across the lecture hall. typically, the two sat at the second row in the middle of the table, side by side.

oh, shit! she sheepishly sat one seat away from him, and the professor asked, "oh? i thought you guys sat together."

"we do! i just... have a cough today!" she said, distancing herself even further.

"really? you look fine to me," todoroki said, and the smile on y/n's face faltered. todoroki, just listen to the lecture! she yelled at him inside her head.

the lecture began, and y/n found herself dozing off. she couldn't focus, since she barely slept—the alcohol tormented her stomach all night. just as her head was about to hit the table, todoroki reached out and nudged her.

she sat up abruptly, straightening her back and schooling her features. a moment later, she looked to todoroki and gave him an apologetic smile. thanks! she mouthed, but it didn't seem like she had any intention of moving any closer.

he looked back down at the note in his hands, then reached out to place it on top of her papers. it was his last resort, and he fervently hoped for it to work.

she read the neat handwriting. are you mad at me?

she looked up and shook her head at him, but was caught by the professor. "l/n, what are you doing?"

her eyes widened, and she turned back to fix him with a sheepish smile. "nothing! sorry."

"okay..." he continued with his lecture, and y/n snickered to herself, her face red. how embarrassing of me! she thought to herself.

yeah, she was laughing at herself.

todoroki tapped the table softly, then showed her an ok? sign with a tilt of his head.

he was asking if she was okay.

she looked like she was hesitating, but showed him an ok back with her fingers.

i'm ok!

the rest of the lecture passed by like a breeze, and soon she was rushing to get out. "l/n?" he called, and she halted, sweating internally. she was having trouble deciding whether to turn back or just make up some excuse and run.

"i just have a question," he tried to say. "i'm not angry with you or anything."

this time, she stopped for real, whipping her head around in surprise. "you're not?" she asked over her shoulder, her eyes dilated and a hand hovering over her mouth.

"i'm not," he confirmed. "so..." he tilted his head. "why are you avoiding me?"

"i'm not!" she turned to face him fully. how did he find out? "okay... i was, because i thought you were angry. there are a lot of rumours about you when you're mad, you know," she said, "i was a teensy bit scared. but i'm not now!"

"those weren't rumours."

"oh!" her gaze darted about. "i see. either way"—she bowed—"i'm sorry for ruining your shoes! i was also avoiding you because i was embarrassed... oh! and i'll pay you back for the shoes!" she blurted out.

"i don't think you'll be able to."

"are you calling me poor?" she sulked. "excuse me, i am financially stable, 'kay?"

"i'm not saying you're poor. it's just... i'll just show you the price," he said, and pulled out his phone.

her eyes twinkled. the latest phone in the market!

"see," he said, going to the website and showing her the price. she looked at it, her jaw dropped and she turned away.

she was going to have a mental breakdown. how am i supposed to repay him, then?

"i'm sorry." she hung her head.

"why are you sorry?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"i won't be able to repay you..." she said, smiling nervously while fidgeting with her fingers.

"hmm... you can repay me with a meal," he suggested. "i'll choose something expensive, and then we'll call it even."

"oh. okay!" she grinned. she already knew her pockets were going to hurt, but this was the easiest way out. she thanked him, and turned to leave but he ran after her and tapped her shoulder. "promise me."

"promise you what?" she asked.

"that you'll take me to that meal."

she gave him an expression crossed between a frown and a smile. "i wasn't planning not to." she linked their pinkies and he smiled a small smile. "so you won't avoid me anymore?" he asked, their pinkies still linked.

"i won't avoid you anymore," she said, smiling.