Solar Eclipse (TodoBakuDeku)

~10~

The waitress brought my food out and looked almost longingly at Todoroki. I kept my head down and started to pick at my meal.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can get you?" she asked him. I noticed her hand twitch, like she wanted to reach towards him or something.

He sent her a polite smile and shook his head, "No, I'm good. Thank you."

She nodded and retreated back to the kitchen.

I finally looked over at him, raising an eyebrow in question. "You're really not going to eat?"

"I'm on a sort of... special diet," he said with a smile like it was some sort of inside joke.

I just nodded while I finished chewing a bite of my salmon. "So, how about some answers?"

"Yes. No... to get to the other side. One point seven seven two four five three eight five one-"

What a smart ass.

"I didn't ask for the square root of pi," I said to him in a frustrated tone, placing my fork down and looking over at him.

His eyes were wide as we stared at each other. "You knew that?"

I decided to play the same game as him and dodge his question. "How'd you know where I was?"

"I didn't," he said while sitting back in his chair.

I shook my head while sighing. Guess I wasn't going to get anywhere after all. I went to stand, but he placed a hand on mine.

He was freezing.

"Don't go," he said, seeming genuine.

I hesitantly sat back down, watching him carefully.

"Were you following me?" I finally outright asked.

He didn't say anything for a few seconds, probably contemplating his response. "I feel very.... protective of you."

My eyebrows shot up. "So that's a yes?"

Todoroki shook his head. I had thought he was getting annoyed with how persistent I was. "Yes, I followed you. I tried to keep my distance until... you needed me."

I nodded in understanding. I was a bit creeped out, but in the end he did save me from getting assaulted. We'd have to talk about boundaries later though.

I started to think through everything that had happened that night, and one detail stuck out to me. "You said before that you could- you could hear what those guys were thinking.

"Can you... read minds?"

"I'm thinking of starting a web show," he said, running a hand through his hair.

He said it in such a deadpanned tone, I wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

"So you can read minds," I said with a nod, more to myself than him. "What am I thinking?"

He shook his head. "Not a clue. I can read every mind in this room, besides yours."

'Convenient,' I thought.

Todoroki started to point to everyone in the small restaurant in turn saying, "Work, sex, sex, money, cat, sex," then he pointed to me, "nothing. It's quite frustrating."

I looked at him, my head cocked sideways in confusion. "Why? What's wrong with me?"

He actually laughed at the question, softly, but it was a laugh. "I tell you I can read minds and you want to know what's wrong with you?"