(UNDER EDITING) | My Studio Academia | Book One | MHA-React AU

02 - Getting To Know

Edits in the chapter were made by lemonqsodas1

Third Person

Forty-five minutes on the bus passed by, with some of the many teenagers conversing with each other and the rest keeping to themselves. Tori, as well as the curly-haired male sitting next to her, were part of the latter group. But seeing as they were both terribly afraid of large crowds, this was understandable.

Tori sat with her hands resting in her lap, every so often lifting them to fiddle with her earbuds or tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. After she raised her hand for the sixth time, the boy next to her couldn't help but notice. But his attention soon trailed down to her nails.

"Wow, your nails are really pretty." He complimented, "Do you polish them often?"

The hickory-eyed girl took her earbud out, at the same time turning her head to face the person who'd just spoken to her. "Huh? O-Oh, yeah. I-I d-do." She stuttered, looking down at his own nails, coated in a jet black polish. "Do yo-you?"

As she spoke, Tori could feel her face heat up slightly. Yes, she had a stutter, which was something that she'd always been embarrassed by. Though she rarely - if ever - stuttered around her family. (But in her opinion, that'd be a lot less embarrassing.)

The male didn't seem to mind her stammering, however. In response to her question, he smirked and nodded his head. "Yep, I paint 'em all the time! They usually end up chipping pretty fast though."

"Ca-Can I s-see the-them? I think I-I migh-might know w-why."

"Of course you can, knock yourself out." He held his hand out, which Tori took with ease. She lifted his hand closer to her face, unable to stop herself from squinting slightly. The polish the guy had used was completely jet black and chipped lightly. The chipping wasn't terrible, but still easy to notice. Even more so if you were someone like Tori, and painted yours often.

The Vasquez smiled, which showed off her snagged tooth, and chuckled as she looked back up.

"You sh-should u-use a clear co-coat next time y-you paint th-them."

He raised an eyebrow, "A what?"

"A cl-clear poli-polish. T-They make the c-colored one chip le-less and lo-look shinier. S-Some o-of them even ha-have gl-glitter mix-mixed in." She explained as she pulled back, setting Eric's hand down.

When she noticed his still confused face, she raised her own hand. A light, buttercream-colored polish covered her fingernails, and covering that polish was a shiny clear coat, bits of red and black glitter added in. All three of the school's colors.

"So you're saying these clear coats make the polish chip less? And some have glitter too?"

Tori nodded, "Y-Yep! I ha-have a s-spare one, y-you ca-can use i-it next time you paint y-yours." She put her gloved hand back to her side as the stranger gave her an even wider smile and chuckle. She almost felt like laughing too. He looked like a little kid on their birthday, seconds away from blowing out the candles on their cake.

"Thanks, I'll be sure to use it as soon as we move into the dorms!"

"May-maybe not t-that fas-fast!"

Neither knew why, but both students let out a loud laugh as Tori finished her sentence. They probably looked - and sounded - crazy to the others on the bus, but they were too lost in their own world to care. It just... felt right to them. Almost like they were long-time best friends.