Muted Voices (A BNHA/MHA x OC Fanfic)

Chapter 91: Holiday Antics

Koto's POV

My feet drag into class the next morning. I sit down with a huff, resting my chin in my hands.

I had stayed up until the early morning with Jupiter, which for him was only mid morning. Not all of it was spent sewing; we spent most of the time just chatting and catching up. I explained my situation and just how frustrated I was, and he listened with an attentive ear. In return, I listened as he ranted about his senior year classes and all the things he doesn't have time for.

It was a good chat, but it certainly left me feeling drained.

I didn't acknowledge Bakugo through the whole morning. I had put the shirt in front of his door at around two in the morning, and it was gone when I got up, so I figure it's back in his possession.

Frankly, part of me was expecting him to blow up and haul me out of my bed to yell at me, but nothing. He went about his business like nothing was wrong, leaving me in a stony silence.

Good, I can't help but think, in my exhaustion. If he's pissed, then that's his problem.

To be honest, his question-no, demand-that I go out with him still has me shaken up. I should have believed Mina when she said that he liked me, but I wasn't about to believe that until I heard it from him.

And now that I have?

It truly begins to sink in just how long we've been playing this back and forth game of nicknames and competition. But we've also grown to look out for each other in a way. It's been surprisingly easy to care for him, even when he was the type to brush it off. Something tells me he's lived so long without that sort of care that he felt the need to push it away.

And yet, despite all that, last night...happened. And it certainly didn't leave us in a good position.

Am I a coward for leaving the shirt for him to find? I ponder during history class. Should I have talked to him about the whole thing? Does he think that was me cutting him off entirely?

No, I tell myself. He was a jerk and had a temper tantrum like a little brat. I don't owe him anything. It doesn't matter if I have feelings for him or not; he was the one that handled it poorly. He needs to be the one to reach out.

Right?

I tell myself to breathe and focus. All I'm doing is giving him the space and time to figure himself out. This will not affect me in the slightest.

Even so, I feel a slight twinge in my heart when I glance his way. I stifle it and force myself to listen to the lecture.

•°•°•°•

For the rest of the week, the band has dutifully only practiced when Bakugo has been away at his supplemental lessons, allowing Kaminari to actually catch up with the rest of us. As far as I know, none of us have talked to Bakugo about it, but he seems to know, merely glowering at us when he walks through the door, but what else is new?

When Friday arrives, we take the opportunity to have a break and celebrate the holiday. As such, fake cobwebs, cauldrons, and plastic spiders are strewn about the common room. Purple and orange streamers hang from the ceiling and pumpkins sit ready and waiting on the kitchen counter.

As Sato and I are setting out the food, we make sure Tokoyami doesn't notice the large purple and black chocolate cake we made for his birthday. We plan to surprise him later tonight, but we have to make sure nobody spoils it for him.

I give Sato a fist bump, then run off to don my costume.

I recognize how long it will take to straighten my hair and do my makeup, so I enlist Mina and Toru to help. Thankfully, they seem to have simple costumes. Floating cat ears are enough for me to get the gist of Toru's costume. Meanwhile, Mina wears a low cut black and red dress. When she smiles at me, little fake vampire teeth flash.