Izuocha's Love Stories

29 - THE SINS OF ANGELS

By SevenRenny

There was a certain feeling about at a theme park. Never mind the smell of buttered popcorn and cotton candy and funnel cakes, chlorine from water attractions and used wood. It was the noise, and this circus theme park had a lot of it, with screams of both delight and terror; the rumble of roller coaster tracks; the inaudible voice buzzing out of the speakers; the music from multiple rides mixing into one another. Lights: greens and blues and reds and yellows. The horses on the merry-go-round had long lashes and painted pupils and smooth teeth in their open mouths. Vintage music played after the ring-ring-ring of the starting bell.

Normally, if with friends, Ochaco would be looking around for the next ride she couldn't wait to get on, or spot a menacing one and debate with herself if she was gutsy enough for this or that. She wasn't doing that tonight. Neither was her date. They were both a fidgety mess. It was clear neither knew what to do on a date. She hadn't prepared this far ahead.

Her dilemma had started a week ago. Well, it had started much earlier than that, but that incident at the slumber party in Mina's dorm room had been what got the ball rolling faster. They were talking about boys. Well, Mina and Toru talked about boys while the rest of them commented occasionally. Ochaco thought of herself as a talker. In fact, she thought she talked too much sometimes, unable to filter whatever came out of her mouth. But when it came to boys, she kept quiet. She felt as out of place as Kyoka around this topic. Ochaco didn't like boys – she liked Izuku. She liked him and couldn't do much about it. At least, she thought she couldn't do anything about it until Tsuyu casually said, "You like Midoriya, right?" Ochaco's denial hadn't been subtle. Mina has quickly smothered her for details.

It was hard to be logical when feeling exposed and embarrassed. She went from "It's not like that!" to "He's just – he's really determined and thoughtful and tries his best and–" and stopped there because Mina's grin looked dangerous. It was dangerous. The girls, led by Captain Mina, dragged Ochaco into a journey she wasn't ever prepared to go on. Mina urged her into confessing, more than once. Ochaco floated and rejected the idea, more than once. The girls kept coming up with plans Ochaco never picked up.

She appreciated the thought, truly. It meant her friends cared. Her friends wanted her to be happy. Even when they joked about how having a massive nerd like Izuku as a boyfriend wouldn't be fun, they still understood Ochaco wanted the massive nerd that was Izuku. Their pushiness, however, just made Ochaco box-in on herself. It wasn't until Tsuyu told her to take her time and think about it while they were still students that Ochaco started nervously considering the possibility of dating.

Was it possible to date with such a future career? Would they have the time? Would it even work? How did Heroes date? Was Izuku even into her at all? Most likely not – Mina's opinion wasn't fact. Izuku was much too busy getting stronger. It felt like there was no space for anything else. It was logical to just... leave things between her and Izuku the way they were. Don't mess with it. It's fine as it was.

But... seeing him get along so well with Mei Hatsume, that hadn't felt nice. A selfish thing for her to think. She knew what it felt like to want what others had so easily. But to want a person? That was a dangerous thought – a thought that stuck around like a reoccurring band-aid that hurt to rip off every time. She couldn't sleep at night, her head invaded by what-if's. What if she never confessed? What if they graduated and they never saw each other after? What if he did have space for a relationship and found someone? What if she never found someone like him, then she heard of him on the news married to someone? What if she regretted never telling him "I love you"?

She weighed her options – then bit the bullet. Mina's previous tips came in handy. Ochaco had texted him: a request for him to meet her in the courtyard two hours before curfew to discuss something secret. Poor Izuku had looked so serious and nervous, expecting her to deliver something of great importance. In a way, it was.