The Story Of Forever (Todobaku)

An Accusation

The morning began as normal. Katsuki and Shouto carpooled to school, they exchanged a quick greeting with Hitoshi, and were now on their way to the boys' locker room to get changed for gym.

At the end of the hall, however, they were intercepted. Though given who it was that cut them off, Katsuki was eager rather than annoyed.

"Hey you," he said with a smile. He kissed his girlfriend on the cheek. "Happy Wednesday."

Camie nodded. "Hello."

Shouto gave a small wave, his hand concealed by the sleeve of Katsuki's Dynamight sweatshirt. "Hi Camie."

Camie smiled back. It wasn't a big smile, but it was a tad bigger than the one she gave Katsuki. "Hi Shouto." She turned back to Katsuki. "Are you coming over today?"

"That's the plan," Katsuki said.

It was the middle of September, so the baseball season was over. Now instead of waiting until after practice, he got to head to Camie's house as soon as school was over.

"I have to drop Shouto off first," he clarified, gesturing to his friend, "but I'll be over right after." He beamed at his girlfriend. "Cool?"

Camie nodded again. "Okay." She averted his gaze. "Sounds good."

"I'll see you-"

But Camie left before he could finish his sentence. She quickly blended into the hoard of students rushing to their first period classes, Katsuki's face dropping once he lost sight of her.

"-later."

"That was weird," Shouto said.

Katsuki sighed as they continued walking. "She's been acting weird. But I don't know. She swears she's fine."

In the last couple of months, Katsuki sensed something was troubling Camie. Had he not placed complete trust in her word, he'd be certain that was the case. But these moments of her seeming down were still in the minority, so he didn't pester her. Their relationship still brought Katsuki tremendous happiness. 

"I guess girls sometimes want to handle things by themselves," he said.

Shouto shrugged. "Maybe." He chuckled. "Not like I'd know the first thing about dealing with girls."

Katsuki laughed and threw an arm around Shouto, letting it hang from his neck. "Truer words have never been spoken."

*

After driving Shouto home, Katsuki immediately headed to Camie's. He was excited for another day to themselves. He smelled himself as he got out of the car, making sure his cologne wasn't too strong.

It took over a minute after Katsuki rang the bell for Camie to open the front door. She opened it just enough for her body to be seen. She was barefaced, her makeup seemingly having been removed once she got home. She also changed into comfortable clothes, trading her floral dress and knee high boots for sweatpants and a university hoodie. 

"Hey," Katsuki said.

"Hi."

While Camie's behavior was strange before, it now shifted to highly concerning. The outer corners of her eyes were swollen, the tip of her nose red. Harsh wrinkles occupied the center of her forehead as she firmly pressed her lips together. Katsuki comforted Camie enough times throughout their relationship (fights with her mom, stress over school, the passing of her grandmother) to recognize that she just finished crying.

He frowned. "What's wrong?"

No response.

Katsuki stepped forward and cupped her cheek. "Princess."