𝓁𝒾𝓁𝓎𝓅𝒶𝒹 // tsumina

seven - small talk

Mina is in the dorm common room, and she's buzzing with excitement, fear and every other emotion she can think of.

It's today, she thinks. She's scared, excited and a little jealous, but it'll be fine. So long as Shinsou Hitoshi doesn't somehow become a topic of conversation.

It's just studying with her. She reminds herself.

"Ashido?" Tsuyu says, tapping her shoulder.

"Hm!?" Mina says, awkwardly spinning around in her chair to meet her verdant eyes.

"I just want to thank you for letting me study with you. I've been pretty distracted lately." Her voice softens and trails off as she speaks.

"Oh! That's okay. I get distracted, like, all the time." Mina says, laughing nervously and trying a little too hard not to get lost in her eyes.

"I know, kero." Tsuyu says, and Mina is reminded of just how blunt the girl really is.

Mina laughs — it's slightly awkward and for someone who was just lost in Tsuyu's eyes, she can't seem to meet them anymore.

"Of course! You know everything, Tsu!" Mina says, making wild gestures with her hands and resisting the urge to hide her blushing face in her hands.

"Oh, I don't know about that." She says, resting a finger on her chin, looking almost embarrassed. "Thanks, though." Tsuyu says, and just like that, the conversation is over.

Great. That went just great.

The rest of the day doesn't go much better. Mina is buzzing with nervousness during all her classes, but is completely dazed and zoned out during lunch.

"Ashido?" Uraraka asks, snapping her fingers in front of the pink girl.

"Huh?" Mina says, snapping out of her trance.

"You zoned out. Again." Uraraka asks, pouting and giving her a slightly concerned look. "What's up?"

Mina can't even convincingly lie. Her eyes are trained onto Tsuyu, who is talking with Todoroki. Shinsou is at their table, too. She stabs her fork into her food harshly every couple of seconds, expelling her anger.

"I just...barely slept last night."

"I don't really believe that." Uraraka says gently, peering over at the girl across from her. "If you want me to drop it, I will. But you can tell me if something's going on."

"Drop it, Ura. I'm okay." She lies, peeling her eyes away from Tsuyu and taking a forced bite of her food.

She doesn't notice Uraraka's eyes looking between her and Tsuyu. She doesn't notice how Uraraka's expression sours, and how her eyes glimmer with pity.

Mina is far too busy watching as Shinsou and Tsuyu laugh — as they talk and eat together.

Mina doesn't think she'll ever get Tsuyu to be able to look at her like that. Mina doesn't think she'll be able to even meet eyes with Tsuyu again, let alone tonight.

"I'm...gonna go–" Mina says, standing up. She feels sick to her stomach — she also feels like she's overreacting, but she can't bring herself to calm down. — so she dashes out of the cafeteria, finding herself a vacant seat right in the middle of the hallway on the floor.

The hallway is empty at lunch. The only person is so far away Mina has to squint down the hallway to see her, and she's wearing headphones, so she decides this is an adequate place to cry.

Mina is rain clouds. Mina is cold and shivering and alone. Mina Ashido is a shred of her happier self — she is a fraction of sunlight, a tinge of warmth.