ᴘʜᴏᴛᴏɢᴇɴɪᴄ | ʙᴋᴅᴋ ᴀᴜ

🌺 • Chapter 8 • 🌺

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One of the many things Izuku had been avoiding could no longer be ignored as the date for Ochaco and Himiko's wedding was arriving faster as the days went by.

Ochaco hadn't been bugging Izuku about finding a plus one in a while, but in the back of his mind, he still knew he had to find someone to go with. After all, all of their other friends weren't single and would definitely be going to the wedding with their loved ones.

Although, now would probably be too late. The wedding was just in a few weeks and there was no way Izuku could find a boyfriend in such a short amount of time. Not that he really wanted one, but at the same time, he didn't like the idea of being alone either. It would just be like when he was walking through the park on his own while all the couples were around, only this time would be worse because everyone knows him and they would ask him questions about his love life since that's all people seem to care about.

It's never "How have you been?" Or "What have you been up to?" But rather, "Have you settled down yet?" Or "Have you found that special someone yet?" Or "When can I meet your boyfriend, Izuku?"

It started to almost feel insulting as if no one cared about you unless you were in a relationship with another person. Did it never occur to anyone that maybe certain people aren't compatible with anyone at all? At least, that's how Izuku saw himself. And yet, people were so sure he'd end up with someone by now but here he was, not married and not even dating. Hell, never been in a relationship period. Maybe everyone just pitied him and was telling him not to give up, when deep down they knew he'd never find love.

Izuku started to think about what someone told him once about himself, about how no one could love him with the way he looked.

He wasn't sure what exactly that meant, but he took it to heart as the words came from the first person he had ever been in love with.

Did he mean that Izuku could only be with someone if he was the opposite gender? Would he be better off finding love if he was a woman?

Or would his gender not matter? Perhaps it was his appearance. His unkempt, curly hair, and imperfect, freckled cheeks that still had a bit of baby fat even after all these years.

Or maybe he was just the problem. A shy, nerdy, emotional boy who came from a poor family and was raised by only his mother after his father had left them until she remarried by the time he left high school. If the issue is something he couldn't change, then yeah, he could never be loved.

Izuku curled up his his bed, wanting the day to just end and for the thoughts in his head to go away and leave him alone. That was until another memory had emerged.

"I guess I just don't understand how the guy that claims he takes pictures of all the most beautiful things in the world is missing the most beautiful thing of all... The one beauty he can't see every day unless he looked in the damn mirror."

His eyes quickly widened, shooting up from his bed and slapping his hands against his now-reddened cheeks.

"No, no, no, no! He didn't mean it like that! He was being nice! He-He doesn't think I'm actually b-beautiful. S-Stop!" He yelled at himself as his hands ran their way into his curled hair.

"W-We're just friends! K-Kacchan would never-!" Izuku had to keep repeating to himself out loud. Any time he had to tell Ochaco that, it was more like he was reminding himself more so than making sure she knew because while she heard him one hundred times, Izuku's heart kept having battles with his brain.