How do you get a boyfriend?

Chapter 9: Try Again

A couple of days pass, and Aizawa's bad mood from Friday simmers. He blames that as the reason he shouted at Hizashi, but he doesn't take back his words.

"For someone who scolds everyone for acting like children, you are doing exactly that." Shinsou had said some time after Hizashi left on Friday.

"I'm not." Aizawa replied.

"You literally shouted at someone because you don't want to have friends."

"It's more than that Shinsou okay. You don't understand the full situation." Aizawa had said, and after that, Shinsou backed down.

Aizawa sat in his work chair at his desk in silence. He doesn't recall when it had been this quiet for so long. Weeks? A month? His class was chaotic and crazy and Hizashi would tend to come in during break, but today was the first day that he hadn't shown up. For some reason, it bothered Aizawa like an itch he couldn’t reach. After what felt like 3 hours but was really 15 minutes, he stood up, grumbling. He shouldn't be upset because this is what he wanted. No friends. No bother. No anoyying presences. No constant...  chatter....

But Aizawa couldn't stand the silence. Usually, he liked it, but for some reason, he couldn't bear it. So he went outside for the kids where having break and mucking about. Yet this wasn't enough. He still felt like it was too quiet. He needed someone to talk to him. Directly in his ear, just a little too loud.

Aizawa groaned as he found himself embarrassingly walking to the staff lounge. He opened the door and slumped onto the sofa, face first down. At first, he found no one was talking enough for him to feel satisfied. Then he sighed, someone had just walked in and was obnoxiously loud, and Aizawa was perfectly happy with it. He looked up, over the couch and... Of course. He frowned and groaned. The one person who managed to, for some reason, quench Aizawas' sudden desire for noise was Hizashi fucking Yamada.

"Oh, look, Shota's here!" Nemuri grins and shoves Aizawa.

Yamada looks at Aizawa. They make eye contact, but Yamada breaks it before Aizawa does. "Yeah, he's here..."

Aizawa takes one look at Yamadas sullen face and his heart skips a beat. He's old, that's normal. Maybe he'll have a stroke. Then he sits up, oh god he can't believe he's about to do this.

"Yamada, you left some stuff in my classroom, some books, and a music player I almost threw away. Come and fetch it before I actually throw your junk out." Aizawa says reluctantly. It's a bad excuse to talk to someone, but maybe Yamada will get the hint.

Yamada looks intrigued, but he's trying to hide his curiosuity, "Right..."

Aizawa strolls out of the lounge with Yamada at a safe distance. They walk for a couple moments in silence.

"So what do you want from me?" Yamada asks flatly.

"I.. look, if you were willing, after school is over, you can come over and visit Churros, and maybe I can crack out a bottle of red. So we can get to know each other..." Aizawa says with resignation.

Yamada turns, beaming at Aizawa, "You mean it? Seriously?"

"Yes, I mean it, I mean it.." Aizawa can feel the teasing Nemuri and Yamada will follow up on for him for softening.

"Finally! We're going to be an unstoppable duo, and we're going to be the bestest of friends!" Yamada babbles.

Aizawa raised his hands to pause "Hold on, this doesn't mean we're gonna be attached to the hip. This is, uh.. kind of like a trial, I'll get to know you, and then I'll see if you're really as annoying as you seem..."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. My charming personality will best you."

Aizawa scoffed, and he chatted for a while longer. Later, after the break ended, Aizawa was left preparing for the USJ field trip. He threw a backpack over his shoulder and stood by the bus waiting for his kids to form a line.

Author's note: apologies that this is the shortest chapter.