Love and Sacrifice (Eraserdust/An Eye for An Eye Part 2)

Chapter 11: Something's Wrong

Even though Shota carried on with his stolid manner as he drank his cup of coffee in the teacher's lounge, his close companions, Hizashi and Nemuri could tell something was different about him. Shockingly, it didn't seem to be anything negative. They just had to know what was putting Shota in a good mood despite the frown he displayed. Shota sat on the green sofa, scrolling through his laptop. Hizashi playfully jabbed him with his elbow.

    "Come onnn", he teased, "I can see it in your eyes! What's got you so happy?". Though it seemed silly, it was pretty easy to tell when Shota was happy after getting to know him. His eyes appear more relaxed and less bloodshot from dryness, and his brows aren't constantly furrowed. He also wasn't sticking his bottom lip out in a pout like he would do when frustrated. Shota shoved Hizashi's arm away, scoffing in irritation. He wasn't ready for all this energy so early in the morning.

   "Shotaaa", Nemuri whine, tilting her head and leaning on the table in front of her, "You can stop hiding it. We can tell when somethings got you excited. Now, do tell", she said with a smile, waving a hand to usher him to indeed tell. Shota sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He really hated when people intruded in his personal business, especially with the situation that made him happy. How was he going to say this without his friends prying and begging to know more? He knew that if he told them he was seeing someone they wouldn't stop bothering him until finally like a dam breaking open he'd spill the beans.

   "Fine", he grumbled, letting go of his nose and resting his head in his hand and placing an elbow on the arm of the couch. He took a sip of his coffee. "I'm possibly talking to someone", he admitted, and he wanted to continue no further. His friends shrieked in excitement which could've bursted Shota's eardrums.

   "Who?! Tell us, tell us!", Nemuri exclaimed.

   "Is it a girl or a guy?", Hizashi desperately needed to know, doing a little dance to show his excitement. Of course his friends knew he was bisexual. Then again, it was almost obvious back in high school. Shota sighed again, itching to no longer share the details, to shrivel up and die or even just leave the room. He hated to say it but he'd much rather deal with his rowdy students than this right now.

   "A guy. He's transgender, though, if that counts for anything", he specified. He cursed himself for sharing that detail. Was it right to say that? Not even that, but that had just slipped out. He couldn't have been...excited to tell them all about his partner, was he? No, he had to keep it secret. Nemuri and Hizashi gasped. Nemuri clapped excitedly.

   "I'm so proud of you for expressing yourself!", Nemuri exclaimed. She really wanted to say, "Yay! You're finally showing your gayness!", but she didn't want to seem rude or annoy Shota even more than he already was. Shota rubbed his forehead.

   "Yep", he muttered.

   "So, tell us about him! What does he do?", Hizashi pleaded. Was Shota able to tell them he admitted a villain to the Villain Redemption Program and that he worked at the gas station? Did he really want to risk them finding out he was dating Tomura who was now working at the gas station just nearby? Would they feel better about this now he was being redeemed? He wasn't sure but all he knew was that he wanted to be able to confide in his closest friends confidently.

   "I'm not sharing the details. I'm not risking this go public", was Shota's excuse, and a clever one, at that.

   "Come onnn", Hizashi ushered him to continue on, "Stoic underground hero falls for a transgender man? That'll be a great headline!"

   Shota slammed his cup down on the table, nearly the remainder of his coffee. "No", he said sternly, before gathering his things. "Next time don't pry in someone else's business", he spat at Hizashi, venom laced in his deep voice before slamming the door and heading to his class. Nemuri and Hizashi looked at each other with a questioning glance. Hizashi shrugged. Nemuri sighed, rubbing her temple.

   "Poor Shota. Always so stressed of what gets out and what doesn't", she muttered.

   "So secretive. It makes me want to know more", Hizashi replied.

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    Shota had texted Tomura throughout the day but it wasn't until he was finished with his work he sent him another message. He kept checking his phone throughout classes and noticed Tomura hadn't answered him since the evening before. He began to worry, wondering if he was ok. He knew he was possibly at work but he needed Tomura's confirmation. That was one of their main rules in the relationship was to always let each other know what one another was doing when they're separated and now Tomura had broken that simple rule. Shota had thought for a moment a punishment would be in order, but he needed to know what was going on before jumping to conclusions.

   "Hey, love. You doing ok? If somethings wrong you can tell me. I'm sorry if I did anything to upset you, but at least answer. I love you"

   He sighed as he tucked his phone into his pocket and started his car. Pulling out of the parking lot of U.A., he decided he would pay Tomura a visit.

                              ......................
   Shota pulled into the gas station faster than he would like to admit. He was scared he did something wrong, pushed Tomura away. That was when he began feeling like a failure, a letdown, all over again, like with Oboro. He felt, just like back then, he could've done something better to fix his situation. Had be been too hard or too quick on the kid? Was the relationship going too fast? He had to know and what better than to get that confirmation face to face. It was more likely he could get a response then, anyways. He practically shoved the door open, the bell ringing rather loudly as he stepped in. He didn't want to admit how angry he was, with how he was practically panting and stomping over to the counter. He saw a lady standing at the counter with red hair tucked into a high bun and black rectangular glasses sitting atop her nose. She wore a black coat over a white button up and gray khakis. She must've been the manager of this place.

    "Excuse me", Shota boomed, nearly scaring the rather stone faced manager. "Os Tomura in today?", he asked. The anger in his face must've been obvious because the lady looked concerned and almost frightened by his presence. She shook her head.

    "A friend of his called saying he was too sick to come in for the next couple days so I marked him off the schedule. I'm so sorry. Did you need help with anything else?", she asked, sounding sincere. He could tell she cared about Tomura and he was happy that someone besides him did. Shota raised a brow at her response. A friend? If he had a friend call why didn't he know about this supposed friend? And why didn't he receive any texts? Something about this seemed very off.

   "Ok", Shota understood with a nod, "Thanks, anyways", he greeted with a wave and walked out of the store. He marched to his car and sped out of the parking lot as fast as he could. Something was wrong with Tomura and Shota was just about to find out what.

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