BLOW.

POTTED PLANT

what once was, hers

Aizawa knocked on the girl's door once he had introduced the dorm to the rest of the class. Juniper had heard his footsteps as he approached, tensing up and nervously waiting to hear who it was. The teacher announced himself, "Juniper, it's me."

She jumped up, finally relaxed as she opened the door. She let out a sigh of relief, finally knowing she wasn't alone, "Aizawa Sensei, you're back." Her eyes flit around the hallway, checking for any signs of danger.

He saw the dark circles under her eyes and her skittish behavior, raising a red flag in his mind. As the students were currently moving in, he stepped into her room for some privacy, "How was the night? You don't look like you got enough sleep."

An awkward smile formed on her face as she scratched her head while avoiding eye contact, "Uhm... I slept well! Hitoshi stayed the night but once he left I... worry that they'll come for revenge..." Her voice quieted down as she shared her concerns with her teacher. She knew that he should know what was plaguing her as he felt like the closest thing she's ever had to a proper parental figure in her life. She barely whispered a word, "Sorry..."

Of course she was worried. He should have figured something else out to help her feel more reassured and safe in the dorms. Aizawa shook his head, "You have nothing to be sorry for. I'll figure something out to have someone stay with you until you feel safe. For now, do you want to go talk to the others?"

Juniper was a bundle of nerves. She nervously laughed as she thought about it before deciding to just rip the bandaid off. "Yeah, that sounds good. Let me just grab their gifts..." The girl grabbed the carefully wrapped gift and slid it into her pants pocket. Aizawa led her to the first room and gave her a small head pat of encouragement before giving them space. He wasn't worried about their reconciliation, instead having faith that they would finally be able to make up. Juniper steeled her nerves and knocked on the door of the first person she wanted to talk to.

"Juni?"

She nervously smiled, scratching the back of her head as she asked, "Could... Could I come in? Maybe help with unpacking and talk a bit, if you're okay with that."

He could never push her away, not again after everything that had happened, "Of course. Come in, I'm still putting everything together."

Juniper stepped inside, surprised by the tatami mats he already had in place and realizing he was planning on going for a traditional japanese room. Just like home. The boy had turned away from her, not knowing what to say and instead rifling through his things to look busy.

Guilt filled the girl's chest as she thought about how their relationship fell to pieces, causing tears to well up in her eyes. She tugged on his sleeve, quietly whispering his name, "Sh-Shoto, I'm so sorry for everything I did!!! I've been so terrible to you!!"

Seeing her break into tears snapped Shoto out of his concerns, quickly pulling the girl in for a hug and squeezing her tightly. Her knees gave out, bringing both of them to the floor as the boy spoke quietly, "No, I'm sorry. I didn't think I could regret something so much until I pushed you away again. I thought I lost you."

She felt weak, putting her arms around his neck and pulling him even closer, "I should've reached out to you! I shouldn't have given up on you after I had finally found you again. Shoto, I don't want you to leave me, please. I can't lose any more people."

Shoto pulled back slightly, wiping away her tears and gently holding her face, "I... I thought having friends would only get in my way to the top. The sports festival was supposed to be my debut to the world and my father's words got to me. After I realized what I had done it was worse than anything I dealt with before. When you were with those villains... I could barely sleep, I was so worried about you. Juni, I don't want to lose you either. I can't."