A week later, I got invited to go to an arcade with everybody. I shrugged it off until the day I actually had to go see them came. I took a quick shower and got dressed.
I wore a pair of jeans and a white corset top. I wore a thin fuzzy purple sweater. I put my hair up in a low ponytail and did some light makeup. I paired up a white necklace with my outfit. I stared at myself in the mirror, making sure I looked good. I wanted to make more friends. I always have... people don't like me very much at school.
I grabbed a purple bag thar marched my sweater and left my room. Before I did leave, I made sure to give Miko a kiss on his head. I headed downstairs and walked to the front door.
"Where are you going?" My mother cane out of nowhere, stopping me.
"I- um..."
"You should be studying. Don't tell me you're going to see a boy. I didn't raise my daughter to be a slut." She yelled at me. My ears dropped down as I bawled up my hand in a fist. I dug my nails into the palm of my hand.
"I'm going to the arcade... Todoroki will be there." I mumbled. Her face softened.
"Well, I'm that case... stay out for as long as you need!" She kissed my forehead before walking into her bedroom. I stepped outside and closed the door.
One of my hands gripped tightly to my shirt where my chest was. My heart was pounding against my ribcage. It hurt. I took a deep breath and calmed myself down.
I decided to walk to the arcade instead of taking the train. I didn't have the patience to deal with that. I also don't want to bump into anyone at the moment. I yawned and put my earbuds in my ears. I hummed as the wind blew lightly. It hasn't rained in a while.
I arrived at the arcade and walked around, searching for my friends. I had no idea where they were. Was I early? I checked the clock on my phone. No. Did I go to the wrong arcade? I checked the texts in the group chat. Also, no. I sighed.
"Kisaragi?" A voice spoke up. I looked up from my phone and was greeted with a face I hadn't seen in a year. I froze. Why the hell was she here? Does she want revenge? I said I was sorry...
"It is you. It's been a year since I've seen you." She said. She was smiling, I knew her enough to know that without looking at her. In fact, I couldn't look at her. I couldn't dare look her in the eyes.
"Hello... Mao..." I bowed. She giggled.
"You don't have to be so formal with me." She said.
"Yumiko?" Izuku called out to me, walking over with the others. Shit. Why did they have to show up now?
"You still hang out with Midoriya? That's so sweet!" Mao said. I still never looked at her face. I glanced at Izuku, and he was staring at me worriedly.
"Deku, who is this?" Uraraka asked the greenhaired boy. We both stayed silent.
"You can just call me Mao. I used to hang out with Kisaragi." She greeted.
"Well, it's nice to meet someone who's friends with my friend." Uraraka said.
"She's not my friend." I said quickly. I'm sure everyone could feel the tension.
"Um, we should get going." Todoroki-, I mean Shoto spoke up. I finally looked up to actually look at her.
"Goodbye, Kisaragi." She smiled at me. Her pink hair flowed over her shoulders. The giant scar on her face that resembled a scratch from a claw shifted as she smiled.
"Bye... Mao." I mumbled. She started to walk away, but I grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
"If we ever run into each other... please call me Yumiko!" I stared at the ground. I knew she was smiling. She always was.
"Goodbye, Yumiko." She patted my head before leaving. My cheeks started to heat up a bit. A smile found its way onto my face.
After that encounter, we all started to play the arcade games. I avoided any questions about Mao, as did Izuku.
We all switched partners every now and then. I had lots of fun. I first started with Asui. She told me I could call her Tsu as we played a basketball game. She was a lot better than me at it.
I then switched to Ida. He was... interesting. He knew the secret to the games that took patience. After a few of those, we ended up playing wack-a-mole. He wasn't too good at that, but neither was I.
After I spent time with Ida, who told me to call him Tenya, I spent time with Uraraka. She was very sweet. We ended up getting a bunch of food for ourselves and for everyone else that I paid for. After we ate, we played a crossy road game. She told me to call her by her first name in the middle of our game, making me tense up. I ended up dying, and she apologized profusely.
After Ochaco, then came Izuku. I played a bunch of different games with him. Ranging from zombie games to a vr thing to a motorcycle game and finally to a game, we couldn't figure out how to play. Nonetheless, we had lots of fun. The reason why we were so close to each other in junior high is because he was so easy to talk to. He didn't force me to talk, and he always skipped the small talk (which I was severely grateful for).
Lastly, it was time to hang out with... Shoto. I wasn't really complaining it just felt weird knowing that he knew about the party. I mean, Izuku knew about it. But it's different. I told Izuku about it. Shoto just got dragged along by his father. Which is super unfair. To me and him.
I groaned, slamming my head against the glass of the claw machine. We were walking around the arcade, trying to find a game to play when a certain something caught my eye. A Pocchaco stuffed animal. I've spent this entire time trying to fish the stuffed animal out of the machine, but it wasn't working. I just wanted Pocchaco...
"Could I give it a try?" Shoto asked. I nodded and moved out the way. He stepped up to the machine and started moving the joysticks. I stared at him intensely. I'm sure he felt me staring.
"Please..." I muttered to myself as he practically slammed the red button. The button made the claw lower. I picked at my nails as the claw made its descent. The claw wrapped around the stuffed animal, but it wasn't over yet. The claw started to rise. My heart pounded against my chest as it did. The claw carried the stuffed animal and...
"Here you go." Shoto handed me the stuffed animal I had been eagerly waiting for. I held Pocchsaco tightly.
"Thank you." I bowed my head. He patted my head like Mao did before. The same amount of warmth as well. I blushed and turned away from him. I couldn't face him with my face like this.
"Did I upset you? I was only trying to.."
"You didn't upset me." I cut him off.
"Then why...?" He cut his own self off this time as the group approached us.
"It's getting late." Ochaco said, "I should get going." We all nodded.
"Yeah... me too. Kero." Tsu said. Everyone said the same. We all said our goodbyes and headed home. Shoto walked me home. I said goodbye to him at my house and then headed inside. I walked up the stairs to my room and collapsed on my bed, holding Pocchaco.
I'm exhausted.
