Hidden Potential

XI : Lunch

"A quirkless guy as a villain? That's dumb on so many levels!" Kaminari laughed as you explained what you had to face yesterday.

"I know right? And he was acting all tall and mighty about it too. We were terrified." You explained. From across you, Bakugou scoffed.

"What are you, a pussy? You should've just kicked his ass." The ticking timebomb muttered. "I thought you were smarter than that, (L/N)."

"Listen, he had Sero in a chokehold, I couldn't risk his life like that! The poor guy was already turning red from the lack of oxygen."

"Yeah, risking someone else's life like that isn't very heroic, Bakugou." Mina teased, coaxing a growl from the said boy.

"Calm down, you don't want to blow up the cafeteria, do you?" You reminded. Your comment only fueled Bakugou's anger.

"I have control! I'm not a fucking four year old!" He yelled. A bit earlier in the school year, other people would have turned away from their lunches to see what was up with your squad but by now, everyone was used to Bakugou's constant threats and yelling.

"Worse case scenario, Kirishima takes him outside before he can blow. I'm sure his quirk will prove to be useful against a living bomb." Kaminari added, playfully elbowing you.

"Wow, Kami! That's the first bright idea you got since school started!" You sarcastically praised.

From your left, Sero silently sipped on his orange juice box. Somewhere deep inside of him, he hated the view he had of you. Constantly seeing only the right part of your neck irritated him. Your full attention was on others. It was on Mina, Bakugou, Kaminari, Kirishima, your lunch... Anywhere but him. It wasn't right, it didn't feel right.

What he was feeling didn't feel right and he knew it.

"Hanta?"

"Oi, Sero!"

"Hanta!" You slapped his arm, this time successful in bringing him out of his rêverie. "You good? You've been spacing out."

"I'm fine, babe, thanks for worrying though." He assured without really thinking of what he said.

"'Babe'?" Mina questioned. "You're really taking out the big guns real quick, aren't you, Sero?" She asked before looking at you. You knew that look. That suggestive look.

Quickly, you shook your head before she got any ideas. It's sure that you'll have to assure her that things have not gone to that level yet with Sero.

"Sorry, does that bother you?" Hanta asked you, glad to finally have your gaze on him. That's how it should be more often than not.

"Not really, it was just unexpected." You shrugged, although you felt your cheeks slightly heat up. It's just odd to hear him call you pet names, albeit endearing.

"You two are gonna make me puke." Bakugou muttered, deciding to direct his attention to his meal instead.

"He's just grumpy because he doesn't have a girlfriend. That's it, isn't it?!" Kirishima teased. You, Kaminari and Mina smirked at King Murder Explosion's irked expression.

"Someone's salty because they're single!" Ashido sang out, laughing when a tiny explosion was aimed her way.

"That sort of confirms it, doesn't it?" You asked while the smirk plastered on your face grew. "Aw, you'll find someone you like one day, Bakugou!" You cooed.

And there you go again, leaving Hanta all alone and craving your attention. What was wrong with him today? Why was he feeling so needy and clingy? He hated it, but holy shit he felt like he was going to die if you didn't pay him more attention.

Ignoring the odd feeling he was getting since lunch started, Sero placed his elbow on the table, leaned his head on his hand and watched the right side of your neck again as you chatted away with your -- and his -- friends.

"Hey, how's the tutoring going by the way?" Kaminari asked as you took a bite of your lunch.

"Mm!" You exclaimed, mouth still full of food. You tried your best to chew at the speed of light as Hanta answered for you.

"Great, actually! I couldn't ask for a better tutor. In fact, my average went up to an 83!" Your boyfriend shot you a grateful smile while you swallowed the rest of your food.

"Damn, I wish I could do that good too..." Mina sighed.

"Is Momo's tutoring not useful?" You asked, confused. Momo's teaching methods are usually great.

"It is, it's just..." Kaminari hesitated to actually voice what was wrong for the both of them. You wanted to tell them it was okay if they didn't want to tell you, but you were far too curious to do that. "We don't understand anything so she has to teach us everything all over again." His head hung low as he came clear.

You heard Sero shakily breathe next to you. Giving him a warning glare, you silently reminded him that he had no right to laugh considering he could have been in a similar situation if the teachers hadn't intervened.

"I'm sure things'll be better soon." You reassured, fully aware of how your promise was empty.

"It really won't." Mina muttered, killing the optimistic mood you were trying to set up.

"Oh, come on..." You shot back before bringing your water bottle up to your lips to take a sip.

"(L/N), I don't remember was the domain of a graph is." Kaminari's words really caught you off guard.

And there goes your water, being spat all over you. The shock from the cold liquid seeping through your clothes made you yelp, dropping your half empty bottle on the table before it fell in your lap, making an absolute mess.

"Shit!" You cursed, pushing back your seat when you realized what had just occurred. Out of the entire squad, Kirishima had been the first to react, taking the napkins from all around the table and handing you one before helping you attempt to dry out your clothes. While the help was very appreciated, Hanta didn't like it one bit.

He did not enjoy seeing him touch you like that. He hated that he had been quicker and helped you before he could even utter a word. What, did Sero have competition now? Hell no. Mina's video should have been a clear warning to the entire world. You were his.

"Get your filthy hands off her!" He boomed.

The entire squad fell silent and looked at Sero, who had regained control over his body and mind. What just happened?

"Sero, dude, are you feeling alright?" Kirishima asked as he recoiled from you in fear of angering the usually calm teenager next to you.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what just happened." He muttered, heat rushing to his face. He can't believe he got possessive over that. Kirishima would never even go after someone who's already taken, he should know that much. "I don't understand why... how I said that..."

"It's alright, we all get a little carried away, right?" Kaminari awkwardly chuckled. The mood was killed.

"Well, uh, I'll go clean myself up." You muttered as you slowly rose from the table, as if you were afraid that moving too quickly would alarm Hanta furthermore. "Mina, can you come help me out?"

"Sure!" The girl agreed, glad to have an excuse to get away from the awkward situation.

With that, you left the cafeteria, leaving Sero all alone with his thoughts.

Did he just get jealous?