Chips and Soda

Chapter Ten

Deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Kirishima opened his eyes to the white ceiling above his bed and groaned. On his chest sat his phone, its weight was light but seemingly unbearably heavy at the same time.

"Just say hi," Mina said exasperatedly. The pink haired girl sat at the edge of his bed, legs folded comfortably beneath her as she slowly munched on whatever snack she'd managed to forage from Kirishima's kitchen.

Kirishima responded to the suggestion with a withering glare. As much as the girl had tried helping him, it just wasn't that easy. Why? Well, if he sent a simple hello, he'd come off as boring but if he sent something else, he might seem to eager. Neither of those things sounded as if they would be appeasing to the blonde. He had told himself not to over think the situation, but here he was, over thinking it.

With a shrug of her shoulders, Mina redirected her eyes to the phone resting on my chest. "I'm just saying! Be yourself, most guys like that sort of thing," she aided, catching Kirishima's interest.

"They do- Wait! It's not like that," Kirishima said as he shot up from the bed, palms displayed in a form of surrender. His phone fell to his lap with a thud but he paid no attention to it. "I don't like him! It's just that he'd be a cool friend, ya know? I mean, I don't want to scare him off!" He didn't want his friend to get the wrong idea.

In return, Mina arched and eyebrow and gave a very unconvinced hum. "Yeah, you totally have a thing for him," she stated, lips pursed.

"I do not," he semi-shouted, eyes wide.

"Oh yeah? If you don't like him then you'll message him. Right now." Mina eyed him with a smug smirk. He stared at her quietly for a second before picking up his phone and turning it on. For what seemed like an eternity, he stared at the screen before dropping the phone back in his lap, his thumb gently pressing the button to shut it off.

With another, more annoyed groan, he glared at Mina, "Fine! You win, you she-demon." At his side, Mina's victorious cackling filled the room. He pouted, waiting for the other to finally finish her fit. When she did, she wiped away tear that wasn't there and grinned at him.

"It's what's best for you Kiri, you gotta text him if you want him," she teased, cutting Kirishima off with a raised hand before he could complain about the wording of her claim. "I'm going to be serious with you for a moment, Kiri," she said, her grin turning into a comforting smile.

"Oh no," Kirishima mumbled, earning a pointed glare before she jumped back into her speech.

"I'm happy that you may have found someone. You always seem lonely, not in a physical way. You've got all your friends of course. But more so in your heart. Even that idiot Kaminari notices the way you seem to walk like you're missing someone by your side. You may not notice but we do. Sero's happy for you too." She laughed and shook her head, "He calls him a porcupine ever chance he gets and doesn't see how you could have a crush on someone so 'Hostile' and 'in close relations with demons' - his words not mine - but he's happy for you."

Kirishima was rendered speechless. It wasn't often that his friends sat him down and had a "serious" talk with him. Did he really seem lonely? He didn't feel that way. Sure there had been times that he wanted to share moments with someone special, but would he call it lonely? Certainly not. Still though, he felt touched by the level of attentiveness his friends seemed to have.

He grasped for words, "Well, uh, I don't really know what to say besides thank you." He felt like a dick for not thinking of something more heart felt but the smile that spread on Mina's face told him that he'd said enough.