Popped Knuckles, Dry Eyes, and Burnt Hands

39

I stepped into the house and shut the door behind me, mechanically slipping off my heels and setting my gloves and hand bag on the small side table.

"Fuck," I whispered shakily; that was my first kiss. I reached up, pressing my finger tips to my lips, remembering what he felt like.

"Hotaru?" Dad called from the living room and I jumped.

"Yeah, it's me," I calmed my nerves as I walked to the living room, "did I come home too late? I'm sorry there was trouble at school and-."

He was sitting with mom on the couch, her laid out and his fingers in her hair, "No honey," he stopped me, "Principle Nezu already informed us of the situation, we're just glad you're ok."

I sighed and walked over one of the chairs in front of them and sat down, letting my hair down and sighing, "I'm just glad I don't have to deal with Toya anymore."

"Wait," dad looked at me funny, "did you two break up or something?"

I stopped moving; 'what?' I thought, looking over at him. Nezu didn't tell him about Toya, "What did Nezu tell you?"

"That a villain tried to attack the gym and you were the one that stopped him from getting into the building; you're a brave girl Hana. We're proud of you." He smiled warmly at me and I returned it with a nervous chuckle.

"Yea, he wasn't that serious of a villain, he had two left feet." I replied. They didn't know about the incident so I guess only the few of us knew.

"So what's this about Toya?" He asked light heartedly.

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed, "We broke up."

He raised an eyebrow, but not because he was sad to see him go, "Weren't you so adamant about Endeavor paying for the scholarship?"

"Yea, but not at the expense of my happiness," I picked at my nails, "He's still gonna pay for it anyway."

"Really?"

"Yea. I have evidence of abuse in his household, and I'm sure if I talked to his kids long enough I could convince them to testify against him in court."

"That's my girl," dad smiled happily as he continued to pet mom's hair.

"I'm gonna go shower all this gross prom stuff off, I'll see you in the morning."

I took a long hot shower, leant against the wall and blushing as I thought about my first kiss. Aizawa's lips weren't rough or chapped like I thought they'd be; they were soft, and fit really nicely against mine.

I washed my hair and body as I thought about Toya and all of the burn marks he gave me. They were battle scars, and I was tired of being ashamed of them. I got out and dried off after a little while, the steam and warmth falling on my shoulders like a blanket as I begun to feel exhausted. I put on a loose t-shirt and walked out to my bed; seeing it made me even more sleepy. I climbed in and buried myself in the covers, enjoying the feeling of security as I fell fast asleep.

The weeks after that we're peaceful. I didn't have to worry about being myself, and I came out of my shell a lot. People wondered why Toya wasn't in class anymore, and Ms. Hatake told them he transferred. They bought the cover story and continued on; no one really missed the son of a bitch anyway. I had my hair parted to the side and up in a ponytail, my bangs only covering my right eye. I didn't wear my black turtle neck anymore, I just wore my school shirt and suit jacket; I even tended to take the suit jacket off a lot. Everyone would look at my arms and see my neck, but no one would say anything to me about it.

"Akahana," Karada caught up to me on my way to lunch after our last final, "how do you think you did on the test?"

I smiled at him, "I'm hoping I did well. I didn't stay up late studying for nothing," I laughed as we rounded the corner into the lunch room.

We got in line and got or food before going to our usual table to eat, "Hey, guys! How was your finals?" I asked as I sat next to Miyu and Karada sat next to Kyo.

"I probably bombed it, but I'm sure it'll be a high enough grade to pass," Miyu replied sadly. Despite popular belief, Kyo was the more academically centered one.

"It was easy," Kyo states nonchalantly, causing our half of the table to roll eyes.

"I'm sure we all did well," I reassure with a bright smile, teeth and all.

Kyo gave me a soft smile, "What's got you all happy, shark girl?"

I gave him a half frown, half grin, because I was too happy to care, "I don't know what you mean. I'm just happy with everything right now. Toya's gone, I'm still going to my dream college, Aizawa-." My entire being paused and I started putting food in my mouth so I couldn't answer the flood of questions about to hit me.

"Aizawa what?" Miyu started it and I wilted realizing I was gonna have to fess up.

"Nuffin'," I mumbled, mouth full of rice.

Everyone at the table gave me a look of 'yeah fucking right' and leaned in closer, "Aizawa what?" Kyo repeated.

I looked around at all of them as I chewed and swallowed, "Told me he was gonna miss not seeing me every day." I replied with a heavy blush; I was determined to keep that moment to myself.

Kyo's nose wrinkled, "You two are so gross," he sat back in his chair with a groan, "I'm gonna vomit."

Miyu giggled happily and nudged my shoulder, "Don't listen to him you two are so cute. Are you dating yet?"

I gave her a tired looked as Karada backed her, "Yea are you?"

"No! Why would I start a relationship with someone right before I have to leave for medical school? That's torture on both ends." I stated logically.

Everyone groaned, but agreed with me as we continued on, moving away from Aizawa as a subject.

Then I noticed he wasn't in the cafeteria.