Pop Rocks

Chapter 2: Kami and Ashi

I walk out of the dorms to find Ashido waiting with an anxious looking Kaminari. When she notices me, she smiles and waves.

"Hey, Kiri! Ready to go?" she says, trotting over to me and leaving Kaminari where he's standing.

I smile back at her. "Yeah. But, what's up with Kami?" I ask, motioning over to him.

She just rolls her eyes. "He's worried because he hasn't gotten Jiro anything and Valentine's Day is only a few days away. I told him not to worry about it, we'll find something today, but he hasn't snapped out of this state since he asked me to help him."

I laugh. "That's Kami for you, I guess." We then walk over to him and I sling my arm around his shoulders. "What's up, Kami? You nervous?" I say with another laugh.

He looks up at me. "N-no, totally not," he stutters. I just smile and shake my head at him, dropping my arm from his shoulders.

With that, the three of us head off. Ashido suggests we start at some beauty store across town, so she leads us there. The whole way, she works on calming Kaminari down while I drift off into my own thoughts.

My mind mainly drifts to what Ashido said about Bakugo. 'He obviously loves you' and 'He's hella gay' float through my head multiple times. I can't help but wonder if she could possibly be right about either of those things. I sure hope so, although I highly doubt it.

I'm not exactly sure when I started liking Baku or why I started liking him, I just know it happened fast. Like, one day, I was just sitting there thinking about him and then I realized, Shit, I think I like this boy.

Maybe it's the fact that he always makes me feel like I'm worth something. Like when he picked me to be part of his team for the cavalry battle during the Sports Festival. Or it could be how self-confident and manly he always is. It's always inspiring how highly he thinks of himself and how he acts. Granted, he can be rude a lot of the time, but I found a way to look past that. I can tell that, deep down, he isn't all that mean and tough as he is on the outside.

Anyway, to this day, I am still finding things I like about him. I just noticed recently that when he gets super passionate about something, his eyes get a weird sparkle to them. It's odd, but pretty cute if you ask me.

I'm pulled out of my daydreams by Ashido saying, "Here we are!" I get hit in the face by all kinds of perfumes as she opens the door.

"So, Kami, I know Jiro isn't exactly girly, but you should at least find something here for her. There's clothes and stuff too, which gives you some more options," she says, leading us both into the store. We're greeted by all kinds of makeup and ripped jeans and frilly shirts and short shorts. It's a very Ashido store.

"Umm, Ashido, I'm not sure-" Kami tries.

Ashi cuts him off. "No, trust me. Just follow me and we'll find something in no time."

Kami looks at me desperately as Ashido begins to walk into one of the isles of makeup. I only smile and shrug my shoulders, following after her. Kaminari follows close behind. We find Ashi looking at an array of colorful sponges. I think they're called beauty blenders.

Kaminari's eyes light up. "Ooh, marshmallows!" he says, walking over to where Ashido is standing and picking up one of the sponges.

"Kami, no-" Ashido tries, but she's too late. Kaminari pops the sponge in his mouth, eyes going wide immediately after. He spits it out and rubs his tongue, all while Ashido and I are dying of laughter.

Once Kami gets the taste of sponge out of his mouth, Ashido explains some of the beauty products to us. In this section, there's foundation, beauty blenders, concealer, and all types of powders. Kami thinks over all of the products, only to shake his head after a few minutes.

"Jiro doesn't need any of this. She's beautiful without all of this makeup," he says.

In unison, Ashi and I create a chorus of 'awws', to which Kami turns bright red, realizing what he said. He looks down at the ground and doesn't say another word.

"Okay then, would you rather look at clothes? They have some pretty cute stuff here," Ashido says. Kaminari only nods to the floor.

Ashido leads us to the clothes section. It mainly consists of ripped jeans, way too short shorts, and various graphic tees and tank tops. There's one shirt that catches my eye. It's a simple white shirt with a small pocket on the left side near the chest. On the pocket is a small little rainbow. Honestly, if it wasn't a girl's shirt, I might buy it.

Kami takes one look around the clothes and shakes his head. "This really isn't 'Jiro' at all. I mean, she kinda likes ripped jeans, but nothing like that." He points to a pair that is ripped almost completely down the front. It makes both me and Ashi flinch.

"Yeah, okay, you're right. Any other ideas?" Ashido asks. Kami and I both shake our heads.

Kami lets out a defeated sigh. "I knew we wouldn't find anything," he says sadly, "Now Jiro's gonna have the worst Valentine's Day ever and it's all because of me."

I pat his back as Ashi says, "Aww, Kami, it's not over yet. There's still a few days until Valentine's. I'm sure you'll think of something."

Suddenly I get an idea. "Hey, bro, doesn't Jiro like music a lot? You could write her a song," I say enthusiastically.

Kami looks up at me, eyes bright again. "Oh my God, Kiri, that's a great idea! Thanks, you're the best!" he says, grinning widely. I smile back at him, happy I could help.

After that, all three of us walk back to the dorms. Once we're back, Kami immediately rushes to his room to start his song. Ashi retires to her room, too, so I decide to do the same. I chill out with some music, just laying on my bed, until I hear a knock at the door. 
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A/N: Still cringey? Yeah, still cringey. Oh well, at least it was a little bit better. I promise I won't put an author's note after every single chapter, but I kinda like putting in my own little word at the end after writing as someone else for the whole chapter. Anyway, I'll let you continue now. Hope you're enjoying so far!