Smile for Me

Chapter 2: Tapes

Present Mic is presented to you by @proframreed on TikTok. Love your vids and duets!! 😘😘 on here tho it's BeckyYoung3

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Joke POV

Emi Fukukado strolls into the bar after patrol with Aizawa. She was so happy she got paired with him this time! If only he smiled more...

"Hey, Emi!" A voice calls across the bar.

"Hey, Midnight! What's up?"

"Nothing much at the moment. Got paired up with a TOTAL hottie as my patrol partner though! I think he went to your school actually. What about you? I heard y out were paired up with Aizawa this round."

"Oh, yeah! We had fun, just like we always do!"

"You sure he had fun? He doesn't like your jokes like the rest of us do." Midnight mutters as she takes a sip of her dark looking drink.

"He likes it.. he just doesn't show it like the rest of you. It's his darned quirk that cancels his own ability to smile!"

"Is that why you try to make him laugh genuinely now? Without using your quirk, I mean."

"Yeah.."

The bartender slides a fruity drink over to the Smile Hero. She stares at it for a moment, then downs the whole drink and stands up.

"Woah, Emi, what's wrong?" Present Mic says over the noise of the bar.

"Nothing." She says as she shoves cash for the drink on the counter. "Just tired after patrol. I think I'll go home early tonight guys—"

"Aww, come on, Joke! Just stay for a bit longer! You've been going home early a lot more often recently and we wanna chill with ya, ya dig?" Mic says.

"I would but I didn't bring my shovel!" She grins and finger guns at him.
The group laughs as she grabs her things once again and begins to head out.

"Wait"

She stops, not turning around as the group continues laughing and talking.

Midnight walks up beside her. "If you ever wanna talk, I'm here, okay? Or we could just hang out! Like watch some movies or something. Sound good?"

"Yeah! Sounds great. We'll do that soon."

Emi gives Midnight one final smile as she turns around and heads out of the bar.

At the home of Emi Fukukado

Emi walks into her two bedroom apartment, and hangs up her jacket and purse. She shuffled into the kitchen and heats up some leftover soup. As she stares at the glass of the microwave, in the reflection she sees her tape recorder in the small kitchen table behind her.
Should I make another one? I don't even know if he's going to see them—

*Beep. Beep. Beep.*

She snaps back to reality and carefully pulls the soup bowl out of the microwave.
As she eats her leftovers, Emi stares at the camera and ponders why she started doing them in the first place.

To give me peace of mind? To find a way to tell him that he might believe? To find a way to cower away from the actual problem?

She then makes up her mind as she's rinsing our her bowl. One more. That's it.

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She sets up the camera once again, and hits record.

She finishes the video, and hits the button once more.
Why do I make these? Why do I keep carrying that old tape recorder around with me? Why do I feel like something bad is going to happen...

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Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading so far! (And yes, that video is me!) hope you're enjoying it so far. Please feel free to let me know what you guys think!!