Emote: Bakugo x OC Reader

Chapter 12

It felt like every atom of my being was buzzing as I walked out of Principal Nezu's office. This is happening. I thought, a face splitting grin stretching across my face. This is really happening. I've worked so hard and it's finally starting to come together. And I'm going to be in one of the most notorious classes at UA! This means I'm going to have to work harder than everyone else to get to the top since they all have such a head start on me. I wonder if I'll make any friends. Friends...

My stride faltered for a moment. The excitement that had been fueling me quickly began to fade as I thought of my best friend. My best friend who shared the same dream as me. My best friend who also hoped to be transferred to the hero course as a result of the hard work and effort put forth during the sports festival. As though summoned by my thoughts, I nearly ran into Shinso as I came around a corner.

A squeak escaped my lips as I jumped back in surprise.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, running a hand through his lavender hair. "I know you said to go on but I could tell that you were nervous and I wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"Oh..." I trailed off and I attempted to smile at him but it ended up feeling more like a grimace. I opened my mouth to speak but a lump had formed in my throat and I struggled to get any words out.

"Everything okay then?" he asked.

"It's...more than okay," I finally managed to say. "I...well, I'm, uh...I'm getting transferred to the hero course."

He looked surprised for a moment before a smile lit up his face. "That's incredible, y/n!" He surged towards me and I felt the force of his strong arms wrapping around me, lifting me off the ground. I reciprocated the hug and when I felt my feet touch the floor he seemed to hold on for a beat longer than expected before pulling away. "I'm so happy for you," The intensity of his eyes threw me off and I quickly became aware of how close we were. The intimacy of the moment made me step back and I exhaled sharply, not realizing that I had been holding my breath.

"I'm so glad you're not upset with me," I said quietly, casting my gaze down to my feet.

I heard him chuckle. "I would never," he said so softly I questioned if I even heard him correctly. Before I had a chance to ask him to repeat himself, he was already moving on. "Shall we go to the gym to celebrate?"

As I looked up at him he grinned and he held up his fists in a playful boxing gesture. I laughed and nodded, "Yeah, let's do it!"

Shinso's reaction proved to be the most meaningful out of the few important people in my life. Although my mother expressed genuine excitement and pride in me, it was overshadowed by my father's passive aggressive comments that eluded to me still not being good enough or (my personal favorite) being chosen due to affirmative action because there are "supposedly not enough female heroes these days." I had scoffed and had to work incredibly hard to fight the urge to roll my eyes every few minutes at my father's comments.

The combination of nerves and excitement made for a restless night of sleep and before I knew it my alarm was blaring at me to wake up. I went through my morning routine quicker than I had anticipated and was ready with time to spare. I questioned whether I should stick around at home a while longer before leaving, as I had already woken up earlier than usual to make sure I got to class with 10-15 minutes to spare. Screw it. I thought, as I made my way out the door and started on my usual route to the school. There was a crispness to the air that felt good as I began my walk and I did my best to focus on enjoying the heat of the rising sun on my skin as I neared the school. My mind felt like a jumbled mess due to my anxiety and I couldn't seem to focus long enough to hold on to a thought for more than a few seconds. Before I knew it I was standing at the gates of UA. I glanced at my watch and felt my body tense. Seriously?! I thought. 30 minutes until class starts? I must have been walking faster than I realized.