Growing Close: Tododeku

Part 1: Strip

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I was already regretting inviting Todoroki over to study. I knew we already had this presentation down, so I don't know why I was so insistent on doing this. Him and I were both confident in the content and our presentation of it, so I don't know why he even agreed, either. It seemed unnecessary, but I was so excited to hang out with a friend alone for the first time that I just couldn't cancel now. As of late, group settings had been exhausting, even with the few I'd kept close. I sat at the end of my bed patiently, waiting for him to knock at the door. I already had all the materials for our presentation out on the bed, so I was ready.

I checked my bedside clock: 6:34. He should of been there 14 minutes before then. I'm sure it's not his fault, though, he would never be late on purpose. He wouldn't stand me up. We're friends, right? He would never do that.

He just tolerates you, a voice jeered, he doesn't like you in the slightest.

You're wrong, I replied in a shaky voice, he's my friend.

Suddenly, I heard a knock at the door. I rose from the bed, replacing the tension in my step with a bounce, and opened the door.

"Hey, Todoroki! What's up? How are you? I-I mean, I only just saw you in class earlier but I guess something could have happened. Anyway, come in." I stuttered the words out and thought: maybe I should be regretting inviting him over.

He walked in almost gracefully, and sat down at the head of the bed, one leg off and the other bent, sitting across it. He looked down at the materials I had laid out curiously, as if it was the first time he'd seen school work. I walked over and sat cross-legged on the bed, eyeing him suspiciously and noting his judgement. My cheeks heated up.

"I'm good, thanks. Sorry for being late; my other homework took longer than I thought it would, and I wasn't looking at the time." He paused, observing. "Your notes are really neat." He picked up a paper that had the notes I'd done in class about the comparison of the first couple generations of quirks. It had nothing to do with our presentation, we were just talking about the first few quirks to appear, in order and by case, but I had gotten it out anyway just in case.

"Thanks." I replied softly. "My handwriting isn't nearly as good as yours, though. I just have to keep working at it, I guess." I smiled gently and looked away, reaching up to scratch the back of my neck. "Anyway, let's get started. You've got the first line of the content portion, if we could just skip to that. It'd probably be more efficient to study that way, anyway."

He looked down at the paper, surprised. "Oh. Right, sorry." Was he staring at me? My face reddened at the notion, but I set my paper in my lap, applied my cold hands to my face, and ignored it.

Of course he wasn't staring at you, dumbass, that familiar voice commented sternly.

We got to work on the presentation, starting with his first slide then going back and forth between us with the rest. I concluded it, and with a deep sigh, I laid back on the bed.

"You were stuttering the whole time. We might lose points." He commented. It was clear his comment wasn't meant to be hurtful, just truthful. That's my brutally honest guy.

My?

"Let's play a game. It might help motivate you to speak more smoothly." He offered innocently, setting himself cross-legged on the bed. In that new position, his pants gripped his, erm, private area tightly. My eyes drifted down, letting my gaze drift over the folds of his pants. He caught my eye, and I freaked out. I tried my best to play it off as my face reddened once more. However, I was completely caught in the act; there was no way I could hide it this time, so I just continued as smoothly as I could.