AMATEURS [Tenya Iida x OC]

Chapter 1 - The One Where Tenya's an Idiot

Tenya Iida stood outside of the unfamiliar classroom, and waited.

His palms were slick, and his mouth was dry.

He hitched his bag higher on his shoulder, clutching his novel tight to his chest. Nerves seized his stomach, daring him to choose: flee or fight. He tried to think around the situation... it would only take an hour. One meeting was not going to kill him... despite how he felt. More extracurriculars would impress his future employers.

Tenya steeled himself and pulled the classroom door open.

Three students had pushed desks together, with a fourth, empty desk presumably waiting for him. "Iida!" Tsuyu Asui waved from one of the desks, head bent over the same book that Iida clutched in his arm.

He strode across the room and settled into the empty desk, avoiding eye contact. "Hello Tsuyu," Tenya muttered, pulling out his journal from his backpack and setting it on the desk next to the first novel-of-the-month for UA High's new Book Club: The Fever King by Victoria Lee.

"Nice to see you again, Tenya."

His heart stuttered, and he forced himself to look up and make eye contact.

Peregrine Alarie. She grinned at him and pressed her tortoiseshell glasses further up her nose, her curly blonde hair pulled up into a messy bun, tied with her signature ribbon. Tsuyu's family was hosting her as a foreign exchange student from France for the year in place of Aoyama. And Tenya found her excessively perplexing.

"Nice to see you again too, Peri," he answered, curt, blinking away before he could say something stupid. Like he had at the last club meeting. "Hello Yaoyorozu," he said, trying to change the subject, "I hope you all weren't waiting for me too long."

"Not at all, Iida!" Momo smiled, shaking her head. "We were just talking about the project Mr. Aizawa assigned today and trying to make a study plan. Would you like to join us later for a study-and-research session in Peri's room?"

His tongue felt like it was glued to the roof of his mouth. "I think I already have plans to study with Midoriya, but thank you for the invitation," he lied. She turned his brain to mush when she was in the room. He couldn't focus, nevertheless survive an entire study session in her bedroom... where her personal things were. Tenya propped his chin in his hand, effectively blocking Peri out of his sight. "So, what did you guys think of the opening to the book? Such an interesting setting, right?"

Tsuyu nodded and picked up his conversation, steering the topic toward the book. Peri took notes, as Book Club secretary, and Tenya tried to avoid admiring her looping, soft handwriting. But that led to him looking at her careful hands, her graceful neck, her wispy baby hairs glowing white in the sun... her long eyelashes dusting her cheeks. Her shell-pink lips.

He needed to get out of there. He needed to get guidance from someone more mature, more experienced than himself. He needed a new brain. He needed some air.

"Excuse me, ladies," Tenya stood and left, crossing the room in a few quick strides, bolting down the hall. What he really wanted was his old brain back... the one that could focus through an entire day's worth of boring lectures, or save a group of people from a burning building without getting distracted by anything.

The one where Peri was still his friend, and not... whatever this was.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he dialed up his brother, Tensei, and kept running. He didn't know where he was going, but the movement of going felt good. Felt better. Taking the stairs by threes, Tenya waited for his brother to pick up and kept moving.

Slamming open the door, he ended up on the roof, gasping for the fresh air to enter his lungs and purify the anxiety from him. On his hands and knees, he gulped the wind in, feeling the sun on his hair, thanking the universe for a moment of peace.

"Bro? Are you there?"

He fumbled for his phone, and said, "Yes! Hello! Sorry, brother, I, uh... I tripped on the stairs and dropped my phone." Iida settled to sit, and ran his hand through his hair. "How are you?"

Tensei chuckled. "I'm fine, but I should be asking you that. You're the one who called me during the school week, and apparently now trips going up the stairs. What's going on, Tenya?"

He hesitated, unsure of where to start. "I need your advice, Tensei. There's a new girl at school, and I have concerns."

"Oh?" Tensei said, curiosity piqued, "Concerned about what?"

"To be honest, Brother," Tenya said, sighing, "Whenever I'm near her, I find myself studying her, waiting for her to make a move. I can't focus on my studies when she's nearby, and I get nervous when she's around."

Tensei hummed, and said, "Okay. Before I tell you what I think is happening, what is your prognosis, Tenya?"

"I... I think she's a villain that has infiltrated UA."

Over the roar of his brother's laughter, Tenya heard a sound behind him, and turned to find Peri standing in the doorway to the stairwell, eyes wide and shimmering with tears. His phone slid from his ear, Tensei's voice falling to his lap, heart thudding. Peri turned and fled down the stairs.

"Peri, wait!" Tenya shouted, standing to chase her, but finding his empty hand trembling as it stretched out toward her empty shadow.

He had messed up. Again.

"Tenya? Tenya!"

He forgot he was on the phone, and pulled it back to his ear. "Tensei? I'm sorry, I'm still here," he muttered, eyes fixed on the stairwell.

"What happened?" Tensei said, "You told me that you thought your new classmate was a villain, and then it went quiet, and I heard you shouting. Are you alright?"

Tenya swallowed, and said, "She heard me. She was here, behind me, and heard me call her a villain, Tensei."

Tensei was quiet for some time. "Do you want to hear my prognosis now, Tenya?"

"Yes! Please! I need to know what to do, how to move forward, Tensei," Tenya said, "I need to make steps toward fixing this situation."

Silence fell again for a moment, before Tensei chuckled. "She's not a villain, Tenya." He sighed, and continued, "My dear, sweet brother...

"You have a crush on the poor girl." 

-

A/N: Reformatted on 6/2/2020; easier to read now. 

A/N 2: Unsure of the source for the picture, got it from pinterest. If you know the artist, please comment, and I will be sure to give them credit.