At What Cost? - IzuOcha

ℂℍ𝔸ℙ𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝕋𝕎𝕆

"ℍ𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕨 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕤𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕖."

After the events that unfolded last night, sleep was impossible. I tried refreshing myself with a shower to no avail, so not only was I tired but Deku would surely notice when we hang out today. I was still scared. Scared of whatever or whoever was lurking in my room last night. It wasn't just my imagination, but it could've just been sleep paralysis. Even then, the voice was clear in my mind...

"I'm not here for you. Not yet anyway. But we'll be coming for you soon."

It sent shivers down my spine. Someone was coming after me.  My mother noticed the dark circles under my eyes, but it was easy to convince her that it was just lack of sleep. I didn't want to tell her. I didn't need to drag anyone into my problems. Overall my morning was horrible with the fear, panic and tiredness, but if I showed it, Deku would notice something was wrong. I just needed to act normal. 

"Going somewhere, sweetie?" My mother asked me.

"Yeah, I'm meeting up with a friend today. Is that alright?" I asked my mother.

"Is it that Deku kid you're always talking about? Or that other one, what's his name? Iida? Is it your boyfriend" My mother barraged me.

"N-No, it isn't like that! We're just friends! Even if so Deku would never think of me like that trust me we're only best friends!" I spat out. My mother chuckled at me.

"It's okay, sweetie, I'm just teasing you. now run along and go have fun. But not too much fun," She said winking at me.

I quickly got out of there, my face surely beet red. Great, this probably won't disappear by the time we meet up. There were only a few minutes until noon, so I'd be there on time.  I could only hope he wouldn't notice the bags under my eyes...

Up the road, leaning on a lamp pole, there he was. He looked to be on his phone with his earbuds in, probably jamming to music as he waited for me. God, he was so cute. No, Ochako, stop! Now's not the time for that. Don't let your feelings ruin today.  Once it was out of my mind, I proceeded walking towards him. He noticed me, smiling and removing his earbuds, waving at me. I waved back to him, but his expression changed, and it didn't take a genius to know why.

"Hey, Uraraka. Are you okay, you've got bags under your eyes," He asked me.

"Yeah, it's just that I didn't sleep well last night. Nothing else, really," I replied. I had nervousness in my voice and he could tell.

"Uraraka, we're friends. I'm here for you if something is wrong" he said.

"I promise I'm fine, see? Would I be smiling if I wasn't?" I asked him and flashed my teeth.

"Alright, if you say you're okay then I'll believe you. I was thinking we could hit up this new coffee shop nearby. Then just walk around and find something else to do," He suggested.

"Sounds good, actually. Let's go," I said to him.

We began our walk, and while he was focused on the sidewalk in front of him, my eyes were looking all around. Even with Deku, I felt like I needed to be on edge. It could've been real or a hallucination, I didn't really know anymore. Ochako, stop worrying about it! You're supposed to be having fun with Deku, so have fun! 

Calming down, I walked beside him instead of behind him. I needed to show him I appreciated him inviting me today, not worrying about something I may or may not have imagined. Besides, the coffee would give me a fresh start to the rest of the day. Stuff like this shouldn't bring me down. I'm a UA student after all. The awkwardness filled the area around us, as we walked in complete silence. And as always, that feeling came back as soon as he popped in my head even remotely. And I still didn't know why these feelings came, I couldn't even talk to him when we were alone anymore.