AMATEURS [Tenya Iida x OC]

Chapter 5 - The One at the Movies

Peri couldn't sleep. Nothing new.

But she feared that she was facing down an all-nighter, considering the waging emotions roiling inside of her. She'd told Tenya her secret, and he didn't run away. He didn't report her to the school. He didn't call her dads. He didn't laugh. He didn't do any of the things that she feared. Peri explained that it all started when the family was in a car accident on the way to vacation and got hit by a drunk driver. Her brother had been launched from the car, gotten brain and extensive nerve damage, and was never able to use his quirk the same again. She had saved herself by using her quirk as a force field, shielding herself from the brunt of the trauma.

Her dads pressured her into becoming a hero, because she was the only kid of theirs who could. Bastien never said it, but she knew that if she would have been better at her quirk that she could have saved him. She was forced to take ballet, muy thai, piano, krav maga, parkour, and kickboxing, amongst other skills over the years. The only time she had to herself was at school, when the other kids teased her for being quiet, for her brother talking and walking differently, for being half-American, for existing. Her father designed her costume for her. Her dad even picked out her name: Peridot.

None of it was up to her.

Tenya had listened, patient and quiet, while she vented. When she was through, she had even apologized and explained that she'd never told anyone all of that before. He shook his head, wiped away her tears, and told her to never apologize for telling him the truth. In a movement she nearly missed, Tenya lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles like they were made of caramel, like if he lingered for too long they might melt.

Peri's cheeks flushed just thinking about it, kneading food-grade lavender and fresh lemon zest into the bread dough on the counter in the kitchen. Too lost in thought, she hadn't even been listening to her new playlist she'd made. She sighed and pulled out her phone, starting the whole thing over so she could really appreciate it.

You don't have to stay up late and wonder

If anybody feels this way, I promise

You're not the only heart that aches, I need ya

I need you to be honest

Tell me how do I get through to you?

Is it too late or too soon?

Tell me how do I get through to you?

Don't hold back, say the truth

How do I break these walls when they're ten feet tall?

And I've given all that I've got

So tell me how do I break all your rules?

Tell me how do I get through to you?

She shouldn't have made a playlist about her feelings for him. This was dumb. It only made her feel worse. Peri groaned and took out her frustration on the dough, smushing and kneading it with all of her strength until it was probably ruined. She rinsed her hands, dried them, and changed the song to something much angrier before transferring the dough to a greased bowl to proof for a while.

Singing let her release her frustrations without destroying anything, and she always liked making up dance routines while she cleaned. She jammed to one of her favorite feel-good songs and tried to sing over her thoughts of Tenya while she swept and dusted. But it wasn't working. When she closed her eyes, she could see him kissing her hand, like a knight meeting a princess. When she clenched her fist, she could feel the ghost of his hand on hers, the phantom warmth lingering there, even still.