Finding Me (Todoroki x Reader)

Chapter 82

Kathump. Kathump. Kathump

Beats of silence passed as my heart pounded like a jackhammer and my breath hitched. His what?! 

I stared wide-eyed at the back of Shoto's head, and I could tell I wasn't the only one. Silence enveloped us, the only sounds being the far off scuffles of other students walking around us. Even Mr. Aizawa and Ms. Joke said nothing, although they looked too far away to hear the conversation.

Speaking of hearing the conversation, had I heard that right? Did Shoto actually say the G-word?

Kathump. Kathump. Kathump.

Shindo was the first to recover, his smug friendliness finally disappearing. "Girlfriend? Seriously?"

"Yes," Shoto answered lowly. "Now back off. She's taken."

His words resonated within me, the meaning behind them causing my blush to intensify. What the heck was he saying? And to a total stranger, no doubt. Being so close, his aura was intense, exuding great amounts of anger and defensiveness and... was that jealousy I felt? Whatever it was, it was all aimed at Shindo Yo.

The two boys were quiet for a moment, having a silent stare off between each other a split second before Shindo turned away. He sighed, shrugging his shoulders as he turned to leave.

"Whoa, sorry man. Didn't know she was your girl. My bad." Sending one last wave, Shindo walked over to rejoin his classmates, forcing everyone's attention onto little, ole me.

However, before anyone could bombard me with hugs or questions or anything to make me blush even more - because based on the excitable looks on the girls' faces, I could tell they wanted to do that - Mr. Aizawa came swoopping in to save the day.

"Hey," he called. "Get your costumes and head to orientation. There's no time to waste."

"Yes sir!"

Shoto went to leave, but I grabbed onto the back of his blazer, halting him in his tracks whilst the rest of our classmates walked around us. The girls gave me thumbs up of excitement, and Mina gave me a look that promised an interrogation later on. Bless my soul.

Once they'd all passed, I tugged on Shoto's blazer lightly. "G-Girlfriend?" I stammered, watching him with wide eyes as he turned around to face me.

I looked up at him expectantly, but found that he was blushing just as much as I was. To his credit, though, he wasn't trying to hide it, and instead stood tall and proud.

"S-Sorry," he murmured, averting his eyes. "I don't know what came over me. He just was so close that I... I got..."

Jealous. He didn't need to say it, his slight shameful aura telling me everything. Shock melted into understanding as a small smile replaced my stunned expression, my hands reaching out to grasp his.

"Hey," I said, holding his hands tightly. "I get it. You just wanted to protect me, even if he was just being friendly."

Shoto nodded, heaving great sigh. "I know, I know; but you and I both know there was something more to him than puppy dog eyes and a sparkling attitude."

That made me laugh, eliciting a small one from him, too.

"Yes I'll agree with you on that. But to be honest, what you said made me feel... happy."

Shoto's eyebrows raised in surprise, saying, "Wait. You mean that you're not mad at me? I just said-"

"I know," I cut him off, stepping closer to him with our hands still clasped. "And as much as we haven't talked about it much, or at all, really... Being your girlfriend would make me so happy, Shoto. I-If that's what you want, of course."