EᑕᕼOᒪᗩᒪIᗩ

𝙳𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛

𝓚𝓪𝓽𝓼𝓾𝓴𝓲 𝓑𝓪𝓴𝓾𝓰𝓸𝓾

Me: 'My mom told me to invite you over for dinner.'

I pressed send on the message and set my phone down on my pillow. A few days passed since I met Eijirou's friends in the cafeteria. They were nice, but not as nice as Eijirou was. We texted almost every day after school and my mom began pestering me to invite him over to the house. I didn't understand why though. I saw him every day at school' it wasn't like I would never see him again. I had lunch with him every day. Why did I need to have dinner with him as well?

Mom said it wasn't about the meals we had together. She said it was about being welcoming. Friends were invited to each other's houses for meals and activities. I didn't know this was a rule to having friends, but as soon as I was told, I made sure to invite Eijirou over. He was my friend, after all, and I didn't want him to be upset with me. 

Eijirou: 'Do you want me to?'

I frowned as the message lit up my screen. Of course, I wanted him to come over if that meant we could be better friends. Not much had changed after meeting Izuku, Denki, and Shoto. Eijirou still ate lunch with me in the teacher's lounge, walked me to some classes, and texted me with any questions he had about Autism. He didn't seem to like it when I asked him questions about being gay though. Maybe I didn't understand fully and the topic was uncomfortable for him to talk about.

Me: 'Yes. Tonight at 6?'

My mom said it was important for Eijirou to feel welcomed into our home. He was my friend and therefore deserved to meet my parents and come to my house. I didn't like it when my mom had her friends over, so I didn't understand why they were so hellbent on having Eijirou over for dinner. Wasn't it annoying for them?

Eijirou: 'Sounds good to me! I will be there!'

I didn't understand why my stomach always fluttered when it came to Eijirou. He was the one person, who wasn't a part of my family, that treated me like I was any other teenager. He didn't care that I was different. I didn't feel different when he was around. 

I quickly texted over my address and plugged my phone up to charge, tucking it away under my pillow as always, before making my way downstairs. "Eijirou said yes," I stated while making my way to the kitchen for a drink. My mom was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, clearly excited; though I didn't really understand why. It was just Eijioru. 

"That's great, kiddo!" she praised while following me into the kitchen. "Did you tell him to be here at 6?" my mom asked as if I wasn't aware that we had dinner every night at 6. Of course, I would tell him the correct time. I hummed and nodded while pulling open the refrigerator door. I grabbed a bottle of water before retreating back to my room as my mom busied herself in the kitchen. I stopped at the top of the stairs. 

"You're not cooking anything weird are you?" I asked. That was the main reason I hated it when my parents had company. Other than the noise that guests brought into the house, my mom always cooked food that I couldn't eat. I was limited to what foods were safe with my sensory challenges. 

"No, don't worry, Katsuki. We're making your favorite." I perked up when I heard that and a smile broke out on my face. There was no need to worry then. Spinning on my heels, I stalked off towards my room where I planned to stay until dinner was ready; until Eijioru was here. 

***

I heard when Eijirou knocked on the door. To be precise, I heard when his car pulled up. It wasn't loud, but I could hear the tires against the gravel of our long driveway. I also heard the wind and rain that pelted against the windows. My heart did that weird thumping thing as I pulled myself away from my desk and began walking out of my room. My mom had reminded me to change into more 'presentable' clothes about an hour before, and I didn't know what she thought was so wrong about my jeans and t-shirt. Still, I was used to her nagging and would rather suffer an itchy dress shirt than hear her complain.