AMATEURS [Tenya Iida x OC]

Chapter 26 - The One with the Party

-

White Day came and went without much ceremony or grandeur.

Peri wasn't upset. She preferred sweetness, not over-the-top gestures, anyway.

But what she didn't know was that Tenya had been struggling to even come up with the plans that he ended up with. He and Midoriya ended up having a planning meeting, where he confessed everything he'd been thinking since the Sports Festival... his heart had been overpowered by his decision and primed to explode at the first opportunity.

Midoriya didn't know what to say at first, but managed to talk Tenya down from doing anything rash. He gave Tenya a few suggestions for low-key White Day ideas, and scurried off with his head abuzz, wanting to tell someone, anyone, about what he'd heard. But he didn't know who to trust. Who could he unburden himself upon without worrying that they'd tell the rest of the class?

"Midoriya? Are you alright?" Todoroki surprised Midoriya from behind, standing in the hall with two steaming mugs of tea. His normally stoic expression was contorted into concern and surprise, an eyebrow raised as he lifted a mug toward his "friend". 

"You look worried," Todoroki continued, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Midoriya nodded, his broccoli curls flopping vigorously. "I have a secret... and I need to tell someone before I explode."

Biting his lip and glancing up and down the hall, Todoroki forced the mug of tea into Midoriya's hands and ushered him back toward Todoroki's room to continue the conversation in private.

-

Unbeknownst to anyone, secret plans were being made.

Because someone knew exactly whose birthday was right around the corner.

-

On the way to lunch one day in April, Tenya heard, "Tenya, psst!" and stalled in the hall, searching for the source.

Peri skipped ahead after a quick kiss, wrapping her arm around Momo's shoulders and discussing summer internship options. Tenya circled back through the ocean of students, finding Tsu hiding in a cranny. "Asui? Did you call for me?"

She nodded and yanked him over, huddling beside each other in the emptying hall. "It's about Peri," she admitted, eyes wide.

"What about her?" Swallowing back the panic that rose in his throat, Tenya talked himself down, reminding himself not to worry prematurely. Surely everything was fine. She would have told him if it wasn't. Or if she'd caught wind of his plan... Right?

"Peri's birthday is Saturday," Tsu said, glancing around Tenya's tall form, double-checking for their friend. She met his surprised gaze with nervous, furrowed brows and smirked. "I was going to ask if you had plans, ribbit, but judging by that face, I guess you don't."

Tenya struggled for words. "I guess I remember that she said her birthday was in April," he admitted, "But she never specified the day." As class rep, he had memorized his classmates' birthdays and general information shortly after attaining the title in their first year; but somehow Peri's birthday had completely slipped his mind, both as class rep and as her boyfriend. How could he have messed this up so badly?

Tsu watched Tenya's face screw up with guilt, and she patted his arm. "She'll never know. I'll take your secret to my grave," she promised with a wink. "Leave it to me, Tenya. I'll let you know if I need any help, alright?"

For some reason, Tenya's heart sank. "Sure, Asui. Anything you need."

She grinned and watched him leave, a weird sensation crawling over her skin like every warning bell in her body was ringing at once. Something was wrong, Tsu could see that much...

But what?

She wasn't sure.

-

On the morning of her birthday, Peri awoke to her phone ringing.

With an annoyed grunt, Peri rolled over and answered her phone without looking, rubbing her tired eyes in the dark. "Who is this and why are you bothering at me at such an ungodly hour?" she yawned.

Ochaco giggled from the other end of the line, answering with, "We're ready for you, birthday girl!"

"We?" Peri popped an eye open, frowning at her ceiling, "Ready for what?"

"You have to wake up and find out!" Mina chimed in, sounding way too cheery for morning time. "Get a move on, birthday girl!"

The call ended abruptly, leaving Peri in silence and darkness once more. A smile crept across her face as she processed and woke up.

"Happy birthday to me," she whispered.

-

Half of the girls (Mina, Ochaco, and Toru) distracted Peri all day with shopping, professional makeup, and lunch, while the rest of the girls (Tsu, Momo, and Jiro) stayed behind to set up Peri's surprise party. Peri was too absorbed in her fun to notice that she'd forgotten her phone in her room, but she missed spending time with Tenya on her big day.

When they turned the corner of the hill and found UA waiting for them, Mina threw her hand over Peri's made-up eyes and led her to campus in secrecy. Ochaco hastily texted Tsu, warning the surprise party of their imminent arrival.

As they approached, Peri's mind spun out in a million directions. Maybe Tenya was waiting with flowers? Perhaps the class was waiting in pajamas for a movie night? Or they'd ordered pizza and were ready for games?

Nothing prepared her for what really awaited.

Ochaco and Toru led Peri up the steps carefully, and she heard the door to the Heights Alliance squeak open in front of her. "Ready?" Mina giggled, her hand shaking over Peri's eyes. Peri nodded, and Mina ripped her hand away, blinding Peri temporarily.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Peri squinted through the flickering rainbow of lights, adjusting to the noise and the semi-dark and the smell of chocolate cake. Plump balloons rolled across the carpet in greens, pinks, and golds, and matching streamers draped in zigzags across the ceiling and over the furniture. A huge banner read, "WE LOVE YOU, PERI!" across the opening to the stairs, and everyone in Class 2-A signed it.

Best of all, their entire class - even Bakugo - stood under the banner, confetti poppers in hand, and had been waiting for them to arrive.

Tears caught in Peri's throat, and she covered her mouth as a wet chuckle escaped. She smiled weakly at her friends, unable to stop the tears from gathering in her eyes or spilling down her warm cheeks.

"Peri?" Tsu frowned, stepping closer, "Did we do something wrong? Is it too much? Yeah, It's too much. We'll take it down, pretend it never happened."

Shaking her head, Peri sniffled and covered her warm cheeks, annoyed that she was crying in front of their whole class. "This is amazing, Tsu, really," Peri managed between sobs, "But I don't deserve any of this."

In a breath, Peri was up the stairs, on her way to her room, tear-streaked cheeks hidden in her hands, sobs echoing down the stairwell.

Tsu watched as Peri left, and glanced at Tenya, who had an equally confused expression crossing his face. But when Tenya didn't move, even after prolonged eye contact and some very obvious head gestures toward the stairs, Tsu bounded up the stairwell herself, preparing for a long, confusing night.

Tenya helped the others tear down the party, his heart heavy.

Could he keep this up until the end of the school year?