Finding Me (Todoroki x Reader)

Chapter 131

"Are you going to eat your food or not, L/N?"

The sudden voice broke me out of my reverie, forcing me to peel my eyes away from my lap and look up. Kirishima's scarlet eyes bored into mine, the curious quirk of his eyebrow told me enough of his suspicions. Truth was, despite having put thoughts of All For One aside, now there was room for all the doubts and nerves of today to settle in.

"Actually," Momo said, squinting at me, "you don't look too good."

Sero nodded, placing his spoon back in his bowl of cereal. "Yeah, you feeling okay, L/N? Does your breakfast taste bad?"

I shook my head, glancing down at my breakfast plate. "No, it's not that. I'm just-"

A warm hand grazing my forehead stopped me short, giving rise to an embarrassed blush as Shoto's skin pressed against mine. "Are you sure okay?" he asked. "You seem to be running a fever. You shouldn't over exert yourself-"

"I'm fine!" I cried, pulling his hand away from me. The cool air from his absent hand was welcomed gladly, slowly cooling down my flushed cheeks before I continued on. "I'm fine. I just... Guess I'm just more nervous than I thought I would be for today. I mean, this is a big deal."

"True," Kirishima said, his toothy, shark grin opening wide, "but nerves are good, right? I honestly don't see what you could be worried about."

I sweat-dropped. "You're honestly too positive sometimes, Kirishima." That got a laugh out of some people, which elevated some of the tension hanging over us. I stared back at my breakfast. The steam had dissipated by now, having sat untouched for about ten minutes now. Any other morning I would've wolfed it down, but not today. I could barely stomach the thought of eating it, let alone actually eating it.

"You'll feel better if you eat something," Shoto said, and I could feel his piercing blue and grey eyes boring into my he'd without looking.

I let out a deep sigh. "I know..." I made no move for the food, still not finding it the least appetising. I wonder what the other students were feeling. Nervous as well, or even terrified? Or were they fine? I wonder what Eri was doing right now. How was she feeling coming into today?

My wild train thought came to a screeching halt at the feeling of a warm hand covering mine. I turned to find Shoto still looking at me, his face as expressionless as ever. However, his hand remained, its comforting heat relaxing both my muscles and my nerves. And although his touch told me enough, he said, "You'll do great. We'll do great. Okay?"

I blinked a few times at hime, his words unable to sink in quite yet. "H-How did you-"

Kyoka's laugh had me turning to face her, an amused grin on her lips as she walked on by with her empty plate. "You have the classic face of someone with stage fright. But you shouldn't be focussing on how the others will react or if they'll have fun. Like Bakugou said: let's do this for us and only us. Let's make sure we have fun."

"I'm pretty sure he was a bit more aggressive when saying that."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. The point is: this is our moment, so let's take it."

I don't know whether it was her sudden burst of confidence or the fact that Kyoka was giving me a pep talk, but I suddenly didn't feel so nervous anymore. Yeah, the butterflies remained fluttering frantically in their cage between my ribs, but just by a teeny-tiny fraction now. I smiled at the music girl. "Thanks Kyoka, but those are some rich words coming from the girl who was afraid to front the band, initially."

Those at the table and walking nearby burst into laughter as a deep red hue coated Kyoka's cheeks. "That was a completely different situation back then," she argued, averting her eyes to the ground. "Pfft, whatever. Let's just get going already." With that, she walked away with her plate to start clean up duties, her cheeks still blooming pink.