The Sum of Each Other

2

     People blur around him as Midoriya walks down a strip of the mall, lost in thought. Summer is in full force, and it's left him with more time than he would like to do nothing. Taking a glance at the storefronts he's passing, Midoriya doesn't take much stock in his surroundings, bumping into a still figure.

     "Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," he says, looking up to who he bumped into as he does. His face immediately begins burning as his eyes reach Raven's face and he realizes what happened.

     "Raven, uh, hey," he says weakly, feeling embarrassed and flustered.

     "Midoriya, hi. I didn't expect to run into you here," she says, tilting her head slightly as she does; some of her hair falls in front of her eyes.

     "Oh, you know, just here for some... shopping," he replies. He internally kicks himself for such an awkward reply. Glancing down, he sees a few heavy books in her arms.

     "Are you here just to get some things to read?" Midoriya asks, pointing at the books, a bit desperate in shifting the conversation.

     "Yeah, but I was planning on looking around for some other things as well," Raven replies. She readjusts them slightly in her arms as the two speak; taking a small glance at them, Midoriya can see that a couple of them are about meditation and spirituality.

     "Oh, cool."

      An awkward silence fills the air as Midoriya doesn't know what else to say. Breaking the silence, Raven breaks the silence.

     "Are you here looking for something?" Raven says.

     "Not in particular, honestly," he replies. "I guess I'm here to mostly pass the time." Midoriya pauses slightly after saying this, wanting to speak more but not having the courage. Through a concerted effort, though, he finds his voice and speaks again.

     "I don't know if you would want to, but, um, would you want to continue shopping together? We don't have to, of course, but—"

     "Sure, why not?"

     Midoriya's heart nearly beats out of his chest out of excitement.

     "So, which way do you want to go?" Raven's questions jolts him, and Midoriya tries to keep his voice steady as he answers.

     "Any way you want to go is fine. I don't really have anything in mind." He sputters, not having planned to get this far.

      "Alright," Raven shrugs. "Let's go."

     Walking through the mall, Midoriya tries to keep up his composure, not wanting to reveal how nervous he is. Still, he steals a small glance towards Raven, floating beside him. She looks towards him, and despite trying to turn his gaze back forward quickly, she catches what he was doing. As he struggles to think of something to say, Raven speaks again.

     "Don't worry, I don't bite."

     She lands softly as she says this, bumping him slightly in the process. Midoriya can feel his face immediately begin to burn as he blushes, and giving her another glance, he sees a coy smile briefly flit across her face as she continues forward. The two mill about the mall, drifting in and out of various stores. As they do, Midoriya becomes more comfortable and less nervous in Raven's presence. They stop in stores that sell candles and incense, stores that happen to carry a specific brand of herbal tea that she likes.

     Eventually the two find their way to a small bench to rest on. Midoriya hadn't found anything of interest to buy, but he was still grateful for the time he got to spend with Raven; and, admittedly, he had gotten to know her more during this trip than he had over the entire school year. Raven sits down and sets her bags down beside her carefully. Sitting down next to her, Midoriya feels some relief over taking his weight off his feet. People pass by the two of them as they rest.