Friends? (tododeku)

Chapter 11

Third-person POV

"I knew it!" the class' sliding door slammed open and a blond boy stepped in. "Deku," he said disgusted and grimaced. Midoriya and Todoroki startled and turned to look at the troublemaker standing at the door. Midoriya's eyes widened and he dropped his chopsticks.

"Kacchan!" he exclaimed cheerfully. We were having a good moment here... Todoroki sighed and leaned dramatically on his hand. Why is he in the same class as us? "Kacchan! We're in the same class!" Midoriya smiled. Bakugou growled and stepped closer.

"I heard from the extras that you had talked big to them," he raised his voice and stepped in front of Todoroki. Todoroki sighed again and raised his head. Bakugou leaned closer. "Who do you think you are?"

"I just defended Midoriya," he said and continued eating.

"Don't behave so casually!" Bakugou exclaimed and lowered his head menacingly. "Besides, who cares about that rattlesnake," he said, swinging his head toward the green-haired boy. Todoroki's mouth tightened. Bakugou really isn't ashamed to look down on others. Midoriya grabbed the hem of his uniform and looked at the stone tile floor.

"Don't, Kacchan," he laughed forcibly, closing his lunch box. The food wouldn't taste that good anymore. Bakugou laughed and kicked the table. Midoriya startled but tried to stay calm.

"Don't 'Kacchan' me! You're not a child anymore," he snapped and marched out of the room. When Bakugou was gone, the room filled again with silence. Now, however, it was not a gentle and comfortable silence. It seemed repressive. Todoroki looked at Midoriya, who fumbled nervously with his fingers. Todoroki heard the boy squeak and his cheeks were flushed. He is close to crying.

"Midoriya," he said gently. It usually calmed the boy when they were younger. Midoriya raised his head and his freckles glowed. "Give your hand," Todoroki urged and held out his own. Midoriya hesitated for a moment, but eventually placed his own in Todoroki's big palm. Midoriya's hand was soft and graceful. It was pale and his fingers were slender. His nails were clean and round. Todoroki squeezed the boy's hand and looked him in the eyes. He began to breathe calmly in and out, and Midoriya did the same. The smaller boy closed his eyes and listened as his heartbeat slowed. Todoroki's grip was gentle but strong enough to cover Midoriya's hand almost completely. It was warm and he could feel the heat of Todoroki passing through his body. Midoriya felt Todoroki moving his hand. He removed it and the breeze from outside took away the heat. Soon, however, the same heat came back, but not in the same way. Todoroki had intertwined his fingers with the smaller boy.

Midoriya opened his eyes in fright and looked at his hands. He looked at Todoroki and noticed a small grin on his face. Midoriya felt a warm red spread across his face to his neck. He tried to avoid Todoroki's gaze by looking elsewhere, but could not resist the temptation to raise it again. They locked their eyes again. Todoroki's light blue and gray eyes nailed Midoriya in place. That look was so sharp and precise. Like a hawk watching its surroundings. From Todoroki's point of view, Midoriya's eyes were blinding. They flickered so strongly and emitted a bright green light. It might seem to an outsider that they were just looking into each other's eyes. However, that was not how it felt. It felt like they were looking into each other's souls through windows that were disguised as eyes. Through those colorful but bright glasses that others couldn't get through. Such moments were rare in human life. These boys were still inexperienced and didn't yet know how emotions worked. On the other hand, even if they were inexperienced and ignorant, no science book would make them understand what different feelings feel to every person.

Midoriya already knew that he needed a new notebook to fit all these new analyzes in there.

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"Read chapter 1 and do assignments 1.1-1.3," the bald history teacher said while closing his book. Some of the students sighed in relief and many were already running down the aisles. The class was filled again with speech and laughter, and the break finally began. Todoroki glanced at the clock as he pushed his history book to the bottom of his bag. They had 15 minutes before the next lesson.

"Hey, Midoriya," Todoroki said, trying to get the boy's attention. He was clearly in his thoughts, scribbling in his notebook while muttering to himself. "I'm going to the bathroom," Todoroki stood up and lowered his hand to Midoriya's shoulder. He returned to reality.

"Aah, sure," he smiled and went back to his thoughts. Todoroki smiled and shook his head. He couldn't understand how anyone could be so excited about superheroes. He always had a notebook with him, and Todoroki had to answer countless questions related to his two quirks. Not that Todoroki was bothered by it. It was nice that Midoriya had some hobbies. Todoroki walked the school corridors and looked for a toilet. The school was still pretty unknown to him, so this might take some time. After a little searching, he finally found what he was looking for. He took a step towards the toilets but had to stop when a student slid in front of him. He was tall, not as tall as Todoroki, but he stood out from the other students. He had crisp red hair put on a half-ponytail. His ears were full of glittering jewelry and his smile reached to his ears.

"Hey, would you like to join the basketball club?" he said quickly and grinned. Todoroki raised his eyebrows in amazement and put his hands in his pockets. Who is this?

"Sorry, but who are you?" Todoroki asked and took a step back.

"I'm Machi Tadao. I'm two years older," he replied and took a step closer. "You're unusually tall for your age. Please join our basketball club!" Tadao said and slapped his hands together. Todoroki scratched his cheek thoughtfully. Joining the club didn't sound very pleasant. Then he would be able to spend less time with Midoriya.

"I don't know..." he muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"Please! We desperately need new members and you're tall! We won't make it to the big games if we don't get more players," the boy exclaimed and continued, "and then we'll have to quit our club, and I can't allow it!"

Todoroki watched him stunned. He looked very ambitious and would not give up easily. "Uh... well..." Todoroki muttered.

"Please save us! I can introduce you to new girls," he grinned, a smug look on his face. Todoroki's face quickly turned expressionless, and he tried to walk past Tadao. "Uh! Wait, wait!" Tadao panicked, waving his hands. "All right, all right! No girls! You probably already have a crush, right!" Tadao's frightened look turned quickly into a grin. "Did you know that it would be much easier for your crush to notice you if you would be a neat basketball player?" Todoroki stopped.

"How do I join?"