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Chapter 2

I brought my fist back and prepared to bring it across his jaw but I wasn't fast enough. Bakugo caught my fist mid-swing, cocking his head and chuckling as his hands began to heat up and burn my skin.

I glared at him, refusing to pull away and we dared each other to make a move. Finally, he twisted my wrist and threw my hand down to my side, causing me to slightly stumble on my feet.

The bell for lunch rang. Bakugo hummed in contentment as he smirked at me. He made sure to stare me down at an angle far too close before finding his way out of the classroom, his buddies laughing with him down the hall as they made their way for the lunchroom.

Suddenly, the only people left were me and Midoriya.

"Okuma, right?" He asked. I slowly nodded, my eyes never leaving the holes they were burning into the floor. "Thank you." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"For what?" I whispered quietly.

"For standing up to Kacchan. You didn't have to lie to him like that for me-" he blushed.

"Lie?" I looked at him, anger written across my face in bold lettering. Why would he accuse me as a liar?

"You said you'd choose me in a fight over Kacchan." He began collecting his papers off the floor, setting them on his desk in a specific order.

"Who said I was lying?" He stopped for a moment. It was so slight that you'd have to be observing him like a hawk- luckily I was.

He then began lining up the papers on my desk, making sure they were neater than they'd ever been.

"You don't have to do that." I sighed.

"I don't mind." He smiled at me warmly, something I had only seen from him a handful of times.

"Don't make me regret what I said." I came off harsher than I had meant. Granted, it got my point across.

"Regret-" He turned to me quizzically.

"What I said... to Bakugo. Don't make me regret it Midoriya." I raised my head to look at him. "Don't make me look quirkless and stupid."

Our eyes met and we were much closer than I had thought. So close I could sense his breath against my skin. His breaths were shaky. He smelled like pine and rain. Like he'd just came from a winter forest.

His cheeks burned but his gaze never left my own. His eyes bounced between the two of mine.

Finally, he broke away and began anxiously jumping around and backing up into desks, his arms flailing in fear.

"Midoriya-"

"I'm sorry, I- I didn't. I-"

Realization sat in about how close he was and I felt my own cheeks begin to burn

I watched him struggle to make his way through the rows of desks before grabbing his lunch off the floor from under his desk.

"I'll, uh, see you after lunch!" He waved goodbye before taking off at a dead sprint down the hallway. Leaving me dumbfounded on the desk at his social ability.

Lunch. Once again spent in the third bathroom stall from the door. To the left, to be exact.

After lunch had finished we had all returned to the classroom for the rest of our studies. The day had gone by slow, tiresome, even. I avoided Bakugos glare and Midoriyas anxious glances as much as I could.

Today, it seemed like everyone was looking at me.

After the bell rung for school to end, I stayed in my seat a moment longer than everyone else. I peered out the window, taking in every sight to be seen and estimated the weather for the rest of the day.