Friends? (tododeku)

Chapter 13

Third-person POV

It had already been a few weeks since school began. The boys already knew the school grounds well and were used to the lives of middle school students. They still walked home together every day after club activities and were still close friends. However, there was one problem...

Midoriya sat in class math book laying in front of him. There was still time before the next class, so he would have time to do tomorrow's homework. Their classmates had begun hanging in the classroom during breaks, except that one gang that had caused a scene on the first day of school. No one ever knew where they were. The teachers did not question anything, as the boys were present during the lessons and were not usually disturbing them. Midoriya, however, was disturbed by the multitude of people who had begun to dominate the class even during breaks. Usually, Midoriya and Todoroki were allowed to be alone in an empty classroom. That's when Midoriya did school stuff and Todoroki stared out of the window. And they both enjoyed that. But now it was impossible.

To be exact, Midoriya was not bothered by the loud crowd of people, but perhaps by the place where they usually were. When Todoroki joined the basketball club, more and more students had come to the class every day and had started spinning around him. He had become popular and was also talked about a lot. Midoriya sighed at his thoughts. He must have thought quite selfishly when he wanted Todoroki for himself in this way. This popularity is a good thing. Todoroki was not very social in elementary school and now he has a lot of friends. Midoriya smiled. He was happy to know that Todoroki got along with the others. He glanced at Todoroki. He didn't seem to feel uncomfortable. However, he hadn't smiled even once. Did that mean he didn't like them? Midoriya had still not figured out what he was thinking.

"Yui, go for it!"

Midoriya glanced at the door. Two unknown girls stood there, one squeezing her skirt nervously and the other patting her on the shoulder encouragingly. "If you don't ask him now, then someone else will first!" the other girl sighed and raised his glasses.

"But- I can't... he's so cool..."

"I know you'll regret it even more if you don't even try," the glass-headed girl said. Another girl swallowed and looked at Todoroki. There were still a lot of people around him and he stood out well from the crowd. Midoriya lowered his pen and followed the situation. He was interested to see what happened next.

"Umm, Todoroki!" the girl exclaimed. Silence spread to the classroom and the students around Todoroki turned. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" the girl almost whispered. Todoroki glanced first at Midoriya and then at the girl. After a moment, he finally got up and walked outside the class. Midoriya leaned on his hand thoughtfully. The school's Halloween party was coming, so Todoroki had been asked several times a day to step outside and hear the same request over and over again. However, he had not accepted any of the girls and had politely refused. Midoriya had once asked as they walked home why he didn't want to go to the dance with the girls. Todoroki had just smiled in response and fluffed the boy's green hair.

Maybe he doesn't want to go to the dance or maybe he wants to ask some particular girl. Midoriya pondered and drew circles on the edges of his notebook. Todoroki didn't talk about himself and was usually the one asking the questions to Midoriya. It didn't bother him, but it would have been nice to know more about Todoroki. The sliding door opened and Todoroki stepped in. He sighed and slid his hand through his hair. It was easy to conclude that he had once again been asked to the dance and he had once again refused. Just when Todoroki got to his place, the school bell rang. The extra students left the class like a big wave and a calm atmosphere filled the room.

A gentle gust of wind fluttered the windows' light silk curtains and the wind caressed Todoroki's hair ends. Dust particles hovered around them and glistened in the sunlight. His black school uniform absorbed the warm rays and they made Todoroki's skin look more and more spectacular. Midoriya wanted to ask or say something, but his mouth refused to open. Fortunately, he didn't have to work any harder as Todoroki opened his mouth. "Are you going to the Halloween party?" he asked and turned his head gently.

Midoriya squeezed his lips into a thin line. He was not ready for that question. He didn't even know if he was going to the party. What would he even do there? Midoriya was quite sure that Todoroki would have company there and didn't want to get in their way. He scratched his cheek and replied: "I don't know, I don't want to go there alone." He laughed. Todoroki looked at him for a long time, so long that Midoriya was forced to lower his gaze. That gaze was just too pinning.

"Would you like to come with me?" Todoroki asked without lowering his gaze. His eyes were bright but serious, and his expression didn't change. Midoriya's eyes widened and his mouth opened. He was so surprised he couldn't even cover his feelings. He slowly looked up and got lost in Todoroki's eyes. He heard small movements around him and a couple of whispers. Todoroki had inadvertently attracted the attention of the whole class but was too focused to notice it. Midoriya swallowed hard.

"What do you mean?" he asked in a quiet voice, hoping it would not reach anyone else than Todoroki.

"To the party. On Friday," Todoroki said, pointing his finger first at himself and then at Midoriya. Midoriya felt his cheeks flush and his freckles shone. He tried to cover them with his hand, but it was useless, as Midoriya was as easy to read like an open book.

"Well okay if my company is any good," Midoriya tried to sound as normal as possible but heard his voice crack at the end of the sentence. Todoroki nodded and turned his gaze. When he was sure Midoriya wouldn't see him, he let a small smile rise to his lips. He would go to the party with his best friend, and nothing could make this day better.

----

"Hey, can we walk to the party together on Friday?" Midoriya asked and lift his backpack's straps. The boys were walking home after a long day of school. Club activities had lasted longer than normal and the sun was already setting. Todoroki wore a t-shirt and tracksuit pants. He hadn't bothered to change to his school uniform after basketball workouts, which was why he had thrown something a little more relaxed on.

"Of course," Todoroki replied thoughtlessly and tried to tidy up his damp hair. Midoriya smiled, but soon a worried look spread across his face.

"Shouldn't you have a jacket? It's not summer anymore," he said, glancing at Todoroki's t-shirt. Todoroki smiled.

"Don't worry. I'm not cold," he said and fluttered Midoriya's soft hair. Midoriya laughed and grabbed the boy's wrist.

"Stop!" he laughed again while trying to keep his hair in place.

"Sorry, it's just so soft," Todoroki said innocently. Midoriya continued to squeeze Todoroki's wrist and didn't seem to remember it. Todoroki didn't bother to do anything about it and let Midoriya do whatever he wanted.