"I'm sorry, [____]!" Mina placed her hands in a pleading way after school was over and [____] had invited her to be her partner. "I asked Momo to pair up with me this time during lunch break! I totally forgot about you for one moment, I'm so sorry!"

"Eh? Momo?" [____] hadn't met this person yet, so she wasn't sure why she was feeling a little envious towards them. "That's okay..."

"Why don't you ask Bakugo to pair up with you? I'm sure having him on your side for once will make you feel a lot safer. He won't be attacking you, at least! And he's our leader, he likes getting asked for stuff like this, trust me, even if he claims that it's a pain!"

"T-That won't happen..." [____] only discarded the idea because she genuinely believed that Katsuki wouldn't want to spend a single second of his life, practicing with her. She also thought that Kirishima was most likely his to-go partner and first option.

"You can ask Sero, then! He'll say yes for sure, to work with such a cute girl like you— Oh! You can also ask Todoroki." She lowered her tone to the last part since she didn't want anybody but [____] to hear. "Even though he's the best looking guy in class, remember! He's very quiet and sometimes it comes off as intimidating. I doubt anyone has asked him to pair up, yet!"

"B-But...isn't Todoroki in Midoriya's team? They eat lunch together..." [____] asked her friend. Although the real reason she didn't want to partner up with Shoto was because she still felt embarrassed of what had happened earlier. "Katsuki wouldn't like that..."

'He already thinks Todoroki is my type, when the unfortunate truth is that it's actually him, who I like!'

"[____]! You worry too much about things like that!" Mina giggled, "Even though its kinda adorable, you have to be more confident! If you want, I can ask Todoroki for you."

As soon as she offered, [____] shook her head several times. "N-No! You don't have to do that, I'll ask somebody else, on my own!"

"Are you sure? He's just sitting there— Look at him, he's so sexy but no sign of girls around him..." Her friend pointed back to Todoroki's seat using her chin, but the person [____] turned to look at was their team leader.

Katsuki was just scrolling through his phone while Kirishima looked over his shoulder and showed him an article on a video game magazine. After watching the blond yell at him about something incomprehensible, [____] gave her attention back to Mina.

"I'll figure out who to ask..."

"Okay, but remember, if you choose Todoroki, then you have to ask him out today!" The girl finished packing her bag and waved goodbye at [____], "I gotta go home early, my parents asked me to not take long so I can't hang out after all...But just know that I'll be rooting for you, okay?"

"You are making it sound like if I'm going to ask him to date me..." [____] blinked a few times; the burning sensation in her eyes had finally went away on its own. Although she was eager to get home and take off the makeup— She was sure she didn't want to change her beauty routine, after that uncomfortable sensation she was dealing with for hours.

"Well, why not? You can ask for that, too." Mina winked before leaving the classroom. "Good luck, [____]!"

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"Ask Todoroki out on a date....I can't do such a thing! I can't even push myself to ask Katsuki to stop bullying me..." [____] reminded herself what a crazy idea that was, while walking off campus. "I asked my chauffeur to not pick me up today, I wanted to take the train home, but...I wonder if I could just use my quirk to practice teleportation?"

"[____]! There you are!" One of her classmates had to catch his breath after rushing to get a hold of her.

"You are..?"

"I'm Kaminari Denki— I sit like, near the front of the class."

She recognized him, not from what he told her but from his hair. He was sitting with Bakugo, Kirishima & Sero at lunch. "Oh, it's nice to meet you! Are you also in our team?"

"Bakugo's?? No way. I've tried to get in, but he keeps saying I only have one strong attack and after that I'm useless, ahah..." He laughed at himself, which made [____] feel a little upset.

'What a mean thing to say! He really just picks on anyone! Does he even know how much words can affect others?'

"Actually, I'm in Todoroki's team— but I still like to hang around Bakugo and the rest, we play video games sometimes, so..." His voice trailed off, then he cleared his throat. "[____]! I came here to tell you that if you don't have someone to pair up with for the exam next week, then please consider me as your partner. I may be a little rough around the edges...strategy-wise, but I really just want to be paired up with a cute girl!"

[____] was left a little dumbfounded. She was expecting him to say something along the lines of: "I will still protect you." Or: "I will try my best, if you agree."

Really, anything else would of been a better way to ask than whatever he just said.

"Um..."

"Out of my way, Pikachu!" Bakugo shoved Kaminari to the side as him and Kirishima reached the gates of the school. "What the hell are you two doing blocking the fucking exit?!"

"Did you just call me Pikachu?!" Denki gasped at the nickname.

"[____], guess what? We're all going to Bakugo's house to play games since we don't have homework today. Do you want to come with us?" Eijiro took his role as a wingman on that moment, urging the girl to agree. "We can stop by a convenience store to buy some snacks! Come on, say yes please!"

"Say yes, say yes!" Kaminari, who was also attending, followed Kirishima's chants. "It's just going to be us, guys! We need a cute girl around to make us feel more motivated!"

'Motivated? But they're only going to play video games...'

"I'd like to, but..." [____] wasn't sure if it was a great idea to tag along with a bunch of guys. It's the exact image that her father feared the most.

It's not like any of them were actually dangerous— Maybe Bakugo was, but [____]'s dad would feel better if he knew that they were going to Masaru's home, at least.

Her eyes met Katsuki's and he quickly looked at the ground. "If you can take us to my house using your stupid quirk— Then I don't care what you decide to do."

[____]'s eyes sparkled. "Okay! I'll tag along!"

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"Alright, I say we grab a bunch of spicy chips and sodas! We can have a burp competition when we get there!" Denki was announcing this as they went inside the store, acting like it was a great plan. "Bakugo's mom cooks the spiciest ramen I have ever tried! We're gonna make a bet so the loser gets to do whatever each of us say for one week!"

'Sounds like fun...I would join if I could handle his mother's cooking, but...' She could barely hold down half a plate of curry, last time.

"It's on Bakugo today— It's his turn to pay for the snacks since he's hosting!" Kirishima let [____] know this before she could think of what to grab. "Just so you know, he acts like he doesn't want to do this but the whole thing was his idea—"

"I swear; if you guys make me waste more money than last week, I will fucking cancel this whole shit of an idea once and for all!" Katsuki kicked Kirishima's back but Eijiro used his quirk to block the hit. "Shitty hair, you're carrying all this stuff!"

"Todoroki, you play video games too?" [____] asked the most quiet guy from the group. The entire time, she couldn't shake off the feeling that it was fate that Shoto was also going to Katsuki's home.

'I thought Katsuki hated him or something, turns out they hang out more often that what I had in mind...'

She averted her attention to the other three guys, who were already grabbing whatever they were going to purchase.

"Not as much as them..." Todoroki replied, walking into the candy aisle and grabbing a bag of sugar-dipped peach flavored gummy worms.

"You must really like sweet things, huh..." [____] mentioned it out loud unintentionally. "S-Sorry, I just remembered... You asked for strawberry milk when we went to the mall..."

"Eating too much spicy stuff makes my body temperature rise."

"I see..." She gave him a smile, then saw from the corner of her eye a certain brand of cookies. "Oh!! They have these, here?!"

"Macarons?" Shoto grabbed a small box with the cute designs on it, the same one [____] was looking through.

"Yes, there's only one in each package...But they come with cute plushies! This line has the rabbits and pumpkins. Every month, there's a new theme and it's always one animal and one random food! Aren't they cute?!" She eagerly pointed at the side of the box, where it showed all nine of the random prizes you could collect.

"So it's like a blind box..." He examined the entire box he was still holding. Even shook it a couple of times next to his ear.

"Yeah, I guess...But with macarons, too! So you get like— a double treat? I don't know." [____] bashfully shook her head. "It's dumb; I know. They're meant for little kids, anyway."

"Ah, [____], you like this stuff!?" Kaminari was the first one to slide in the same aisle his team leader was at and he grabbed the box [____] was placing away. "I'm actually really good at guessing what's inside of these things, you know!"

"You don't say?"

"Yep! Which one are you looking for? I'll find it for you."

[____] wasn't doubting his skills, so she gladly pointed to the picture of the stuffed bunny toy. "Hm..I think the one where the bunny is smiling is cute—"

"The rabbit one, got it. Watch this!" He straight up opened the lid of the box, revealing that the prize inside wasn't the one she asked for. "Oops, wrong one."

"Y-You don't have to try again—!" [____] watched as Denki opened the rest of the boxes in front of them. "Please stop! Katsuki will end up having to pay for all of that!"

"I'm not paying for that crap!!" Bakugo almost spat fire as he yelled at Kaminari. "You went ahead and opened all of them, didn't you?! Fucking lightbulb! I'll kill you!!"

"Relax, Bakugo! It's only 300 yen each, isn't 2,700 yen worth seeing a pretty girl smile?" Denki happily pointed at [____], and she nervously waited for Katsuki's answer.

"What the fuck are you saying?! I don't see a pretty girl anywhere in this damn store!!"

[____] pouted. 'I'll just pay for them, myself, then! I have the money to do it.'

"Thank you, come again!" The voice of the cashier startled the four students. They all witnessed Todoroki paying for all of the boxes and his candy.

He walked back to where his classmates were, holding a plastic bag that he handed to [____].

"Eh?" Basically everyone, including her, blinked at the kind deed.

Shoto opened the last box of macarons, the one he was holding onto the entire time and pulled out the little stuffed bunny from its packaging. "Is this the one you wanted, [____]?"

Her eyes almost felt watery from looking at the really cute plush. "Todoroki! Thank you!"

"Man! I was supposed to get that smile, not him!" Kaminari whined about it. "I helped too!"

"Don't worry, Bakugo, I have a plan!" Kirishima whispered to his friend. "I won't let any of these guys get in the way of true love!"

"Hell, if I care!" Katsuki slapped Eijiro's hand away from his ear. "Let's fucking pay for all of this and get out of here."

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The guys and [____] finished choosing what they wanted and they put all of their items on the counter to get them scanned. "Your total is 5,000 yen, please."

"Bakugo, pay up, son." Kaminari moved aside voluntarily, to make way for his buddy.

"You're fucking stupid. Take half this shit out! I don't have enough cash on me!!"

"What? But don't you remember last time? You said who ever is hosting has to pay for the snacks!"

"These aren't snacks it's a whole fucking buffet for you guys! Fuck this, I'm only paying for myself!"

"Not cool dude, you said—"

"I'll pay!" [____] didn't like hearing the guys argue, so she offered. "You guys didn't have to invite me today, but you did...I'm very grateful for that so please let me pay, okay?"

The two guys who were getting ready to fight in the middle of the store, stopped their movements.

"Really?! Just as I thought! [____] is an angel!" Denki pretended to pray in front of her as she searched for the money to hand it to the cashier.

Todoroki placed his debit card in front of her at the same time. "Use my card."

"Todoroki...I said I'll pay." [____] wanted to help Katsuki, somehow. She was beginning to feel a little annoyed from never being able to buy anything for others.

"It's fine, [____]. I can't let you pay that much for the rest of us."

"But...I really want to help."

"Please, take my card." He used his charm to woo the female cashier by smiling at her, she gave in and grabbed the card instead of [____]'s cash. "Thank you."

"You said next time I could pay." [____] tried to jog his memory.

"I know."

"You should of let me pay, then. I have the money—"

"Not now. Not next time, either." He received his type of payment back and he placed it into his wallet.

[____] asked, "Then when?"

"Soon." He gave her a smile, it wasn't a big one or filled with joy— like the ones Mina or Kirishima give. It was faint and modest. It made [____] wonder again...

'Does he have a girlfriend? If so, shouldn't he be less kind to other girls...like this? It's like giving someone else false hope.'

Bakugo, upset that they were both looking at each other for a little too long, dismissed everybody else. "Hurry the fuck up, people! Let's get out of here!"

He left the store as Kirishima and Denki grabbed all of the bags and followed after him. "Yes, sir!" — "Anything for you, Blasty!"

The girl snapped out of it and was mentally preparing herself to open the portal to Katsuki's home when Shoto stopped her by speaking.

"[____], you shouldn't let Bakugo treat you like that."

She looked puzzled. "I...It's not like I let him insult me...It's more like— I can't make him stop...?"

"I feel like you don't know what kind of person you are."

"What do you mean?"

Instead of explaining, he continued to rant, "A girl like you, hanging out with a guy like Bakugo...It just makes me mad."

"Mad?!" She repeated the word, then remained silent. He was looking outside, at his classmates, through the glass doors. It was the first time she saw Todoroki glare at anybody.

'Could it be that he's jealous of Katsuki?'

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[an: Enjoy this quick UNEDITED chapter before I go to bed at 6 am lol. I would of written more but as always, my phone is dying it's at 4% I hate charging it throughout the day don't judge lmao

I appreciate your reads/likes/comments!]