"What'd my father say to you?" Shouto looked up from the piece of paper he was scribbling on in his desk chair as Momo entered his bedroom.

"Oh," Momo sighed and shrugged. "He really just talked about your quirk..." her voice trailed off at the end of her sentence.

"Of course he did," Shouto chuckled sarcastically, running a frustrated hand through his two-toned hair. "I can't believe I expected anything else."

Momo took a deep breath and walked over to a cushioned chair in the corner of his room, collapsing into it and rubbing her eyes. "When was the last time you used your flames?"

"I don't even remember," Todoroki rolled his eyes and cracked his knuckles, sitting back down in his desk chair. "I think I was four."

Momo didn't say anything for a little bit. She really didn't know how to respond; she really wanted nothing more than to have Shouto come to terms with his flames. Not only would it make him a better hero, but it could help relieve the internal battle he had with himself. However, she knew that helping him learn to use his flames again would take time, not happen overnight.

"You okay?" Shouto asked from across the room, snapping Momo out of her whirlwind of thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking," she murmured a quick response, leaning her head back and letting out a deep breath. "What time is it?"

"A little past midnight," Shouto leaned back and cast a quick glance at the clock sitting on his desk.

Momo glanced at Shouto from across the room, her eyes locking with his. "How's your cut?" she asked him, pointing to the bandage under his eye.

He leaned up and touched the bandage with his hand. "It's fine... are your wounds okay?" he sat forward with his elbows resting on his thighs. "That villain got you pretty bad." A flash of guilt appeared in his eyes. "I'm sorry about that..."

Momo shook her head and smiled at him, "They're okay, thank you. Who patched them up?" She said, drawing her index finger over the bandage on her arm.

"I did." he answered quietly.

Even though she had already assumed that, Momo's heart quickened at his words.

"We should play a game," Momo smiled, chuckling quietly.

Shouto's brow furrowed, and he narrowed his eyes slightly. "Like monopoly?"

"No, not monopoly," Momo laughed. "What if we shout out questions to each other, and we have to answer with one to three words." She recommended.

"Okay," he said, nodding slightly.

"I'll go first, favorite Pro Hero?" Momo asked him, cocking her head to the side.

"Easy,  All Might." Shouto answered while gesturing to the poster on his wall. He began to think of a question. "Favorite dog breed?"

"Corgi." Momo shrugged. "Now, if you had to save one student in our class from a burning building, who would-?"

"You."

Shouto answered with no hesitation at all, and Momo felt her face turn and embarrassing shade of beet red. Her racing heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.

"Are you okay? Are you sick?" Todoroki asked, noticing her abnormally red face.

"No," Momo cleared her throat, trying to slow down her racing heart. "I'm okay. Just glad to know that somebody's there to save me," her mouth was dry, but she desperately tried to continue the game.

"Okay, just checking." Todoroki blinked at her. "What's your least favorite part about your quirk?" He asked.

Momo finally started to regain her composure, her heart falling back to a normal rhythm. "Uhhh, I'm not really sure. Maybe just the fact that creating bigger things is really difficult under pressure..." she answered. "Sorry to turn the question around, but what's your least favorite part of your quirk?" She already knew the answer, but she wanted Shouto to say it himself.

"You know that already," Shouto sighed, leaning back in his chair. "My flames..." he shook his head. "I hate them."

Momo stayed silent for a couple seconds before a brilliant idea appeared in her mind and a small smile appeared on her face. "Hey, Todoroki?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I clip your hair up?" She asked quietly, leaning forward in her chair.

Shouto frowned, confused. "Why?"

"Because I want to see what it'd look like."

"Why?"

"Because it'll be cool."

"Why?"

"JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION-."

"OKAY."

Momo laughed out loud, pushing herself up from her chair and walking over to Shouto. She took a hair tie off of her wrist and glanced down at him.

"Sorry in advance," she chuckled quietly. Shouto smiled slightly as Momo gathered the part of his hair covering his forehead in her hand. His hair was uncharacteristically soft, and she took a deep breath as she rolled the hair tie off of her wrist and tied it around his hair.

It took a few failed attempts, but after she had finished with the hair tie, she took a step back and looked at him for a second.

"Oh my God," Momo burst out laughing, clutching her stomach and trying to catch her breath. "Thank you for letting me do that,"

Shouto remained still for a few moments, blinking at her silently. He loved watching her laugh, it made him feel good, but he didn't know if he should laugh too or not.

Holding out her arm, Momo quickly created a handheld mirror held it in front of Shouto, waiting for his reaction. It took a few seconds but Shouto's stoic face spread into a small grin and he glanced up at Momo.

"I can't believe I let you do this," he muttered, reaching up and touching the small ponytail on the top of his head.

"Sorry," Momo said. "I'll take it out if you want," she reached over and pulled the hair tie out of his hair, the red and white locks falling back over his forehead.

"Thank you," Shouto rose up from his chair and set the mirror down on the desk behind him.

Momo jumped slightly when the phone in her pocket buzzed. She took it out and glanced at the screen,  taking in a sharp breath at the message displayed on the screen.

Dad: Where are you?

Momo hesitated for a second before typing a quick response, casting a guilty gaze up at Todoroki.

Momo: A friend's house. Where's Mom?

Dad: Passed out an hour ago. Not before throwing a picture frame against the wall.

Momo shook her head and sighed.

Momo: Great. I have to go now.

Dad: Okay. Goodnight.

Momo didn't even care to respond before pocketing her phone, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Sorry, that was my dad," she explained to Shouto. "He just wanted to check up on me,"

"Must be nice," Shouto joked.

"Wow," Momo laughed, shaking her head. "Hey, just because he checked up on me doesn't mean he cares."

"I guess so," Shouto replied, his voice quiet.

Momo was about to turn around, but she froze when a cool hand grabbed her wrist.

"Momo?" Shouto asked, the use of her first name making Momo's eyes widen.

"Y-yes?" She muttered, gazing down at his hand on her skin.

Shouto was silent for a few, long seconds. Momo felt her heart pick up speed, and her blood run cold. She felt like she was shaking but didn't know if he could tell or not.

"Momo, y-.." he stuttered, his grip loosening with anxiety. "you make me really happy, Momo, a-and you've turned into one of my best friends, but..."

Eyes widening, Momo felt her voice get caught in her throat. She felt glued to the spot, but her muscles went limp as she quietly cleared her throat.

A few more moments ticked by before Shouto shook his head and let out an exasperated breath. "I can't do this," he whispered after letting go of Momo's hand.

"Shouto," Momo muttered. "What is it? You can tell me," she urged. Her heart was still racing, and she could barely get the words out, but she wanted so badly to hear what it was that had Shouto so anxious.

Shaking his head, Shouto rubbed his eyes for a second. "I can't, I don't want to say it."

"Why not?"

"Because," Shouto dropped his hands and locked eyes with Momo. "If you don't feel the same way, you'll hate me. A lot. Probably."

Momo froze. The sound of her heart beating against her ribs roared in her ears, and the tips of her fingertips were cold.

"W-what?" Her voice was quiet and wispy.

Shouto took a deep breath and a step back. "Momo, I really, really care about you. More than a friend would. But I won't change anything if you don't want to."

Is this really happening? Momo thought to herself. She felt like the world around her was spinning, and was acutely aware of how fast she was breathing. It was almost like she was hyperventilating, but could barely feel it.

I-I can't do this. I like him, I do, but...

Momo shook her head slowly, taking a small step backwards. Her entire body was shaking, and she was struggling to breath, like somebody was strangling her.

"I-I'm sorry," she whispered, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Shouto's eyes were wide, and he had a look of shame plastered on his face.

I'm sorry.

"I have to go." Momo turned around and bolted out of Shouto's room, nearly running into his desk chair on the way out. She heard Shouto call her name from behind her, but barely had time to process it before she was out the door and running back to her house.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. She thought hopelessly, her breath ragged as she tried running, crying, and struggling to breath all at the same time.

I'm sorry.

________

bold of you to assume i was gonna end this chapter happily 😳✋

also i unpublished all of the tags because im gonna "redesign" the layout of this book (not really) so be ready for that

i HAD to escalate this book somewhere because i was stuck at a certain point, but im actually really proud of this chapter

stay tuned for more 😘