Five days passed and another academic week began for the students of U.A. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened and things moved as normally as they could.

Lunchtime was almost over as (Y/n) and Shouto walked back to class from the cafeteria.

As soon as she entered the class, she was called over by the girls standing around Tsuyu's desk. (Y/n) waved at Shouto before striding over to where the girls were standing.

"What's up?"

"Well, so the invitations are all set and only one remaining. You asked Todoroki, right?" Yaoyorozu questioned the girl.

(Y/n) nodded and leaned back against Mina's desk. "Yeah, he's down with it."

"But," Mina scratched her head. "There's only one problem."

(Y/n) knitted her eyebrows. "What is it?"

"Uh..." Mina trailed off as she exchanged uneasy looks with the rest of the girls. "We...haven't asked...Bakugou yet."

"Oh," the girl nodded in understanding, already knowing what she would ask next. "And you want me to ask him."

"I mean if you don't mind!" Mina exclaimed, shaking her hands frantically at (Y/n). She then sighed. "It's just that...you're the only person he ever listens to because you know..."

(Y/n) frowned and looked over her shoulder at Katsuki. He was silently sitting in his chair, leaned back and his feet on his desk as stared out to space. (Y/n) thinned her lips into a straight line as she regarded him for a few more seconds before turning back to the girls.

She sighed. "I could do it but..." she grimaced. "We haven't talked for almost a week. I don't think he'd even listen to me in the first place..."

"Not to pry or anything but," Tsuyu began, gaining the girl's attention. "You can't stay silent at him forever. If you still consider him a friend then you'll have to talk to him sooner or later, right?"

"Yeah but, it's not that easy," she countered, already feeling pressured by the pair of eyes on her.

"We know it's not. But still, shutting him off is a bit harsh, don't you think?" Jirou asked the girl.

"Yeah. Even though he's a prick, Bakugou's still human. He must feel terrible that you're giving him the silent treatment," Tohru added.

The girl narrowed her eyes at the girls. "But he's also not talking to me."

"That's because he's probably still embarrassed. With you not talking to him, you probably made him think that he creeped you out and that you want nothing to do with him. So, of course, you wouldn't expect him to start the conversation," Yaoyorozu explained, earning a nod from Tsuyu.

"Momo is right. If you don't make an attempt to talk to him how do you expect for him to know that you're not freaked out by his confession?" Tsuyu added.

(Y/n) pursed her lips in thought at their words. They were right and (Y/n) knew it. She had been avoiding any chance to talk to Katsuki to a point that it seemed normal. She thought that giving him the silent treatment was doing both him and her a favor but realizing that she was indirectly hurting him even more made her feel guilty.

"Fuck," she bit her lower lip as she grimaced. "I've been a real bitch to him, haven't I?"

"No one could've said it better," Yaoyorozu smiled at her, making the other girls giggle.

(Y/n) sighed and faked a smile. She had decided to finally face him, even though that thought shook her to the core. "Fine. I'll try."

The girls sent her encouraging smiles and cheered her on with wishes of good luck as they scattered to their seats. As (Y/n) approached her desk, her heart thumped in her chest with dread. Since almost a week had passed, the awkwardness between them had gradually disintegrated and the silence became a norm for them. But now that (Y/n) was going to break it, it made her tense all over.

She took a seat, and assumed her normal position; cheek on palm and head turned away from Katsuki as she took out her phone from her pocket.

The phone charm, which she never bothered to take off for some reason, swayed back and forth from the movement. A small smile graced her lips as she stared at it.

It was then she realized how much she missed his presence around her. How he'd snap at everything and everyone, how he'd call her names, how he'd get angry over nothing, how he'd put up a fight with (Y/n) only to give in later.

She even missed his sadistic smirks, the ones he'd pull off whenever things went his way or whenever he was faced with a challenge.

Sadly, ever since the confession, he never seemed to 'smile' anymore, if he's ever smiled in the first place that is. He was always alone, rarely speaking to anyone. Even the other students left him alone, clearly getting the message to let him be. And (Y/n) felt like she was the cause of it.

If only I had spoken to him sooner, maybe then we wouldn't have been here. Fuck, I'm such an asshole...(Y/n) cursed inwardly as she went to the message app. She tapped onto Katsuki's page, her eyes fell on the last message he texted her the night before the confession.

They were having an argument over which color was best between red and black. A silly argument but it held a lot of good memories for (Y/n).

The last text she sent him was a 'goodnight Blasty Mcsplode' before Katsuki responded with a 'piss off, dumb fuck'. Later on, he then added a 'goodnight', which he sent while the girl was fast asleep.

(Y/n) sighed nostalgically as she reread the last text. How she wished things would get back to normal. With a determined glint in her eye, she tapped on the message space, pulling up the keyboard and began composing a text. It took her four tries to get the right words before sending it.

[1:37 PM] (Y/n): Hi

The girl bit the inside of her cheek in anticipation. She heard the familiar 'ping' from Katsuki's phone and her eyes shot up. Her eyes flickered all over the place as her stomach churned at the thoughts of his reaction.

What if he thinks it's stupid? What if he gets disgusted? Fuck! What if he ignores me?! I did try at least...

After a few minutes of agonizing dread and almost giving up on waiting for him, her phone vibrated. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw his text pop up.

[1:40 PM] Fireworks: Hey

Her mouth twitched. This is good. Good progress.

She waited for a moment to pass before typing in another text so that she doesn't seem too eager.

[1:42 PM] (Y/n): Can we talk after school?

The girl tapped her foot on hearing the 'ping' from his phone. She dared not straighten up and look at him, keeping her face turned away. Katsuki took a longer time to respond and was almost convinced that he had declined. Wordlessly.

Finally, he replied, making her release the breath she had been holding in.

[1:45 PM] Fireworks: Fine

The girl's heart raced rapidly as a smile crept up her lips. She honestly never thought she'd make it this far. She typed in a quick 'thanks' before putting the phone back in her pocket. Her phone didn't vibrate again, meaning Katsuki didn't respond. Not that she expected him to in the least.

The bell chimed at the same time the teacher entered the class for the next lesson.

Everyone settled down as they began the lesson. (Y/n) sighed and took out her exercise book from her bag. All she had to do was wait for school to end.

***

The moment (Y/n) had been both dreading and anticipating finally arrived. Katsuki got up from his chair and made a beeline for the door without informing (Y/n) where they'd meet. The girl packed her book into her bag and sent a quick text to Shouto to go on ahead without her.

The male asked her what she was going to do but she only responded with an 'I'll explain later'. She shoved her phone back into her pocket, slung the strap of her bag over her shoulder and exited the class.

She looked at either side of the hallway, trying to figure out where he might've gone to. She scratched her head, contemplating whether to text him or not. She decided not to and started looking for him, choosing that as a good moment to calm her nerves.

She rehearsed her speech over and over in her head, coming up with something that wasn't offensive to him.

Finally, she found him, leaning casually against a wall with his hands in his pockets and one leg propped back against the wall. She drew in a sharp breath, her palms instantly growing sweaty with every step she took towards him. She stood in front of him, her heart beating so fast that she was afraid he could hear it.

Katsuki remained stoic as he stared back at her, waiting for what she'd say.

Crap, he's making me even more nervous by just staring at me. Since when did talking to him become so scary?!

(Y/n) gulped and cleared her throat. She looked left and right before starting.

"Uh...hi," she greeted him in a small, unsure voice.

Katsuki simply gave her nod, unnerving the girl even more.

Please just say something!

"Uh...I uh...what I wanted to say was that um..." the girl trailed off. She held her hands together and squeezed as she took in a shaky breath. Everything she had rehearsed to say to him had disappeared, leaving her a blank mind and a speechless mess. Katsuki's stare on her was making things even worse, his intense eyes putting even more pressure on her.

Stop thinking (Y/n). Just say. The girl glanced at the floor before lifting her head up. Her eyes met his in a meaningful eye contact and none dared to break it off.

"I'm sorry. Let me start over," the girl apologized, shaking her head before drawing in a deep breath. "I know that things have been kinda, not okay between us for the past few days and I wanna say, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for giving you the silent treatment and for not making an effort. I'm sorry if you ever thought for a minute that you creeped me out but the truth is, you didn't. And, I really hope you accept my apology and that I really hope we can be friends again."

The girl exhaled, relieved that he had let her say what she wanted to. She waited for his response, only to be met with silence on his part.

She sighed and rubbed her arm. "Look, I screwed up, okay? I screwed up real bad and I'd understand if you don't wanna talk to me again for a while but...just-I hope you can forgive me," she cast her gaze to the side. "I don't care when or how long it takes but I-."

"Tch."

(Y/n)'s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Katsuki who was now scowling at her.

"What's-what's wrong?" she stammered, her nervous fit increasing at the thought that she had unintentionally offended him.

"Friends?!" The male suddenly pushed off the wall, making (Y/n) flinch. "Do you really expect us to just go back to the way we were, huh?!"

The girl took a step back in fear. She didn't want to be near him when she could practically feel the anger rolling off him in volumes. She was sure that over the week, he had stored pent up anger in him and releasing it would be dangerous.

"Okay, I may have phrased it wrong but-"

"But nothing!! You don't fucking talk to me, pretend that's everything fucking fine and then what?! Huh?!! Then what?!! You expect me to just let you waltz in back in my fucking life like nothing happened?!!" Katsuki hissed, his words striking like venom in the girl's heart.

The girl held up her arms in a placating gesture. "Look!! I'm sorry, okay?!! I wasn't thinking!! I...I just figured out that maybe you needed time and-"

Katsuki's face was downright homicidal. "Oh so now you're figuring things out for me?!!"

"No!! That's not what I-"

"So your stupid head just decided to fucking think that I needed time?!!" his hands squeezed into fists and he took a step forward and she took one back. "Time for what?! Huh?! To cry?! To wonder why the girl I like doesn't fucking like me back?!! Is that what you thought?!!"

"No!!" she shouted back defensively. "And will you stop shouting?!! Don't you see that I'm trying?! Stop making this harder than it already is!!"

"I'm making this shit harder than it already is?! Huh?!" he baited in a violent tone. "Is that it?!"

"Yes, you are! Why you're so angry just because I suggested that!!!" she shook her arms upward as she continued yelling. "Why are you being like this?!!" Katsuki scoffed a bitter laugh and shook his head. "Are you even listening to me?!!"

"You made me like this!!!" Katsuki roared, causing the girl to flinch.

(Y/n) froze on the spot at his words. They were so filled with pain and hurt and she felt her own heart break a little. Her mouth fell open as she was rendered speechless.

"You made me like this!" Katsuki repeated in a slightly lower tone, pain flashing in his expression for a while before morphing back to anger. He curled his upper lip in a snarl and gnashed his teeth. He was breathing hard, nostrils flared and crow's feet radiating from the corner of his enraged eyes.

"I don't need your stupid apologies," he rasped while taking another step forward. "I don't need your stupid friendship," he took another step, right until he was in her face. He looked down at her with resentment and his eyes narrowed. "And most of all, I don't need your fucked up presence in my fucking life!"

The girl gasped. She felt her throat tighten and she took in a short, sharp breath. Tears pricked her eyes, making her vision blurry. She shook her head, hoping that he'd say he was just joking. That he was willing to put everything behind them and resume their friendship.

"So why don't you just go back to your happy life and leave me the fuck alone!!"

But that wasn't the case.

"This would have never fucking happened if you didn't exist!!"

That was reality and she was living it.

Her bottom lip quivered and her shoulders dropped in resignation. Tears spilled over the sides of her eyes and she quickly swiped at them. She had to make things right. Before they all crumble down in front of her eyes.

"Katsuki...I swear," a great sob escaped her. "I'm sorry. I-" she went to grab hold of his sleeve but Katsuki stepped back away from her. The sudden action made her gasp as she stared at where her hand clutched at thin air.

"Disappear from my life."

Her eyes widened and her hands began trembling. Katsuki then clicked his tongue and walked past the girl, making sure to bump his shoulder hard against hers.

(Y/n) was left staring at where he was previously standing, tears of pain still running down her cheeks. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she swiveled around to look at him.

A great tremor overtook her as his harsh words rang loud and clear in her mangled mind. She clutched at her chest, the searing pain of losing a most treasured friend tearing at her heart.

Her whole body racked with an onslaught of sobs and tears as her crying intensified. She stumbled back to the wall and supported her body up by leaning against it. She hugged herself, hoping that the small action would keep herself together from falling apart. She covered her mouth with a shaky hand and squeezed her eyes shut but that didn't prevent the tears from spilling out. Her stomach hurt. Her heart hurt. Everything hurt.

That was reality.

The suffocating reality of losing a friend who's dear to you.

That was reality and she was living it.

***

(Y/n) arrived home, tired and exhausted from her emotional fit at school. She had taken some time to calm herself before she went home, which wasn't easy since she was still feeling both hurt and guilty.

All she wanted to do was sleep and not talk to anyone. But that was only wishful thinking when Nanami blocked her path to the stairs.

"Are you really going to go up to your room without at least saying hi?" the woman asked while spreading her arms to accept the girl in a hug.

"Not now," the girl muttered, head hung low as she tried making her way around Nanami without making any eye contact.

The woman frowned and sidestepped her, blocking her path once more. She cupped (Y/n)'s cheeks and lifted her head up. Her eyes widened once she saw her puffy, red eyes.

"You've been crying," she noted aloud, making the girl pull away from her hand.

"No, I haven't."

"Yes, you have..." Nanami's face twisted up in concern. "Did something happen between you and Shouto?"

"No. It's not that," the girl shook her head, looking at the ground as she recalled her 'conversation' with Katsuki.

Nanami cocked her head to the side. "Then what is it?"

(Y/n) sighed, biting back the tears that threatened to flow again. "I talked with Katsuki."

"You did?" the woman inquired, parting her lips in an 'oh' when (Y/n) nodded. "And what did he say?"

The girl remained silent for a while, balling her hands into fists as she encouraged herself not to cry.

"He, uh, said a lot of nasty things."

"Oh? How nasty?"

(Y/n) gave a bitter laugh and she raised her head to look up at Nanami. "Hurtful nasty! I've-I've never seen him so angry with me like that!"

Nanami pursed her lips together. "Was it that bad?"

"It was horrible," her face fell. "I tried to apologize but he said...he told me to disappear from his life..." (Y/n)'s voice cracked at the end as she angrily wiped away a stray tear.

Nanami's face twisted in sympathy and concern at her teary eyes. "Oh honey, you can't really blame him. He was only speaking out of a broken heart."

"I know," she sniffled and swiped at her running nose. "But why does it hurt so much?"

The woman sighed and brushed away the hairs that had fallen on (Y/n)'s face. "Because you're afraid to lose him as a friend. Just give him time and space. You can't just force the friendship back on him like that. Put his feelings also into consideration. He needs time to recover, to get over his feelings for you."

(Y/n) shook her head slightly. "But what if I do give him space and I lose him forever?"

Nanami sighed and pulled the girl into a hug. She placed a kiss on the girl's head before she began to gently stroke her hair.

"Then there's nothing else you can do but let him go."

***