Shoto's POV:

I was thinking about asking Katsuki to go on a date with me. If I tell him that's how he can repay me, that would be kind of sadistic. Ugh I'm going for it. As he reaches for a chip he goes to say something. It's now or never. "A way you can repay me is by going on a date with me," I say suddenly. Oh that came out kind of weird. What if he doesn't even like guys? Oh no. What if he just wanted to be friends? What if I just ruined this? He dropped his chip. We look at each other and he turns red and looks away. "Um was that to much? Do you even like guys? I don't know I just know that I like you, as more than a friend. Agh I don't know."

He turns around to look at me. His face is still red and I can feel mine heat up. "Um, I don't know what to say. I guess um yeah I will go on a date with you." I smile at him. He smiles back and he looks happy. We start putting our stuff away and I take the bag of chips and put it in his backpack. Maybe he can eat some later. I'll talk about his home life with him when he's ready. The bell rings, so we hurry and throw our stuff away. It's 1:45 now so we have until 4 to be stuck in class doing nothing. We both go to separate staircases since there are many students in the hall below us. I go down the stairs and head to the class. Katsuki isn't here yet, but it shouldn't be anything bad. He's probably with Kirishima and Kaminari.

A little later, he walks in with the Kaminari. Kaminari is talking about some dinosaur game that he really likes and Katsuki looks distracted. But not in a bad way. He looks happy. Was it because I asked him out? Ugh I shouldn't be so vain. I'll stop now. I look away and wait for Mr. Aizawa to start the lecture or do whatever he's planning for today. Katsuki still has his mad face on, but he looks happy. Not distressed. Ugh I told myself I wasn't going to look at Katsuki and here I am still looking at him. He turns to look at me and I turn away with my eyes wide. Ugh he definitely caught me staring. I can tell my face is red because I felt it heat up. I take out my phone while I wait for Mr. Aizawa and see that I got a text. It's from 'Dad' I open it up. 'Hey Shoto I was wondering if you'd be joint us for dinner tonight'. I don't have any plans, so I respond, 'Yes, I'll see you at home, love you'.

My dad is a good person. He tries his best for us. Yeah he was kind of a jerk a while back, but he's changed. He doesn't make me use my left side, but he's teaching me how to control it. I'm still a little mad at him, but now that mom's back, it's getting a little bit better around the house. There's barely any awkward silences sometimes and we're all getting closer. He even apologized to me and I accepted his apology. It's just weird now. I don't know. Maybe I can invite Katsuki over next weekend or maybe even during the week. I'd have to see what he says though. I gasp. When will I take him on that date? Okay so I'll ask him to come to my house on Tuesday, but not like take him to my house. You know? It'll be like asking him questions and hanging out. And then on I'll ask him if he wants to go on the date on Wednesday or Thursday.

I like that plan and I look forward to the future. It's going to be great. I really like Katsuki and I don't know how I've managed to not notice how amazing he is. My thoughts are interrupted my Mr. Aizawa coming in. I put away my phone. I didn't even do anything besides respond to my dad's message. Anyways he looks as dead inside as usual. "Okay so Mic is coming in to teach English. I know it's not one of his teaching days, but we have free time and some of you need this." A lot of people groan. I just sigh because I already know most of this and it's just repeating the same grammar rules that not everyone remembers over the years. Present Mic isn't loud when he's teaching, but if he sees that you or someone isn't paying attention, he'd definitely use his quirk. This happens with most of the Bakusquad.

Katsuki doesn't get yelled at unless it's for using his quirk to intimidate other students and Mr. Aizawa usually does that. I don't think that will happen in this class because Mr. Aizawa is walking out of the classroom. Present Mic comes in and I see that Katsuki flinches. Was he thinking about something? What was he thinking about? Everyone saw him at the door, so everyone prepared themselves. Katsuki wasn't looking at the door though, he was looking at the board. He was just staring at it for a while. "HEEEEEELLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOO STUDENTS!" Mic yells. Everyone is silent. "MAKE SOME NOISE FOR ENGLISH!!!" It's still silent. "Okay well let's get started then."

He goes on about double negatives and stuff like that. I don't really pay attention because it's easy to remember. It's basic grammar rules. We're supposed to be writing notes, but a few people aren't. Me, Yaoyorozu, Tsu, and Katsuki aren't. Katsuki is still thinking about something, he seems distant. There's no way I can get him to snap out of it without bringing attention to both of us. I can't send him a message because I think he turned his notifications off since we are in class. He also sits in the front of the class so if he took his phone out, it would be so obvious. I don't know if he's thinking about something bad or good. It scares me because what if he's freaking out internally. He hasn't even moved besides when Mic came in and shouted.

There's only like 30 minutes left of class now and Present Mic has finally stopped talking about grammar. "Okay well we're done for today, I'll see you all next week." He walks out and after a few seconds, Mr. Aizawa walks in. "Okay we're done for today, when the bell rings, you're dismissed and for the rest of the class, try not to tear each other apart. I'm leaving now so bye." Then he walks out and people start talking. Katsuki is startled by the sudden eruption of noise, but he just takes out his phone and plugs in his earbuds. I wonder what's up with him, anyone with a brain would notice something is up. He usually tries to cover it up more. I take out my phone and decide to text him.

Katsuki's POV:

What if Shoto doesn't really like me? Maybe he just asked me out because he could tell that I liked him and he wanted to be nice. Or maybe he's doing this because of a dare. Or to learn everything he can about me to expose my deepest darkest secrets. He knows a very important one already. I just dont- bzzz. I'm listening to Medication Unplugged by Yungblud when my phone buzzes. I wasn't really listening, I was thinking, but it was interrupted by my phone buzzing. I turn on my phone and see it's from Shoto. 'Hey what's up? You seem distant and you're not even trying to hide it. No one has gone to talk to you, so it isn't like anyone has noticed, but if they go up to you, they'd definitely notice.'

Crap am I really being that obvious? I decided to reply. 'I'm alright, thanks for telling me. I appreciate it Shoto.' I then open solitaire and continue to try and beat my record. I'm still listening to music. I have my 'soft music' playlist on shuffle and I'm enjoying this time when Kaminari comes up. "Hey Bakugo! What's up? We're going to the mall at 4:30 so we have time to change at home and stuff. Is that good?" I of course put on my aggressive act again and yell, "Yeah now just shut up Dunce Face!" He sighs sadly and Jirou starts to laugh. He walks away slowly and I feel really bad. I hate making people feel like that because it makes me hate myself more. Why did I have to be so obnoxious? Why couldn't I see that I was never going to be someone when I was younger? Now it's too late to change my reputation.

I sit down angrily and go back to look at my phone. There's another message from Shoto. 'It's no problem, you shouldn't have to tell people about your problems if you're not ready to talk about it. You will have to soon though because the pros should know about this along with the adults in your life.' I know he's right but the thought of telling more people makes me anxious. I was barely able to tell one person and I had a break down because of it. Having to tell a whole bunch of people will definitely be much harder for me. What if they don't believe me? What if they just don't care? Would the entire media know about this? How much would I have to tell them?

I get another message from Shoto. 'I'll go with you if you'd like.' A relieved sigh escapes my mouth. My shoulders fall. When did I become so tense? 'Yeah I know Shoto, just give me some time, I need to prepare myself. It's really hard. And I would like it if you did come with me.' The bell rings and everyone gets their stuff and starts heading out. I wait for people to leave. I do have to run to the house if I don't want to be seen by Mother before I see Kirishima. She gets out at 4:15 and it's 4:05. The school is a few blocks away from the house and Mother's work is like 10 minutes away from the house. I walk out quickly and then when I'm at a place where no one will see me, I sprint for my house.

When I get to the door, I unlock it and run upstairs. I throw my backpack on my bed and get some clothes. I grab a pair of black jeans and a black long sleeve. I change in less that 30 seconds and put on the scar make-up that was in my backpack. I also go to the restroom and see if my eye make-up is still good. It's not smudged and it doesn't even look like I have any on so I quickly go back to my room and grab my phone to check the time it's 4:20. Oh no I have to hurry. I quickly check my hair before grabbing my key, putting on my converse, and running out the house. I go towards Kirishima's, it's not far and I don't have a ride to the mall so it'll be fine. I'm a few blocks away from my house and so I stop running and start walking.

I catch my breath. It's not really from running, but from being scared to be held back by Mother. She'd definitely would have beat me if she caught me. I'm a few blocks away from Kirishima's, so I start walking a bit faster. I text him if it's alright if I go with him and he said it was all good. I walk to his door and text him that I'm here. He comes out not long after and his mom said she is going drive us. When Kirishima sees me he smiles. "Looking pretty manly bro." I look at him. "Tch whatever, you still look like crap." He actually looks fine. His outfit isn't anything special, but it suits him. I'm not attracted to Kirishima. I admit that he is attractive, but not really my kind of guy. I've never really liked girls, so that's how I knew I was gay.

We're in the car and we're headed to the mall. I didn't bring my money because I've been trying to save up. I only have $26 right now, it's not much, but it's better than nothing. Sometimes when Mother is drunk, she'll leave some ones on the table for me. I don't know why, but sometimes mother is really nice when she's drunk. It's rare, but it happens. She'll say sorry, give me a few ones and then leave. That's only happened once this month. It happens every month or every other month. It's better than nothing. She won't hug me or anything. She'll just say sorry, give me money, and then leave. It makes me really sad sometimes. Like I feel worse about myself than I usually do and my whole week is bad. It just really hurts me and maybe even more than when she calls me worthless.

Thinking about it makes me sad too. I've been really quiet and Kirishima notices. "Hey bro what's up?" He whispers. I look at him angrily. "What makes you think something is wrong?" I yell. He just looks surprised by my yelling and sighs. "I didn't mean it like that dude. I was wondering why you were so quiet." "No one is talking. Why would I talk?" I yell. He just nods. "You're right bro." His family is used to my screaming. I go to his house often. We're outside the food court and his mom drops us off there. I thank her and close the door. Kirishima got out through the other door and we're inside now. Did I remember to hide the money? I didn't grab it, so it's still hidden.

We go to the movie theater in the mall and wait outside of there. We were supposed to meet there at around 4:30 but people should be getting here like at 4:45. I mean it is 4:40 and me and Kirishima barely got here so we can't really blame anyone. The mall closes at like 9, but all the little stand owners and workers start closing at 8 or 8:30. I have my usual angry look and slouch, but I'm also scanning the mall. I just get anxious in crowds. It wasn't that bad before the thing in the summer. Yeah I didn't prefer going into crowds, but now I absolutely dread it. It's like a phobia now. Ugh I don't know. I start thinking about Shoto asking me out and how he did it. It was so unexpected.

After a minute or two, we see Mina, Sero, and Kaminari walking towards us. I guess they all came together. "Hey guys." They say in unison. Then me and Kirishima say our hellos and stuff. We're talking about what we should do first and someone mentions going to buy food. Fuck. I don't have any money. Why didn't I think of this!? Everyone agreed, well except me, and we head to the food court. I'm thinking of some excuses to make. Like 'fuck I forgot my wallet' or 'I'm not that hungry'. Ugh I do this know. I try to act normal by calling them names and arguing with them. When we're almost there, everyone starts deciding what they're going to get. Kaminari and Sero are going to get some Chinese food. And Mina and Kirishima want to get Chick-fil-a.

When they ask what I'm going to get, I just shrug and say, "Hm maybe some Chick-fil-a too I'm just gonna get the nugget combo." I feel in my back pocket pretending to look for my wallet. Then I widen my eyes. "FUCK I FORGOT MY DUMB ASS WALLET THAT DUMB PIECE OF SHIT!" Kirishima and Mina laugh at me while Kaminari and Sero are already ordering. "Hey I can pay for you Bakugo, it's no problem," Kirishima says. "The nugget meal is only like around 9 or 10 dollars with tax already." "Tch nah I'll eat at home. I don't expect anything from you!" He doesn't seem too sure about that idea. "Whatever, let's go get in line. What do you want to drink?"

"No! I don't want anything! Just let it be!" I yell. He just gets frustrated and sighs. "You don't have to pay me back, I'm just being your friend. This isn't very manly of you bro." I look at him with a death glare. "What. Did. You. Say?" He gulps noticeably. "Hehe um, I was just joking," he says. "You are pretty manly, but I'm serious about not having to pay me back. It's what friends are for. Come on, now what do you want to drink?" I groan. "Tch whatever I'll just take a Coke." He smiles happily. It makes me happy when he smiles like that. It comes so naturally to him. He doesn't have to stress over his smile, all he has to do is be happy and he'll be good. I decide to add more to my act by staying, "Damn Lego Brick." I said it under my breath, but I made sure he heard it.

"Hey that's mean Bakugo!" He whines. I chuckle. He goes to order for the both of us, thankfully. Me and people don't really go well together. I get really anxious. I hate that because I used to be fine. Yeah I'd be a little nervous, but after I was tortured, everything became 10x worse. It was like my anxiety hightened. Not a very good thing. I just stood next to Kirishima while he ordered and then followed him to the side where we were supposed to wait for our order. Mina was already there waiting. We talked about what stores we should go to. Kirishima wanted to go to Hot Topic and Mina wanted to go to Forever 21. I didn't know where I wanted to go, so I just agreed with Kirishima. I actually like Hot Topic because they sell a lot of shirts from the bands I like.

Mina gets her order and then after a minute or two, we get ours. We look around and see a yellow head of hair. We all recognize it as Kaminari so we head towards it. Sero is right next to him and they had ended up choosing a booth in the corner. I sigh in relief because I hate being in the middle or anywhere but the corner. I've been sighing a lot. Whoops. We get in and I decide to get in last. On my side of the booth, it's Sero, Mina, and then me. On the other side, it's Kaminari and then Kirishima. Everyone gets their food and Kirishima passes me mine while Mina is asking Sero and Kaminari which stores they want to go to. When Kirishima hands me mine, I say a quiet 'thank you' and Kirishima stops midway. "What?!" He gets a big smile on his face.

"Tch what I can't say thank you Shitty Hair? I try to be nice a few times, but no!" I growl and grab a fry and angrily chew. Mina, Sero, and Kaminari are still talking, loudly if I may add, so they don't really notice Kirishima's outburst. "It's not just that Bakugo, you've been acting weird ever since the summer camp thing. Are you really okay." Ugh why would he ask me that? It's like he wants me to start crying. I sigh and then take a deep breath before saying, "Tch of course I'm okay. I'm great even. Way better than you," I grumble out. He nods sadly as though he was expecting another answer. I feel bad for not telling him, but I'm just not ready yet. I don't want to tell him. He's my best friend. What if when I tell him, he stops talking to me?

I continue eating quietly but angrily and soon enough, everyone is done. We decide to head to Hot Topic first since it's right in front of the food court. Kirishima fist bumps the air and rushes inside with me in tow. He goes to look at the piercings. He's been talking about wanting to get one but he says his parents would kill him. They only agreed to let him get one if he was the one who paid for it. He has the money now, but he's been thinking about if he should really get one. He doesn't know where either. I think he should either get a nose, tongue, or ear piercing. Nothing too bad. He's thinking about where he should get it. "I think I'll just come back during the week and get it then I still need to decide where." "Tch whatever," I say as I'm looking through the shirts.

I see a few that I like, but I don't have any money to buy them and even if I did, I would just save that money for food. Sometimes when I have enough money, I buy canned food. Sometimes fruits or even vegetables. Just anything affordable and enjoyable. Kirishima looks at shirts with me and the others are looking at the jewelry. I see My Chemical Romance shirts and Twenty-One Pilot shirts and ahhh it's like heaven. I only have one band shirt and it's a Twenty-One Pilots one. I've had it for almost two years, so it's starting to fade a bit. It took me forever to save up for that shirt. Sometimes sacrificed dinner in order to save money for it. Kirishima likes some of the bands I do, but not all of them.

After a while, we go to the other stores. Now we're at Forever 21. After this, we're going home since we already went to Vans, where Kaminari wanted to go, and Rue 21 where Sero wanted to go. Mina said that she wanted to choose outfits for us to model in. I put on the scar make-up, so I'll be fine. It usually lasts a long time. Even when we're training. At first I tensed up, but then I remembered about the make-up. We walk in and Mina rushes to find everyone some outfits. After about 30 minutes of putting clothes up to us and walking around just following Mina, she handed us all our clothes and we headed to the changing rooms.

"Okay so when everyone is ready, we all step out at the same time and tell each other if we like the way we look. Deal?" Mina asks. We nod and then head in. She got us all accessories too. She got me a long checkered long sleeve with a black shirt that says 'So What?' written on it. She didn't get me pants because she said that these black jeans would do. Then she gave me some red sunglasses and a chain for my pants. I put them on and viewed myself in the mirror. I liked the way the outfit was put together and it matched very well, but I looked like an e-boy. I just needed the black nail polish, the choker, the black eyeliner, and the checkered Vans. I just hated looking at my face. It looked so dull and my eyes were so dead. I look away quickly and yell, "I'm ready you losers!" Then Kaminari says, "Me too!"

After a while everyone is ready and we all walk out. Everyone looks at each other and nods. "Wow great job Mina." Mina bows and thanks us. Sero has a white turtleneck tucked into some black jeans with a checkered belt. He also has a thin silver necklace and a yellow scrunchy on his arm. Mina has some dark blue tights with a lavender skirt. She has a black crop top on that says 'Cheetos' and some pink sunglasses on the top of her head like mine. Kirishima has a white T-shirt under some black flannel. He has some dark blue ripped jeans with his Adidas. His accessory is a fake nose ring. Lastly Kaminari. He's wearing a white V-neck with some black skinny jeans. He has his white Converse on and his accessories are a beanie and a chocker. Not to be gay or anything, but Kaminari looked hot. I laugh to myself because I am gay.

"Hey looking good Bakugo." Everyone huddles in front of me. They start complimenting me on how good I look but I start getting anxious. What if they start to notice the make-up under my eyes? What if they notice how my eyes have become much more dull? What if they sense my anxiety? "Tch back off you dumbasses!" Everyone jumps back. I chuckle. They keep checking me out, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't doing the same. I mean like come on, look at them. I'm not attracted to to girls, but I could tell that Mina was a very attractive person. I also don't have feelings for any of them, but Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero do look mighty fine. "Great job Mina, we love our makeovers. I think I'm going to take mine," Kaminari says. Sero and Kirishima agree too. Mina had already decided that she was buying her outfit before she even tried it on.

We go back into the changing room and put on our original clothing. "Hey Bakugo, I know you forgot your wallet, but we can all pay for your outfit too. I mean if you want. You looked hot and you don't have to pay us back, just wear it often so we can look at you and that will be your payment," Mina says. I get this angered look on my face. I go to yell at them but then I see a guy in a hoodie. His face isn't showing and I can't really tell who it is, but it scares me. Mina sees my scared face and turns around to see what I'm looking at. She gasps and everyone turns to see too. The guy takes off his hoodie and shudders. "Sure is cool outside am I right?" They all sigh in relief, but I'm still in shock. I try to seem normal, but I know they know something is wrong. I'm not shaking or anything, but I know I'm about to have a panic attack. "I'll be right back losers," I say before walking away.

I put my stuff on the nearest rack and walk away slowly, but after a while, I start running to the nearest restroom. My breathing is hard and I'm freaking out again. After a few minutes, I calm myself down and wash my hands because I touched a public restroom door handle. Then I run back to Forever 21 and then stop when I see Kaminari looking at me. He's waiting outside the store, probably for me. He's looking at me with this weird look on his face. "Hey are you okay Bakugo? You seemed pretty freaked out, and I saw you run out of the store. No one else saw it, but I definitely did." I have to answer fast. If I don't, I'll definitely have a break down right here. "Tch, you think a weak villain like Shigaraki is going to scare me? No way in hell."

He nods and hands me a bag. "Me, Kirishima, Mina, and Sero all pitched in. We know you forgot your wallet, and we know you'd do the same for us, so here you go." I hesitantly take it and as I pass him to go with Mina and Kirishima, I whisper a quiet 'thank you'. He's shocked, but smiles after a while. He jogs to catch up with me and the other three are talking. When they see me they turn around and wave. "Hey where'd you go?" "I had to take the biggest shit ever," I reply with a serious look on my face. I let a small smile creep up my face and then everyone starts laughing. I do too, like really laugh. Then the laughing dies down and we decide to all go home now. I look at the time and see that it's 8:20.

I'm sad that this day has to end. Everyone calls their rides and Kirishima says his mom is almost here. When she arrives, we all wave goodbye and me and Kirishima hop in. "So how'd you like today Bakugo? We haven't really hung out all together in a while." "Yeah it was fun, but don't flatter yourself. Also thanks or whatever for paying for my stuff." He smiles happily as I have this grumpy look on my face. I like when my friends smile. Especially when I'm the cause of that smile. We get near my house and I get anxious. If the lights are off, I have a better chance of not getting beat tonight. When we turn the corner, I see that the lights are not on. I let out a sigh of relief. Kirishima's mom stops right in front of my house and I get out. Before I close the door, I thank both of them and then shut it before walking up to my door.

I take out the key and unlock it carefully before opening it. Kirishima and his mom are still waiting for me to get inside and when I turn around, I wave goodbye and they do too. I shut the door quietly and met out a sigh before hearing the car drive off. I walk to my room without being caught and then change into something comfortable. I open my phone to see no notifications. Yay. I put my phone to charge right next to me before finally dozing off thinking about how fun today was. My mind shifts over to Shoto asking me out. That's the last thing I thought about before falling asleep.

***
Word Count: 5072
Hehehe so how'd you guys like this chapter? I like reading the comments. You all are so freaking funny I swear. Anyways, chapters in the future might skip through time because the story is still in the beginning of November, and it's already the 12th, so yeah. You'll know when there's a time skip. I'll let you all know. Again thank you for the votes, reads, and comments. Also I will fix typos when I get some time, so in the mean time, I'm really sorry. Have a great day!!! <3