A/N:
From this chapter on, there might be times when you are not in the scene. Thank you for reading this story :)

---

You sped up as you put on your (f/c) cardigan. Todoroki stood by the gate. His casual attire was a breath of fresh air on this beautiful Saturday morning. He wore a well-ironed black shirt, making him look prim and proper.

"Were you waiting for long, Shoto?"

Todoroki shook his head, relishing in this unknown feeling that had stirred within him because of the delicate way his name played on your lips. He still couldn't get over you calling him by his first name, though it had begun so you wouldn't cause confusion with his family when you addressed him. "I just got there," he said. "So what film are we watching?"

"It's a surprise!"

"A surprise film?" He pressed, leaning in to make you tell him.

You averted your gaze from him, fidgeting with your fingers. "Well, if I told you, I reckon you might get a little put off."

He leaned in a bit closer, his hair falling to the side of his serene face.

Jeez, I can't believe he got me again. Those puppy eyes are the worst because he doesn't even realise what he's doing.

You raised both your hands as if signalling defeat. He had learnt your weak spot and you didn't want to become a blushing mess so early in the day. "Okay, okay. It's a horror film. Strangely enough, they're Chi's favourite."

As you began walking down the residential street, Todoroki eyed you from head to toe without you noticing. "You're not wearing the hairpin I gave you. It would match well with your clothes."

Caught off-guard by Todoroki's bluntness, you bit your lip. "I really treasure it. I'd get mad at myself if I were to break it."

"Huh." Todoroki placed his hands in the pockets of his dark trousers.

---

A shiver ran down your spine when you saw Aoi waiting by the cinema next to Chiharu. It confirmed that your friend had lied to you a few weeks back, but you wouldn't let that ruin your day.

Todoroki strolled behind you as you rushed in to greet your friend. The two boys remained standoffish, not engaging with each other as you gave Chiharu her birthday present. Even when you went into the cinema, and sat on your seats, both boys remained as far away as possible.

You shrugged this off, as you wondered if Todoroki knew what he was in for. You gave him a curious glance as he grabbed some popcorn from your shared pot and examined it as if he had never had any before.

As the lights dimmed, most people went quiet, expecting the trailers to begin.

But even before the film started, you flinched and drew in a sharp breath, warmth lingering on top of your hand.

Managing a deadpan expression, Todoroki gave your hand a squeeze. "I promise everything will be okay."

You swallowed thickly as your heart skipped a beat. "I'm sure I'll be fine..."

...because you're here with me. You make my heart go crazier than any film possibly could.

However, once into the film, a creepy old lady on the screen appeared out of nowhere. As she crawled on the ground towards a well, your hairs stood on end and you gripped Todoroki's arm in sudden anxiety.

Though he had just rubbed his temples at the unlikeliness of this scene happening in real life, he straightened his back and peered down at you, as you sat at the edge of your seat.

Yet, instead of telling you that you shouldn't get scared because ghosts didn't exist, he let you hold on to him.

---

Facing away from Aoi, Todoroki let out a drawn-out sigh as he checked the time on his watch. Even though Todoroki understood that you and your childhood friend needed a toilet break, getting left behind with the blue-haired boy annoyed him to no end.

With only the two of them waiting by the cinema's door, ready to leave as soon as you and Chiharu arrived, a cheeky idea popped into Aoi's mind.

Aoi put his hands behind his head. Although he had gone to the same middle school as Todoroki, they had never talked much so he wasn't sure how to approach this. "It's tough, right? When a person like you has to confront the feelings of wanting to be with someone, it gets tough."

"Who said I wanted to be with (y/n)?" Todoroki said, unfazed.

"You just confirmed it." Aoi scoffed, shaking his head. "Are you seriously pursuing (y/n)?"

Todoroki gritted his teeth. As much as he wanted to punch Aoi in the face, he knew that you would be coming back any minute. It wouldn't be very Plus Ultra of him.

"No way! Why? It's such a waste of time and effort." Aoi then twisted his lips into a half-smile. "But I'll give it to you... you'd be blind not to see she's a cute toughie. A shame she won't swoon, though. And trust me, I know that from experience."

How dare he say that about you? With veins throbbing in his neck, Todoroki shot Aoi a glacial glare. "You don't know anything about (y/n), so do yourself a favour and stop talking."

Aoi smirked as he realised that he had hit the right spot. "You know what, Todoroki? You could love and leave as many girls as you want, instead of insisting on barking up the wrong tree. You only live once. You might as well enjoy yourself while you're at it."

Aoi's azure eyes widened as Todoroki grabbed him by the collar.

---

You looked at yourself in the mirror and then down at the precious hairpin in your hand. Placing it on your hair, you smiled, recognising that Todoroki had good taste. The hairpin highlighted your (e/c) eyes nicely.

With a spring on your step, you walked out of the restrooms. That was when you met someone you weren't expecting. Fumikage Tokoyami. The short young man with the head of a blackbird juggled with a large packet of popcorn and a soda as he squeezed past other people.

You caught up to him. "Hi, Tokoyami! Are you gonna watch that horror film?"

Tokoyami shied away from you, spilling some of his drink on the carpet.

"Don't worry. I won't spoil the film for you."

"No, I'm not here for Ghost, actually. That would drive Dark Shadow too wild," he said with a severe expression.

Nodding in understanding, you gathered that he was here on his own, so he must have been looking forward to today. "Right. What are you gonna watch?"

Tokoyami scanned the cinema before deciding to remain enigmatic. "I would rather keep that under wraps."

"Oh, okay," you found yourself saying, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. "I know we don't talk much in class, but I wouldn't tell on you."

"If you must know." He pointed up to a fantasy romance banner. The premise of Dark Love: a dark knight saved a beautiful princess who turned out to be a vampire. Exciting.

Knitting your brows together, you put your hands on your hips. "You know, that's nothing to be ashamed of, Tokoyami. We almost went to see that one."

Tokoyami squinted at his large soda, reminding himself that he still had about an hour before Dark Love started, so there was no harm in confirming his inkling. "Thus, you are here with someone," he stated.

"Yeah. With a group of friends."

Although you felt a vague presence behind you, you ignored it as you caught sight of Tokoyami taking a step away from you.

"(y/n)'s here with me," Todoroki said, joining your conversation with the crow-like boy. Todoroki placed his hand on your shoulder, asserting dominance over Tokoyami.

"Oh, enjoy your day." Nonchalant, Tokoyami ambled away from the both of you. Though he had rarely seen you two talking to each other at school, he had noticed the way Todoroki would stare at you in class as if you were a complex puzzle he couldn't solve. Not that Tokoyami cared in the least, but he was clever enough to pick up on those non-verbal cues.

As you waved Tokoyami goodbye, Todoroki studied you, the odd twinge of getting called a 'friend' by you lingering in his chest. But he soon shook that feeling away, the tiniest smile breaking on his lips when he noticed that you were now wearing the flower-shaped hairpin he had given you.

The crowd made it difficult for you to stay together, so you instinctively reached out for Todoroki's arm. But a wave of insecurity soon dawned upon you. "Are you okay with this? It might be easier..."

The half-and-half boy nodded but started walking at a much quicker pace, not wanting you to see his face.

"Wait, Shoto." You tripped up, making you lose your balance.

Before you could hit the floor, Todoroki caught you with his well-built arms.

"Are you alright, (y/n)?" Todoroki said as he held on to you, earning him some stares from people surrounding you two.

"Yeah, I'm excellent!"

"I'm relieved." He let go of your frame, stunned by your sunny reaction and beating himself up over allowing his self-consciousness to get the better of him. "Sorry I walked too fast for you... Perhaps, I wasn't paying enough attention."

"Don't worry! It was weird of me to suggest linking arms," you reassured him as both of you made it to the cinema's door. With your heart pounding against your ribcage with such strength, you took a deep breath in so Todoroki wouldn't notice how flustered you were. Still, you felt blissful, never wanting this moment to end.

Aoi rolled his eyes as the both of you approached him. "Can you stop flirting in front of others? You know, I get kinda embarrassed."

You gave him a questioning look, not understanding where he was coming from.

A fat sweatdrop trickled down his tanned cheek. "I just got dumped by one out of five. The funny thing is that I didn't even feel anything. Maybe, you were right, Todoroki. I don't really care about anything I have."

You glanced back at Todoroki, who furrowed his eyebrows as he recalled their exchange from earlier. Todoroki wasn't sure if beating some sense into him would have been a better idea than a merely giving him a warning.

"Because you only live once, having one girl who's special to you is enough. I guess she was too close for me to notice her," Aoi said.

You looked down to your shoes. Yeah, that's true. I'm being stubborn again, aren't I? It's not like I can keep Shoto to myself. Even though this is the happiest I've been in a while...

Chiharu interrupted your thoughts as she walked up to the three of you with a wide smile on her face. "Hiya, guys. What's going on?"

Aoi grabbed Chiharu's hand, which made her tilt her head to one side. The blue-haired boy cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for messing about, Chiharu. You mean so much to me. I'm ready to go exclusive."

"That's literally the best birthday present you could give me, Aoi," she said, jumping in and throwing her arms around his neck.

Aoi realised that he had played with her heart for long enough, when joyful tears streamed down her face, making his shirt wet.

You and Todoroki observed the melodramatic scene with justified curiosity. The only thing you could hope was that Aoi was being honest. You now understood that your friend had a good reason for hiding her relationship with him.

---

Before Todoroki dropped you off at U.A., he offered to take a break. Both of you sat on a wooden bench. A chilly breeze brought you back to your senses.

"Thanks for today, Shoto," you began, putting your hands under your legs to keep them warm. "I love the movies. My mum used to take me to them every birthday."

Todoroki nodded, spotting the way your lips quivered as you sightlessly stared at a dot on the sidewalk. "I never hear you talk about her."

You scratched your chin, with a mystifying lopsided grin on your face - your best interpretation of one of the characters from the film you had seen today. Though it was somewhat cringey, it brought Todoroki the sense that you were in confidence.

"(y/n), being mysterious doesn't suit you. Did something happen?"

"We never talk about it, but yeah. She left my dad when I was little. The only time I would see her was for my birthdays, and then I guess she stopped visiting?"

"I'm sorry," was all he said to cut through the sorrowful silence.

"It's alright." You swung your legs under the bench, remembering the note Todoroki had left for you last week. "If it's okay to ask, how's your close relative doing?"

Your innocent question darkened the mood in an instant.

Todoroki toyed with the idea of revealing some of his deepest emotional scars to you. But he was scared. Scared that you thought he was in any way damaged and you would start treating him differently.

Tapping on his leg, he turned his face towards the sunset, pensive. Though he didn't know why, for the slightest second, he thought it would be okay.

You had gone through your share of suffering, so you would understand?

But could anyone ever understand this load he had carried since he was born into the arranged marriage? The years of enduring the training from hell? The reason why he got that nasty scar on his face at the tender age of six?

Todoroki gulped, his fingers finding the edges of his black V-neck shirt in an attempt to calm himself down and stop the childhood trauma from flooding in against his will.

"(y/n), what I'm about to tell you I haven't discussed in depth with anyone else before. Not even my siblings..." he trailed, appreciating the attentiveness marring your facial features.

Your chest tightened as a shadow cast over his heterochromatic eyes.

As he spoke, you listened carefully, making sure not to interrupt him nor belittle any of the dreadful experiences he had been through.

You remained in silence while you processed Todoroki's words. You would make sure to be there for him. You took a deep breath. "For the longest time, I didn't know about your family. Thinking back makes me feel really guilty. I'm sorry I ever thought badly of you."

Todoroki lifted his gaze to meet yours, his heart clenching at the thought of the horrible things his father had told him to do to you. Why couldn't he help but want to spend more time with you?

Seeing the pain in Todoroki's eyes, you slowly got closer to him and hugged him. His back stiffened at first, not being used to acts of affection. You could smell his faint but distinct cologne, as he relaxed his shoulders.

"It's okay. I want to know more about you, (y/n). I will try not to keep you in the dark about myself anymore," he said as he rested his chin on top of your head.