"I'm so hungry! I'm gonna get some lunch-y lunch," Ochaco said, singing the end of her sentence. She checked her purse, only to realise that she didn't have any money.

Everyone had left for the canteen, except you and Ochaco. Just like this morning, your stomach was killing you. You sat in your school seat near the front, almost sure that you had somehow caught food poisoning. Having a bite of those snacks you found in your dorm room hadn't been the best idea. Though stale, they were still your favourite.

You lifted your head and turned around, seeing Ochaco sprawled on her desk on the last row. You swore that you heard her stomach rumble like a storm.

"Hey, Ochaco. Are you alright?"

"Mhmm, I'm good."

Another loud noise erupted from her gut. You brought your stuff to sit in the seat next to hers. I'd like to talk to Ochaco to find out why she's been avoiding me... I'm not sure I can handle talking to her about it...

But I should probably try to have some food before this afternoon's hero training. You opened the yellow plastic Tupperware container and eyed the plain rice inside it.

While you wrinkled your nose due to sudden nausea, you noticed Ochaco turn her head towards you, drooling.

"You want some?" you asked. "I'm not feeling too well."

Ochaco's eyes brightened. "Yeah, please! I mean, don't mind if I do."

You handed the plain rice and your chopsticks over to her. As she ate, you reached out for your bag, where you were sure you had some crackers. You placed them on her table.

"Hang on, (y/n)." Ochaco stopped shoving food into her mouth, and tilted her head to the side. She wiped the corner of her mouth as a twinge of guilt settled in her chest. "Are you sure you're not hungry?"

"Yeah, not today. Go for it."

"Right, thank you. I forgot to put money in my purse, so I appreciate it."

You gave Ochaco a weak smile. Even though this was the closest to having a conversation you had been in a while, you could sense the strained kindness in her voice. She was still pretending nothing had happened between you two.

Would would Todoroki do in a situation like this? You took a deep breath in, finding strength in recognising that Todoroki would have probably suggested that you just talked things through with Ochaco and it would all be fine had you talked to him about this.

"Hey, Ochaco." You paused as you watched her tense up. "So... I noticed that you've been avoiding me ever since we came back from our internships."

"Oh, yeah."

"I don't understand what happened. And I was wondering if I did something to upset you?" you delivered, dreading her response.

Ochaco scratched her cheek. "Yeah, I... You know, it doesn't really matter."

"It does to me. I genuinely miss hanging out with you like we used to."

Your words still sit heavy in the air as Ochaco choked on a bite of food. She couldn't help but think that after all this time as your 'friend' you could take her by surprise. In all honesty, she wanted you to apologise, but hadn't registered how her actions had affected you until now.

You didn't talk about your feelings very often, so the fact that you were putting an effort to restore your friendship with her moved her deeply.

So, before she knew it, Ochaco found herself explaining, "Well, the thing is I couldn't believe that you'd lie to me. You know, hiding that you lived with Todoroki from me when I asked you."

"I'm sorry I lied to you. I promise I won't ever do that again."

"I'm over it now. You must've had your reasons, right?" Ochaco stole a furtive glance from you. The trust you had broken wouldn't be so easy to repair, even though she had gone back to her bubbly persona.

Your shoulders shrank, recognising that it would have been much easier if you had addressed the conflict head-on to begin with. "I'm glad you understand."

After she finished eating, she put the wrappers in the container and gave you your lunch box back. "Imagine I decided to be a doctor instead of a hero, so I could earn lots of money to help out my parents' business. Call me Dr. Uraraka, okay?"

You tilted your head to the side in confusion. "Sure?"

"How are you feeling today, Miss (y/n)?" She smiled brightly for a moment, but then put a serious face back on.

You laughed, noting how much you had missed having her as a friend. "I'm feeling nauseous."

"Miss (y/n)?" Ochaco whispered, even though there was no one near the classroom that could overhear your conversation.

"Yeah?"

"Are you... pregnant?"

"W-what? That's physically impossible."

Ochaco giggled, and after a few moments, you joined in the uncontrollable laughter. You hadn't expected that joke from her.

"Dr. Uraraka, I've got another problem," you said. "I've had this feeling in my chest for a while. I might not have liked it at first, but I'm starting to come to terms with it."

"Carry on. I think I might know what you mean."

You rested your head on your palms, leaning forward onto the table. "Really? So then it's not only me who gets so flustered around this person. That's good to know."

You took a pen from your pencil case and twirled it in your hand. It had a panda on its end. Todoroki's older sister had given it to you as a present after Todoroki tutored you one afternoon during the first week of high school. The pen reminded you of Todoroki's gentle, tired face, as he napped on the living room's table.

"Is it the same person?" Ochaco's eyebrows knitted together, but she slapped her big cheeks to calm herself down. She didn't want to ever look at you as competition. You were both Midoriya's friends, and that was it. "Maybe, Deku has that effect on people."

"Ochaco, I didn't say that the person I meant was Deku."

Some sweat trickled down her blushed face. "Oh, right. I misunderstood."

You sat up straight, placing the panda pen back into your pencil case. "That's the thing. I can't stop misunderstanding. It's like the smallest thing about my day will always link everything back to Shoto."

"On my days, promise me to never, ever, ever tell anyone about this, okay? I won't tell anyone about you either."

"Yeah, for sure. I promise." You held out your hand to pinky promise on it. "I admire you, Ochaco. I don't know if I can hold back my feelings any longer. Shoto gets so close to me sometimes, and then he behaves so coldly. Honestly, I really don't know what's going on in his head half the time."

"So he's hot and cold. I'm no expert, but have you tried acting the same way? It might help him to understand his own actions."

"Are you serious? As in... payback time?"

Ochaco giggled nervously. "I mean, it sounds vindictive when you put it that way. But yes, I am serious."

After the bell rang, your classmates flooded back into the room. Hero training would soon resume. Throughout the whole afternoon, you couldn't help but think about your conversation with Ochaco.

---

The next day, a Friday afternoon, Todoroki placed the brush in the cupboard, ready to call it a day. Both of you had finished your cleaning duties, yet you still hadn't executed your plan. You held onto your sleeves as you walked up to him.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he saw you grow nearer to him. "Are you okay, (y/n)?"

You roughly slammed your hand on the wall, standing right in front of him. You bit your lip as you looked up to his rouge face, his heterochromatic eyes open wide in bewilderment.

"Shoto, I think you're blushing," you teased. You still couldn't work out how on Earth you had plucked up enough self-confidence to do something like this.

He covered his mouth with his hand, averting his eyes away from you. "I was just surprised that your face was so close to mine."

You wanted to scream out loud. You pulled your hand away from the wall and sat on a nearby desk, now respecting his personal space. "Did you feel... some tingles?"

"Yeah," he said. "You look happy, (y/n)."

"I am. Because I succeeded in getting my payback."

"Payback?" He gestured to himself before shaking his head. "I've casually done the same thing to you, haven't I? I'm sorry. It isn't good for the heart."

"Shoto, there's something I've been meaning to tell you." You clutched your school blouse, feeling a little guilty that Todoroki looked down to the ground. He looked so deep in thought that it made you doubt yourself. You didn't want things to get awkward between the two of you, you appreciated your friendship. With sun rays pouring through the classroom's window, warming your back, you rubbed your arm.

After what seemed like an eternity, Todoroki broke the silence. "Don't hold back about anything that you want to tell me. I want to hear it, no matter what it is about. My feelings for you will never change."

It's okay if his feelings don't change, but I just want him to hear me out.

You took a deep breath in, trying to steady yourself. "Um, Shoto..." You struggled to find the right words. As expected, confessing to him was difficult. It made you feel so vulnerable. "I was going through a rough time when I met you. Everyone wanted to treat me like a useless victim. So when you smiled and challenged me, it made me happier than I'd ever been."

Todoroki's lips parted as he stared at you.

"You've helped me open my eyes, all by yourself. Despite that, I've been doing the complete opposite of what you've done for me. And that's why... this time, I want to give you more than an apology. I want to be there for you through thick and thin. Happy days, sad days... I don't mind as long as I can share them with you."

As he took a step towards you, you threw your arms over your face. "You don't have to answer! I just wanted... to tell you how I felt."

Todoroki reached out to you, silently adoring the blush on your cheeks that you failed to hide. You looked at his hand and then up to his sheepish face a few times.

The door to the classroom opened. You whipped your head when you heard someone purposely cough. Aizawa stood at the door with his arms crossed over his chest. "(y/n), Principal Nezu has requested you to join our meeting."