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This was absolutely not a typical scene for Izuku Midoriya. So, why was he here? That’s right because his small group of friends decided it would be fun. Izuku looked around at the bar he was currently standing in. It was lackluster, to say the least.
It was very dim, only a few lights above flickering on and off occasionally. There were stains on the floor everywhere he went; Izuku didn’t even entertain himself with considering what it could be. It was loud. The music was piercing his eardrums in ways that he had never experienced; he swore he could feel the beat of the drum and the strum of the bass inside of him.
It was crowded and hot too (did the bar even have an a/c?). Most people were shoulder to shoulder near the stage where the current band was playing, leaving little space for Izuku to navigate. Everywhere he turned there was at least one couple making out hardcore. He agreed to come here to try and get his mind off all of that stuff, not watch two strangers devour each other’s faces. At least the drinks were cheap.
With a quiet sigh, Izuku turned back to the bar he was currently standing at. Right, the drinks. He was supposed to be bringing them to the friend group that oh-so-nicely brought him here and left him alone to suffer. Izuku was ready to start moping at the first bar he had ever been to when a chipper brunette bumped hips with him enthusiastically.
“There you are, Izuku! We were looking for you!” Ochako grinned up at Izuku as she grabbed a couple of drinks from the bar counter. Izuku, joined her, grabbing the rest.
“Oh, you were? Where’s everybody at?” He dropped his negative thoughts immediately once he was in company with a friend (best friend, to be exact) and joined her in walking through the crowd.
“We found a booth seat towards the back. The music is quieter over there.” Ochako was having to yell over the music because of the pure strength of it. It was a subtle type of music but it was just very loud. Izuku nodded and added yelling over music to his list of things he didn’t like about his first time at a bar.
When they reached the booth, Izuku was met with yet another make-out fest. “Oh god,” Ochako spoke, “can you two keep your hands off of each other for two seconds?” She laughed as she sat down. Izuku set down the drinks he was holding. He glanced around the table awkwardly smiling. There sat his small friend group of four, plus Sero who was currently lip-locked with Kaminari.
“Sorry, but you know I never get to see him.” Sero shrugged, wrapping an arm around Kaminari. Izuku nodded and sat across from the couple and beside Shouto. The booth was about as comfortable as a brick but it was better than standing. Kind of.
After a moment, everything went quiet in the group and everyone slowly looked to Izuku (who pointedly didn’t notice, because he was observing a stain on the floor). Momo cleared her throat and spoke, leaning forward in her spot beside Shouto.
“Izuku, how are you doing?” Izuku looked up reluctantly and made eye contact with only Momo. She had only just recently joined their small group of friends but that didn’t mean she was any less welcome. She had already become the ‘mom’ of the group and had fit in perfectly.
Her worried gaze was very telling of that.
“Oh! I’m doing alright! How are you, Momo?” Izuku was most definitely not fine right now. He had just recently been through a tough breakup that he didn’t even want to think about, much less talk about it. That was the whole reason he was here, anyway. To have fun and pretend his very crushing issues didn’t exist. Izuku forced a smile that he hoped reassured her, nonetheless.
“Dude, are you sure?” Kaminari started and Izuku looked to him. “That breakup was pretty-“ he was interrupted by Ochako smacking his arm. “Hey, Sero, isn’t your band setting up soon?”
“Oh yeah, I probably should head over there now. You guys should totally go check it out!” Sero stretched and detached himself from Kaminari. He waved bye and walked off to someplace Izuku couldn’t see from his spot.
After a moment or two, Ochako spoke. “Izuku, do you want to check it out? I heard that the band is pretty cool!” Izuku paused for only a moment and then nodded quickly, wanting any reason to avoid talking about his failures as a boyfriend (even if that reason included getting tinnitus at a run-down bar). The two friends stood and walked in the direction Sero had. Ochako made sure to bring her drink along while Izuku abandoned his; it was nearly empty anyway.
“How have you been, actually ?” Izuku turned slightly to make eye contact with Ochako as she spoke. Bad idea. She looked more concerned than Momo had (which he should’ve expected since Ochako was his best friend). “I..” Izuku started, then sighed. He couldn’t lie to her. “I haven’t been okay.” He quickly straightened up and began waving his hands frantically as he saw Ochako’s features deflate slightly. “But, I’m alright! I.. I agreed to come here to try and get my mind off it and have fun like you wanted!” Izuku paused, overly aware of how easily he could start rambling. He looked away as he spoke, “The breakup wasn’t that bad either.”
Ochako sighed and stepped in front of Izuku, forcing them both to stop walking and him to make eye contact again. “Izuku, it was awful . She tore you apart; you loved her!” The brunette paused, concern lacing her features. “You still love her!” Izuku frowned and looked down. “Can we.. not talk about it?”
Ochako sighed, hesitant. “Alright, but we’re going to, eventually.” Izuku didn’t like the sound of that but he forced a cheerful smile nonetheless. “Thanks, Ochako. I’m fine though.” Ochako gave him a look that said she didn’t believe him and they continued walking.
They found a locked door that was guarded by a large, tough-looking man. The bouncer? There was no reason that the band area would need one, their IDs were checked at the entrance. Did they need to buy tickets or-
“Go on in.” The bouncer stated and opened the door, exposing the loud music that was muffled previously. Izuku was quickly regretting this. He would’ve left too if Ochako hadn’t dragged him inside.
The music assaulted his eardrums viciously once the two of them were inside. He couldn’t even hear the door shut behind him. Stairs lead down into the room, which was uncomfortably hot and damp. It was filled with what Izuku could only assume was a few hundred people. The room was dim, only a few lights on in the far corners of the room (they were very dim lights though). There was a large crowd gathering in front of the stage, cheering for the band. The letters on a poorly put together drum set were weird and distorted. Izuku squinted but still couldn’t make it out from this distance despite how large they were. For a moment, he regretted leaving his glasses at home. There was a small bar located across from the stage. How did all of these people deal with the assault on their eardrums? Earplugs, probably.
“I think the band is on next!” Ochako yelled, despite standing beside him. Izuku simply nodded as Ochako lead him into the crowd cheering on the current band. He shouted apologies as he clumsily bumped into strangers.
“What’s the name again?” Izuku half-shouted to Ochako. She shrugged. “First Avenue? Something like that!” Izuku considered the name. It was a little odd, sure, but it wasn’t as bad as the current band, named The Porno Pyros . Izuku almost snorted as he was finally able to read the obscene letters up close.
The band looked like they were barely out of their teens and that should’ve explained everything to Izuku. He wasn’t much better, only twenty-two years old, but they looked as if they were no older than nineteen. Izuku felt an abundance of anxiety just thinking about being on stage in front of all these people. He didn’t know how they did it.
The music wasn’t inherently bad , but Izuku wasn’t necessarily a good judge since he rarely indulged in the type of rock music they were currently playing.
Abruptly, the song ended and the crowd roared . The group did some sort of hand signal in unison and walked off of the stage. Ochako got this determined look on her face and forced both of them all the way to the very front. A dark curtain dropped over the stage and someone spoke loudly from somewhere off to the side that Izuku couldn’t see. “Our next band will be Fourth Avenue ! We’ll be taking a small break while they set up!” The crowd slightly dispersed, some people heading to the bar to get a drink or simply sit. Izuku assumed Fourth Avenue was the band they were waiting on since, one, they were next up and, two, a brief look of recognization washed over Ochako’s face.
“You’ll like it better upfront, promise.” Ochako had dropped her voice to almost a whisper as she spoke. Izuku felt anxiety well up in his gut at her tone. He could sense the mischievousness in her words. “I’ll be back in a sec though! Gonna get another drink!” Ochako grinned, all innocent again. Izuku had been friends with her long enough to know this was just how she worked sometimes. They had known each other since freshman year of high school, after all.
“You want something?” Izuku started to shake his head no but Ochako was already speaking. “Of course you do! Be right back!” And she was off before Izuku could even let out a sigh. He turned back to the stage, the crowd now only a handful of people. A head popped out of the black curtains and studied the crowd. It was a familiar head; it was Sero’s. He grinned when his eyes met Izuku’s and gave a thumbs up before going back behind the curtains.
Izuku was ready to thoroughly question Sero but his mind got distracted when his best friend returned to his side. “I gotcha a Mojito!” Izuku was handed a small glass with a green-blue liquid inside. It looked nice. “I had no idea what you’d like since you don’t usually drink much. The bartender recommended it, though!” Izuku nodded and smiled at his friend.
“Thanks, Ochako. I’m sure I’ll like it!” Izuku took a sip of the said drink and he loved it. He rarely drank anything other than yearly new years champagne and occasional beer when with friends.
Because, on his twenty-first birthday, his friend group took him out for shots and tequila, which didn’t end well. He ended up with an awful hangover and lots of throw up. He vowed to never drink that much ever again.
Izuku’s thoughts were quickly disrupted (again) as the curtains were pulled back and a siren sound started playing along with a guitar. The crowd quickly returned and the two friends were pushed close to the front of the stage.
The stage held four people. Towards the back, Sero stood behind a keyboard (which is probably where the siren came from). A few feet next to him stood a girl with short curly pink hair. She wore a crop top that read Alien Queen, very short shorts and thigh-high heeled boots. She was equipped with a guitar and was headbanging along with the beat, clearly really into the music. Further in the middle back, a man with red hair spiked upwards (Izuku briefly wondered how) steadily beat the drums. He wore a jean jacket over a red hoodie and was all smiles. He seemed to have in fake sharp teeth or something because there was no way his teeth were naturally that sharp. The whole song was very loud and Izuku just assumed it was how rock concerts were (if this could even count as one).
Most importantly though, was the lead singer. Izuku hadn’t bothered to pay attention to them yet, because they had a hood over their head. They wore a partially leather hoodie (the only part fabric was the hood). The sleeves were cut off at the elbows and was left unzipped, showing a V-Neck with a black skull on it underneath. They were singing the lyrics so intensely. Izuku could assume the singer was a man based off of his voice and physique. Izuku was about to question why he would hide behind a hood when the song started to get more intense.
“This time I’m set and I’m coming for you, won’t take no for an answer,” Izuku could see the grin forming and couldn’t help but notice his heart picking up the pace with the song.
“Nothing you can do, you can seal off the entrance, block off the road,” The singer gripped the hood of his outfit, the grin spreading and almost looking maniacal.
“I won’t stop till it’s mine, or I feel my heart... explode .” The drums and guitar got louder and more intense right as he threw off the hood. He gripped the mic afterward and surveyed the crowd.
Izuku felt his face slowly heat up under his intense stare. The lead singer… he was…
Hot.
He had crimson red eyes that had to be twice as intense as his voice was. He had short blonde hair that looked both hard and soft at the same time. His face was chiseled in all the right ways and that maniacal grin looking much different with the full view.
Oh god, was he hot.
As if on cue, Ochako nudged Izuku with a knowing look on her face. Izuku went to ramble out excuses to her so she wouldn’t tease him later but she simply shook her head and looked away again. Izuku let out a sigh of relief and looked back to the stage to only be met with two crimson eyes.
Looking right at him.
“Remember me, as I go down in history,” Izuku’s eyes widened watching the singer sing directly at him . He subconsciously clutched the front of his hoodie with both hands where his heart was. The singer smirked and leaned away, (when had he leaned in ?!) pulling the mic that he had taken off of the stand (again, when had he done that?!) and walking around the stage. He sang with such an intensity that Izuku only wanted to cheer and jump with the rest of the crowd.
Before he knew it, the song was over and they were taking a break. They were going to perform afterward but they still needed one; Izuku assumed it was because the lead singer would need a break after practically yelling . In the meantime, it looked like they were meeting with a handful of fans.
“So, you think he’s hot, right?” Ochako spoke, leaning her arm on Izuku’s shoulder. A part of him still got flustered when she was that close to him until he firmly reminded it that she was a lesbian. A lesbian who was currently in a happy relationship. He’d had a brief crush on her sophomore year of high school and had confessed, only to be turned down because she just wasn’t into guys. Izuku, on the other hand…
“W-What?! No!” And to that Ochako gave him a look. “Izuku, I saw how you looked at him! And that blush all over your face says otherwise!”
Izuku huffed. “I don’t think he’s-” He froze mid-sentence seeing the in question hottie, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. As soon as Izuku had seen him, his eyes had flicked to him. And there was that smirk. Almost daring him to come up and say something. Izuku gulped and turned away, downing his Mojito. Ochako grinned at him knowingly.
“Go talk to him, you big-bi- dork .” Izuku firmly shook his head, feeling anxiety pile up. Ochako rolled her eyes, taking his now empty cup and setting it down along with hers. “Alright, we’ll talk to him together.”
“No! O-Ochako- Really I don’t think-” She was already dragging him along, linking arms with him.
“Too late! We’re walking!”
“ Ochako!” He earned a snort in response and they were suddenly in front of a table filled with what he assumed was the band’s merch. There were shirts and album CDs spread on the table. There was only a couple of people browsing the said items. Izuku recognized a couple of the shirts on display. One was a crop top that read Alien Queen - the one the guitarist was wearing. Another was the V-Neck that the lead singer was wearing. Izuku’s fingers twitched at his side. There were a couple of other shirts he didn't recognize though, one had two red R’s overlapping and the other had the bands name on it.
“What can I get you two?” Izuku looked up to see the drummer, smiling big at them. Ochako grinned and grabbed two of the album cases.
“We’ll have two of these! You guys were awesome !” The redhead grinned, taking money from Ochako. “Gee! Thanks, It’s really all Baku, though.”
“Baku..?” Ochako asked, tilting her head questioningly. “Yeah! Katsuki Bakugou.” He pointed behind him at the lead singer that was still leaning against the wall and… staring at Izuku. “I give him nicknames. Name’s Eijiro Kirishima, by the way! You can call me Kiri though I don’t-” Kirishima’s words got drowned out by Izuku’s heart pounding in his ears as Bakugou began to walk towards them.
“Oi, what’s going on here? Aren’t you supposed to be selling merch?” Kirishima rolled his eyes, still all smiles. “Bakubro! Meet Ochako and… sorry, what’s your name?” When had Ochako said her name? Izuku’s mind was racing and he could hardly manage to keep up. He opened his lips to speak, but couldn’t for a moment. His mouth suddenly felt very dry.
“Hey, he asked you a question, dipshit,” Bakugou spoke harshly, crossing his arms again. He was so attractive it was unfair, really. Izuku couldn’t handle it in the slightest. Kirishima gave him a light shove that didn’t make him budge. “Bakugou! That’s rude! ” Izuku blinked dumbly as his mind finally caught up before Bakugou could reply.
“Um, ‘zuku. It’s- hi, I’m uh, I-Izuku.” His voice wasn’t as loud or stable as he hoped it would be. He cleared his throat as Ochako covered her mouth to hide a giggle.
“Hah? Fuckin’ speak up, for fuck’s sake.” Bakugou shifted to his other foot, radiating annoyance. “Deku? That’s yer name?” Izuku quickly shook his head, opening his mouth to speak before Bakugou cut him off, “Cool, Deku. Kiri, fucking sell them shit and let’s get ready for the next song. We ain’t got time for a damn meet-n-greet. ‘Kay?”
Bakugou walked off before Kirishima could respond and he sighed, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “Sorry about him. He’s nicer when you get to know him! Swear!” Izuku forced a wobbly smile. “It’s- It’s cool! He seems really…” Izuku paused, blush returning to his freckled cheeks. “c-cool…” He couldn’t help but smile at least a little, remembering how intensely he sang the previous song. Ochako snorted beside him.
“‘zuku, you are so smitten, oh my god.”
“Ochako!! I am not! Shut up!” Kirishima laughed, radiating only friendliness to Izuku. He barely knew the guy but felt like he could somehow trust him with his life already.
“Look. Baku is gonna fuss at me if I hang out any more but,” He pulled out a business card and handed it to Izuku. “My number is on there, hit me up sometime and I can tell you when we perform here.” He took a few steps away from the table before he turned back to them slightly.
“Oh, and you are
totally
smitten, dude.”