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The class bell rang, and a resounding sigh went through the whole class. Since it was the last class of the day, everyone was ready to go home at this point. As I started putting my things away, I heard someone calling my name. I looked up, seeing Uraraka waving at me from the door. I gave a quick wave back, gathering up the last of my things. By the time I got over to her, Iida had joined her by the door. “Hey guys.” I smiled warmly at them as we all stepped out of the classroom together.
“Hey there, Deku.” The two of them said back in unison, though it was Iida that continued speaking. “That test wasn't as difficult as the teacher made it out to be. How do the two of you think you did?” Uraraka hung her head, giving a dejected groan in response. Iida gave her a light pat on the back. “I'm sure you did fine, Uraraka. What about you Midoriya?”
I sighed, looking off to the side. “I'm not sure. A few of the questions didn't quite make sense to me.” I responded, continuing to walk. As we passed a trash can, I noticed Uraraka toss some paper looking thing into it. “What was that?” I asked curiously, glancing back at the trash can.
She got a disgusted look on her face. “Mineta gave out all these gross valentines to all the girls in 1-A. He's such a creep! A few of the girls said they were going to the principal after class to try to get him suspended or something.” Uraraka explained a bit angrily. She took a deep breath, and turned to smile at me and Iida. “Did you two get any valentines today?”
Iida began moving his hand in a repeated chopping motion, a bit of a habit of his. “Ah, I got one. Though it wasn't signed, so I'm not quite sure who it's from.” He told us, taking a piece of pink paper out of his pocket and looking over it. “I truly don't know who would give me of all people a valentine. Most people say that I'm too uptight and straightforward.”
Uraraka gave a small giggle. “Sounds like you have a secret admirer. Maybe they'll come up to you before we leave campus and tell you personally.” She said, poking fun at him a bit. Then, she turned to me. “What about you, Deku? Have you gotten any valentines?”
“Um, well, no...” I said awkwardly, biting my lip slightly. To be honest, I'd completely forgotten that Valentine's Day was today. But I couldn't tell Uraraka that, or she'd flip out. “I was planning on talking to someone today, b-but I don't know if-”
“You should totally go for it Deku!” Uraraka interrupted. She stopped in front of me, doing that thing she does with her hands when she's excited or happy. “Just go right up and tell them! The worst that can happen is that they'll say they don't feel the same, right? And even then, it's impossible not to like you, so I'm sure it'll be fine!”
I gave a small laugh at that, reaching up to rub the back of my neck. “Well, Kacchan manages to hate me, so I doubt it's that impossible.” I countered, but she just crossed her arms at me and puffed out her cheeks. So, I sighed and looked away. “Alright, alright... I'll ask them later.”
“No way! You'll just forget, or lose the courage to do it if you wait until later. You should do it now!” Uraraka said firmly, looking at Iida as though for confirmation. “Don't you think so, Iida?” He opened his mouth to respond, but she continued speaking before he had a chance. “I think you should do it Deku. Just promise you'll tell us all about it after, okay?”
Some of Uraraka's enthusiasm must have been rubbing off on me, because I suddenly felt a bit braver. “Yeah... Yeah, I should! I'll see you guys tomorrow, and I'll be sure to tell you what happened.” I told them quickly, breaking away from our little group to go searching for who I wanted. It was a few minutes later that the sudden spark of bravery faded, and I was left questioning myself. “What am I doing? How did Uraraka talk me into this?” I thought to myself, looking at the ground as I walked through the halls. There were a few people talking to one another here and there, but I was mostly ignored. “Maybe I shouldn't do this. I know Uraraka said it would probably be fine, and that I should go for it, but-”
My thoughts were cut off as I bumped into a firm mass that I was sure hadn't been there before. In my field of view, I could see a school uniform. “I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention.” I said softly, looking up at the other student fully now. My eyes widened a bit as I realized who I'd bumped into. “Ah, Todoroki-kun! I was just looking for you!” I exclaimed, smiling a little. It had to have been luck that I'd run into him like this, especially right now. “I-Is it okay if we talk for a minute?”
“Oh, Midoriya.” Todoroki said, his eyes widening a fraction before he slipped back into his usual stoic look. “Sorry, I'm kind of in the middle of something right now. Can it wait until later?” He asked, already shifting slightly as though to move past me.
I moved too, stepping back in front of him. “N-No, it can't. I don't know if I'll be able to tell you later.” I explained quickly, a bit of sweat forming on my palms. Even with Uraraka encouraging me, it had been difficult enough to pluck up the courage to even go looking for the red and white haired boy, and I highly doubted that I would be able to do it again. “It'll just be a minute. I promise.”
Todoroki gave a quick sigh, looking at me with what seemed to be a bored expression. “Alright, fine. Just make it quick.” He instructed, giving a quick glance to a nearby clock. I couldn't help how my smile faltered a little at that. Todoroki was never usually this cold, so why was he suddenly acting like this? Even if he was in a hurry, there was no need to be rude. Then, an abrupt realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
“He's in a hurry because he's going to confess to someone else ...” I discerned, biting my lip slightly. This was a bad idea... I couldn't tell him now, not when I was just going to be turned down like that girl from earlier. It wouldn't be worth it. Then again, I probably should tell him, if only to get it over with and off my chest. But would I be able to handle the pain that would come with his rejection? How long could I handle seeing him in class before I broke down? How long before-
A sudden hand on my shoulder made me jump, looking up at Todoroki. He looked worried. “Are you alright, Midoriya? You started muttering to yourself.” He told me, making my face heat up a little in embarrassment. I just lowered my head and gave a small nod, and he removed his hand from my shoulder. “Okay... What was it you wanted to tell me?”
My eyes went to the ground. There was no going back now... “I just... Uraraka pointed out that it was Valentine's Day earlier, so I figured... That it would be a good time... To tell you... How I felt... About... You...” It was steadily getting harder to speak, but I couldn't bring myself to look up at Todoroki's face. I didn't really need to anyway, already able to visualize the shock or disgust or various other horrible alternatives. “B-But you're going to go tell someone else how you feel about them, r-right? So don't worry about it. I can’t really say that I blame you anyway. I-I wouldn’t love me either.” My throat caught on those words, one hand coming up to cover my mouth as tears threatened to spill from my eyes.
I just barely managed to mumble a quick apology before running as fast as my legs could take me. I just ran, and ran, and ran, and ran, not caring where I ended up. There were a few people in the halls that I passed, some familiar voices calling after me as I fled from my own embarrassment. But I didn't listen to them. Instead, I practically threw myself into a bathroom and locked myself in a stall. There might have been someone in one of the other stalls, but I couldn't keep myself from falling apart anymore.
So I just sat there in the stall. I was there for so long that, eventually, I lost track of time. It could have been hours, or just a few minutes for all I knew. But still I sat there, alternating between wiping my eyes and nose as I sobbed. How could I have been so stupid, thinking that Todoroki felt anything for me? Not that it really mattered now. There was no way I could show my face around him again.
After a few more minutes of crying, I heard the bathroom door open as someone walked in. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself so that whomever it was wouldn't hear me. Of course, it was just my luck that they stopped directly outside my stall. There was silence for a moment, and then they knocked on the stall door. “O-Occupied.” I called out to them, sniffling slightly despite myself.
“Midoriya?” A soft, familiar voice called back, and I froze. Why was Todoroki here? Had he seriously come looking for me just to let me down himself? “Can you open the door please?” The red and white haired boy asked, and I hesitated. I could ask him to leave, or just ignore him completely. But I wasn't that kind of person, so I stood and slowly opened the door.
“Hey Todoroki...” I mumbled. He opened his mouth to speak, but I quickly interrupted him to save myself from the pain. “I'm sorry I ran off like that. I didn't mean to worry you, if I did. But, really, don't worry about it. I'm fine.” A fake smile formed on my face, and I moved a hand to rub the back of my neck. “I mean, I kinda figured that nothing would come of it. So, I'm really sorry if you came all this way instead of doing what you were going to do. I probably made you miss whoever it was, huh? I'm so-”
“Will you stop apologizing already?” Todoroki interrupted suddenly, and I paused. He gave a small sigh, reaching out and taking my hands in one of his. He held them out in front of me as he placed a small green bag tied off with a gold ribbon into them. On the ribbon, was a little heart shaped name tag with small letters that read... Tears started welling up in my eyes again. “I was in a hurry because I didn't want these to melt in my locker. None of the teachers would let me bring them into class, or I would have given them to you soon- Hey, are you okay?”
Reaching up, I wiped my eyes once more as I nodded. I looked up and smiled happily at Todoroki, holding the bag of chocolates a bit closer. “Yeah, I'm fine. But I do have one question.” Todoroki gave me a bit of a curious look, and I couldn't help but chuckle slightly. “Would you mind helping me eat these?” I asked.
Todoroki blinked at me for a moment, but then a small smile pulled at his lips. “I'd love to, Midoriya.”