Chapter Text
Ochako watched her friend achieve so much and rightfully earned the praise of his classmates. For long enough, she felt like she had pushed her feelings away, so she wrote a letter. Even if she won’t give it to him, it finally felt like telling someone. Sitting at her desk, she began to write. From the moment how she felt for him to how her feelings had grown over time. His drive and talent had inspired her to be a better hero. Her heart filled this letter with words that she wished she could tell him, but knew it was best not to. Finishing her lengthy letter, she read over it again. Admiring her handiwork, she signed her name and folded it neatly. With the weight finally lifted from her shoulders, she slipped the note between her books. Where she wouldn’t need them during the weekend and find a better place for it.
Days after writing her letter, she found herself staring at the back of his head during class. Her feelings written down on a piece of paper that was wedged between her books, she could easily hand it over to him… or place it in his locker. It was breathtaking to think she could confess to him today, which was her intention. That something inside her would burst if she didn’t. However, after walking towards his locker while inspecting the words in her letter, it was no longer satisfying.
After much debate, she decided to give him the letter herself. Everyone had gone back to the dorms and she hadn't seen him since. She should’ve known he was with All Might or someone today. She sighed walking towards her locker and changed her shoes to go back to her room. Suddenly, she heard voices down the hall.
“What a waste of my damn time! Why the hell did you rope me in your chores?!” The voice was familiar and she knew who he was talking to.
“It wasn’t that bad, Kacchan. Our teacher needed help. We couldn’t just let her do it all by herself.” It was Deku! He was heading towards the lockers. Hers happened to be on the other side of his, so all she had to do was wait for Bakugou to leave. The sounds of their shoes hitting the ground and the explosive boy’s insults were all she could hear.
“Do you want to walk back together?” Deku asked. The brunette clutched her letter in dismay, she couldn’t possibly say anything to him when Bakugou was around.
“Why the hell should I walk with you, you damn nerd!!” Knowing they won’t walk together made Ochako relieved.
“Well, okay. See you around then, Kacchan.”
“Shut the hell up, nerd!” Then there were footsteps by entrance. Now was her chance! Taking a deep breath, she gathered the courage to say all the things she wanted to.
Time was running out as she heard more footsteps. “W-wait!” She said in panic. “I have something to tell you!” She took another deep breath then placed a hand over her heart that was beating ever so quickly, she was sure that he could hear it. “M-maybe it’s something you don’t want to hear, but you’re an inspiration to me. Watching you becoming stronger every day inspired me to be great as you!” Pressing her fingers together, she smiled straight towards the ground. “I’ve been wanting to tell you for so long, but I can’t hold it in anymore! I-I like you!” She hastily shut her eyes as her face was utterly flushed. With her head still pointed at the ground, she tensed up hearing his footsteps coming her way. Peaking an eye open, she could only see the ends of his uniform blazer. This was already too much!
Not wanting him to see her red face, she rushed passed him to run back to her dorm. She couldn’t believe she said that to him! There was no way she was ready to hear his answer now. She just wanted to let him know her feelings. As soon as she was safe in her room, she fell into her bed and gripped the sheets. Whether it be from how fast she ran or the adrenaline from telling him, her heart rate was skyrocketing. Alone in her room, she had time to think about what to say to him tomorrow. She could sleep on it.
As the following morning came, she sat on her seat, glancing at Deku from time to time. She greeted him as usual, yet he never mentioned anything from what happened. It was a bit disappointing, but she thought he needed his own time to gather his thoughts. She still had that letter in one of her books, if she wanted to still give it to him Things were normal, that is until Bakugou was standing in front of her. His crimson eyes looked rather troubled. Before she could ask anything, he pointed at the hall.
“We need to talk, Uraraka.” He muttered under his breath, already headed out to wait for her to follow.
Ochako didn’t know what he could want with her, but she supposed it was important. Not wanting to make him wait too long, she followed shortly after. Her chocolate eyes watched as he moved in a way that she hadn't seen before. He looked uncomfortable and tense.
His arms folded over his chest and was focused directly at her. He seemed to be bothered. “Yesterday, by the lockers. You told me something.” For a moment, Ochako didn’t know what he was talking about. When she had realized why he was acting so strangely and what he was talking about, she immediately blushed out of embarrassment. She tried to clear it up, so he didn’t have to turn her down and cause them both to feel awkward.
"Look, Bakugou-kun, I—"
“I like you too.” His voice was far from what she was used to hearing. It was usually aggressive and angry, now it was as if he was trying to sound softer, but still had a bit of gruff in his voice. She had never seen him like this. If she squinted, she could see a hint of pink in his cheeks. He was blushing and it was because of her!
"We should talk more after school. The class will start soon." He said, seemingly going back to the way he normally was. The blond had left a very confused Ochako in the hall. It wasn't until Tsuyu had walked by and reminded her of their class then she snapped out of it.
Bakugou Katsuki liked her and he wanted to talk after class.
She found herself staring at the back of his head today. There were so many questions she needed to tell him, but he was under the impression she liked him. How in the world was she going to come out alive? Resting her head on the desk, she sighed. She should've just put that note in Deku's locker.
"Good morning, Uraraka-kun. Please sit properly before Aizawa-sensei comes in." Iida requested, then promptly taking his seat. She seemed a bit off to him, but he assumed it was due to the early time.
The day had ended and here she was by the lockers. Maybe if she was lucky, she could avoid Bakugou and whatever he had wanted to say to her. Unfortunately, it looked like he wasn't staying after school late today. He was waiting for her to change her shoes. By which she almost lost her balance and falling over doing so. People were around and he had a sour look on his face. Once she was by his side, his expression softened a bit.
"Let's walk." He demanded rather than asked. At this point, people should know he tolerates her a little more than their other classmates. That didn't stop some of them taking in interest in their out-of-routine behavior. She followed him out of the building, they weren't headed to Heights Alliance, he had something planned for them.
"Bakugou-kun, I just wanted to tell you I don't—" she was stopped as he held his hand up.
"I've been meaning to tell you for some time. I guess I never really put it together 'til yesterday." Averting his eyes away from her, he looked like he was still thinking about what to say. "I'm not the greatest at this..." He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. She watched, curious as to what he was trying to say. She should be telling him that she had confessed to the wrong person, but she threw that out the window. Experiencing a different kind of Bakugou was distracting her of any rational thoughts. He looked at her, locking his eyes to hers. Her head was tilted to the side, she was staring at him with such a curious cute face. He blushed.
"Oi, don't look at me like that. It's embarrassing." Looking down at her hands, she was still carrying her bag. He took the bag from her and started to carry it. "I dragged you out here, it's the least I can do." He mumbled, making it seem like it was no big deal.
This behavior of his was completely against what she had thought he was. It was fascinating. "Th-thanks." Placing her hands together, she didn't know what to do with them now.
"I like you, Uraraka."
Her heart stopped for a moment, a heavy feeling in her stomach set in. The way he said it was so genuine and here she was, totally exploiting his feelings to satisfy her curiosity. Swallowing her guilt, she cleared her throat.
"Why?" She asked, almost covering her mouth immediately after. Instead, she played with her hair, tugging at it a bit for being so stupid. Ochako didn't expect his cheeks to go red and hear a frustrated sigh.
"Look, I didn't even know I liked you until you told me yesterday. Your fucking round face was annoying me more and more every day." His eyes lingered on her for a moment before he turned away again. "I knew you liked Deku, so I kept it to myself. Until yesterday that is…"
For some reason, it hurt her heart to hear that. He liked her but said nothing because she liked Deku. Now here she was; going to break his heart by just confirming his assumptions. She couldn't do it anymore, she already let this go on for too long. She couldn't just tell him the confession wasn't for him. So she decided not to.
“If I liked Deku, why would that stop you from telling me?” She asked, hoping he didn’t take any offense by it. Her fingers pressed against each other, to keep them busy for a moment. His form looked relaxed as if he was also keeping it to himself for too long. Now he was letting it all out.
"I may not be the most sociable, but I'm observant. I was just mad he didn't seem to notice those feelings. Not like you'd care about what I thought of you anyway. Hell, even considering me was something I didn't think was possible." He smirked for a moment showing her he couldn't be vulnerable all the time. "Guess I was wrong. I'm stronger than that nerd, so I shouldn't have doubted it." His grin was something she finally recognized and it somehow comforted her. Seeing him as his usual self was welcomed compared to the Bakugou he was earlier.
Soon she found that he led her to a park. It was empty, but who would play at a park close by a hero school? Unless they wanted to get hurt. Sitting on one of the swings, she felt like she had royally messed up. The boy who was taking the swing beside her didn't know she had feelings for Deku and not him. He placed their bags down kicking at the bark chips.
"I asked for advice last night. I'm not particularly good with these things." He glanced at her for a moment and was digging his shoe into the dirt. Bakugou looked to be in deep thought. “We should go on a date on Saturday. Uh, my treat." He mumbled just loud enough for her to hear. His crimson eyes shifted toward her once more as he waited for an answer. Ochako did not expect that.
The creaking of the swings filled the silence as Ochako was dreading this. It was too late to take anything back now. She could possibly be the worst date and then he'd just lose interest in her. "Yeah, okay." She agreed without any enthusiasm in her voice. She tried to play it off as if she was nervous as she placed her head down. “Will you walk me back to the dorms, Bakugou-kun? I just need a minute to lay down. A lot to take in, y’know.” She scratched her cheek, acting embarrassed, ignoring the strange look on his face. He just seemed confused.
The blond muttered “yeah, sure” getting up from the swing and taking their bags. The walk back was quiet and exactly what she needed. It gave her time to plan for their date. Once by the elevator, she took her bag back and nodded. “See you around.” She turned away from him to enter the elevator and couldn’t wait for those doors to close. As soon as she returned to her room, she fell into her bed and screamed in the pillow. This entire thing was a huge mistake and she regrets not leaving that letter in Deku’s locker more and more. Her fingers clutched the sheets as she was feeling all types of awful. She felt like an awful person and she was doing such a horrible thing. Even a guy like Bakugou had feelings and is going to be the one to hurt him in the end. She just hoped she could convince him that she wasn’t all he thought she was. Saturday was still distant and she wasn’t going to just chat up Bakugou in class. She doubted he would do the same and that itself was a relief. Saturday would be the day Bakugou would regret, she would make sure of that.