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Serizawa was nervous for his first day in college. As anybody should be, honestly. But it was made inexplicably worse by his anxiety insisting in the back of his mind with panic-inducing questions. What if no one ends up liking him? What if he doesn't fit in his course at all? What if someone starts hating him the moment they saw him?!? It was made worse by the rain. The dreadful downpour dampened his dour mood significantly. Not to mention the way the humidity made his naturally curly hair frizz up at the ends. The only consolation was that he was prepared enough—some would even say overprepared, and honestly, Serizawa wouldn’t blame them—to bring an umbrella. Just in case.
He swallowed thickly and ran a hand down the front of his beige sweatshirt. It was getting humid, and he quickly regretted wearing something so thick. Serizawa kept his head down, careful to not make direct eye contact with anybody as he entered his university campus for orientation. Thankfully, the rain gave him an excuse to not look around.
Which is why he was surprised when someone shouted at him, not even a few minutes later, “Hey, wait!”
Serizawa stopped a couple meters past the gate. He didn’t have time to turn and see who it was before someone ran up next to him and huddled as close as possible under his umbrella. It was a guy with blond hair and a pink jacket, both of which were soaked through with the rain as strong as it is. He looked away, suddenly awkward.
“Um,” he asked, scratching his cheek and adjusting his umbrella so it covered both of them better. “Are you okay?”
From his periphery, he saw Mystery Guy look up at him. The relieved smile on his face brightened his eyes, and Serizawa felt distinctly uncomfortable. Not in a bad way, but in a he-didn’t-know-what-to-do-in-this-scenario way. Resolutely, he tried to not look at him as much as possible and just stared at his beaten-up sneakers.
“Yeah,” the guy finally said after what felt like forever of him trying to catch his breath. He straightened up and ran his hands through his hair, grumbling under his breath and clearly irritated.
Serizawa stood there, completely lost. So he said the only thing that made sense to him at that time. “Do you need a towel?” He blurted out.
The guy blinked up at him in bafflement, probably—Serizawa could not handle looking at him or anything at the moment, his eyes squeezed shut. “Um, yeah. If you have any, sure.” Mystery Guy said, and that immediately got him working.
“Okay, great!” He shoved the umbrella in this stranger’s hands and then flipped open the flap of his backpack. The guy whistled low, and Serizawa realized that, okay, yes, maybe he really did over-prepare. His ears burned as he dug out a spare face towel his mom packed for him. “Um, here. For your… everything.”
He cringed. The mystery guy cringed. Hell, his ancestors cringed. What is wrong with him?! Serizawa breathed, trying to keep it together. If this is what it would be like trying to make friends in college, he’s screwed.
“Thanks,” Mystery Guy said, taking the offered towel and swapping it with the umbrella. He wiped down his hands and then his hair. “And for the umbrella too. I kinda forced myself onto you there, but I was kinda… desperate. Sorry.”
As long as he didn't mention Serizawa’s sweaty hands or inability to look at his face. Or worse, the fact that he packed half his room into his backpack, then everything was perfectly fine. Of course, he did not say this. Instead, he said, “It’s okay.”
Mystery Guy laughed awkwardly as he removed the towel from his hair and flattened down the spiky mess it became. “No, really. You’re a lifesaver,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck and handing back the towel. “I was rushing so much when I left home, I forgot my… everything. I forgot pretty much everything I was supposed to bring.”
Huh. Mystery Guy was a mess. A right mess. Of course, Serizawa was also a mess, so he couldn’t, in good conscience, judge him. His giant bag can attest to that. “It’s… okay,” Serizawa said, voice tight. He checked his watch just to seem busy and almost choked. They can’t be late. He immediately began to walk, almost forgetting that he had company.
Mystery Guy followed him anyway, matching him step by step and keeping close enough that he’s pressed to his side. Thankfully, he was too engrossed in the idea of being late to the orientation to care. However, the silence was a bit stifling and awkward, and he could tell that it bothered Mystery Guy from the way this guy’s hands were fidgeting. They’d lift, flutter around, and then drop back down in a repetitive cycle.
Which is why it came as no surprise when he spoke up, “So… are you a freshman too?”
“Uh… yeah! And you?” Serizawa said and then immediately wanted to end himself. “I mean— What’s— What’s your course?”
Mystery Guy didn’t mention his slip-up, thank god, and just replied, “Business administration.”
Business administration huh? Serizawa remembered that it was a popular course because most of its graduates went to high-paying jobs. Somehow, he didn’t expect it. “Oh.”
“Yeah. It wasn’t exactly my first choice… Well, on the form, it was, but you know.” Mystery Guy shrugged, ending his sentence like that answered anything. If he were more honest and less socially awkward, Serizawa might have been curious enough to ask why. But of course, he didn’t. Instead, Mystery Guy kept the ball rolling once he realized Serizawa wasn’t going to say anything. “How about you?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. What’s your course?”
“Um, interdisciplinary studies?”
Mystery Guy snorted, not unkindly, “You don’t sound so sure.”
That’s because he wasn’t sure. If he didn’t have it written down on the palm of his hand to make sure he didn’t forget about it, Serizawa likely would be lost for the rest of the day. He cleared his throat, “I mean, yes. I am in interdisciplinary studies.” He sounded firm, yet couldn’t help but feel like every word out of his mouth was an awkward mess. God.
He didn’t expect Mystery Guy to make a soft sound of interest. “That’s better!” he said, patting him good-naturedly on the back. “If you sound like that all the time, I bet people won’t be able to tell that you’re so nervous. They’ll come flocking.”
Ah, he could tell. Serizawa shouldn’t be surprised. He was terrible at keeping himself under wraps as it is. Somehow, though, he wasn’t bothered that much that it was pointed out to him so candidly by a veritable stranger. “You think so?”
“Oh, definitely,” he said, and he sounded sincere. “You’re going to do great! And I’m not just saying that because I’m bumming off your umbrella.”
Serizawa laughed, surprised. This guy, stranger or not, was nice. The first person to be nice to him in this whole school. “Ah, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it!” Mystery Guy said, waving his hand.
“I’m sorry, I just get…anxious. I overthink things and… lack confidence.” God. Was he oversharing?! People don’t usually like that, right? “Oh, I’m sorry for oversharing…”
Mystery Guy shrugged his apology off and shook his head. “It’s fine. People sometimes tell me I’m a great listener,” he said, grinning. Serizawa didn’t really believe it though, but if he’s fine with it… “Though trust me, it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Half the time, if you’re too confident, people just get annoyed at you. But that could just be me.” He hummed, nonchalant. “Though, believe it or not, I’m scared too.”
Serizawa blinked in disbelief. “Really?”
“Of course! This is new territory. It’s daunting, y’know?” he said, flapping his hand in front of his face. “But don’t spread that around, okay? That’ll ruin my reputation!”
Serizawa smiled, relieved that someone understood even just a bit, “Okay. Thank you.”
Eventually, they stopped in front of their destination. It was filled with other students already lined up at the front of the venue for registration. It was a long line with students winding around over the block. It would be a long wait before they were going to be let in, and suddenly, Serizawa was scared again. He tightened his hold on the umbrella handle, breath quickening.
It was actually happening! He couldn’t do it, he couldn’t—!
“Hey, hey,” Mystery Guy suddenly said, hand on his shoulder. “Umbrella guy. We gonna line up or what?”
Serizawa blinked. Then blinked again. “Uh, yeah. Yeah! We should…”
Mystery Guy stared at him a beat longer before he dropped his hand. “You were really panicking there, you okay?” he said bluntly.
Numbly, Serizawa nodded.
“You know,” Mystery Guy said, stepping in line behind a small group of chattering high school friends. “I know we just met and all, and it isn’t really my business, but I think you’re going to be okay.”
“How do you know? How are you so sure? What if no one likes me? What if everyone hates me? What if I end up friendless during my college years and end up friendless for the rest of my life?!” Serizawa slapped a hand over his mouth, realizing that he really spilled the beans on this one, and sank down into a squat. “I don’t know. I think I’m always just like this. I thought I was ready this year, but…”
Mystery Guy crouched into a squat next to him and joined him in his pity party. “Oh, come on. You’re nice, you’re polite, you’re attractive—” Serizawa squeaked, surprised, and suddenly flustered— “There is no reason for someone to not like you.”
“But—”
“Besides. You can’t say you’re friendless during your college years and that no one likes you,” He continued, pointedly ignoring him. “Because I like you, and we’re friends.”
Serizawa frowned. “But we just met—”
“Isn’t that how friendships normally start?” He can’t refute that. “So now whenever you think about never having friends or no one liking you, remember me. Y'know. The guy that bummed your umbrella at the start of your college life to prove yourself wrong!”
It was such stupid reasoning. Serizawa knew that no matter what Mystery Guy said, he’d always have a hard time accepting those things. It was just his life and his brain. But he still snorted and then laughed for real. It made him feel better at that moment, and he suspected that was exactly what Mystery Guy was aiming to do. “You’re very kind,” he said, chest warming.
Mystery Guy scoffed and turned away. “Nah, I’m just doing what anyone else would have done.”
Somehow, Serizawa doubted that, but he nodded anyway to appease him. “Thank you,” he said, throat tight, as they stood up to move when the line did.
“As I said, don’t mention it,” he said with a smile and a wave of his hand. “Now, come on. Chin up. It’ll be fine.”
And surprisingly, Serizawa did. He looked up and saw his new friend head-on for the very first time. Somehow he looked just as how he’d expected from his messy blond hair and self-assured smirk set firmly on his face. Even the dark eyes and his vaguely foreign-looking features weren't surprising. However, expectation or not, his breath still hitched, and his palms began to sweat.
Serizawa belatedly realized he didn’t even know his name.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I—” His stuttering was getting worse the longer he looked at Mystery Guy’s face, but he couldn’t for the life of him look away. “I’m Serizawa Katsuya. Nice to— Nice to meet you.”
Mystery Guy blinked at him, stunned as if he also forgot that names existed. Then he smiled. It was just a wry uptick of the corners of his mouth, but it was genuine. It was enough.
“I’m Reigen Arataka. Nice to meet you too, Serizawa.”