Friends? (tododeku)

Chapter 19

Third-person POV

The movie night didn't go quite as Todoroki had planned. He imagined a situation where Midoriya, stiff in fear, would cling to his arm. Or he would grab his hand and Todoroki would get to wrap their fingers around each other, just like on Halloween. They were alone in the last row which would have given them privacy. However, Todoroki's plans were crushed. The film was scary and Midoriya was very excited throughout the whole movie. Everything was going well, but it all went downhill when the film got halfway through. It was so scary that Todoroki couldn't focus on anything else. He couldn't lay his hand on Midoriya's own or take him in a warm embrace. Todoroki was simply too scared to move. The boys were still young and Todoroki knew this. However, he was unable to maintain the usual bold attitude, which is why the film was over faster than Todoroki thought it would. During the closing credits, the lights turned on and it took Todoroki a moment to get used to it.

"Todoroki, it was so scary," Midoriya said, his frightened eyes were a little damp.

"Hey, no worries it-"

"It was awesome!" Midoriya exclaimed. Todoroki startled. He was sure he would need to comfort the weeping Midoriya.

"Was it too scary?"

"It was scary," Midoriya admitted as he pushed the empty candy bag into his backpack, "but it was so good. Movie theaters are just the best!" Todoroki smiled. Although the night didn't go as planned, he had nevertheless enjoyed their time together.

"It's almost 9 o'clock. We should get home before Mom calls the cops," Midoriya said. They crammed out of the theater and stepped outside. The sky was dark and a cold wind waved their jackets. The city was quieter than it was during the day, but still full of life: lots of lights, cars, and loud people with drinks in their hands. It wasn't a long way to Midoriya's house, but Todoroki still decided to stay as close as possible to the younger boy. You never know who could grab him.

"Who wouldn't want to grab him, he's so adorable..." Todoroki muttered in a low voice.

"Hmm?" Midoriya turned his head. Todoroki just turned Midoriya's head forward with his hand and gave it a few pats. "I'm not a child," the boy snorted and grabbed Todoroki's hand.

"I know," Todoroki said calmly, "but I still feel the need to protect you."

"I don't need protection. I'm already old enough..."

"Midoriya, you're in middle school and a head shorter than me," Todoroki smiled. He liked to tease Midoriya, but would never hurt him.

"Yes, but I'm growing! I can even be taller than you in a few years."

"Hmm." Todoroki squeezed Midoriya's hand, which he still hadn't let go of. They waved their entwined hands back and forth and talked about anything they could come up with. Tomorrow would be their first day of school as a couple. "Do you want to keep this a secret at school?"

"Hmm..." Midoriya muttered, squeezing Todoroki's hand, "I don't want to make a big deal out of it. I mean, we're both boys. There would always be hate wherever we go." Todoroki looked thoughtfully at the sky, where the moon shone brightly. Midoriya was right. School could be tough if other students started bullying them. And Todoroki didn't want to mess up Midoriya's school life.

"Let's not do anything eye-catching when there are others around," Todoroki suggested, "that way we don't have to worry about being caught." Midoriya thought the idea was smart, and that's what they decided to do. They didn't really hide the fact that they were together but tried to get as little attention as possible.

"See you tomorrow!"

"See you."

——

Bakugou was acting strange. He came to class and didn't get mad when his friends fought right before his eyes. He just sat there, staring at the wall or outside, without saying a word. Midoriya sat behind Bakugou and watched him. The boy's behavior was, in his opinion, really odd and different. It wasn't like him at all. Todoroki sat next to Midoriya. He didn't know Bakugou but knew he had something on his mind. And it was not difficult to guess the reason. He knew what Bakugou had seen, even though nothing really happened. Has he told anyone? Does the whole class know about us? The boys pondered it with their chins leaning on their hands and stared at Bakugou's back. "What are you staring at?" Bakugou clicked his tongue while he turned around. Midoriya shuddered and looked at his hands. Todoroki continued staring. "Is there a problem half-and-half?" Bakugou continued. His eyes wedged like a cat's. Todoroki shrugged and carelessly turned his head away. Bakugou clicked his tongue again.

At lunch, the two boys were on their way to the roof and walked along the long corridors. Midoriya was holding the same pink lunch box with cat stickers on the lid. Todoroki also had a box that hung in his hand. Everything had gone well so far. No one had asked anything, and Bakugou hadn't spread any gossip. But the boys still felt like the other students were staring at them, or at least glancing at them as they walked past them. Even now, as they walked down the hallway toward the stairs leading to the roof, the other students whispered, some excited and others perhaps a little disgusted. "But there were so many people there. After all, they couldn't have seen," Midoriya whispered to Todoroki as he noticed the others staring.

"Where?"

"At the party," the green-haired boy whispered fiercely, "we danced there together. The students saw it and it's already starting to spread." Midoriya squeezed his box tightly and looked around miserably.

"Hmm." Todoroki looked up. He had been too busy watching Midoriya and hadn't noticed what was going on around him. And true, the other students seemed to pay more attention to them than usual. "It could be something else," Todoroki tried to comfort, but knew it would be pointless.

——

After school, Midoriya stood at the gates, waiting. The bell had rung long ago. He was waiting for Todoroki, who had basketball practice at this time. He had already completed his superhero analysis with his club members. "He's taking longer than usual," he muttered to himself. Todoroki wasn't usually that late. Midoriya blinked around and noticed a familiar white and red head behind the school bushes. "Todo-!

"Todoroki!" a girl shouted. Todoroki turned and a brown-haired girl ran to him. The girl was unfamiliar to Midoriya, and judging by the expression of Todoroki, he didn't know her either.

"Can I help you?" Todoroki asked. Midoriya crept closer.

"I just watched your basketball practice and you were just awesome!" Todoroki shrugged. "You were so alluring and I wanted to ask... if you wanted to start dating!" Midoriya's mouth snapped open. He grabbed the red backpack straps that seemed to squeeze him into a pile.

It was quiet.