[ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴀɪɴ ] - 𝙨. 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙞

【 𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙢𝙚𝙣. 】

"Mina, don't do this. I know there's good in you. You can change." I beg, turning my eyes briefly to the pink-toned girl.

"Die." Mina deploys the blue shell and races across the finish line ahead of me.

"NOO!" I spout, reaching for the screen. My head swings to Mina and I start pummeling her shoulder. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO MEEEE!?"

"You're too good, I had to~!" Mina whines, mocking me in a way while sticking her tongue out.

"You're mean!"

"L/N, Ashido, please calm down, it's a game—"

"IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE, YAO-MOMO."

"Maybe we should do something a little bit less infuriating?" Uraraka suggests and I fold my arms, pouting.

"Fine..."

After we put away the controllers and stuff for Mario Kart, we all just end up talking about random topics. I'm not really paying attention until Jiro snaps in front of my face to catch it.

I blink a few times and sit up. "What?"

"There's a reason we wanted to call this meeting." Mina presses her fingers together ominously like a mafia boss.

Everyone is suddenly staring at me with mixed expressions and I look around, sweat forming on my brow.

"I am very uncomfortable with the energy we have created in the studio today."

"So here's the deal, Y/N." Hagakure starts.

Mina continues on. "Through weeks of observation, all of us have come to a conclusion. You and Todoroki are an Idiots In Love trope."

I blink once. Twice.

"What—"

"Both of you are too dense to realize that you have feelings for each other, and it's starting to get painful to watch." Even Tsu is on their side.

"Listen, Y/N." Jiro puts her hand on my shoulder. "Would you trust him with your deepest secrets?"

"Yes."

"Do you feel all fuzzy inside when you think of him?"

"Yes..."

"Do you often catch yourself thinking about him?"

I nod, and realization slowly starts to hit me as more and more questions are asked. I put a hand to my chin and the final question hits me like an arrow to my heart from Cupid.

"Do you love him?"

I stay silent for a few moments and put my hands on my neck. My face tainted with a soft red and my eyes round, I purse my lips as I ponder.

Am I in love with Shoto Todoroki?

All of a sudden, the realization hits like cold water slapping onto my back. I look up and press my fingers together.

"I'm flying on Cloud Nine."

"YES! We got this dense child to finally realize!" Mina celebrates, throwing her arms up.

"B-But what do I do about it? This is my first love after all..."

"Oh, don't worry, Y/N." Yao-Momo has a kind glint in her eye. "We'll help you."

Mina pulls a book out of her bag and sets it on the floor.

"Time to read, The Ultimate Guide to Flirting for Dummies!"

"Wait— The what?"

Next chapter hits on Monday, April 26!