0𝙁𝙇𝙐𝙊𝙓𝙀𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙀ˢʰⁱⁿˢᵒᵘ

𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕚𝕘𝕘𝕖𝕣ⁿⁱⁿᵉᵗʸ-ˢᵉᵛᵉⁿ

THE BIGGER —

chapter ninety-seven

"Kirishima had to go so you'll have to meet him some other time," Denki waved off, standing up as Korei approached the table with two large smoothies in her hand. Shinsou's mom had called him while they were in the line so he was standing a few feet away from the tables. "What'd you get? Can I get a sip?"

"Let her sit down first, jeez." The purple-haired girl snickered, turning in her seat to smack at Denki's arm. She was sitting across from his empty booth seat, leaving Sero on the other side with an empty chair across from him where Kirishima once sat.

"I was just messing around! Korei loves me!" Denki led Korei to her seat, plopping her down on the open booth seat. The chubby girl grew slightly flustered from sitting so close to Sero, but she played it off as meeting new people. She didn't want Shinsou to get upset again! "I was gonna have her sit next to you but you're being mean, Jirou."

"Shut up! She can choose where she wants to sit by herself, she's not a baby!" The girl that Denki called 'Jirou' exclaimed. Korei couldn't help but giggle, reaching forward to place Shinsou's smoothie across from her when she realized what Denki had actually done. "I'm Jirou, by the way. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Awe, it's nice to meet you too, Jirou-san! H-has Denki-kun really been talking about me that much?" Korei asked, brushing a strand of dark-green hair behind her ear. She had stopped wearing her hair in those pigtails, opting to just wear it down all the time now. Sero shuffled in his seat next to her, watching as her glossed lips wrapped around her purple straw. God, he's got issues. He just wanted to hear her say his name.

"He talks about you quite a bit." Jirou nodded, sipping her own smoothie. Denki just waved her off, taking his seat next to Sero. He leaned over the ravenette so he could explain himself to Korei.

"I don't talk about you that much, but! I do tell everyone about how amazing you are! Remember when you helped me with my art history homework? Deadass would have been murdered by Midnight if it wasn't for you." He chuckled, mouthing the words 'thank you' to her as Sero started speaking.

"Being murdered by Midnight would not be a bad thing," he hummed, earning a dreamy sigh from both Jirou and Korei. "I'm terrified of Ectoplasm though. He's honestly nightmare fuel."

"I-i actually find Ectoplasm to be...kinda...cute," Korei confessed, her whole face turning bright red as she tried to ignore the teasing whistles from the three. "N-not like that. I just think he's-" she was cut off by Denki.

"It's fine, babe. You like people who're kinda scary looking. Case in point; you're dating Shinsou," he said and Korei just shook her head at Denki, not liking how he had seemed to be degrading her boyfriend.

"That's not very nice, Denki-kun. Hoshi's very handsome," she asserted, unaware that Shinsou was walking towards them. He was hoping that Korei wasn't flirting with anyone, but he also didn't know what to expect. "He's got really pretty eyes a-and-!"

"I love hearing people gush over Shinsou as much as the next guy, but can we change the subject?" Sero spoke, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. His black eyes were locked on Korei's brown ones, a spark rushing through him that made him question if Denki had shocked him or not. "Let's talk about something else, yeah? It's good that you love your boyfriend but not all of us are in a relationship with him."

"O-oh...um," she pouted, nodding and tearing her gaze from his. She stared down at the pavement below them, happy to be sitting outside. As the other three started talking about something else, Korei couldn't help but feel like she wanted to go home. She totally understands that not everyone wants to hear about her perfect boyfriend, but she was just defending him against Denki's playfully harsh words.

"Hey," Shinsou's deep voice was quiet enough for only Korei to hear as he sat down in his chair across from her. She perked up, happy to see that he was back from his conversation with his mom. Her free hand shot over the table and he didn't even hesitate, slipping his hand into hers and letting it sit on the tabletop. "How's your smoothie?"

"Delicious! Is everything okay with Katsuō-san? What did she need?" Korei asked, squeezing his hand gently and kicking her foot forward against his. Shinsou chuckled, allowing the game of footsie to begin as they talked as if no one else was around.

"Yeah, she's fine. Just wanted to talk to me about my internship with Aizawa. She also said hi and that she hopes you're doing alright," he nodded. The two of them continued to chat amongst themselves until Denki butted in and asked Shinsou about his progress with getting into the hero course. This gave Sero the perfect opening to apologize for being rude earlier.

"Hey, uh...I wasn't trying to be mean or anything," he mumbled to her, leaning down so that it was kept a whisper. "I was just saying-" Korei cut him off with a cute smile as she set her drink on the table.

"No, it's totally okay, Sero-san! I understand that not everyone wants to hear me talk about my boyfriend! I swear, I'm more interesting than that!" She giggled out, waving her free hand around nervously. "What a horrible first impression, huh?"

"No, not at all! I think that tells a lot about your character, Saito." He smiled in return, listening to Jirou jump into Denki and Shinsou's conversation. It was more Jirou and Denki talking but Shinsou was paying attention. "I hope I didn't give you the wrong idea! I'm not actually an asshole, I promise."

"Heh, no...you're not," she had this cute little half-smile on her plump lips and Sero just wanted to kiss her! What's wrong with him? Why is he pining after a taken girl?! "You know, I really think I should have gotten a medium or something. I just didn't think the large was gonna be so...large." She changed the subject, happy to have made a new acquaintance.

"Ah, the bigger, the better," he whispered to himself, the words reaching Korei's sensitive ears. She blushed but acted as though she hadn't heard them, unsure of how exactly she should respond to that. Is that Sero's way of flirting with her? She hopes not, it's not really good. Not that she wants him to flirt with her! She's very happy with Shinsou! Right?

fluoxetine