Mystic

Chapter Thirteen

        "Hey, Kaneko!" Uraraka was frantically waving me down, the bell just having rung. "Do you want to sit with Deku, Iida, and me for lunch? We still have space at the table and, well, I was hoping to get to know you better."

        Me? I was getting invited into the personal space of a friend group? It seemed virtually impossible given my prior class 'popularity' — which had been, without a doubt, a big fat zero — and yet said opportunity was presenting itself right before my eyes.

        "Uh, are you sure?" I asked, still not entirely the situation.

        What if she had some hidden motivation? Was she going to embarrass me in front of the entire lunchroom? Had she been dared into becoming my friend? Despite some of the relationships I'd begun to build with my classmates, I still worried I was unwelcome here and that my place would continue to be doubted. I mean, it was hard to trust this when Shoto had pulled a whole three-sixty on me this morning.

        "Yeah, silly," she said, giving one of her iconic giggles. "Now come on, the others already left, so we should hurry up. Wouldn't want the line to be too long!"

        With that Uraraka was pulling me out of the classroom, through the hallway, and down the stairs. But not without questioning me incessantly the entire way. She wanted to know how my Quirk worked, why I wasn't living with Izuku like I said I'd be, who my favorite classmates were, and what I was thinking about ordering for lunch. Her intentions didn't seem criminal. In fact, I was reminded of Fuyumi the day she'd taken me shopping. Did this mean Uraraka really wanted to be my friend?

        We continued to chat as we filled up our trays with food. I ended up deciding to get some sushi and sticky rice. It would be easy enough to eat and wouldn't make me feel weird in front of Iida and Izuku. As we neared the table, I noticed that another person was sitting with them. Someone I didn't feel like talking to right now. Ugh, the guys must have thought it'd be nice to invite him too, but now. . .

        "Uh, actually," I began, stopping dead in my tracks. "I forgot that I have to finish this really important assignment before we go back to class. So, um, I'm afraid I can't sit with you guys today. Sorry. Bye!"

        "Huh? Kaneko?"

        I fled the scene before she could stop me, spinning on my heel and taking the long way out of the cafeteria. I shouldn't have been that bothered by the fact that he would be there too, but, technically I hadn't been asked to sit with him too, so. . . Turning a few corners I tried to distance myself far enough from the throngs of students that I wouldn't have to hear all their conversations. They all seemed to have people they clicked with, and I just ran away from anyone who dared try to get close to me. Letting out a sigh, I slid down a wall, frustrated with myself beyond belief.

        Bet Uraraka thought I was crazy now. Definitely noncommittal in her eyes, but that wasn't that far off. It was so hard for me to trust anyone given what I'd been through. Still, that didn't mean I didn't want to feel secure and cared for. Despite having a decent time in Endeavor's care, I was sure that things would have been better off if U.A. had let me stay with the Midoriyas. That way I never would have felt as betrayed as I did now. It was like I'd been lied to and then abandoned without a second thought.

        Hmmph. I stuffed a piece of sushi into my mouth, suddenly furious. Perhaps I'd give Shoto a piece of my mind later about how he was acting today. Why be even relatively nice? Why talk to me and let me share stuff if you were gonna just toss it all out the window the next chance you got. God, I really hated people. Even though the League of Villains had been full of jerks, at least you got what you expected. It was so much harder to read people here.