The Story Of Us (Todobaku)

First Kisses (Part 2)

Shouto kept his eyes open.

Kids were screaming and laughing at disastrous volumes, but he couldn't hear any of it. He was numb, both mentally and physically. It was as if a switch shut off in his brain, the one that controlled his ability to move. To think. To breathe.

There was no fighting it. Shouto succumbed to the catatonic state he sent himself in out of pure shock. The room spun at a tilt, the walls closing in on him. It was something out of an alternate reality. He tried to use his last bit of functioning brain activity to process the situation he was in, but he couldn't.

Katsuki was kissing him.

Shouto lost all sense of time. Katsuki could've been kissing him for two seconds or two hours and he wouldn't have known the difference. Prior to tonight, Shouto would've placed bets that he'd have a greater chance of kissing Jesus Christ himself than ever kissing Katsuki.

And yet, there they were in the middle of Momo Yaoyorozu's living room, Katsuki's grip on Shouto's sweater tightening as he kissed his friend for everyone to see. It caused Shouto to blink, sparking the first sign of movement he displayed since Katsuki first connected their lips together.

Shouto's head spiraled as he assessed what was happening. This was his first kiss. He only got one. Once it was gone, there was no taking it back. And now, his first kiss was forever Katsuki's to hold.

Just as Shouto's lungs were about to give out, Katsuki released him and pulled away. Shouto pressed his fingers to his lips, still in disbelief over what just occurred. They held eye contact for less than a second as Katsuki was distracted by their classmates celebrating like they were at the Olympics. Katsuki was particularly focused on Neito, whose phone was pointing at the two boys.

Neito needed a moment to regain his composure, but his laughter never diminished. "I'm posting this to my snap story."

Katsuki flared his nostrils as he lunged at Neito. "You better delete that, you little shit!"

The two boys wrestled on the floor, Neito laughing under Katsuki as Katsuki snatched Neito's cell phone. Even after the video was deleted, Katsuki flipped Neito onto his stomach and got him into a chokehold until Neito cried mercy.

The kids at Momo's party were even more entertained by this display. Well, except Shouto of course. The boy was still so confused as he forced himself to accept that he just kissed one of his oldest friends. In a daze, he cowered into himself as Katsuki scattered around the living room and hijacked everyone's phones, deleting any trace of evidence that a kiss with Shouto just took place.

Amidst the chaos, Shouto noticed that the atmosphere felt off. Pretty much everyone was either yelling or laughing apart from him, and yet there was something missing. A laugh. A very distinct laugh, one that would no doubt be partaking in this madness if its owner was present. Then Shouto remembered.

Denki.

Denki ran off earlier after his unlucky spin landed on Shouto, and he hadn't returned. Shouto wondered if the others noticed the fear in Denki's eyes before he made his escape. It was unusual, unsettling even. Denki was always the carefree one, the one with nonstop energy, the comedic relief. But the Denki that ran off before, the one whose complexion turned a ghastly white as his eyes bulged open, pupils dilated, Shouto didn't recognize that Denki at all.

Something was terribly, terribly wrong.

Shouto stood up, his legs wobbly from sitting still for so long. Everyone else was too busy either heckling Katsuki or being nosy bystanders to pay Shouto any mind, apart from Izuku. Shouto's friend glanced up at him, a perplexed expression forming on his freckled face.