Detonate ((BAKUGOU KATSUKI X OC))

Chapter 4

The heels of Courtney's boots scuffed against the cold pavement of the sidewalk she and the gaggle of HANY and U.A. girls walked along. Idle chatter lingered among their small group as they approached one of the many shopping centers New York had to offer, and all the while Courtney remained silent with her arm linked with Dani's.

When the girls proceeded in their dress hunt, Courtney detached from Dani's side in favor of a bench that sat in the fitting room section of the store. Her classmates' laughter filled the store as she thumbed through her phone, and she didn't look up until Uraraka appeared in front of her.

"I know you're not much of a socialite," she began with a sweet smile. Courtney stared up at her through her eyelashes. "But I found this dress that I think would look pretty with your hair."

As she spoke, Courtney's gaze eventfully fell to the dress she held in her hands. It was relatively simple and orange in color. Courtney let out a brief sigh.

"You can hang it there." She said densely whilst motioning to the rack beside one of the changing rooms.

"A-alright!" Uraraka beamed nervously, seeming happy to have gotten a response as she did what she was told. "I hope you try it on. Let me know if you need a different size!"

Courtney said nothing as Uraraka offered her one last smile, and slowly turned her head back to the dress hanging across the room. She felt herself scowl as she stared at it, and after a moment she severed her gaze to continue her scroll on her phone.

Another hour rolled along, and as it did, the girls from their respective classes came and went until everyone was satisfied enough to begin trying dresses on. All the while Courtney sat silently, occasionally looking up when Dani appeared from the dressing room for opinions on the dresses she had picked out.

"Are you going to try yours on, Courtney, ribbit?" Tsu asked, approaching her in a forest green dress of her own. She looked pretty.

"I'm good." Was Courtney's simple reply.

"C'mon, Court," Dani encouraged as she examined her reflection. "We had a deal. Don't make me wrestle you into the damn thing."

Courtney exhaled impatiently as she set her phone down. She caught Uraraka's eye as she looked at her hopefully, and finally arose from her seat. She entered the dressing room whilst yanking the curtain closed, and irritably shed herself of her winter coat and uniform. Once the dress was on, Courtney took a quick glance in the mirror, scowled, and quickly re-emerged from the dressing room.

Dani turned to look over her shoulder upon her entry, and widened her eyes at the sight of her.

"Get outta town, look at you!" She grinned from ear-to-ear as she approached her, and Courtney crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "Uraraka has a good eye!"

The girl in question squealed with joy at the sight of Courtney and hopped up to her as she excitedly clapped her hands. "I knew it'd look good!"

"I think that was the easiest choice so far." Amanda Springfield, one of the HANY girls, grinned cheekily.

"You're telling me!" Mina pouted as she held up two of her options in the mirror. "This'll be harder than I thought..."

"Don't sweat it," Dani said as she swung an arm around Courtney's shoulders. "We've still got time, so we can make another trip if we have to."

"If I take this one does that mean I don't have to go again?" Courtney asked, suddenly talkative at the prospect of not having to go out in public again.

Dani pursed her lips at her. "Yeah. I guess."

"Then this one it is." Courtney decided, and slipped back into the dressing room to change back into her uniform.

"Is she normally this shy?" Uraraka whispered to Dani as she slipped her coat back on.

"I don't know if shy is really the right word..." Dani said as she slipped her shoes back on. "More... antisocial. She just doesn't like people."

"Oh, I wonder why..."

"She'll come around," Dani set a hand on Uraraka's shoulder with a kind smile. "She always does, so try not to think about it too much."

"R-right." Uraraka nodded once in agreement, and once Courtney was changed, the girls who had found their dresses went to the register and — as promised — Dani took it upon herself to pay for Courtney despite her insistence to pay for it herself.

The group of girls thus began their journey back to the HANY campus, and Courtney stuck close to Dani's side much like how she did on the way there.

"You doing okay?" Dani asked, holding Courtney's arm close to her as the walked.

"Yup." Courtney deadpanned a reply.

"That was real nice of Uraraka," Dani nodded in said girl's direction. "Grabbing that dress for you 'n all."

"You're telling me you didn't have something to do with that?" Courtney looked at her from the corner of her eye, and Dani laughed.

"What makes you think that?" She asked.

"Cuz no one does that crap other than you." Courtney gave her a pointed look. Dani laughed again.

"What can I say," she said, looping her arm around Courtney's shoulders and pulling her close to her side. "I just don't think you're all that scary."

Courtney huffed smoke out of her nose at that, but decided not to say anything further. The remainder of their walk back to HANY was had with light banter, and once the two groups of girls made it back to campus, they went their separate ways to their respective dorms.

"That was pretty fun, wouldn't you say?" Dani asked as she walked Courtney back to her room.

"If that's what you wanna call it." Courtney replied whilst blowing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Oh, c'mon," Dani pled as they entered the room. "Can't you just give them a chance?"

"A chance for what?" Courtney fought the urge to roll her eyes as she hung her new dress up in her closet. "They'll be here for a month and then they're going back to Japan. I don't see the need to befriend these people when I'm never going to see them again."

"You don't know that, Court," Dani reasoned as she leaned up against the wall. Courtney offered her a disinterested look as she sat down in her desk chair. "At one point you were asking yourself what the point was in being friends with me and Dante, and here we are, thick as thieves."

"Maybe to you." Courtney muttered. She slipped her headset onto her head and booted up her laptop. She didn't have to look at Dani to know she was frowning.

"You're impossible," she said as she made her way back to the door. "Watch, you'll see that I'm right. I'll give it a few days, tops."

"Whatever you say." Courtney humored her without looking up.

"Love you, jerk," Dani called over her shoulder as she went. "Don't stay up all night. We've got a long month ahead of us."

Courtney merely waved a slack hand in response, and said nothing further as Dani shut the door behind her. Once she was left to her solitude, Courtney looked in the direction of her open closet, and eyeballed the dress bag she had just hung up, and after another moment of her silently staring, the sound of her phone chiming pulled her attention down to the device that sat on the desk top.

She opened the photo message Dani had sent her, and frowned at the sight of the picture someone had snuck of her when she had put the dress on. It read:

'Looking good, hot stuff ;) lol, get it?'

Courtney rolled her eyes all while setting the phone back down, and settled with removing the dress from its bag and standing in front of the mirror. She held it up to her body as she stared at her reflection, and chewed on the inside of her cheek contemplatively.

Maybe going to the dance wouldn't be so bad after all.

~~
An: hey y'all. Sorry for such a delayed chapter, but I hope it was worth the wait. See y'all again soon :)
~~