The Story Of Forever (Todobaku)

Friday Night (Shouto's Version)

Shouto swirled his cherry coke as Katsuki followed Camie inside. He raised the plastic cup to his lips and finished what was left. Though the carbonation ratio was perfect, the taste of his favorite soda didn't satisfy him as it would normally.

Momo, sitting in his lap, pushed his hair back. "Are you okay?"

He pouted. It wasn't his intention to be a downer, especially at a house party. But no matter how hard he fought against the nerves in his stomach, the nerves were winning.

Momo smiled at him. "Why don't we go back inside? It's getting cold out here anyway."

Shouto glanced over at Hanta and the other stoners still hyping up a drunk Denki. It wasn't entertaining when Katsuki was out here with them, and it was even less entertaining now. Shouto would've rushed in the house before Momo finished asking her question if he didn't need to wait for her to get up first. He doubted Hanta and Denki would notice they left anyway.

The smell of alcohol lingered as he and Momo walked hand in hand through the main floor. Shouto wanted to gag, for more reasons than one. He shouldn't have come tonight. He didn't even want to, but he figured if Momo and Katsuki were here then he'd be fine.

How quickly that delusion faded.

Maybe he put Katsuki on too high a pedestal. Shouto had a bad habit of assuming the best in people, especially those he was closest to. But Katsuki was flawed, just as he was.

That didn't make it hurt less. Shouto assumed after everything his best friend watched him go through, Katsuki would be the first person to turn away any alcoholic beverage. He wasn't mad, but he couldn't help but feel that Katsuki let him down.

The living room hosted most of the action. Kids were drinking and dancing and mingling. Shouto let out a sigh of relief in Momo's ear when he spotted two of his oldest friends chatting by the piano.

Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka sported matching expressions as their eyes landed on Shouto and Momo. Ochaco squealed as she pulled them in for a hug, careful not to spill her drink.

"Ah, I've been looking for you guys!"

Shouto relaxed instantly, even if the music was so loud that his body vibrated every time the bass dropped. Izuku was Shouto's first friend, something Shouto never took for granted. They had an easy relationship as they shared many interests, particularly anime and robots. And, of course, their disdain for social settings.

Then again, since Izuku was finally Ochaco's boyfriend after an excruciating four years of will-they-won't-they, he was probably here as her plus one, like Shouto was for Momo.

Ochaco shifted her gaze between the two of them. "Are you guys not drinking?" She offered her cup to Momo. "You can have the rest of mine. It's pretty strong. This is all I've had and I'm already starting to feel it."

Izuku then held his cup out for Shouto. "You can have mine too. I tried it but I don't like how it tastes."

Shouto frowned. So Izuku and Ochaco were drinking too. If Izuku actually liked the taste of beer, Shouto wondered how much his friend would have of it. The more he thought it over, the less confident he felt in his decision to abstain.

Was this what peer pressure felt like? If so, he hated it. He shouldn't have guilt over this, especially considering his reason for being against alcohol in the first place.

Shouto couldn't control the family he was born into. He couldn't control his DNA. But he could control his actions so history wouldn't repeat itself.

It was as simple as that. And yet, panning around Camie's living room, noticing he and Momo were the only ones without alcohol in their hands, he was suddenly self-conscious.