My Hero (Katsuki x Izuku)

5 - Slow Dancing Hearts

IZUKU

Valentine's Day is approaching much quicker than I had anticipated; the festival was during mid-January, and it feels like only a week has passed since then. Valentine's Day has always stressed me out ever since middle school; most teens my age either have partners or love interests, and Valentine's Day is just a walk-in-the-park for them. As for me, I've never really had intense romantic feelings for anyone—at least, not intense enough to commit to a relationship with them.

At the beginning of the school year, feelings for Ochaco blossomed, but they haven't grown much since we first met. Last Valentine's Day, I almost asked her out on a date, but she had decided to hang out with Tsuyu and Hagakure instead and have a girls' day. Maybe this year, I'll actually ask her to be my date to the Valentine's Day dance our school is holding. Sure, my feelings haven't grown into anything more intense than a silly crush, but maybe they can grow if we go out.

Throughout the week of Valentine's Day, everyone in our class pesters each other about who we're going with to the dance. Barely anyone actually caves to the relentless questions, except for Denki, who tells the boys he's planning on asking Jiro to the dance.

"Really?" Kirishima asks. "I was convinced you were gonna ask Shinso."

"Wait—you like Shinso?" Sero asks.

"I did," Denki says. "But at the end of the day, I think I'd be a lot happier with Jiro."

"That's awesome!" I say enthusiastically. I consider telling them that I'm going to ask Ochaco to the dance, but I hold off as everyone else chats about who they're asking out.

"Todoroki, who are you gonna go with?" Denki asks.

Todoroki shrugs. "I don't think I want to go with anyone. I'd rather lone it."

I notice Iida glancing over at Todoroki when he says this, but Iida doesn't mutter a word. I've noticed he and Todoroki have gotten closer ever since their battle during the UA Sports Festival all those months ago.

"What if a girl asks you out?" Kirishima asks Todoroki.

"I'll cross that bridge once I get to it," Todoroki says. He's never seemed to be the type interested in relationships. He mostly keeps to himself with minimal relationships with anyone in the class. He's very friendly with all of us, but he prefers to be alone than with people.

Kirishima reveals that he's considering asking Mina to the dance, but he isn't sure if he wants to go with his group of friends or go with a date. Sero and Denki encourage Kirishima to ask Mina, but he's still on the fence about it when the discussion ends. This entire time, Bakugo has been completely silent. I'm not even sure why he's out here with us if he's not going to talk—but maybe he just wants company and doesn't want to socialize. Though, normally he would stay in is room if he didn't want to socialize. He's like Todoroki—he prefers to keep to himself, but he's much more explosive and vocal about it.

"What about you, Deku?" Todoroki asks.

I gulp nervously. "Oh! I—uh... I'm thinking of, uh..." I swallow my anxiety as I start fiddling with my thumbs—one of the many things I do when I'm nervous. "I'm thinking of maybe asking out... Ochaco..."

For some reason, this seems to catch Bakugo's attention; his blood-red eyes shoot a sharp glare at me as I say that, but he doesn't say anything. Could he be jealous? Does he like Ochaco, too? That seems unlikely; during the Sports Festival last year, he mercilessly attacked her with not an ounce of remorse. Since then, they've barely interacted at all, and to my knowledge, he isn't interested in girls at all. I could be wrong; he's never talked about it, but Kirishima and Denki joke about it quite a lot.