Something Further than the Universe

Chapter IV ~ A Good Feeling

A/N: Honestly didn't know what to title this, and it doesn't capture the idea of the chapter very well. I had a lot of trouble writing this one and I was editing it for a while, but it still didn't meet my expectations. I'm worried the dialogue is cringy and the characterization is off, but I did my best. I'm super excited to write the next couple of chapters, but it might be a long wait since winter break is ending for me and I'm not going to have a lot of free time. Enjoy it!

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"Is it cool if I eat lunch with you today, Midoriya?"

He was this close to jumping out of his seat when he heard a voice arise out of thin air, but when he met eyes with a familiar shade of pink, he breathed a small sigh of relief. It was only Mina, standing over his desk eagerly with this huge smile on her face, bouncing on her toes in a way that made her seem impatient.

Izuku took a second to reassess the question, shoving his books into his desk all the while. But he knew what his answer would be without even thinking about it. The two of them had been getting a lot friendlier lately, talking about the universe and his improving dance moves and other not-so-important things, so he wasn't opposed to the idea. In fact, it was starting to get a little boring, only surrounded by five people he actually talked to during lunch break, and he knew she would be the perfect person to stir the pot. "Sure," he said, getting up and meeting his friends at the doorway. He beckoned Mina over when they all turned to leave. None of them seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary yet.

It wasn't until he was out of the classroom and heading to the cafeteria that he remembered something important. "Where are you gonna sit, Ashido?"

"Can't I just sit next to you?"

He hesitated for a few seconds too long, wondering how to put it into simple terms. She had asked to sit next to him, after all. As much as he wouldn't have minded sitting next to her, he didn't want to upset Uraraka. "W-well, Uraraka is kinda sitting next to me."

Mina's eyes traveled to the ground, feeling like an idiot for not realizing the obvious. "Oh, yeah, I can't believe I didn't think of that before. I could just sit with Ochako or Tsuyu anyway."

"I don't know how many open seats there will be. Maybe I can get Iida to push down one."

"Whatever. I can always just figure it out when I get there," she said, shrugging as a soft sigh escaped her lips. She'd been betting on sitting next to him. But she really shouldn't have cared as much as she did, because she could always just sit next to Uraraka or Asui anyway.

When they arrived in the cafeteria, Izuku's friends finally seemed to take notice of her presence. She wasn't really bothered by it, though, because even if these weren't the people she hung out with in a regular basis, she knew everyone in class to at least a certain extent. Even Iida, who she thought was a stick-in-the-mud who needed to let loose a little.

"Y-you guys don't mind if Ashido sits with us, right? For today at least?" he asked, noticing the glances thrown her way. Most of them smiled and shook their heads, probably more glad than anything.

Seating was established more easily than expected, and Mina wondered if it was her lucky day because she ended up across from Izuku. Uraraka was next to him, of course, talking to Asui about something she couldn't make out over the sound of people's voices echoing off of the cafeteria walls.

It was really loud in there, and that became especially prominent when she couldn't make out a word of what Izuku said even when she saw his lips moving. And the tables were very wide, and she noticed Uraraka was much closer to him than she was.