Something Further than the Universe

Chapter XIII ~ Where Two Hearts Meet

A/N: Hey guys! Here's the new chapter! As I've said, I've been very busy lately (high school's hard but also pretty fun—I've been talking to a lot of people in my grade who I never really used to talk to before), so this chapter is a little later than usual. I'm assuming it'll be the same with the next chapter (expect 2-3 week intervals for the fall), so sorry about that! But this chapter is back to the usual length about 5,000 words, and I think it speaks for itself. I really think you'll all enjoy it, and I'd love it if you could leave a comment with some feedback! I love hearing what you guys think!

~+~+~

"Freaking finally! I've been waiting all week for Finals to end, and I actually think I did good this time!"

Mina's feet were falling asleep from sitting down for so long, pins and needles tingling the tips of her toes, and there were no words to describe how good it felt to finally stretch and stand up. She'd never been so happy to finish a test, or anything related to school for that matter, and she couldn't help but wear her heart on her sleeve as she made a desperate attempt to hide her exhilaration. Final Exams had been complete and total chaos despite the not-so-terrible outcome, so she realized over the last two days she must have done something right. They were officially over today, Friday, and not only were they done but she also thought she did really well in the areas she was most worried about. Math, science—not her strong suits. Maybe she was simply getting her hopes up, but she had a good feeling this time around, especially compared to last semester.

Kaminari (and he wasn't the only one) had noticed the aura of enthusiasm around her. "So after all that time you spent freaking out you actually think you did good?"

"Yup," she said, glowing from head to toe. She wanted to thank Izuku, but doing it from all the way across the room might give the rest of her classmates a weird idea. So, on the way out, when Uraraka wasn't paying attention, she whispered a "thank you" in his ear, and when he turned around, the tips of his ears red, a blush rang true on her cheeks. After a moment of silence, she said, "We're still on for the beach, right?"

He went wide-eyed, and neither did he know how to answer her. He'd forgotten about the beach and assumed he wasn't the only one, but he wasn't all that surprised—she was such a sucker for social events, and she did have a pretty undeniable love for anything that had to do with ocean, even in the middle of March. So, despite how suddenly this had been thrown at him, he gave her a thumbs-up and hurried off to catch up with Iida and Uraraka.

~+~

Neither of them wanted to swim. It was far too cold, and Dagobah's waters were known for being chilly during the winter. Not only that, but after a stressful Finals week, all they really wanted to do was relax. So, without exchanging a word, they both came to the consecutive decision not to pack their bathing suits.

When Izuku made it downstairs, he realized for the very first time that Mina was alone. He had told her to invite other people, hadn't he? He even said it again after they woke up that one time from their late-night study sesh to head up to bed. Turns out that sleeping with your head on the table could get a little uncomfortable after a while. "So, um, where is everyone?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"The other people we were supposed to invite?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "We were supposed to invite people?"

"I thought—"

She faked an epiphany, finally knowing what to say. "O-Oh Um, honestly?" she laughed. "I forgot."

He was dense if he couldn't tell she was feigning how much she'd forgotten—she knew good and well what she was doing was wrong, but she just needed to be alone with him.