highway

Thing [chapter 8]

Never in his life had Katsuki been so horrified.

He walked into his room, and all he could see was a bunch of ripped up canvases and his best friend painting something aggressively. Stepping over the mess, he cautiously sat down at his bed, afraid that if he made too much noise she would lose her shit.

There was an evident frown on her face, and her eyebrows were pinched so tightly together they almost looked like a unibrow. Yeah, Katsuki was afraid, but the only way to even make an attempt at calming her down was by conversation. It took Katsuki way more deep breaths and extra long pep talks than it should've before he was able to let words spill from his mouth.

"How are you doing on this fine day?" Katsuki asked, clearing his throat.

Her eye twitched at the question. "Fine," she said through gritted teeth. "Perfectly fine!" Then the pencil she was using to sketch out her drawing ripped through the canvas.

Katsuki watched as she took in a deep breath, letting out an exhale much longer. That long exhale turned into a scream of agitation. Then the girl was still for a moment, and then she wasn't. In one swift motion, she grabbed the canvas from her easel and smashed it down on the floor.

"For the sake of my floor, I'm going to have to ask you to step out from behind your easel," Katsuki had his brows raised. She did as asked, angrily flopping down face-first next to him with a grunt. "That wasn't an invitation to get your crusty germs on my bed."

The girl craned her neck just to glare at him. In response, Katsuki stuck his hands up in the air as if to say he was apologizing. A silence settled over the two of them, but for the first time ever, it was an uncomfortable one.

"Do you..." Katsuki paused, thinking of something. "Do you wanna go to the mall?"

Her glare lessened, "Are you paying?"

Katsuki nodded, "Whatever you want." His parents were going to kill him when they saw their credit card bill this month. For her though, it was worth it.

"Deal," she forced out in an almost skeptical tone.

He gave her a curt nod, and then the two of them were getting up to prepare to leave. Katsuki put on a better outfit, and she sat there and looked pretty. The pair went downstairs after Katsuki was finally able to find an outfit they both approved of, walking past the living room where Mitsuki was preparing lunch. The mother watched as the two kids started to put on their shoes.

"Hey!" she threw a spatula at her kid. Her arms crossed and a brow raised when she got an angered look in return. "Where are you two headed? I'm about to be done with lunch."

Katsuki picked the spatula up, throwing it right back at his mother who readily dodged it. He spoke through gritted teeth, "We're going to the mall."

"Oh, yeah?" she asked. "I'm assuming the two of you will be eating there."

"Indubitably," the girl nodded her head with the first smile to grace her face that whole day.

Mitsuki huffed a laugh, "And where did you learn that word?" The woman grabbed a nearby towel, wiping her hands of the left over water they had on them. She'd just have to put away the lunch for them to eat it tomorrow.

"From your one and only son!" the girl did jazz hands.

The woman shook her head in amusement, "Alright, well you two have fun. And bring me home something!"

Then they were let off to head to the mall. Which they did. It took a quick walk down to the station, a few train switches, and an extra block or two of walking until they arrived at the bustling shopping center.