Next To Me

Chapter 2: Alley

Updated: 24/09/2023

The school day soon came to an end, much to [Y/n]'s enjoyment. The morning's intensity and tension diffused down by the middle of the day and soon, everyone seemed to forget what happened that morning. 

Everyone except [Y/n], Izuku, and Katsuki that is. 

Katsuki refused to say anything to [Y/n] for the entire school day, only ever glaring over his shoulder at her once in a while. Which she would ignore. 

Most of their classmates had already left the classroom by the time [Y/n] started packing her books into her backpack when she heard Izuku muttering to himself beside her. He had been scrolling through the news on his phone for almost the entire day.

"Hey, Izuku," [Y/n] said, grabbing his attention "Do you wanna walk home together?" She asked, tilting her head and giving him a closed-eyed smile.

Izuku's face immediately erupted in a harsh blush. He scratched the back of his head nervously. 

"W-well actually, y-you see I was planning on staying back after school for a little bit to finish updating my journal from t-today's events. N-NOT TO SAY THAT I DON'T WANT TO WALK WITH YOU, I-I JUST, WAnted to you know, um...finish what I was doing before I forget about it." Izuku explained, flailing his arms around frantically in front of [Y/n].

[Y/n] giggled at his nervousness, but couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. 

"That's okay, Izuku! You don't have to explain yourself; I get it!" [Y/n] reassured. This earned a soft sigh of relief from the tense boy. "I'll see ya later!" she said, throwing her backpack over one shoulder. She gave him a small wave goodbye as she began to walk towards the door.

Katsuki and two of his friends had been hanging around the doorway, waiting for everyone to leave. Katsuki's friends were busy talking about God knows what, while he had been trying to listen in on what [Y/n] and Izuku had been talking about. Why did he care? He didn't know. He didn't even realize he was listening in until their conversation was over. As [Y/n] approached the doorway, Katsuki's friends fell silent. [Y/n] glanced up at Katsuki as she slipped through the door, giving him a small smile and slight nod before disappearing into the crowded hallway. Katsuki clicked his tongue and looked away, a small blush creeping onto his cheeks.

~

The city's shopping district was full of people that afternoon. The sun was shining bright, warming the exposed skin of pedestrians and inviting people to spend time outside. [Y/n] was no exception. When she returned to her apartment, she discovered she was completely out of food, and decided it was a perfect afternoon to go grocery shopping at the local farmers market. Strolling slowly down the market, her (f/c) dress swayed slightly, as she looked thoughtfully at each produce stand and ran through recipes and ingredients in her head.

Unbeknownst to [Y/n], Katsuki and his two friends were standing in a nearby alley. Katsuki had been complaining about Izuku for quite some time, while his friends just listened. He angrily kicked a plastic soda bottle that still had some thick green liquid inside it.

"Hey, I got an idea!" One of his friends suddenly said, "we should go to the arcade, get your mind off Midoriya, ya know?"

"Or," His other friend suggested with a smirk "we can sneak into the bar at the station, pick up some ladies."

Before Katsuki was able to yell at his friends about how idiotic that idea was, he noticed one of them looking off into the street.

"Hey speaking of ladies, isn't that [L/n] [Y/n] over there?"

Katsuki instantly turned around to see where his friend had been looking. [Y/n] was standing on the other side of the street at a fresh produce stand talking to the owner. She held a large woven basket in both hands, smiling as she spoke with the woman. Her (f/c) dress and (h/c) hair slightly swaying in the breeze. [Y/n]'s (s/c) skin looked so soft and smooth in the summer sun. Katsuki couldn't help but stare for a few lingering moments.