Izuku caught himself against the lockers, books weighing him back as his gaze fluttered over to Mina. She bumped into him accidentally when she'd rushed over to Ochaco's side.
"Sorry!" She yelped, pink contacts on full display from the shocked expression in her eyes. Ochaco looked startled too and her hand lifted to Deku's shoulder but the nerd's cheeks were flushed crimson. His head turned to the side as he took in a deep breath, an airy chuckle falling from his lips as he played the situation off well enough.
Katsuki stood with Kirishima and Denki at the other end of their school hallway, both boys focused on a conversation Katsuki hadn't been paying attention to.
Mina had been walking with them until now.
He watched the exchange with raised eyebrows. How obviously Izuku was flustered by a woman had Katsuki clenching his fist in irritation. Not because he was jealous of the effects Mina had on him but because it meant his advances weren't working. Or at least they weren't working well enough.
His mind drifted back to nights previous and something in him put out the fire churning in his gut.
"What?"
Izuku laughed with raised eyebrows and averted eyes. His chuckle was light and he seemed uncomfortable, but Katsuki refused to let up.
He didn't believe the jumbled words falling from the nerd's mouth. Deku? In a band? How stupid did he think Katsuki was?
"Yeah, it happened a couple months ago. Mostly by accident.."
Katsuki had been playing into Deku's games all night. Whether it was the drowsiness from the circumstances or the hit to his head that had him acting differently, he couldn't tell you. But right now, he came to the conclusion that this was what had to be done if he wanted to win the bet.
Swallowing his pride and leaning close to Izuku and farther out the window, he gripped his window cile with a firm grip and said, "Do you really expect me to believe that?"
Izuku looked struck, dark olive eyes widened and mouth slightly agape. It took a lot of strength for Katsuki not to laugh.
"I-i'm telling the truth! It's me, Jirou, Momo, and Shinso! We go practice at Momo's house every Sunday, I have no reason to lie to you."
Izuku pouted at the smug look on Katsuki's face. Jirou did mention she was in a band, but he never would've expected the nerd to be a part of it. "And what instrument do you play?"
At that, the nerd blushed. His body had gravitated back towards the window and Katsuki mentally cheered himself on at that simple fact. He could draw Deku right back in with ease.
"I-I actually sing..."
"Ooo do you now?" Katsuki was smirking now, eyes blown into a mischievous stare that had Izuku latching on to his every word. Katsuki pulled himself into the house just as Izuku had done and leaned out, mimicking the boy's stance as half his body practically reached towards Deku's.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Izuku challenged, eyes set in a newly determined stare.
"It's just, I've heard you sing. You're not that good."
Katsuki snickered at the gasp he heard as he quickly escaped Izuku's verbal insults and shut his window tight. Peeking out, he watched as the nerd grumbled, doing the same as Katsuki and slamming his window for good measure.
The blond would be nervous if he hadn't been joking. Izuku is a great singer, Katsuki would know.
He was snapped from his thoughts when a heavy hand clapped his shoulder.
"Bakubro! You good man?"
Kirishima was grinning as he regained Katsuki's attention. Shrugging him off, the baseball player grunted at his friend and pulled the strap of his bag further on his shoulder.
Instead of focusing on the nerd for any more time, the boy led the way to his class, to which Denki and Kirishima just so happened to follow.
『• • • ✎ • • •』
Izuku stood with his head down, dark eyes droopy as he held back a yawn.
He was exhausted. After his night of fun this past Saturday, Izuku had spent the rest of his weekend helping his mother prepare for their first days of school. He'd been scolded Sunday morning by his mother and he'd been grounded for two months, but there wasn't much else besides that. His mother had always been on and off with his punishments. They were rational and never lasted very long if the situation called for it (which it usually did. Izuku was a good kid). Most of the time, Izuku felt so bad he didn't ask for much anyway. He assumed she also felt bad, and a lot of the time they'd make up in a tearful reunion full of apologies and promises to be better next time.
He was always down to help his mother during this time of the year, so it wasn't much of a punishment. It was sort of tradition for the two of them to decorate her classroom together, but his personal opinion was requested more than usual this time around.
Interestingly enough, she wasn't as mad as Izuku would've expected her to be.
Inko was going to be the senior history teacher this year and as glad as she was to be teaching seniors, she was even more delighted about the fact that she was teaching an advanced placement class, otherwise known as an AP class. The reason Izuku assumed she was more enthusiastic this time was because she'd be teaching her beloved son.
Izuku on the other hand wasn't that thrilled.
He loved his mother, adored her to the ends of the earth, but she could be a bit much sometimes.
Like when she taught him in his ninth grade year and babied him like no other. He still remembers the bullying that ensued from his mother cooing and praising him in the middle of a lecture about a simple correct answer. Izuku shivered at the thought, it was traumatizing.
No, he loved his mother, but as his teacher, she was a nightmare.
A hand shot out in front of Izuku and knocked him from his trance, stopping him from walking any further and in turn stopping him from daydreaming.
"I need to stop at my locker before class."
The greenie was disoriented from Shouto's abrupt entrance to his thoughts. The taller boy was looking down at Izuku expectantly, mix-matched eyes staring down at him with a blank look he couldn't find it in himself to decipher this time around.
Too tired to comment, Izuku found himself following the duel-haired boy to his locker without protest, not that he had anything to argue against in the first place.
Shouto wasn't very talkative. Izuku was the one who held that crown in their relationship and tended to be the one to bring the boy out of his shell. In their group, Izuku and Ochaco were the power duo fueling their group into doing things the other two wouldn't normally do.
So now, he was sort of grateful for the lack of conversation his friend brought on. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Shouto, he just didn't have the energy.
Instead of doing something so taxing, Izuku let his eyes wander. His gaze fluttered down the emptying hallways. They only had a couple minutes before the bell was supposed to go off. Although he wasn't in a rush, Shouto would have to make this quick if they wanted to get to their third period class without being reprimanded for their tardiness. It was rare for Izuku to be late to class, and on his first day of senior year looked bad, but the greenette couldn't find it within himself to care.