Hizashi absentmindedly stared at his math textbook. None of the formulas or exercise explanations were making any sense to him. But then again, Hizashi wasn't really focused on his homework. Instead, he was thinking about his best friend, Shouta.

Or more recently, he discovered, his newfound growing crush on his childhood best friend. The thought made Hizashi's face heat up as he groaned and slammed his head onto his desk, knocking over some stacked CDs he had been organizing a few minutes earlier.

It was almost the end of their first semester at UA and in those few months he spent with Shouta, Hizashi started noticing things he hadn't thought much about until reuniting with him. It began during their first week when their class had gone through one-on-one battle simulations. Hizashi was bouncing on his heels, trying to stifle his excitement at seeing how Shouta's opponent fell apart after being affected by his best friend's quirk.

But as the battle drew out with the odds being clearly in Shouta's favor, Hizashi started noticing how smooth and fluid Shouta moved, seemingly dodging attacks with little to no effort. When Shouta activated his quirk, his dark black hair would sweep up with his capture weapon, flowing like dancing ribbons. The spark of red that flashed behind those yellow goggles made Hizashi fidget as he watched his friend successfully finish the simulation with his opponent detained in his gray scarf.

Shouta was amazing, cool and smart. Hizashi had always known this, but something else came to mind after watching that battle.

Shouta was… beautiful.

Hizashi may have squeaked when Shouta made his way next to him, so lost in thought that he jumped when he was lightly tapped on the shoulder. Hizashi quickly buried his confused musings and turned to give his best friend an enthusiastic high five. Shouta scoffed and returned it with a lethargic tap, a soft smile peeking out from under his large scarf. Hizashi hadn't even realized that he had been staring until Shouta elbowed him in the ribs, reminding him to pay attention to the other simulation battles.

After that, Hizashi couldn't help but steal glances at Shouta whenever he had the chance. He noticed how his friend had a baby face, accentuated particularly when he was asleep. His hardened features were relaxed, showing off how round and smooth his face looked. It was far more adorable than Hizashi was willing to admit.

Hizashi had always felt triumphant whenever he managed to get Shouta to laugh, even if it was a small chuckle. But now whenever he'd hear Shouta's tiny little snorts of concealed laughter, Hizashi would feel his chest grow tight and his palms would get sweaty. He would immediately avert his gaze, trying to hide the soft blush that dusted his cheeks after seeing something so ridiculously simple and normal and… cute.

This was bad. This was really, really bad.

Hizashi let out a strangled moan, running his hand through his hair in defeat. He heard a soft meow, turning to see his black house cat, staring at him with twitching ears.

"I think we both like Shouta a little too much, Oreo." Hizashi groaned, burying his face into his hands. The cat responded by jumping onto Hizashi's bed, walking around in a circle on his covers before promptly plopping down on his pillow.

With an exaggerated sigh, Hizashi pushed aside his math textbook and blindly groped for his phone. Feeling the plastic at the tip of his fingers, he dragged it towards him, flipping it open to look through his contacts.

(5:34) Hey, Nemuri! Are you busy? If you're not, can we meet up at a coffee shop or something? I need help with something.

After sending the text, Hizashi felt his phone vibrate.

(5:35) Sure. What's up? You have some boy troubles you want to talk about? ;)

Hizashi sputtered, nearly dropping his phone from embarrassment.

(5:37) What?! I didn't even mention what I wanted to talk about!

(5:38) Your defensive response tells me I hit the nail right on the head, sweetheart.

(5:39) There was nothing defensive about it!

(5:39) ;)

(5:40) Are you busy or not?

(5:41) Someone's in a hurry to get laid tonight. ;)

Hizashi nearly screamed, ready to throw his phone out the window until he felt it vibrate again.

(5:42) Is the coffee shop two blocks away from your place alright?

(5:44) Yeah, I'll see you there in 15 minutes.

Hizashi flipped his phone shut and quickly changed into a loose jacket and some jeans. If he was really going through with this, this would be the first time he would have ever shared his deep secret of crushing on his childhood best friend with someone. He severely hoped that he hadn't just made things worse for himself.

After meeting up with Nemuri and taking fifteen minutes to compose himself and nearly screaming "I THINK I LIKE SHOUTA", Hizashi found himself wheezing as if he had just run a marathon.

Nemuri casually took a sip of her latte.

"Sweetie, I know."

"YOU WHAT?" Hizashi screamed, nearly knocking over his drink from the mere sound of his voice. He sheepishly sank into his seat as the customers glared at him for his sudden outburst.

"How do I put this," Nemuri hummed, stirring her drink with a spoon, completely unfazed from the increased volume. "I knew that you had a crush on Shouta before you even realized it yourself. But to be honest, everyone saw this coming already."

Hizashi had to fight off the urge to huddle into a little ball and explode from embarrassment.

"Okay, well that's just peachy and all, but what am I suppose to do now?" Hizashi sulked, tugging at the flaps of his jacket from nervousness.

"Just tell him how you feel."

"It's not that simple, Nemuri!" Hizashi exclaimed. Receiving a few more glares from the table next to him, he took a deep breath to calm his quirk. "What if he doesn't take it well? Being rejected is one thing, but losing our friendship would ruin everything for me."

"Look, Shouta's a bit… unorthodox at times so it makes him a bit harder to read, but I wouldn't be surprised if he returned your feelings," Nemuri said, pointing her spoon at Hizashi to force him to look up at her.

"And to have a confession ruin what you have already, I would have thought that your relationship would be a little stronger than that. You've been friends since elementary school and you two practically fought tooth and nail to get into UA together. Don't you think you should have a little more faith in him?" Nemuri sighed, leaning her head onto the palm of her hand.

"I guess, but still," Hizashi muttered. "I like what we have now."

The sudden thought of never being able to talk to Shouta again made Hizashi's stomach turn. It had been hard enough having to keep in contact through letters and phone calls after Shouta was forced to move to another city.

"Then what do you want to do, Hizashi? Keep your relationship at the level that it's at right now or take a shot at advancing it further?" Nemuri challenged, licking her spoon as she watched Hizashi's eyebrows knit together in frustration.

Hizashi groaned and ran his hand through his hair.

"I want him to like me back," he finally admitted. "I want to be able to tell him how I feel and have him tell me he likes me, too."

"And you really think there isn't a possibility of him returning your feelings right now?" Nemuri sighed, leaning more heavily onto her hand.

"Well it's not like I've tried to make him like me yet!" Hizashi exclaimed, gripping his paper cup as he tried to control his volume.

"Being inseparable since elementary school doesn't count?"

"That's… different. When I was eight, I wanted him to be my friend, not my boyfriend." Hizashi gritted his teeth as his ears turned red from just mentioning the b-word.

He huffed at Nemuri, who seemed to be enjoying his turmoil. He took a sip of his drink and slammed it onto the table, green eyes staring directly at the upperclassman.

"Nemuri, if you liked someone, what would you do to win them over?"

Hizashi felt instant regret the moment he asked that question to the aspiring R-18 hero who answered with a seductive wink.

"Er, umm… I mean… to be clear, I meant something that wouldn't be borderline sexual harassment. I don't want him to get the wrong idea."

"So you don't want something 'more' from him?" Nemuri teased, licking her lips as Hizashi nearly popped the lid off of his paper cup from gripping it too tightly.

"Th-that's not what I'm aiming for, Nemuri!" Hizashi yelled, feeling his cheeks heat up. Honestly just the thought of holding Shouta's hand was enough to make him break out into a nervous sweat. There was no way he could go further than that without fainting right now.

"You're such a kill joy. But I guess there are a few things you could do that doesn't involve taking off your pants," Nemuri purred, enjoying the view of a flustered Hizashi who had let out a high-pitched squeak. Nemuri's glass cup cracked at the edge as everyone in the café winced at the shrill sound.

After finally getting kicked out from the coffee shop, Hizashi was forced to continue the conversation at his place. He prayed that he wouldn't break a window after hearing Nemuri's advice. Hizashi would also never hear the end of it if his parents heard him screaming with a guest in his room. He'd never be allowed to be alone with someone in his room ever again.