"Wh–what?"

"I like you," I repeated, self-conscious but determined.

"But I…"

"Like Ochaco who likes Midoriya. I know," I finished for him. "That doesn't change the fact that I like you."

"I'm s–" I used my other hand to cover his mouth, cutting off the rejection he was no doubt preparing.

The lollipop clattered to the floor. Sero exhaled through his nose, his breath warm against my hand and I felt a trail of goosebumps rise along my arm.

"Please don't," I whispered. "I didn't tell you because I wanted an answer."

'Then why?' his wide eyes asked me and I smiled sadly.

"I want you to notice me. Because of your crush on Ochaco, you don't even realize that I exist but I do. I want you to know that I'm here and that I like you. That I see you the way she doesn't."

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to the back of my hand, trying to imagine what it would be like to kiss him without a barrier. I felt his face grow impossibly warmer beneath my palm when I pulled back.

"Notice me," I repeated, releasing him.

Sero was watching me with wide eyes, his mouth open in shock and I had to force myself to stand before I could give in to my own desires and kiss him for real. I fled the common area and didn't stop running until I was inside my room. Locking the door behind me, I jumped onto my bed and buried my face into the pillow.

I did it! I confessed! And I kind of kissed him too. Squealing into the pillow, I grabbed the stuffed rhino sitting at the top of my bed and clutched it to my chest. I kept replaying his stunned expression to my confession. Tomorrow would be really awkward. Would he avoid me?

As I came off my high and that day's events really settled down in my mind, I blanched. I confessed to Sero and I kind of kissed him too. Oh, boy.

I didn't see Sero at dinner nor at breakfast the next morning. He wasn't in the classroom when we got there. I bit the inside of my cheek, worried. Surely my confession hadn't upset him to the point that he felt the need to skip an entire day of classes?

Sero entered the class the second the bell rang and I sighed in relief. I wasn't surprised to note that he was avoiding looking at me. I kind of figured that would happen and I'd made my peace with it. The ball was in his court now and it was up to him to make up his mind – is what I wanted to tell myself but I couldn't help my fingers nervously drumming against my desk. When I confessed, it was with the thought that if he was aware of me, he would have to consider me. But what if he didn't like what he saw?

I was friendly and energetic, sure, but not cute and bubbly like Ochaco. I had a sense of humor but not her air-headed charm. Where she was petite and curvy, I was tall and lean. Rough around the edges and brash enough to run around in my underwear during a training exercise or confess in a public space while practically stealing a kiss.

What if my actions turned him away from me instead of getting him interested? I buried my face in my hands with a groan. I really hadn't thought any of this through.

The classroom door slipped open and Present Mic stormed inside, loudly announcing that it was time to learn some English. I peeked at Sero between my fingers, noticing the way he'd drawn his shoulders up, as if he was bracing himself against something. He was without writing tools again. So he really was just that distracted and it had nothing to do with finding an excuse to talk to Ochaco.

I picked up the pencil I had lent him last time but hesitated. He probably wouldn't want something from me right now. I debated with myself a second longer before coming to a decision. Passing it to him through our classmates was a no-no as was teleporting it directly to his desk. Which left me with one last option.

Activating my Quirk, I teleported the pencil right next to his seat, high enough in the air that the clatter could be heard when it fell. As expected, the pencil rolled under Midoriya's desk.

"You dropped this," he said as he picked it up and handed it to Sero, who opened his mouth to tell him otherwise but no words came out.

He shot me a quick glance and I pretended to be focused on the blackboard. My stomach did a happy flip when his fingers wrapped around the pencil.

"Yo, Midoriya, you look like you're full of energy!" Present Mic hollered. "Come solve this problem then!"

I sent a mental apology Midoriya's way for getting him in trouble.

PE class that day was fairly straightforward: an all-out relay race with permission to use our Quirks. Shoji, who'd sprained his ankle during yesterday's hero training exercise had to sit it out, which left us with an even number. We were to make four teams of five according to our seating order. Since Shoji was out, I took his spot in the same team as Kyoka, Sero, Tokoyami, and Todoroki. I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to bless or curse the universe for this turn of events.

The rules were simple: as long as we followed the track, we were allowed to use our Quirks however we pleased. The winning team would get to choose that night's meal that the losing team would have to prepare. It was a simple motivating factor but it was enough. We were given five minutes to work out our strategy.

"I'll go last," I said and the others nodded.

No matter how much we fell behind, my Teleportation Quirk would allow me to close the distance in a blink of an eye.

"I'll be first then," Kyoka said with a sigh, her Quirk the least adequate for mobility.

Tokoyami would be second. Sero offered to go third but Todoroki shook his head, saying it would be better for him to be fourth. They bickered back and forth for a short while but in the end, Sero had to admit defeat as Todoroki wouldn't budge. Not once during the exchange did he look at me and no matter how often I told myself it was to be expected and he needed time to process, it still stung.

I watched as Kyoka took the starting position ahead of me in lane four, between Koda and Toru. When the starting signal was given, she sprinted full speed ahead and was second to reach her relay just behind Ochaco. Tokoyami was no less motivated and thanks to Dark Shadow's ability to extend out of his body, he quickly passed the baton onto Todoroki, who then used his ice to slide all the way to Sero.

I waited for him with Bakugou hollering impatiently to my left and Ojiro poised to sprint to my right. Iida occupied the first lane and of the three, he was the most likely to pass us. Luckily, Sero was still in the lead so we had a pretty good chance at winning this. I reached behind me, ready to grasp the baton. I felt its cool surface against my palm but before I could curl my fingers around it, Sero let go.

I whipped my head around in time to see it fall under Midoriya's foot, who accidentally kicked it away. Cursing, I scrambled to grab it but the others had already overtaken us. As soon as I picked it up, I teleported as close to the finish line as I could, jumping over it half a second before Ojiro and securing third place. I watched as Iida's relay partners joined him to celebrate their win.

"What just happened?" Kyoka asked as she joined us with Tokoyami and Todoroki.

"Bad relay," I said simply to avoid admitting the truth which was that Sero had balked at the mere idea of touching me.

Again, the realization stung. Pushing myself upright, I dusted my gym clothes off and flashed them a small smile.

"On the bright side, at least we didn't lose."

My relay mates weren't very impressed with that statement but at least they weren't angry either. We joined our respective groups of friends and I only half-listened to Mina excitedly listing the food she wanted to eat that night.

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