Uraraka found Bakugou in the common room venting his fury on a piece of paper and a pen he had already broken in half.
Naturally, the gravity had been told about what had happened in her absence and this knowledge had only strengthened her resolve. "Bakugou, I want to talk to you", she approached him. It was lunch break and the dorm was completely quiet—everyone was having lunch at the school canteen.
"What's shitty ballhead's name?", the addressed boy asked unimpressed, focused on the letter in front of him.
"Do you mean Mineta?" Uraraka noted that Bakugou hadn't even turned around—leaving her standing behind him. The situation was complicated enough already and the ash-blonde teen didn't make it any easier.
The gravity bender had promised herself she would stop hiding her feelings, that she would directly tell Bakugou how she felt."Why is changing myself so tough?", she thought hesitantly. For a moment Uraraka just watched the pen moving around the paper, leaving a black trail.
"I like you", Uraraka said suddenly. It was difficult and embarrassing and the words made the atmosphere more awkward than it already was. But she had done it, she had broken her old habits. Even if there were a hundred better ways to convey her feelings, even if she had made the awkwardness worse, Uraraka was optimistic that she had done the right thing.
Bakugou had heard her confession, only three words, equalling the number of words in his letter. Yet the explosive teen was unable to reply. What did "like" mean? He wanted to possess her, make her his, but at the same time, he was smart enough to know that he could never fully own her. "I'm not an object", her words echoed in his head. Then what was he supposed to do? This wasn't a battle where Bakugou could outsmart his enemy or win with brute force, it wasn't a situation which required strength, it required something else, something he was lacking.
"Bitch, go fucking back to class." His feelings didn't reach her; as friends, they understood each other, but now their connection was broken. There was a wall of glass between them, stopping Bakugou from replying properly. Remaining indifferent on the outside, Uraraka couldn't know how that on the inside, he was a mess.
The gravity girl let his words sink in. She had been brave, yet she had also been aware that there was a possibility of being rejected. After all, Uraraka had been the one to reject him first. Still, she was surprised how much his words impacted her, tears were forming in her eyes. "Yeah, I'll go." Without another word the girl left the room, not wanting Bakugou to see what he had done to her. If revealing her feelings hurt this much, maybe it had been the wrong decision.
"Bakugou, you idiot", Kirishima revealed himself as soon as the brunette was gone. He had come back from the school building to check on his friend, only to find himself eavesdropping on Uraraka's confession. "What did you do to her? Man, you like her—why didn't you tell her?"
"Go die", Bakugou replied. He was in a bad mood and the redhead questioning his behaviour only made it worse. "I'm going back to class, that crying idiot can eat his fucking letter now."
xxx
"Uraraka has been absent since lunch", Midoriya noted as school was over. The classroom felt empty without her and he stared at the girl's vacant desk.
"It must be because of the trouble with her homework", Iida concluded. "U.A. is no easy school, if she is falling behind now, Uraraka might not pass this year."
"I doubt that's the reason...", Midoriya mumbled to himself. In his head the black-haired boy replayed the events from last night, hoping to find a clue. He thought Uraraka had felt better after their nightly conversation, but evidently, something was still troubling her, and to a degree that would even cause her to miss class.
Te class president had already made up his mind. "Let's go and help her study. If she's in trouble, it is our duty to help her."
Midoriya agreed with the part that visiting Uraraka might help so he tagged along until the two guys reached the fourth floor of the dorm. Iida, carrying a pile of books, was optimistic that the problem could be solved easily.
Yet entering the girl's corridor proved to be more of a challenge than they had thought. The last time they had done this was when they had all been showcasing the room and the situation and at that time everyone, including the girls, had been with them.
"We should take off our shoes", Iida suggested, helplessly looking at the empty corridor in front of them.
"But we're already wearing slippers", Midoriya replied.
"We must respect the girl's corridor."
Luckily, their pointless discussion was interrupted by Ashido. "What are you guys doing here?", she asked curiously. Both guys noted that her shoes were anything but clean, the soles still muddy. Midoriya silently looked at his friend.
"We were worried as Uraraka was absent all afternoon", Iida explained, ignoring the other boy. "We thought she might need help with her homework."
"I was also worried", Ashido admitted. Swiftly, she grabbed the two guys and dragged them to Uraraka's room. "Let's find out."
The gravity girl was surprised to find the group knocking on her door. Having realised that Bakugou and her could never be together, she wasn't ready to face her classmates again. Yet Uraraka found herself opening the door, no longer wanting to worry her friends.
"Uraraka, we were worried about you, I brought some books to help you study", Iida explained. "Which subject do you have the most trouble with?"
"We really came because we were worried", Midoriya added seeing Uraraka's confused expression. Being in a girl's room for the first time, he felt nervous. "Are- are you alright?"
When things had been a mess with Deku, Uraraka had relied on Bakugou's strength to cover her weakness; now she would not make the same mistake again. The helping hand reaching out to her, the gravity girl had to brush it off. "I just had a headache", she laughed. "I'm sorry for worrying you."
Everyone was visibly relieved, but Uraraka knew that she had fallen back into her old habits. Being aspiring heroes, none of them had any time to waste on emotional tantrums, yet the girl also knew how hidden feelings could spiral out of control and cause suffering to those close to her. But why was changing so hard? "Actually, that's not it", Uraraka admitted. "I confessed to Bakugou and he rejected me."
Part of her expected her classmates to act the same way Bakugou had done, indifferent and ignoring her newly found openness. However, all Uraraka could see in their faces were surprise and sympathy.
"I had no idea!", Ashido was the most surprised out of them.
"I really thought he would like you back", Midoriya said. In his mind, he had already heard their wedding bells ringing—Uraraka, thought to be forever out of his reach, had now been catapulted back to his side. There was a tiny part of him that was happy about the development, but the feeling of guilt was overwhelmingly strong. After all, the black-haired boy had told Uraraka about Bakugou's likely affection towards her.
"Maybe he didn't understand what you meant?", Ashido asked. "Bakugou doesn't strike me as the most sensitive guy out there. Getting through to him without using your first might be impossible."
"I can't believe he treated you inappropriately", Iida commented after Uraraka had retold yesterday's events. "As the class president, it is my duty to go and talk to him."
"Talking to him won't solve anything", Midoriya objected. "But I also don't know what else we can do."
"Making him jealous!", Ashido suggested excitedly. "Midoriya, kiss her in front of Bakugou."
Uraraka had decided that she would never make Deku suffer again. "We can't do that."
"I agree", Iida said. "If we upset Bakugou too much, their lives might be in danger."
"How about going on a date with him?", Ashido offered. "I'm sure we can set something up and you two spending some time together might solve everything."
However, it was hard for all of them to imagine Bakugou on a date.
"I wonder what he would like to do? The amusement park?", Ashido continued. "I wonder if that guy has any hobbies?"
"Well, Ka-chan likes fighting and competing with others", Midoriya answered the pink girl's question.
"He is simple in that regard", Iida reflected.
"He's more than that!" Uraraka had only been close to him for two days yet she knew that there was more to Bakugou than just fighting. "His behaviour is vulgar, he's insensitive and gets violent easily, but there is so much more to him than just fighting." The girl didn't understand how the others couldn't see the layers of Bakugou's personality underneath his outward appearance. "He cares for those important to him and he always thinks things through. The reason he has top grades is because he actually reads a lot and the reason he is strong is because he trains more than anyone."
"As expected from our love-struck girl", Ashido smiled while putting one arm around Uraraka's shoulders. "But that doesn't help us, does it?"
"What if we ask All Might to repeat the training in the forest?", Midoriya suggested. "This was how it all started, wasn't it?"
"I'd rather not spend another night out in the wilderness, bitten by insects and scared about my life in the storm", Ashido rejected the idea. Nobody really wanted to repeat the events of that night ever again.
"How about recreating the experience in a safer environment?", Iida asked.
Ashido nodded. "That would totally work."
Uraraka had mostly just been listened to her classmates. Revealing the truth had been tough, but now everybody was working together to come up with a plan. She was happy that she had decided to trust her friends, although Bakugou's rejection still stung like a needle inside her heart
A sudden noise coming from the corridor stopped their discussion. "Hey, Bakugou, where are you going?", they heard Kirishima's voice. "That's not where our rooms are..."
"Quit whining", Bakugou's voice answered. "Which room is the bitch's one?"
Uraraka winced realising that he was looking for her.
"That guy has no respect for the girl's corridor", Iida whispered. "How could he enter so easily?"
"Dunno man", Kirishima replied. "When we moved in I saw everyone's room so I don't remember the exact location of hers."
"This one then."
