How to Lose a Friend

Monday - 4 Days Until Christmas

Mina was stunned to find Roan waiting for her in broad daylight after class. He wasn't pressed against the school building like a gargoyle fixture for once. He was at the bottom of the stairs, in the open. And to make matters weirder, he looked at her and smiled when she saw him.

"Are you broken?" she asked as she met up with him.

"You know, it's reactions like that that make it hard for me to open up to people."

"Was that… an actual joke?" She giggled when she caught the twinkle in his eye.

"Yes," he affirmed with a smirk. "It's not hard for me to open up to people at all."

Mina laughed out loud. "What's up with you, today? Are you that excited for Uwabami's interview tonight?"

He nodded, his expression as close to 'glee' as possible on his face. "Finally," he said, "this stupid contract is going to pay off."

"It already paid off!" She winked. "In chocolate!"

"I don't care what you say, I'm not getting you chocolate."

"Meanie!"

He walked her to her dorm with an uncharacteristic amount of pep in his step. And instead of immediately ditching her the moment they were near the entrance, he stood still, hands in his pockets and gaze flicking from her face to his shoes then back up.

After waiting for him to speak for a few moments, she finally asked, "What's up?"

He met her gaze briefly before hanging his head and shielding his eyes with his hair.

I don't get it. He seemed super excited a second ago. Now, he's back to being mopey?

"Roan?" She bent over to make a dramatic show of looking up at his face behind the curtain of hair. "Heeeey~ You okay in there?"

She thought for a moment that she saw a hint of color touch his cheeks, but he quickly cleared his throat and straightened up. "...you want… come to… room?"

Mina had gotten pretty good at deciphering his mumble-speech, but she was sure she heard him wrong this time. "What was that?"

He let out a soft sigh before trying again. "Do you want to… come to my room later?"

She blinked, feeling heat touch her cheeks and her stomach do a little dance at the question. "Seriously?"

He shrugged. "Don't get any dumb ideas," he said, carefully. "It's just to watch the interview. Not… an open invitation for you to come over whenever you want."

"Hol' up!" She held her hand up as excitement sparked inside of her. "You're inviting me over to watch Uwabami's interview with you? For realsies?"

He nodded. "You're the one who… you know… set it up. So, I thought…" He suddenly winced as if he was realizing he'd made a mistake. "Never mind."

"No takesie backsies!" she said with a grin.

"Why are you suddenly talking like that?" he groaned. "I do take it back."

"Nuh uh!" She fist-pumped. "It's a date! The interview is at six, so I'll be by at around 5:30, kay? I'll bring us snackies!"

"If you add 'sies' to one more word, I won't let you in."

She smiled ear-to-ear. "Okay, Ro-Ro. See you later, then~"

He nodded, and she could tell he was trying to mask a smile.

She walked inside the dorm feeling light and airy. Maybe it was just for a boring interview and five second shout out to his website, but the thought of watching it with him was exhilarating. It was probably because of his child-like enthusiasm. She wanted to see how he would react when his survey was mentioned. Would he grin? Tear up? Jump to his feet in joy? Pull her in for a victory hug?

Definitely not the last thing.

Still, his success really did feel like her success, too. She was happy for him.

She went to her room, changed out of her school clothes into a long-sleeved sweater, leggings, and boots, then went downstairs to hunt for "snackies." Roan was so easy to please. All she really needed was a veggie plate with cherry tomatoes and he'd be set. She wanted junk food though, and found some pocky sticks and peppermint bark which she confiscated. She wondered for the thousandth time if Roan really hated chocolate, or if he'd been acting stubborn. If he really didn't want her treats, she could always take them back. Seeing as no one would be buying her Christmas chocolates anyway.

After stocking up on the non-refrigerated foods, she plopped onto the couch next to Jiro to watch the latest episode of a singing competition.

For once, Mina's laughter at Jiro's comments was completely genuine. The joy she felt wasn't faked. It didn't feel like she had to keep up appearances today. She was genuinely peppy. Genuinely bubbly. Genuinely happy.

And why? Because of the business-course boy who let her sleep on his bed and invited her to his room for celebratory snacking? Maybe… Roan did make it easy to forget about her other problems, like the friendship she had with Ochaco which was barely hanging on by threads—or her other, more glaring issue with Kirishima.

Kirishima…

The thought of his name knocked her mood down a couple of notches. She shook her head. Tonight wasn't the time for that kind of thinking. Tonight belonged to Roan Fujinari.

Or, at least, that's what she thought.

But then…

"Yo, Ashido! How goes it?"

She squeaked in surprise when Kirishima's head popped up next to her as he propped his elbows on the back of the couch. He was wearing a headband and a dorky grin that made her heart stop beating.

"Sup, pal?" she said, without missing a beat, even though her nerves were suddenly screaming.

"Hey," Jiro greeted him, too.

"You guys look cozy," he commented, with a glance up at the tv screen.

"If you're here to take over the tv, you can have it in like five minutes," Jiro said. "We just want to see who won."

"Nah, I was actually wondering if you wanna hang out with me, Ashido." His grin should have been illegal.

"Me? W-What?" She gestured to herself, feeling suddenly flushed.

"Yeah! You still have Dance Dance Rebellion, right? Want to take me on? I'll for sure beat you this time!"

Her heart was pounding so hard that it felt like her ribs would break. "Really?"

"Sure, why not? We haven't had time to hang out much lately, and I'm feelin' pumped for some DDR!" He flexed his arm and showed off his bicep as if to enunciate his point.

Mina felt Jiro's eyes on her, and the other girl's expression was unreadable.

"Wait, what about Kanzashi?" Mina asked, quickly. "You mean to tell me you're not hanging out with her today?"

He slumped on the back of the couch with a pout. "No… She volunteered to help in the study hall today. Guess she's helping some first-years complete their final projects. Once a tutor, always a tutor."

"Let's hope she doesn't get swept up by another dorky first-year kid, then," Jiro teased.

"As if!" Kirishima stood up straight. "I'm the manliest first-year here, so there's no way she'd dump me! I hope…"

Mina would have laughed, but the conversation was making her feel wobbly and confused and hot all over.

"So, how 'bout it?" He addressed her again. "Wanna play?"

"Yeah! Totally! I—" She stopped mid-sentence and looked at the clock.

The interview… Roan…

She suddenly felt like she was being ripped in half. Her mind was already trying to devise a way to split time effectively so that she could spend it with both of them. There was still an hour and a half until she promised to be there. That was definitely enough time to play a game with Kirishima. But then she'd get sweaty and have to shower afterward, and there was a really good chance she'd lose track of time. And she wanted to eat dinner before she went to see Roan since they were just going to be snacking.

But the whole reason I'm with Roan in the first place is to get to Kirishima.

Who knew when she'd have another opportunity like this? Then again, she did have her half of the contract to uphold with Roan. But, then again, her agreement to help him with his project didn't include a clause that required her to be present for the interview.

"Whoa, Ashido, you're totally spacing," Jiro snickered.

"Oh, right, sorry!"

Kirishima was still looking at her with big, puppy-dog eyes. But his hopeful expression just reminded her even more of Roan. Of the excitement he'd displayed during their walk to the dorm. She'd never seen him look that happy. Kirishima, on the other hand… he was pretty much always happy. Her choice to reject him wouldn't hurt him nearly as much as if she rejected Roan. In theory, at least…

But Kirishima finally wanted her. He was looking her in the eyes and asking to spend time with her. Not Kanzashi. Not even Jiro who was sitting right next to them.

He wants me.

"Kirishima, I…" she swallowed the lump in her throat. "I… can't."

His eyes widened, drawing her attention to his scar, momentarily. "Why not?" he asked.

"I have other plans. I'm so sowwy!" She clasped her hands and squinted her eyes shut. "Forgive me, pleeeeaaaase? Can I get a rain check? We could totes do it tomorrow!"

He blinked, and for the tiniest moment, she wondered if he was going to be upset. A dark, unnourished thing inside of her kind of wished he would be. If he did get upset, then it meant that he cared about this more than she'd realized. That he cared about her more than she'd realized. But then, he grinned again and shrugged. "No problem! I'm sure I can get Bakugo to train with me instead. Maybe if I send Midoriya to talk to him first, it'll get him nice and heated for a good brawl!" He punched the air in excitement.

"Good luck with that!" Mina said, as her heart splintered.

"Cool~ Enjoy the rest of your show!"

With that, Eijiro Kirishima was gone, and he left with some of the resolve she'd been carefully constructing for the past two weeks.

She was silent as the episode ended. She was too unfocused to even pay attention to who the winner was. Her thoughts were incoherent buzzing in her skull until she heard Jiro talking to her.

"Hey," she said. "I heard from Hagakure that you're seeing someone. Do you really think chilling in your room with Kirishima is cool if you're already dating some other guy? I mean, I get that you two are childhood friends and everything, but…"

Mina shook her head. "I told him no. Besides, Kirishima's dating someone too, and that didn't stop him from asking."

"I guess, but…" Jiro stood up. "He's Kirishima. He's kind of… dense, you know? Like a rock or something." She giggled at her pun. "Anyway, it's not any of my business. Later."

Mina watched her walk away and sighed. She didn't know how she was supposed to feel or what she was supposed to be doing. Had she made the right choice? Would she regret this forever?

"Mina?" Ochaco's soft voice interrupted her thoughts. She was walking over from the kitchen with a knowing expression. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I…" She caught Ochaco's guarded look and sighed again. She couldn't keep lying to her. "I've been better," she said, honestly. "I just turned down hanging out with Kirishima."

"Really?" Ochaco's eyes widened. "Why?"

"Because I… promised Roan I'd hang out with him today." Mina put her head in her hands. "I don't even know what I'm doing anymore."

"It's okay…" Ochaco gently rubbed her back with her palm. "You'll figure it out. At least you and Fujinari are getting along, right?"

"Yeah… I guess, so." Mina took a deep breath, then forced a wide smile. "You know what? I can't be sad about this! Today is about Roan and his project! I'm gonna make sure he has the best afternoon ever, and then I can worry about all this sad stuff later!"

Ochaco nodded, a smile touching her lips. "I think that's a great idea!"

"Ochaco, if you were an emo, mopey boy with social anxiety, would you A - eat chocolates your fake girlfriend bought you, or B - throw them in the garbage? Don't laugh, it's a serious question!"

The two girls were still giggling when a new voice joined in, this one strained.

"Ashido?"

She looked up to find Yaoyarozu standing in the doorway. Her hands were clasped and brows pulled together in a nervous expression.

"What's up?" Mina asked feeling anxiety form in her own stomach.

"I just found out. I'm so sorry…" Her eyes were apologetic.

She didn't have to speak for Mina to know exactly what she was going to say. The knot of anxiety quickly morphed into dread.

"Uwabami isn't going to mention Fujinari's survey in her interview."

"You're late."

Roan smiled at Mina in the hallway beyond his open door. He didn't give her a chance to respond as he flung the door all the way open, then quickly returned to his desk chair to continue watching the Uwabami interview.

"Roan… I tried to call and text you, but you didn't answer." She stepped inside of his room, slowly, and shut the door.

He looked at his phone on the edge of his desk, face-down and plugged into his charger. "It doesn't matter now," he said, gesturing for her to sit. "Come on, it started five minutes early!"

His whole body was jittery with nerves. His stomach twisted and flopped almost uncomfortably so, fingers trembling as he glued his eyes to the image of the snake-haired woman in her elegant dress, her honey-like voice describing how she got into hero work and fashion.

"Roan, listen…" Mina sat down on his bed. "There's something I need to tell you."

"It can wait until after the interview." He waved her off. He was too hyped up on adrenaline to hold a conversation with her right now. The interview had his full attention. Mina could prattle on about whatever she wanted afterward, while he was counting new hits on his website.

"That's the thing…" she said, voice quiet. "It's about the interview."

Wait… Counting new hits on my website… My website! He'd forgotten to pull it up on his computer. How was he supposed to track it in real time?

He ignored Mina and quickly accessed his site. This was it… In just a few minutes, he'd have hits from all over Japan.

Hope you're watching, Mom.

"Listen, I don't think that Uwabami…"

The rest of whatever Mina was saying was drowned out by his laser-precise focus on the screen. Uwabami was answering questions about a new movie that she was going to make a cameo in. He noted that the dress she was wearing today was sparkly and blue, likely a design choice of her marketing team. If his theory was correct, costume color and theme were directly related to hero popularity—not counting some obvious outliers. Blue and red were commonly associated with justice. Of course, one of the factors that made Uwabami stand out was the deviation from bright red in her general scheme. Wine-red was her trademark. It was a risk to put her in blue, but he noted that there was deviation here, too. It was a turquoise color, whereas popular heroes seemed to don navy blue palettes. Her fashion choices were always just slightly outside of the norm without being gaudy. It was genius, really.

"Are you listening to me?" Mina said, exasperated.

"No," he said, before turning his attention back to the screen.

"Roan, I don't think she's going to mention your survey!" Mina said, loudly.

He rolled his eyes. "You don't have to lie to get my attention," he said. "I'll talk to you when it's over."

"Oh my god, you're not listening!"

"Sh!"

He heard her sigh, but finally she stopped pestering him. A few more minutes went by with him clinging to every word the pro-hero said, waiting for the splendid moment when this celebrity would make his wildest marketing dreams come true.

"Well," the interviewer said, "we appreciate you being here with us today, Uwabami. Is there anything else you want to say to your adoring fans?"

Roan leaned forward, literally on the edge of his seat. This is it…

Uwabami blew a kiss to the screen. "Don't forget to check me out in Love Letters~ I'll talk to you all later!"

With this, the screen went back to the interviewer, who summed up the conversation they'd had and moved on to the next topic of discussion.

Roan blinked. Was that it? No, that can't be right… He clicked off the live feed and rewound, trying to find a spot where he'd missed something. No way, there has to be more…

"Roan…" Mina sighed again. "I tried to tell you…"

He wasn't listening. This couldn't be happening. Maybe she forgot? Maybe the interviewer was going to mention it instead. Or maybe Uwabami had posted something about it on social media. He was already scrolling through tweets trying to find something, anything to make this nightmare end.

"But why…?" His breaths became shallow as he stared at his computer screen, clicking between pages as if it would do him some good. His mom was watching this too and she already thought he was lying to her. If Uwabami chose not to mention his survey, then… Not only was his grade in danger, but he would be seriously screwed when it came to his parents.

"Hey…"

He suddenly noticed Mina standing next to him, but he hadn't even heard her get up. He barely registered her presence until her hand rested on the back of his. He was still too stunned to even protest this touch.

"Yaoyorozu just found out this afternoon," she said, her words clicking somewhere in the back of his mind. "I guess the producers of the show wouldn't let Uwabami bring up the survey as part of their policies, and her marketing team didn't want her posting it to social media because it could look bad for her image or something…"

"Marketing… bad for… image?"

There was no way… Thwarted in his marketing project by a marketing team? The irony would be too cruel. And yet… the truth was in front of him, in the stagnant status of his website survey count.

It was sudden and violent. Disappointment that shifted into bitterness and then exploded into anger.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, swatting her hand away from him.

"I tried!" Her dark eyes went wide. "You weren't answering your phone! And then you weren't listening to me, so—"

"How could this have happened?" he asked, pushing himself up from the desk and beginning to pace. "If she said she was going to do it, then she would have done it. Why would her team suddenly tell her she couldn't, right before the interview? That's just poor communication, bad planning, or…" He paused.

His gaze landed back on Mina. This girl… the one who'd promised to get him exposure in exchange for a signature on the line of a contract… She was the same girl who devised a plot to lie and manipulate others just to get to the boy she liked, with no regard toward the people she was hurting or the boy's girlfriend who she was disparaging. She'd lied to her best friend, her brother, and all of her other friends. She'd refused to help Roan on his project without forcing him to agree to terms that he hated. Was it such a stretch to imagine that maybe this wasn't a coincidence?

"Are you lying to me?" he asked, echoing his mother's words from yesterday's phone call.

"What?" She blinked at him, her expression convincingly astounded.

"About Uwabami changing her mind at the last minute?" He could feel the anger growing, doubled by the catalyst of suspicion.

"Why would I lie about that?!"

"Oh, I don't know…" he seethed. "Maybe because there was never going to be a shout-out in the first place?"

Now, her expression turned incredulous. "Y-You think I just made it up?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "It wouldn't be the first thing you've lied about."

She looked as if he'd struck her. Her lip quivered and her eyelashes fluttered as her eyes started to gleam with tears. "I've never lied to you, Roan!"

"How would I know?" he argued. "This entire contract is built on a foundation of lies."

"That's not fair!" She wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. "I didn't lie to you about the interview, I really tried!"

He ran his hands wildly through his hair as restless anger pulsed in his veins. "I told you I'd go to the Christmas party with you if you secured this shout-out for me, but you didn't. That means our contract is broken."

"What are you saying?!"

"There's no contract. No deal. It's over."

"Because of one broken part of the contract?" The tears were rolling down her cheeks now. "That doesn't make sense! Other lines were already broken! Touching, not eating lunch together… You could have ended the contract days ago!"

"I couldn't, because I needed you," he said. "I needed you to do this for me, and you failed, so our contract is void."

"This isn't my fault!" Her face was desperate, hands open and outstretched as if asking for divine intervention to absolve her of her many sins. Lying, manipulating, using people.

"There was never a shout-out," he said, as he stared at the wall behind her. "You've just been using me this whole time."

"No! That's not true! I—"

"It is true, Mina." He turned, unable to bear the sight of her any longer. He put his hands on his desk and leaned forward on them, eyes narrowed at his computer mouse. "I'm sick of this unequivolent exchange. I'm sick of being your puppet."

"You're not a puppet, or just a fake boyfriend, or just some tool I can use to get to Kirishima, okay? You're my friend!"

He scoffed, still not moving from his spot. "If there's anything I've learned from this, Ashido… It's that I don't have friends."

"How can you say that…?" She was sobbing now. "I thought that we… I thought that you…"

"Go away," he commanded, as he slumped down into his desk chair. "Leave… alone…"

"No way! We should talk about this! I'm telling you, I really did talk to Yaoyorozu, there really was going to be a shout out to your website, and I really do think of you as my friend, Roan. I didn't mean for this to happen!"

"Leave me alone," he repeated. "I don't want to see you anymore. Go away."

"But I…"

"Go. Away."

He waited. A few moments later, he heard the door shut.

At last, he was alone. As alone as he'd been before that pink-skinned alien girl invaded his life. Things could go back to normal now. He'd finish his project based on the questionnaires that were already complete. He'd still get a good grade and not get expelled, so this wasn't really a hindrance. He'd just… hoped for that exposure, that taste of success.

Oh well.

He was back to being alone. Just the way he preferred it.

A/N: Oof