Sero gawked, open-mouthed. "You've gotta be kidding me."

Keigo smirked from the entrance of Build-A-Bear when he saw Kamianri running excitedly for the elevator.

"The son of a bitch did it," he muttered proudly.

"I wonder what he said," Kirishima thought out loud.

"Probably offered up his soul on a silver platter," Sero said, shaking his head sadly. "Poor guy."

"Jiro's way too cool for that kid," Dabi muttered. "I don't know how he did it, but...I guess she's got enough swag for the both of them."

"Wait, how are you here too?" Sero asked Dabi, narrowing his brows.

Dabi shrugged. "I'm on break."

"Then...who's watching the store?"

"Keigo."

Sero's gaze darted between the two of them as they stood next to each other. "It's a miracle you both still have jobs," he grumbled.

~.~

" - got discontinued like eighteen years ago but they're rebooting it this year and there's gonna be more seasons! I mean I know what happened because I saw the rough scans online, but still, I can't wait to see - "

" - Sorry to cut in bro, but we're closing in like five minutes," Sero said, wiping down the counter of his juice bar.

"What?"

Kaminari glanced down at his phone. The time read Nine-fifty five.

"I guess we lost track of time," Jiro said, smiling warmly. "That happens when you're having fun."

Kaminari beamed. "You had fun?"

"Yeah, I did," Jiro said, sounding surprised herself.

Sero rolled his eyes. "But all you've done is listen to him rant about anime," he pointed out.

"Don't pay attention to him, Denki," Jiro said, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze. "Mortals like him don't understand people like us. Individuals with passion."

"I believe the term nowadays is fanboy," Sero retorted.

"How about we meet up again tomorrow?" Jiro asked, ignoring Sero. "Same time, same place?"

Sero smirked. "Sorry, Skullcandy, but we've got plans tomorrow. Our boy here is turning eighteen!"

Kaminari didn't skip a beat. "Whatever we're doing you're invited," he said in a rush.

Jiro laughed, getting up from her barstool. "What's your snap?" she asked.

"Charge_bolt_629," he answered, pulling out his phone.

"Rockin. Snap me when you've made plans." She leaned in and gently kissed the lightning bolt on his cheek.

He couldn't stop grinning as he waved goodbye and danced happily down the stairs to the ground floor.

Jiro was about to leave too, before Sero started talking.

"You shouldn't get his hopes up like this."

She whirled around, blinking with confusion. "Excuse me?"

Sero crossed his arms. "I've never seen him so excited. So happy. If you break his heart - "

" - Did you know he's the first guy who's ever walked up to me and asked me out?"

Sero's jaw dropped. "What?"

Jiro crossed her arms. "I've had notes stuffed in my locker. Anonymous texts. Guys checking me out from a distance. But all of them were too intimidated to ask me out directly. Denki stepped up and made an effort. That's why I said yes. And when I listened to him talk about the things he loves, he made me love them too."

Sero stared at her, dumbfounded. "I...I just thought - "

" - You know Hanta, you pride yourself on having women all figured out," she snapped. "But one of these days there's gonna be a woman who puts you in your place and makes you realize you don't know shit. My only hope is when that day comes, I'll be there to see it."

Those were her last words before she tossed a ten-dollar bill at him and stormed off.

~.~

Kaminari stood outside as he waited for his parents to pick him up.

To his surprise, a small group of people left the mall, walking together before they all split off to go their respective vehicles.

All but one.

"Dabs?"

"Go ahead and get the air going. I'll catch up."

Kaminari flinched when a tall guy walked up to him. It was too dark to see each other's faces, which made Kaminari more scared.

"You know it's ninety-three degrees out, right?" the man said.

"Yeah, it's...hot," Kaminari agreed.

"But you're wearing a long-sleeved hoodie in the middle of summer."

Kaminari bent his head down, swallowing nervously. "Yeah. Um…"

"Jiro's a good person," the man said. "So if you need help, don't be afraid to ask her. Okay?"

Kaminari laughed nervously, but the sound was hollow. "Oh, I'm fine," he assured. "I'm great. My friends wanna celebrate my birthday with me tomorrow. And my date with her went great. I think she likes me."

"She does," the man agreed. "Which is why you can rely on her."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Kaminari asked.

The man stuffed his hands in his pockets, clearing his throat. "I used to be really into long-sleeved shirts too. I even wore them on the hottest days of the summer, when the temps got into the hundreds." The man held out his arms.

Kaminari could vaguely tell they were tattooed but he couldn't tell with what.

"Feel my wrists," he ordered.

Hesitantly, Kaminari reached his palms out and ran a finger over the man's wrists. When he felt the raised lines, he paled.

"I bet if I lifted one of your sleeves, you'd have scars just like these. Wouldn't you?"

Kaminari jumped away, taking a few steps back. "Stay away from me!" He exclaimed.

The man held his hands up in surrender. "I know what it's like. So know I'm coming from a place of experience when I say this."

"Say what?"

"You can't do this alone. You may think you'll just be a burden to the people you care about, but you're not. They want to help you. You just have to ask."

The man walked off into the darkness, getting into the passenger seat of a car before it left the parking lot.

~.~

Kaminari woke up alone on his birthday. Both of his parents already went off to work by the time he opened his eyes. But he didn't mind. He liked the quiet. Mercifully, his birthday landed on a Saturday this year. He didn't have school. Which meant he could pretty much sleep the whole day until his friends picked him up for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

I should probably shower, though. He thought. Especially if Jiro was going. The thought of her smile and the cheek kiss made his heart pound. It got him out of bed.

He quickly messaged her, letting her know tonight's plans.

Oh sweet! My friend Sato works there. Want a ride?

Oh wow, she already has her license? She's so cool! Kaminari excitedly messaged back a "yes" before hopping in the shower.

He found himself humming a KPOP song that got stuck in his head. Jacking a bit of his dad's cologne. Fiddling with his hair for thirty minutes, trying to decide whether to jell it or leave it be.

Girls like soft hair. Right? Sero would know. Maybe I should -

He smiled excitedly when he heard the front door open.

They're home. "Hi, mom! Hi dad!" He rushed out into the kitchen to greet them.

To his surprise, both of his parents didn't look as enthusiastic as he'd expected them to, considering it was their son's birthday.

"Is something wrong?" Denki asked.

"No, of course not," his mother assured, patting one of the kitchen chairs. "We just need to have a talk."

"You're all dressed up," His dad noted. "A date?"

Denki flushed. "The guys wanna take me to dinner."

His mother smiled but it didn't meet her eyes. "Oh, how sweet. Well, don't worry. This shouldn't take long."

"Have a seat, son."

Denki looked between the two of them curiously before sitting down at the kitchen table. "So...what do you wanna talk to me about?"

"We were just curious about your plans after graduation," his mother said.

"Have you decided what colleges you're interested in? Where you're going to apply?" His father asked.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Denki will have to take summer school if his grades don't go up."

Denki swallowed nervously. Suddenly he felt like some bomb was about to go off. His parents were building up towards something. And it wasn't good.

"Do you have a plan for that as well?"

"F-for what?" Denki asked, trying to focus. But his head felt like it was spinning.

His mother scoffed. "For raising your grades. At least enough to graduate."

"If you're not planning on attending college, then we need to know," his father said.

Kaminari's brain shut down. The stress he'd started to feel was so overwhelming that his body blocked it out altogether. Muffling his parents' voices as if he were underwater. He watched their faces. Their mouths moving. But none of it registered. He felt calm and serene as he zoned out. Like watching fish at an aquarium.

Finally, someone snapped their fingers. When he refocused, he saw it had been his mother. "Denki, we're trying to have a serious discussion."

"It's rude to tune us out like that," his father scolded.

"Did you hear anything we just said?"

"Um...no," he mumbled. "Sorry."

"Those video games are turning your mind into mush," his father said. "You can't even pay attention long enough to have a conversation."

"I'm probably just tired," Kaminari explained.

"How is it that you're tired when you spend all day sleeping?" His mother asked.

"You're gonna have a rude awakening if you think that's how things work in the real world," his dad said. "You can't just decide when to wake up and when to sleep. There are schedules and deadlines. Especially once you get a job."

Kaminari rubbed his eyes as he tried to focus. "I don't get it. Why are we talking about this now? I'm not even done with school yet."

"You're eighteen years old," His mother answered. "You're failing in school. You don't have a job. When you're not sleeping you're watching those Japanese cartoons or playing on your Xbox. We've been waiting for something to change and nothing has. So we're putting our foot down."

"We don't have a problem with supporting you while you're in school," his father said. "But if you're not, then you won't be able to stay here rent-free."

"You'll have to either get a job or get your grades up."

Denki stared at the surface of the table, trying to process. "Are you...kicking me out?"

"No, of course not," His father said with a laugh in his voice. "As long as you're either working or in school, you're welcome to stay here."

"And we'd be happy to help you fill out job applications," his mother encouraged. "Most jobs require a high school diploma, even fast-food establishments. But I'm sure we could find something - "

" - Why do I need to get a job?" Kaminari asked.

His mother scoffed. "Well, you can't expect us to let you stay here for free. If you lived out on your own, you'd have expenses just like we do. Utilities. Groceries. A mortgage, insurance - "

" - But of course, you won't pay as much here as you would if you were on your own," his father clarified.

Denki stood up, making his way towards the door. "Can we talk about this later?"

"Sure, son."

"Enjoy your night out," his mother said pleasantly. "But we expect an answer in the morning."