What could have been.

What a strange feeling letting you go, neither sweet nor sour.

With you left the loneliness on the bed of broken promises.

Accepting that we were not meant for this life, or any life beyond this one.

My mind no longer fogged by your confusing love, loving myself became clear.

How freely my heart danced.

Oh how Izuku's heart ached at the scene before him. He watched as she laughed oh so happily, smiled so brightly at someone else. It was only a short period of time before the smile that had been exclusive to him was now spared to someone else.

Oh how his heart ached when he realized that she had left him with no proper explanation. Now he knows the reason, he just wasn't good enough. He couldn't be good enough. He'd never be enough.

Oh how he began to hate the holiday known as Halloween. Here he stood in the middle of the first year's organized costume party, clad in a costume that resembled a rather cute looking ghost with an odd abundance of random fabrics to make it look like patchwork.

Sighing, the greenette averted his gaze from her and her new "boyfriend". Out of all the people she could have chosen, she was flirting it up with the class dunce. Maybe she had a thing for stupid men, and with how innocent Izuku had been when they originally started dating a month back… He probably seemed to fit that category.

It infuriated him to think about. To see her with someone else so soon after they had broken up, but… What could he do? Honestly, it felt more like it was a good riddance, but he felt cheated. He felt lied to. He felt like he had wasted so much time and effort trying to be the best boyfriend that he could be and now… It was all for nothing.

There were so many partygoers, in all different assortments of costumes, but Izuku didn't care about any of that. He felt trapped. He felt like his surroundings were closing in on him and he no longer wanted to be a part of this party.

But where could he go? He couldn't try to go to his room, someone might spot him and try to pull him back. He couldn't go to the roof, Sero was probably up there smoking weed with a few of the other students… Could he sneak outside? Nobody has left the common area since the party started, it was his best bet.

Little did he know that some did see him leave, and under normal circumstances she would've left well enough alone, but her curiosity got the better of her as did her desire to get a break from all of the chaos that her classmates were causing with all the other first years.

Glancing around at his surroundings once more, he made sure that none of his classmates were watching him and quickly snuck out through the main doors to the dormitory and made his way outside. He took a deep breath of the fresh night air before walking down the steps to the main path. Where should he go? Where could he go?'

He sighed, realizing that his plan of escaping was essentially futile seeing as he didn't have anywhere to go this late at night. He plopped down onto the stairs behind him with a huff, gazing up at the stars and the moon as he tried to recall just how he ended up here. How could he have been so blinded by loveless romance.

"So it was you who snuck out here, Midoriya." A voice spoke from behind him as the creaking of the door to the dormitory followed soon after. Seems they shut the door behind them to cover their tracks, which he was honestly thankful for. "Are you okay? I get you're more of the shy type, but you kind of left abruptly without saying anything…"

Turning his head to face the culprit, he was surprised to see that it was the class rocker of all people, Kyouka Jirou. They were acquainted, perhaps some would say they were friends, but never before had she tried to reach out to him like this. It was odd to say the least, but maybe she had her own reasons that he'd have to respect.

"Oh, Jirou-San, it's you… I never would have thought you'd be the one to catch me, but I guess it makes sense that you would…" He mumbled, turning his attention back to the night with another sigh. "I'm fine, just… N-Needed some fresh air, y'know? I've been dealing with some stuff."

Taking a seat right beside the greenette, much to his confusion, she nodded in understanding and stared up at the sky along with him. "Yeah, I get that. Honestly, I needed a break too, but I was curious… Do you want to talk about it? I can lend an ear if you need it, man."

Izuku was hesitant, Kyouka could see on his face that he was struggling with the decision, but before she could say anything more he opened his mouth to speak, "...I-I wouldn't want to drop this on you."

"You're not dropping it on me man, you're placing it in front of me so we can both look at it, y'know? Two minds are better than one, right?" She offered, nudging the greenette playfully with her elbow as she gave him a soft smile.

Izuku smiled in response and let out a soft exhale before nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I guess you're right… I guess I can just start with the biggest part of it, me and Uraraka had been dating this past month."

"Wait, what!? Seriously?" Kyouka questioned, shocked by the fact that one of them had actually mustered the courage to ask the other out. The whole class knew they had a thing going on, but to find out that they had dated- Wait, dated? "Wait, you used past tense. What happened?"

"...That's the problem. I honestly have no clue, one day everything seemed fine and the next she came to talk to me, and… A-And she just told me it wasn't working out anymore." He explained, feeling his heart wrench once more at the memory of her breaking things off with him. "It's been a week since then. She seems to have moved on just fine, and with Kaminari of all people…"

Kyouka frowned. Perhaps this was the reason that she had been arguing with him more and more lately, Kaminari seemed to have just changed abruptly, and with the new information that Izuku is sharing with her she might have just found the reason why.

"...That checks out. Kaminari's been weird lately." Kyouka mumbled thoughtfully, staring back up at the stars, adjusting her vampire queen costume as Izuku seemed to zone out in thought.

"You were close with him, weren't you? Were you guys… More?" Izuku questioned, now beginning to worry about Kyouka's wellbeing at the new information.

"Me and him? God no. If there was anyone I'd want to be with it'd probably be someone smart and quiet…" She answered bluntly, scowling at the thought of trying to be with someone like Kaminari. "I like living like a rockstar, but sometimes you just need some time alone with someone you can have some quiet time with."

"I guess that makes sense. I thought that everything would have worked out with Uraraka, but I just can't seem to move past it now. She held my heart, and just threw it right back in my face. I feel like I wasted my time, but more than that I feel like I lost a piece of myself." Izuku explained, describing how he was feeling as best as he could while ruffling his already messy hair through the ghost costume's hood on his head.

"I'm sorry you've had to experience such heartache, man… But at least you're free from it now, y'know? Sometimes being tied down like that can feel foolish and all you really need is a little time and care to set yourself straight." Kyouka rambled, leaning back a bit and using her arms to prop herself up. "Do you get what I'm saying? I might not be so good with this stuff, I've uh… I've n-never been in a relationship before."

"Really? You seem so confident most of the time, I could have sworn you would've gotten with at least one person." Izuku commented, not realizing the embarrassment that his words were putting her through. She was ashamed to admit her lack of experience, but it was bound to slip out eventually.

"Yeah, well, I'm not. I'm actually really self-conscious most of the time, and I find it hard to put myself out there to find someone worth my time… I've had crushes before, maybe even have been in love, but… I just can't do it. I don't think I'm good enough." She expressed, now feeling more anxious than ever, as she admitted these things to the greenette. Her nervousness showed, Izuku watched her hug her knees to her chest and sort of ball herself up in a way.

"How so?"

"I'm just… I'm bland. I'm not eyecatching or anything, I'm not pretty, or rich, or anything really. I'm just… Me." She answered, her tone becoming softer as she looked away from the greenette. Izuku noticed her shaking a bit, perhaps due to the cold air, but it could also have just been her general discomfort.

Izuku draped the cloak of his costume over her shoulders, offering a kind smile before opening his mouth to speak. "I don't think there's anything wrong with that, Jirou-San. You're such a cool person, definitely more than me. And even if you don't see it, I think there's a lot of people who think you're beautiful."

"Like who?"

"Like me. You look your greatest when you're doing what you love, like when you perform. I was only at the sidelines, but you looked so vibrant while smiling down at that crowd… It made me wish I could be like you." Izuku stated, smiling at the memory of the first time that they had gotten Eri to smile after the Shie Hassaikai raid.

"You sure that wasn't just the pounds of makeup Yaomomo put on me?"

"So you've got jokes?" He retorted playfully, smiling as Kyouka chuckled. "Y'know… I think this helped. Talking to you really helped cheer me up."

"I'm glad to have been of help. It was nice talking to you too... " She said, smiling softly as she clutched the cloak he had provided her closer to herself, gathering a faint whiff of whatever cologne he was wearing. "We should talk more. I never thought I'd say this, but you might just be the coolest nerd I've ever met."

"Really? That's a high honor, do I get a trophy? How about a plaque?"

"Don't push your luck, Midori."

"Yeah…" He mumbled, seemingly going back into his thoughts before turning back to her with a rather serious expression. "Listen, this might be weird, but you may be the person I've gotten the closest to in our class. Aside from Kacchan, of course, so… If you want you can call me Izuku. Or Deku, that works too if you want."

Thinking about his offer she shook her head. "Mm, nah. Calling you Deku would be too similar to 'she-who-shall-not-be-named'. I think I'll just call you Izuku, as long as you call me Kyouka."

The greenette smiled, watching as she matched it proudly. "...Thanks, Ji- Kyouka. Thanks, Kyouka. It means a lot."

"Of course." She replied, standing up and stretching her arms with a small groan. "Well, we should probably head back. Think you'll survive the rest of the night?"

"Only if you're there with me." He answered, following her lead and standing up before stretching his back. "We can talk a bit more. I-If that's alright with you, of course…"

"Dude, you don't need to be so nervous. We have all night to hangout, let's have some fun. C'mon." She said, gesturing for him to follow. The two made their way back up the stairs of the Dormitory, and with a small nod to one another re-entered the venue of the First Years Halloween party.

Izuku held open the door for Kyouka, and as the two stepped in, one after the other, a few of their classmates spotted them together and were more than happy to make their way over and make a big deal out of it.

"Midoriya and Jirou!? Together!?" A high pitch squeal erupted from beside them, causing the duo to flinch in surprise as their pink skinned classmate suddenly appeared before them. "I must be dreaming! I have to update my shipping chart!"

"Your whose-a-m'what's it?" Izuku questioned, confused beyond belief, but before Izuku could get an answer from the pinkette, she had dashed off. Probably on a quest to spread the word.

Kyouka groaned, "Great, now people are gonna start making assumptions about us…"

"It'll pass. Eventually people will find out that she's full of crap and get over it." Izuku stated, shrugging with a blank expression on his face before an idea popped into his mind. "Wanna go hangout with Sero on the roof? We can binge old movies in my room afterwards."

Kyouka smiled, "Dude, it's like you read my mind."