"Everyone! Organize yourselves according to The Chart!"

Iida was viciously stalking around, shouting and waving a piece of paper. The class grumbled, shifting in anticipation as the bus approached. When the door swung open, Iida was promptly brushed past, his Chart spinning to the ground.

Shouto quickly made his way to the back of the bus, his classmates parting before him. He sat down in the very back, the four seats that every highschooler instinctively knows are reserved for troubled people or disgusting couples- -

Midoriya flung himself down by Shouto.

Shit.

"Hi!" the green-haired boy said brightly. Shouto grunted in reply.

"Every place else seems to be taken, so…"

Shouto quickly scanned the bus, noting at least seven empty seats. Iida and Uraraka took one right in front of him, followed by Asui and Kirishima. Shouto sighed internally; it was hard to be alone when every person in class wanted to be near- -

Midoriya. That was it. They were here for Midoriya, not Shouto. He was incidental; no awkward conversation like the other day at lunch.

After the class was settled, Aizawa-sensei stood up at the front. Instantly, the chatter ceased.

"All right," Aizawa said, "we're gonna be on this bus for about an hour. Try not to kill anyone, okay?" And with that, he collapsed in his seat and passed out.

Oh, yay.

Asui, Kirishima, Uraraka, and Iida made idle chatter, to meaningless for Shouto to truly process it. Midoriya occasionally jumped in, but mostly, he simply sat in silence by Shouto, humming along to the music he was playing through his phone.

Shouto allowed his mind to wander, not into thought, but into blankness. A comforting state of non-consciousness, free of memory and- -

his phone buzzed

he yanked it clumsily from his pocket, fearing it would be a random message from Endeavor

but no.

The number was unknown, but listed as a contact.

Midoriya

Shouto quickly went into his Settings to set Midoriya's number as "Midoriya" (Endeavor had never put much emphasis on imagination in non-combat situations), before opening the message.

Midoriya

11:38 AM

You okay?

Shouto frowned at the shorter boy as he typed

Todo-kun

11:38 AM

Of course. Why wouldn't I be?

Midoriya

11:39 AM

I may be hallucinating

Midoriya

11:39 AM

but for a moment, it looked like you were smiling

Shouto stared at his phone, not knowing what to say. He felt…unsettled. Like someone had ripped his legs off. He turned to look at Midoriya, who smiled and bumped his shoulder against Shouto's. Shouto…well, he tried his level best to muster a smile. It was a valiant effort.

Midoriya laughed, removed an earbud. Scooted closer to Shouto to be heard over the noise.

"Wanna listen? It'll sorta…silence all the other sound. Keep it from overwhelming you."

Shouto stared for a moment, and attempted another smile. Midoriya laughed, "I'll take that as a yes," popped the earbud into Shouto's ear. Sound flooded through it, drowning out everything but the music and the faint sound of Midoriya breathing next to him.

No warning sign

No alibi

We faded faster than the speed of light

Shouto attempted another smile. Midoriya laughed a little, knocked against his shoulder.

Took our chance, crashed and burned

No, we'll never ever learn

He leaned his head against the window, watching the street zip past under them. Saw his reflection. No blank mask. No scar. Just him and Midoriya. Midoriya, who smiled at him once more and leaned back, whispering along with whoever was singing.

I fell apart

But got back up again.

First off, the song is "Alibi" by 30 Seconds to Mars. I do not own it, do not claim to, et cetera, et al. I do however love it and find it fitting.

This chapter originally had a lot more…"plot" in it. But I kept either writing it shitty, or ending up on a cute moment. I decided, yunno what, I'ma leave it cute. Y'all deserve it.

Also, Rina, thank you so much for your kind review, and I'm a dude. An Anonymous Person, Endeavor will suffer. Eventually.

Y'all know the drill. Read, review, red panda, love you guys. FOR MOTHER RUSSIA.