Omg! Finally Chapter 20! Slowly but surely we hit the 20 mark! Enjoy!
CHAPTER 20: GUILT-GLAZED DONUTS
"So this is where you hid all summer then?" Jiro inquired, looking around the neighborhood. Momo's pace turned fast and uneasy; she repeatedly brushed away her usual chunk of rebel hair, as if trying to hide the self-judgment behind her ear as well. For a split second, the young woman felt embarrassed and regretted inviting Jiro to meet her dear friend.
"Dammit Momo your story is going to be so badass when people write about your youth before becoming a pro hero." the short-haired musician added with a playful tone. "Mine will be 'Here's Jiro, a lame student who became useful, she sometimes played instruments'", Momo couldn't help but release her stress in earnest laughter. "What is badass about that? Nothing!"
After passing a couple of houses with front lawns so dry they could set on fire at the slightest rise of temperature, they arrived.
"So, we're here." Momo attempted to release the tension by taking a deep breath before knocking on the door. However, this was opened by a familiar face before Momo announced their arrival.
"Momo my dear you're here!" Mrs. Kuyamasa's arms surrounded Momo in a weak yet cheerful embrace. Despite that, the old woman's welcoming was powerful enough to shake the residues of nervousness off of her.
"Of course, I'm here, I told you I'd come!" Momo replied, corresponding to the greeting.
"I know you said it but one day you'll be so busy saving the world I will only catch you on the TV," granny replied. The tiny, perky eyes of Mrs. Kuyamasa met Jiro's, who took a hand out of her jacket to wave.
After introductions, the three of them walked in to pack some boxes with winter clothes Mrs. Kuyamasa was lending Momo for training camp. After all, this year's location was up in the mountains, and the elder woman had kept most of her favorite garments from her youth that could be of use for the trip.
Upon what seemed to be hours of trying outfits and whatnot, Momo's former roomie offered the girls something to drink. After that, only gossip and laughter were served at the table of the small kitchen.
"No, but seriously Mr. K," Jiro cleared her throat. They had been laughing so hard, their faces hurt. "Thank you for lending Momo your winter outfits from back in the day. You should see her fashion choices lately, it's a disgrace."
Momo, who was sitting on the edge of the open window frame, crossed her legs and gasped with comical indignation. "Jiro! How dare you?" the second round of laughter started.
"I only speak the truth! You're always wearing the same thing after school," Jiro playfully pointed out, her earlobes signaling her friend. "Same old military black boots, same gray old coat. You're starting to look more and more like a painting."
Momo looked down, a slight smile crossed her face. Something inside her had shifted ever so slightly since that icy day. Her fingers peeked out of the sleeves to get a better grasp of her coffee mug.
"Fine, fine," she said at last. "I'll do something about my shoes then."
"And what about the coat?" Jiro continued, amused by the teasing. Mrs. Kuyamasa's eyes glistened in realization.
"That is a man's coat." The certainty of the elder one left a puff of suspense in the air, only to be broken by the yelling of both girls.
"WHAT? MOMO!"
"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT"
"TALK, NOW"
"MRS. KUYAMASA!"
The mature lines on the woman's face sunk in her smile. There was something about these young girls' energy that filled her with joy.
"It's only obvious, sweetheart." Mrs. Kuyamasa started, her chin resting on her hand. "Look at the shoulders, it is clear that this coat is not your size.", the grandma turned to Jiro, playfully judgmental. "Question here is, how couldn't you tell before?"
Jiro's shoulders rose to the level of her red eyeliner. "I thought it was her father's coat or something! I don't know!"
"She's been smelling the sleeves when distracted, haven't you noticed?" The gray-haired one defended her theory.
Momo's face lit like a pink lamp post.
"I do not!" Momo stated, impressed. A rebel smile tried to escape from behind her coffee mug.
"Mrs. Kuyamasa you canny little mouse," Jiro recognized. "You could be a detective, have you ever thought of working for the police?"
"They couldn't afford me, dear. Besides," Mrs. K added after the cackling allowed them to breathe again. "I'm only interested in love mysteries. So," Both ladies looked back at Momo. "Who is the lucky fellow who gets to claim you with his clothes?"
Momo's eyes got lost inside her mug, remembering that day after class.
She remembered feeling the cold stinging her like needles right to her bones. Her desk soaked, her soggy notes leaving a trail of minuscule droplets of ink. How the music from the documentary became faint as the heavy coat fell on her shoulders, heating her entirely.
Present Mic had given the announcement of the annual training camp, which to her sounded like a far-off voice. It felt so unreal, like a blurry, slowed-down movie.
Momo recalled encountering Shota Aizawa's dark eyes across the room as she inserted her arms on the gray coat he had covered her with moments before. She had waited for everyone to leave the room when class ended.
"Mr. Aizawa?" she had approached, the coat now folded in half, ready to return to its owner. She lightly pressed it to her body before offering it back.
"Mrs. Yaoyorozu" he had politely greeted her, his eyes focused on his notes.
"Thank you, for lending me your coat." and with this, she had vowed with respect, getting ready to bid goodbye to her source of warmth. Delicate tapping of raindrops colliding with the windows lullabied the moment.
"It is my obligation to look after my students," he had replied, unbothered by his pupil. "Is it still raining?" his sharp jaw turned to look outside the window.
"Y-yes?" she had replied, confused.
"Then you better hang on to it for longer."
Had he raised an eyebrow? Her insides wriggled at the sight of his half-smile. Her professor started to pack up his belongings, leaving a confused woman behind.
"But—the weather channel said it would be raining the whole week!" was all Momo had been able to say back.
"It's good that my sleeping bag is waterproof then." he had carelessly brushed away her argument. "By the way," he had said at the door, a lofty look on his face. "Try to be more careful with the frozen sidewalks next time." and with one last amused smirk, he had left the room, leaving his student in agonizing embarrassment.
Softly, Momo's mind redirected her to the present moment.
"It really doesn't matter," she almost whispered, playing with the ear of her mug. "He would never look at me that way."
The other two stared at the defeated amazon in front of them in disbelief. The look of longing on her face was quickly brushed away by a resolved inhalation of fresh air. "Anyways, all I care for right now is all the adventures awaiting us at training camp, right Jiro?" And with this, the night went on with bubbling expectation.
On Sunday morning, everyone seemed awake and excited since 6:30 am. You could listen to yelling here and there, students looking for final things to pack; lost and found belongings here and there, and only a few having breakfast in the living room.
"Everyone out at 6:50" the cold, raspy morning voice of their homeroom teacher announced as he entered the living room. He had a pink backpack with rainbows hanging from one shoulder, Eri being held by both of his brawny arms, sound asleep. "Bus doors' will be closed at 7 am sharp, whoever is outside at that time will lose their chance." with this, the tall, slim figure walked out of the building.
By 6:50, Momo was already outside as expected too. Her hands shivered in a weak grasp around a hot paper cup filled with tea. The sun wasn't even out yet to warm her body with sunlight.
"My earlobes are freezing," Jiro said when she arrived at the group of girls outside the bus.
"I know, right? Good thing we'll be all snug once we're on the road." Momo replied, rubbing her thighs together in hopes friction would heat her legs. "By the way, do you prefer the window seat or the hallway? I honestly don't mind, I plan to sleep the whole trip." she inquired. Her friend's exchanged awkward looks, no one really looking at her.
"Yeah…about that," Jiro started, her eyes glued to the floor. "I was thinking of sitting with Denki," An almost furious blush invaded the girl. "He just asked me yesterday and well, we've been hanging out a lot and gotten pretty close, so…" and after this unrequired rambling, a guilty Jiro finally looked up to her. "I was hoping you don't mind?"
Momo blinked several times before recovering herself. "Of course, I don't mind, sweetie! I didn't know you guys had something going on," Momo felt incredibly stupid for not imagining this would happen, when just the other night at Mrs. Kuyamasa, Jiro had mentioned Denki had recently caught her eye. "Don't worry, I'll just sit with someone else, right girls?"
Why did the rest of her girlfriends have the same look of culpability across their faces?
"You see we were actually–"
"Not that we didn't want to–"
"How do we put this–"
"Girls?" Momo interrupted the weak explanations of the group.
"Since Denki is not sitting with Kirishima anymore," Mina started, scratching the back of her neck. "Let's just say all the sitting plans we had sort of changed. We're sitting with the boys now."
There was an awkward silence. Surely they were joking.
"I can sit with you, Momo." Ochaco grabbed her hand. "I wasn't aware of this plan either." Momo smiled in relief.
"Thanks, Ochi, you're my hero!" Momo replied in relief.
The second bus parked behind class A's roared, their bus also started its engine. "Class A and B, everyone inside their respective bus, now!" Present Mic's strident voice startled them all, waking up the ones still snoozing their brain alarms. "Don't make me repeat myself or I'll get louder," and to this threat, everyone hustled.
Momo's bag was not the most secure, so she waited for everyone to throw their belongings inside the bus's trunk so hers would be on top of everyone else's luggage. Ochaco did the same with her suitcase.
They were the last students to walk inside the now crowded transportation. Everyone else was already sitting with their road partner. She saw in relief the school had kept their promise to punish Mineta for what he had done with the costume situation. Apparently, he had forged other 3 girls' costume design forms, resulting in a mix-up in the Costume Department. For that, he had been banned from school grounds for a whole month. As result, only 19 students from class-A would attend training camp.
Momo could see a rosier than usual Mina, sitting with Kirishima in the back. A rather nervous Tsu sitting with Tokoyami right in front of the first couple. Two rows in front, Jiro and Denki were already sharing earphones plugged into her phone. Toru and Sato shared a glazed donut in the seat across from her best friend.
A romantic ambiance, tense yet tender, set inside the bus. They had all talked about their crushes ever since school had started, but only now was Momo aware everyone was taking their shots at love. Was it because this was their last year? She remembered Ochaco having a crush on Deku the first years, but that seemed to have faded a long time ago, being that Midoriya was solely focused on becoming a hero.
"Seems this quickly turned into a love ride, right?" Momo whispered to Ochaco, both still standing in the hall of the bus, looking for two vacant seats. However, apart from Bakugo, who was sitting with his legs extended on both seats, the rest of the seat rows seemed occupied.
"Hey, you, round cheeks," their blond classmate called over the seats. Both girls turned to look at him. His face seemed boiling hot. "I have my Nintendo switch with me," Bakugo said, uneasy. "And you owe me a re-match on smash!" with this, he pointed at Ochaco. "So…" this last word died under his breath, his gaze turned to the empty seat next to him.
Everyone around who listened to this froze.
"You want me to sit with you?" Uraraka, just like everyone else, tried to understand. Her face gradually turned the color of Sato's strawberry-glazed donuts.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Bakugo muttered, almost to himself. "An invitation or something?"
Momo waited, just like everyone else around, for the brunette's refusal. She was obviously going to refuse, right? They had agreed to sit together. Besides, since when did Uraraka and Bakugo start to hang out? This was clearly an easy one for the girl to answer.
"Can I pick Kirby?" was Ochaco's resolution. Momo's face was crushed in betrayal. Others still looked in shock.
"No way in hell," Bakugo replied, his usual irritated tone was back.
"Can I sit by the window?" Ochaco asked again.
"No way in hell."
"Fine," Ochaco started walking towards the blond, muscly young man. "I'm picking Kirby then." with this, Momo was left there, standing alone.
"Wait, what?!" the raven-haired woman complained. "But Ochaco! You promised!"
To this, the round shoulders of the brunette shrugged in apology.
Momo's heart raised.
This is what happens when you don't plan ahead.
She heard the bus doors close. The ones sitting in close stared at her, awkwardly.
"Planning on sitting anytime soon?" a male, tired voice spoke behind her. She jumped in surprise, turning around. Professor Aizawa was waiting on the first row, where the last vacant seats left awaited both of them. Her dry throat closed right when she tried to pass some saliva.
What Momo had expected to be a relaxing ride now seemed like a long-lost fantasy.
I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS FANFIC IS 20 CHAPTERS LONG! And it's all because of you, readers! Thank you for your time and for giving me a chance to entertain you with my stories. I'd love to hear from you in the reviews, they mean the world to me! Also, I got covid so I will be writing a whole lot more (yay I guess?) Have a great day and keep staying safe! Love -LB