50

Stand by me

Izuku Midoriya was tired.

He had just gone to his first high school party and it was a disaster. What he thought was going to be one of his most romantic moments turned into a drunken mess. Uraraka kissed him but she was intoxicated and her emotions were all over the place saying she made a mistake. "The worst part was when she kept saying it was her fault."

He sighed as he started to make his way to the library. "It's late, but maybe I can still make it to the sleepover Reiko planned." A small smile was pulling on his lips, lately, they had been becoming close friends, calling each other by their first names, and there was a growing hope in him that it would even develop into something more. "Ugh, why am I thinking about this especially after what just happened with Uraraka... It's always like this..."

He stopped mumbling his thoughts as he reached the door to the library, and he forced on his usual freckled smile as he got ready to open the door, but he didn't. His eyes grew as he saw through the small glass frame in the door.

On the table in the middle of the room, Reiko and Kamakiri were holding hands as they read a book together.

'What am I doing..? I'll Just get in their way...'

Izuku let out a hopeless sigh as he began to pull away from the door, leaving the two alone before he was noticed.

"If only that Ashido never convinced me to go..." He rubbed his tired eyes before letting out a pathetic chuckle because a part of him knew he shouldn't blame her but another part of him was looking for any way to deflect his own shortcomings. "Why did I even listen to her? I barely know her." He shrugged his shoulders deciding to head to the roof as to not worry Asui.

But as he was leaving Reiko lifted her eyes off the book and to the door. She tilted her head in confusion, she thought she spotted Izuku except he wasn't there. She felt a squeeze to her hand and turned to Kamakiri.

And he only said it to reassure her but honestly hoped he didn't show up, "Don't worry, Midoriya will definitely show up."

Izuku Midoriya was annoyed.

He was floating on the water staring at the sky with deadpan eyes. The chaos from the game of chicken fight was coming to an end and someone walked up to Izuku offering his hand.

"Huh?" Izuku raised his eyebrow when he saw that it was Shindo. "Oh, um, thanks, I guess." Taking his hand and standing up.

"Ah, no problem, we got to look out for each other. We're dating each other's partners after all." He had a toothy grin but didn't let go of his hand, if anything he tightened his grip.

Izuku matched his grin. "Y-Yeah I guess we should, but I usually have the day shift while Camie works the nights." And then he started to also apply pressure on the handshake matching Shindo.

Shindo mistook what Innocent-Izuku said about Camie as an innuendo to a different, illegal profession causing him to activate his quick in weak burst while still maintaining his double-faced grin. "Yeah, but she told me you guys used to always patrol together. What happened? Oh wait, didn't it stop around the time I asked her out?"

This time Izuku activated his quirk, withstanding the mini quakes erupting over his palm, powering up his hand with enough strength to start cracking Shindo's bones. "Yeah, that's right. But if I recall, didn't you just ask her out as a way to get back at Nakagame, after she broke up with you."

At this point, they had headbutted each other pressing their foreheads together but for some reason were still using their smiling facade. "Yeah, that's right. And if I recall, didn't you just start going out with her after your one-night stand? What, were you trying to do the responsible thing in case she got pregnant?"

"Oh, wait did Camie ever tell you why she agreed to date you in the first place?"

At this point, everyone else had become aware of the sporadic atmosphere around them due to Izuku's and Yo's constant feud.

"Baka-roki, I chose you." Yui said with deadpan eyes while mimicking a Pokemon trainer.

"Shoto, Shoto." He said with a nonchalant voice as he went to go stop the conflict.

"Don't just stand there, go help your best friend! Ba-kacchan!" Toru began to smack away at Bakugo until he went to go help.

But as he was going he shot back at Toru with shark eyes. "Oi, he's not my best friend he's just a childhood friend-, wait he's not even a friend! And Bakago would have been better!"

"But Kacchan is too cute a nickname! It's not fair that only Midoriya gets to call you that!"

All the while that, that was happening Uraraka, Tokoyami, and Dark shadow had their arms crossed as they all leaned to one side in confusion as a question mark appeared above their heads, all sharing the same brain cell to form a thought, 'Why did their argument sound so loving?'
As Todoroki and Bakugo went to stop the fight between Izuku and Yo, Shoto looked over at Katsuki with knowing sly eyes, "You like her don't you."

Katsuki refused to dignify that with a response, instead tackling Deku and breaking them apart. It's not like Kacchan was thinking of that time at the party when, for a moment, he thought he saw her real face when they were doing it. "DIE!"

Camie was blinking with a ditzy expression and had pouty lips at the situation happening between Izu and Shindo. "You never change," And her lips pulled up slightly as she raised her fingers up to her mouth as if to hide her smile and words. "Ne, I-zu-ku..."

Momo was staring at Mina after she asked about her winter with Izuku. She was thinking about the situation she was in. 'I have a chance to tell her the truth and if I do maybe Izuku and I can...'

She gulped down her dry throat as she shook her head and a sad giggle as she turned her head to the waves before hugging her knees close to her chest. "E-Exactly as I said it happened... I made a mistake."

"But what was that mistake...?" Mina still had her eyes on Yaomomo and leaned closer to her. "I'm not asking as Izuku's girlfriend," She reached her hand out, placing it on her shoulder giving her a reassuring squeeze, "I'm asking as the friend you confided in before everything happened."

That caused Momo to tense as she buried her face over her knees refusing to let out a sniffle as she recalled everything that happened after new year's. After a moment of strength and silence, she lifted her head, turning to Mina with a bittersweet smile and misty eyes. "I asked him not to fall in love..." And then she let out a giggling sniffle just like at the dorms when Mina and Uraraka confronted her about it. She tilted her head, resting her cheek over her knees while still looking at Mina. "It was just a silly mistake, that's all."

And she refused to tell her the truth for the sake of the friendship she had just regained.

Mina didn't buy it, her eyes lingering over Momo's expression. "But instead you fell in love with him, didn't you?" And that was all Mina was able to assume. Mina wasn't aware of the fact that Izuku was the one who had told Momo he loved her.

Momo gasped hearing the genuine concern in her friend's voice, there was no hint of jealousy. Mina was simply worried for the friend she missed and Momo couldn't help but to let out another sniffling giggle as she lifted her head again, back to staring out at the waves.

"I did... but like I already said, it doesn't matter anymore..."

"Yaomomo..."

"Oh Ashido please stop worrying for my sake, I feel horrible enough after what I did."

"I told you to stop that, didn't I? We're friends, of course I'm gonna worry even if we weren't talking then." And Mina scooted closer to her because Momo looked like she really needed to let her emotions out but refused to. It was the same back when she first confessed to Ashido about her winter. Ashido had found her as a weeping mess that was trying to hide it but despite that, it still felt like Momo was holding something back. Mina wrapped her arms around Momo in a warm embrace as she tried to comfort her with words. "It's okay Yaomomo, you're always mothering over us. Right now just let me be here for you."

If only Mina knew how hurtful those words were to Momo.

She couldn't help but to turn into Ashido's embrace as she buried her face against her skin, finally letting herself cry over something that never was.