NeonHorizon: A chapter where someone else tries to make friends (?) with Shirayuki...?

She could feel eyes on her and it was making her blush. The warmth spread across her cheeks and to her ears, making her certain that everyone could see how embarrassed she was. Bowing her head to try to hide it, she attempted to focus on her book and chewed on her lower lip behind her mask. Class is starting soon. I just need to hold on until then. Why can't I just be normal and look around though? If I saw who was looking at me…if I was normal…I could try to start a conversation.

"Yuki-chan, did you want help finding homes for those kittens? I might be able to find some people that want them." The female voice came from her right, drawing her attention to Ashido. The pink-haired girl beamed when she saw Shirayuki look over. "There were four of them, right?"

"…yeah…just four…" Shirayuki summoned forth some courage and closed her book, letting it sit in front of her. "…y-you want to help me…?"

"Yeah. It's what friends do, right?"

The dark-haired girl felt her stomach do happy flips and smiled behind her mask. "…y-yeah…probably…"

"Hey, what are you mumbling about?"

She flinched at the demanding tone of the boy behind her and bowed her head again. "…sorry…"

"Hey, don't yell at her! It's none of your business anyway!"

Class started and Shirayuki sank a bit lower in her seat, wary of blocking Bakugou's line of sight. In the seat in front of her, she was unable to see Hagakure, but she was anxious of the girl possibly looking in her direction. Why couldn't I have a quirk like Hagakure-san's? It would be a lot better than what I have…

She eventually relaxed enough to focus on what the teacher was saying, but felt guilty about being so anxious. It had been the same way in middle school; she got nervous any time someone talked to her or even looked at her for too long. Thinking about middle school made her remember the previous evening, when she went to return Shinsou's umbrella.

It was surprising that he knew her blood sugar was low. Even more surprising was when he used his own quirk to make her cooperate with him and eat. Their interaction in middle school was minimal at best. He had friends. Not a ton of friends, but he had some. She had no friends and, despite working with him a few times on projects for class, she was afraid to try to break into a circle of friends.

"Hey, red eyes. I'm talking to you."

Shirayuki winced and snapped out of her thoughts as one of the legs of her seat was kicked. She bit her lip behind her mask and turned her head to acknowledge Bakugou. "…sorry…"

"We're supposed to pair up and I don't feel like getting up."

"…ah…s-sorry…I'll move…" She moved to grab her book, but her chair was kicked again. "…uh…?!"

"Did I tell you to go? We're pairing up."

This is a bad match. Shirayuki glanced toward the rest of the class. Most of the others had already paired off. "…a-are you sure…?"

"Yuki-chan! Hey, come sit with us! I need a partner," Ashido called to her.

"She's taken!" Bakugou shouted back. "Move your chair."

The girl reluctantly turned her chair around, giving their teacher a pleading glance that went completely unnoticed. Present Mic was teaching now and his attention was elsewhere. I wasn't listening. I don't even know what we're supposed to be doing. He's going to get mad at me. Why can't he just pick a different person to pair up with for this?

Trembling slightly, she sat with her eyes averted and kept her worksheet on her knees. She was too afraid to put it on his desk because she was sure that he would get angry at her for invading his personal space. "…what…what are we doing…?" The words came out very quietly and she jumped when his eyes narrowed on her. "…B-Bakugou-kun…?"

"Why do you keep looking at them?"

Shirayuki awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, bowing a little so her hair fell over her eyes. "…I…um…w-we're friends and…Ashido-chan wanted me to work with her…I just…feel bad…s-sort of…"

"You're friends with them?"

"…yeah…?" She saw his head turn, eyes shifting away from her toward the group of talkative classmates. They both sat in silence for a moment, both looking in the direction of Kirishima, Ashido, and Kaminari. I don't think I've seen Bakugou sit with anyone at lunch or between classes. He has friends, doesn't he? He got a high score on the entrance exam…and he isn't bad looking. He probably has friends.

"Whatever." He looked toward her again and scowled when he saw that she was still looking at them. Reaching across the desk, he grabbed a strand of her hair and tugged. "Hey! Pay attention!"

"Ah…s-sorry…" Shirayuki did her best to collaborate with him on the worksheet, but felt her stomach twist in knots every time he looked at her. He reminds me of a bully from middle school, she finally realized. That's why he's so intimidating. Why didn't he just ask Midoriya to pair up with him? They at least know each other. Pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, she felt him glaring at her again and she began to sweat a little.

When lunchtime came, she felt that she could not escape the classroom soon enough. Sitting at her usual table, in her usual seat, she found herself looking around the cafeteria. She saw Shinsou sitting with some other students from his class and remembered that he planned to visit her house after school. Her gaze skimmed over the rest of the cafeteria until it settled on the intimidating boy that sat behind her in class.

He did not seem to be sitting with anyone in particular because he was keeping to himself and focusing on his lunch. The other students at his table were involved in their own private conversations and not acknowledging him. Shirayuki subtly tilted her head, puzzled. Maybe he doesn't have friends…? She tensed as he suddenly lifted his gaze and glared at her.

"What're you staring at, Yuki-chan?" Kirishima set his tray down beside hers and followed her line of sight to where Bakugou was now scowling across the room at them. "Huh?"

"…he's…mad at me…" She looked down at her lunch, stomach twisting in knots again. "…I…wouldn't blame you…if you didn't want to sit with me…"

"No way! We're friends, right? And we didn't get to sit together earlier." He sat beside her as Ashido and Kaminari sat across from them.

"Whoa. That's a ton of food," Kaminari remarked.

Ashido elbowed him, frowning. "Rude. You know she needs to eat a lot to be able to use her quirk. We've got a class with All Might this afternoon, right?"

"…yeah…" Shirayuki gave a small nod and pushed down her mask so she could eat. Feeling self-conscious, she chanced a glance up from her food. A pair of rage-filled red eyes were fixed on her from across the room and a chill ran down her spine. I shouldn't have looked at him. He hates me now. Why did I have to look at him?! No one likes to be watched while they eat!

She walked back to the classroom with her new friends, but separated from them when Midoriya approached her to ask about borrowing a book. Shirayuki always carried a few obscure folklore and mythology books in her bag so she was more than happy to share them. The first time he had showed interest in her books, she had hoped that they could become friends. "…did you like the last one…?" she murmured, rummaging in her bag.

"It was really interesting. A lot of the European folklore really seemed like it was referencing people with quirks. I liked it a lot." He smiled when he saw her draw a book of Greek mythology from her bag, eyes widening. "Thanks, Shirayuki-san. I'll try to give it back as soon as I can."

Behind her mask, she smiled back at him. He seemed to be able to tell by the way the corners of her eyes wrinkled slightly. "…no problem…"

"S-so, um, I heard that you found a box of kittens yesterday…?"

Shirayuki nodded and reached into her bag for her phone. "…I…have some pictures…and I'm…trying to find them homes…"

Before Midoriya could lean down to look at the pictures, he was interrupted. "Move it, Deku. You're blocking my way." Bakugou glared first at him and then at Shirayuki. "What are you doing?"

"Kaachan, she was just showing me her cats."

"Let me see." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her phone closer, eyes focusing on the photo displayed on the screen. "Those are the cats everyone keeps talking about?"

The girl tensed at the skin on skin contact. She began to tremble and lowered her eyes. "…my arm…"

"What? Speak up, red eyes."

"…c-can I…have my arm back…?" she murmured.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth and he leaned down. "What're you gonna do about it?"

Her anxiety from his tone mixed with a fresh nervousness of a guy being so close and she felt her face turning red, the heat extending to her ears again. He saw this and let go, taking his seat behind her. She mumbled an apology to Midoriya and quickly put away her phone. I need to calm down. I just need to calm down. Deep breaths. It's not a big deal. The day is already half over.

The girl's small amount of confidence was gradually replenishing until it came time for All Might's class. Standing outside in her gym uniform, Shirayuki had to wonder if there was a higher power at all. She had to wonder what she might have done in a previous life to deserve the amount of stress that she was being forced to deal with that day. The second that All Might told everyone to pair up for an obstacle course, she felt her blood run cold.

Looking to the rest of the class, she tried to quickly locate someone to pair up with. Again, most of the others had already found partners. This is my worst nightmare. Why do they keep making us pair up with other people? Why can't we do this alone? Shirayuki anxiously scratched at her wrist, glancing at All Might and hoping he might suddenly change his mind about the lesson.

"Hey! Yuki-chan, over here! I don't have a partner yet!" Kirishima called to her. He waved, smiling in a warm and welcoming way that made her instantly feel a little better about the situation. When he saw her start toward his little group, his smile grew for a moment, but then faltered when he saw the figure behind her.

"She's taken!" Bakugou looked down at her with a smirk.

"…why…?"