She could feel eyes on her and she was hesitant to look up. Shirayuki knew that her grandmother was smiling, which only made her own smile grow. Keeping her gaze lowered to her plate, she tried to focus on her breakfast. It's my first Sunday with friends. We're not meeting until later, but…I'm really excited.

"You know, I'm proud of you, Ume. I just want you to know that. You've really started to come out of your shell since you started high school." The old woman lifted her cup of tea, the steam briefly hiding her smile. "Your father would be very proud of you, too."

Shirayuki felt a tightness in her chest as she nodded once. "…ah…I'm meeting friends later…but I won't be out too late…"

"Oh? Do you have plans with Shinsou-kun or those kids from your class?"

"…kids from class…" She finished her food and cleared the table, feeling butterflies in her stomach when she heard Shinsou's name. He…saw me without my mask. And he wasn't freaked out. He actually…seemed happy.

"Ah! Before I forget, could you run to the store for me, Ume? I made a list and I'll give you a little extra money for a treat."

"…of course…" She took the list and money from her grandmother, promising to be quick. Shirayuki went to her room to select a mask for the day and frowned slightly. I wonder if I'll ever be able to go to the store without wearing a mask. The thought made her stomach churn and she shook her head. Settling on a black mask, she secured it over the lower half of her face and set off.

Shirayuki felt anxious about going into the store. No matter how many times she went out in public, she could never get used to it. She always felt as though people were staring at her. The girl knew this was illogical. There was no reason for them to stare. Still, she let her dark violet hair fall around her face to hide it as she walked through the store.

It was around the meat section that she became aware of someone looking at her. Goose bumps formed on her arms, the hair standing up on the back of her neck. She fidgeted with the handle of her shopping basket and chewed at her lower lip, trying to summon forth the courage to keep moving. The sooner she got her groceries, the sooner she could leave and be rid of this uneasy feeling.

"Hey, red eyes! Don't ignore me!"

Her stomach dropped and she tensed. I didn't hear anyone calling my name. Wait…does he know my name? He keeps calling me "red eyes". Don't we have the same eye color though? Shirayuki heard the approaching footsteps and pushed herself to turn around to look at him.

Bakugou stopped a few feet away from her, eyes going to the shopping basket first and then to the girl's face. "What're you doing?"

"…g-getting groceries…for my grandmother…" she mumbled.

"What? Speak up!"

"…getting groceries for my grandmother…" the girl repeated, raising her voice a little. The change in volume made her face start to burn faintly, embarrassed that she might draw attention to herself. "…you're shopping…?"

"None of your business." His gaze lowered from her face now, his expression changing from irritation to slight confusion. He was used to seeing her in her school uniform, gym uniform, or hero costume. This was his first time seeing her in her casual clothes and he seemed surprised.

Shirayuki tended to wear whatever her grandmother bought for her. Her grandmother, being the kind old woman that she was, wanted the girl to dress trendy so she could feel normal. The girl's pants for the day were long shorts with multiple pockets, in a dark red color. Her shirt had long sleeves, a V-neckline, and it was a charcoal color with red star print. "…um…?"

"Not bad." It was said quietly, as if he had not meant to let her hear.

"…s-sorry…?" She took a step back from him, clutching the shopping basket tighter. By now, she knew that her face must be as red as her pants.

"Yuki-chan! Hey, you're out early even on a Sunday?" Kaminari greeted her as he approached. The blond grinned and looked down into her basket. "Are you making something good for lunch?"

"…n-no…ah…my grandmother wanted this stuff so…"

"Oh! You're shopping for her? That's sweet. Hey, Bakugou."

"We're in the middle of something. Beat it."

"What? I just wanted to talk to Yuki-chan for a second. It won't take long." Kaminari turned his attention back to her, his grin fading to a smile. "Hey, so are you excited for tonight? The movie starts around dinner time so Kirishima said we should all get some food afterwards. What do you like to eat?"

"…I'm…not picky…I'll eat anything…" she replied, smiling behind her mask.

The two discussed food for a moment as Bakugou's impatience grew. He crossed his arms, waiting for them to finish. Shirayuki could see that he was becoming annoyed, but she was unsure of why. He said I was ignoring him, but I didn't hear him calling me. Then he wouldn't tell me why he was here and…got mad at Kaminari-kun for talking to me. I don't understand.

She silently hoped that Kaminari would want to stay with her until she left, but he soon excused himself because he was running an errand. Now more or less alone with Bakugou. Shirayuki glanced toward him and saw a smirk taking form. "…sorry…um…y-you were saying…?"

"You're going to a movie with those nerds tonight?"

"…yes…if you w-wanted to go with us…I-I'm sure Kirishima-kun would…"

"Like hell I'm going to hang out with them."

Shift P.O.V

It was pure coincidence that he saw her at the store, but a good coincidence. Something about messing with her gave him immeasurable satisfaction. Especially when he saw her face turning red. She was a weird, skittish girl, but he had to admit that he did not dislike her.

After suffering through her making dull plans with their other classmate for that night, an idea sparked. He grabbed her wrist and started pulling her along down the aisle, the smirk still in place on his lips. "Hurry up! We've got plans now, red eyes!"

"…w-wait a second…what…plans…?" Her voice was muffled by her mask and when he looked at her over his shoulder, the girl's face was a vibrant pink.

"We're gonna go somewhere. Quit looking so nervous; you're making people gawk." Bakugou stared her down until she seemed to be attempting a smile behind her mask. Damn it. What are we going to do? I didn't think of anything.

He had acted a little rashly, he had to admit. Something about seeing her be so friendly with their classmate had irritated him. It was the same as when he saw her hanging out with her friends at lunch or between classes. He knew it was jealousy, but he had yet to determine why he felt that way. The two had hardly spoken, though he wanted to change that. On this day, he intended to change that.

As she finished up her shopping, he thought back to the obstacle course from a few days ago. The force of her energy blasts and the sheer destruction that she was capable of. Inevitably, he remembered how he had used his own body to anchor her and keep her from being knocked off her feet. They had been a powerful team. This gave him an idea of what they could do.

Shift P.O.V

Shirayuki finally pulled her arm free when she needed to pay for her groceries. She cast a nervous glance in his direction as the clerk accepted her money and started to bite her lower lip again. "…um…I need to take these home…" she started.

"Wait for me."

"…why…?" Nonetheless, she was too polite to walk away after hearing his request. Standing out in front of the store, head bowed, she tried to think of an excuse to separate from him. She could still feel the warmth of his hand around her wrist, lingering on her skin. Scratching at it, she frowned.

Her thoughts went to something strange that Kirishima had said, just days earlier. When Kaminari had asked if Bakugou was bullying her, Kirishima had remarked that he thought it was the opposite of that. What does that mean though? Does he think that Bakugou wants to be friends with me? I can't imagine…someone like him…wanting to be friends with someone like me. Her eyes half-closed and she sighed. Our quirks…are kind of similar. They're powerful. Maybe he just wants to talk about that.

She needed to take the groceries home so she tried to prepare herself to go inside quickly and avoid needing to introduce him to her grandmother. She was unsure of how she would even introduce him. As far as she knew, they were just classmates. Thankfully, he waited outside for her.

Shirayuki emerged from her house to find him leaning against the fence outside. "…ah…s-so…what did you want to do…?" She nervously ran her fingers along a lock of dark hair that was hanging loosely beside her face.

Bakugou's eyes narrowed as he straightened from leaning back. He saw the anxious way that she fidgeted with her hair and reached out to tightly grip her wrist. "We're gonna go for a walk."

Somehow, the way that he said it felt almost threatening. Even without the smirk and the tone of his voice, Shirayuki was uneasy at the thought of spending time alone with a boy again. She was still adjusting to suddenly having friends so to move on to spending time alone with a boy was a bit overwhelming. "…where…?"

"There's a forest near here."

The girl began to tremble, ever so slightly. "…f-forest…?"

"What? You have a problem? You don't want to go with me?" he demanded.

Intimidated, she shook her head. "…I'm just…I-I'm not good at…conversation so…you might get bored…or…"

"I never said we were gonna talk!" The boy glared down at her and saw her face turning red again, her eyes closing. He reached to her hair with his free hand and tugged, making the girl wince. "You're too quiet anyway. I can barely hear you when you talk. You need to speak up! Yell something!"

Her stomach was doing flips and she shook her head again, biting at her lower lip harder than before. She tasted blood and lifted a hand over her mask, where it covered her mouth. "…ah…"

He started to lead her again, that satisfied smirk from before easily retaking his features. "Quit looking scared. I'm doing this to help you. You should be thanking me, red eyes."