I am officially deciding to not have a set day per week when I upload chapters. So so sorry everyone for taking another long break from uploading. I have been busy with my personal life recently, so I was unable to work on this fic for awhile. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
I have notifications of when I upload and when I don't on my Instagram. I also post original fanart, and I take story suggestions on it. You can follow me pohlarbear12
"Shoji!" Momo called to him to get his attention. He turned, surprised that she was talking to him. She approached him along with Jiro. "I know this is kind of last minute, but we are wondering if you could do us a favor."
"Sumire is the only girl without a date and has been feeling down lately. We were wondering if you could go with her as friends to the party" Jiro asked.
"Yeah I heard something happened between her and Bakugo. I would gladly be willing help her out" Shoji replied.
"Thank you so much! It wouldn't be good for her to be alone at the party" Momo said gratefully.
"Try not to mention the Bakugo stuff though" Jiro added. "She's still pretty upset about it."
"Thanks for letting me know, I wouldn't want to make her feel uncomfortable" Shoji responded. The pair then thanked Shoji again and parted ways. After their conversation, with help from Tokoyami and Tsu, Shoji put together a bouquet of flowers.
"Even though you are going as friends ribbit, the flowers are a nice gesture" Tsu commented. Shoji thanked them for their help and went to go find Sumire. He eventually found her sitting by herself at a table.
He cleared his throat, "Hey Kenshutsu." She turned to look at him. "I know you don't have a date to the party, but if you want one, I'd be happy to go with you as friends."
She paused and then smiled before answering, "Thanks Shoji! You're so sweet." She stood up, and he hugged her and handed her the flowers.
"These are for you" he said.
"They're beautiful! Did you pick them out yourself?" she asked.
"I had help from Tokoyami and Tsu" he replied.
"Really Shoji, thank you" she beamed at him.
"You're welcome. I'll see you tonight." They waved each other goodbye to begin prepping for the party.
Everyone was buzzing with excitement as time drew closer to 5 pm. Nearly everyone had changed into their formal wear. The girls were helping each other with makeup and hair. The boys who didn't have dates went ahead and left for the party, while the ones who did have dates stayed behind. One by one the girls went downstairs to meet their dates. Uraraka came down first, and Midoriya nearly fainted at the sight of her. She wore a short, pink, sleeveless dress with a large bow on the back and pink heels. "Deku you look..." she blushed, "very handsome." He wore a green suit with a pink bow tie that matched her dress. His hair was also somewhat less messy than usual. He managed to squeak out the word "amazing" as they walked out the door together.
Toru followed wearing a short, white, v-neck dress made of lace with spaghetti straps and white heels. She skipped over to Ojiro who matched her with a white tux, black pants, and black bow tie. He smiled widely at her and linked his arm with hers.
As they left, Tsu gracefully descended the stairs. Tokoyami felt his breath catch in his throat as he looked at her in awe. She sparkled in her short black dress with sheer sleeves and a sheer outer skirt layer. Tsu blushed as he stared at her and complimented his dapper outfit comprised of a black cape worn over a black suit and tie.
Mina then stepped down to join with Kirishima. He wore a dark navy suit with a light pink shirt, while she wore a long, dark navy dress with a deep v-neck and matching heels.
The next girl to come down was Momo who showed off a beautiful, red, sleeveless dress with a yoke waist and red heels. Todoroki's black suit and red tie combo complimented her outfit nicely.
The last two girls came down together. Jiro wore a long, asymmetrical, yellow dress with a black top and black lace sleeves. She also sported black, lace-up boot heels. Meanwhile, Sumire looked stunning in her long, dark gray dress with a beaded bodice and gray heels.
Kaminari admired Jiro, "I'm in love with your personality, but I'm also in love with your amazing looks- OW! Hey, I was complimenting you!" He rubbed the spot where Jiro had stabbed him with her earphone jack.
"You don't look too bad yourself" Jiro responded as she looked away bashfully, a slight blush brushing her cheeks. He grinned cheekily because he knew she would like the look he picked out: an unbuttoned gray suit with a black shirt and a yellow tie.
Shoji also admired Sumire, "You look very nice Kenshutsu."
"You too Shoji" she responded, complimenting his classic, black suit paired with a dark gray tie. They left the building and made their way to the party venue.
As the couples arrived at the party, they joined up with the rest of the class. "I love your white suit Aoyama!" Mina exclaimed.
"Merci mademoiselle!" He replied.
Jiro complimented Koda's tan suit. "I helped him pick it out!" Sero chimed in.
"Wow Sero that's a bold choice" Jiro said, referring to the bright red suit he was wearing.
"Mineta's got a pretty bold look too" Sero pointed to Mineta who was wearing a purple suit.
"I look great don't I" Mineta said smugly.
"Iida's looking sharp in his blue suit" Midoriya complimented.
"Isn't it the same one he wore on I-Island?" Uraraka asked.
"No!" Iida sliced the air. "I happen to own ten sets of the same colored suit. The one I'm wearing right now is in fact not the same suit as the one from I-Island."
"You have ten of the same suit? Pfffft!" Uraraka giggled.
"Looking manly Sato. Who knew you'd look so great in a brown suit" Kirishima said with a thumbs up.
As the group continued to converse, people began to break away. "Man I'm starving wanna grab a bite?" Kaminari asked Jiro.
"Let's go get some punch!" Toru said as she pulled Ojiro across the room. Meanwhile, Mina dragged Kirishima onto the dance floor. Sumire didn't hesitate to break away from the group immediately to avoid a certain someone. Shoji noticed her leave and followed her.
"Hey Kenshutsu! Wait for me!" He caught up to her.
"You don't have to follow me" Sumire told him.
"Even though we are just here together as friends, I want to make sure you fully enjoy yourself" Shoji replied. "Don't let him prevent you from having fun."
"You're right. Let's dance" Sumire and Shoji walked together to the dance floor. Pop music played over speakers, and colorful lights shone all around. Sumire felt a little awkward and just stood still, unsure of what she should do. "You know what maybe we should just get a drink or something..."
Shoji grabbed her hands, "It's okay. Relax and just feel the music." They slowly began to pulse and move their feet and bodies to the beat.
You know what? This is actually kind of fun. Sumire was beginning to enjoy herself, when someone bumped into her from behind. She lost her balance and ended up falling onto the ground.
"What the hell? Watch where you're going!" Sumire turned around to see Bakugo, who looked back at her with surprise. Without warning, tears began to fall from her eyes, and she stood up and ran off before anyone could stop her. She ended up outside on a balcony. The sun had set, and the stars began appearing in the night sky. She sniffed and wiped her eyes as she heard someone approaching.
"Shoji go back inside, I'm fine" she said with a shiver.
"You're going to catch a cold." Sumire turned to see Bakugo standing behind her.
"What are you doing here?!" She said as she rubbed her arms to keep herself warm.
"I followed you outside. It's cold, so you should go back inside" he replied bluntly.
"I don't want to" she said with a shake of her head.
"Then take my jacket." Bakugo took off his charcoal suit jacket and offered it to her, leaving him in just a black dress shirt.
"I don't want it" she declined.
"You need it" he stated.
"No I don't" she shot back.
"Yes you do, you're shivering" he insisted.
"I don't need it" she repeated.
"Stop being stubborn and just take the damn jacket!" Sumire didn't respond and instead, took the suit jacket and put it on. They stood next to each other in silence, neither one saying a word.
Sumire glanced at Bakugo, he looks like he wants to say something. She waited before deciding to break the awkward silence between them, "The reason why I talk to people is because of my experience at my last school." Bakugo turned to look at her. "It might be hard to believe, but I'm antisocial. At my old school, it was so hard for me to make friends. I was very independent and did almost everything by myself. From the other kids' perspectives, I didn't need friends. But the truth was that I was lonely, and I didn't know how to reach out to people. I waited for someone to reach out to me, but no one ever did. I had almost lost myself when my family ended up moving here. It was a graceful opportunity to reach out and save myself. Of course this meant that even if it was painful, I would have to be the one to start conversations. And it actually worked! I was so happy to finally have friends. Friends like Jiro and Momo, but then I noticed you. You didn't have very many genuine friends, so I decided I wanted to be your friend. I didn't want anyone to ever feel alone, including you. Loneliness silently kills people from the inside, and I didn't want anybody to have to go through that. So we became friends. And I was so happy that we were friends" she choked out the last part as a tear slipped down her cheek.
"I was happy too."
Sumire turned to look at Bakugo.
"I was happy. I was genuinely happy because of you. You were different from everyone I'd met before. You made me feel different. But then I was stupid, and I got scared. I got scared because you managed to get past my walls so easily. It took Kirishima a long time to break through, but you just walked right in. So I pushed you away. I hurt you. I hurt you when all you ever did was care about me. And you didn't deserve it. It's all my fault" Bakugo closed his eyes and clenched his fists.
"You're right. You did hurt me. What you said hurt me deeply" she paused. "But it hurt more when we stopped talking and laughing and smiling together."
Bakugo just stared at the ground dumbly, Dammit! Just say it! Tell her how you feel!
"I missed you" she whispered. There was silence again as Bakugo and Sumire each stared at the ground. Tears began to well up in her eyes again as the silence dragged on. Our friendship will never be the same. As a tear rolled down her cheek, Bakugo leaned forward and wiped it away with his thumb. He held her face in his hand for a moment and stared into her eyes.
"I missed you too."
He pulled her forward and captured her lips with his. As he pulled her closer into his embrace, her fears and troubles melted away. All she felt was pure bliss. She kissed him back, mixing her tears with his. Their kiss was one of happiness and sadness. Of love and anger. Comfort and harm. Healing and scars.
I have a google doc with images of the students' formal wear. You can view it here: document/d/10GsAY-JrPF8Yq3F8q-5cQdt_z8cSIUrXWi7hhDxCjPo/edit
Thank you so much to everyone who continues to support and read this story! I also have an ao3 account under the same name that I am cross-posting this fic on. As always, I am willing to add your suggestions into the story! In fact, a reader (Alice_Insane) on ao3 was the one who suggested I have Sumire go with Shoji to the party. I did not originally plan to have that, but I thought it was an interesting idea, so I rolled with it. I hope everyone is continuing to stay safe, and I hope to upload the next chapter soon!