Uraraka is already waiting outside, looking at her phone with a cake box hanging from her right hand, when Izuku crashes into her and starts shaking her by the shoulders. He's talking a mile a minute, his tendency for mumbling coming back with a vengeance as he spouts out words that don't seem to make any sense to anyone who isn't him.

"Wow there, slow down a smidgen Deku-kun!" Her eyes widen slightly as she puts up a hand in a 'stop' motion to get her point across.

Izuku pauses for a gasping breath, letting his head fall slightly and a low whine form in his throat. "I saw him..." He says simply, continuing before she has the chance to ask 'who?' "The guy from the club. On my way here. I walked right into him and I think that he thinks I find his scar unsettling because I couldn't stop stating at him. Oh god why couldn't I stop staring at him? He probably thinks I'm a jerk. Or worse, a freak!"

Finally letting go of Uraraka's shoulders, Izuku hides his face in his hands and once again lets out a miserable little noise. She laughs at his suffering, the traitorous backstabber, and it only makes it that much worse.

"Relax, I'm sure it's not as bad as you're making it out to be. You have a problem with overthinking." She taps his forehead with an accusing finger and Izuku looks at her from in between his.

"You don't understand. I kept stuttering like an idiot! And I'm pretty sure I implied I was thinking about him before," Realising what he just said, he immediately backpedals "WHICH I WASN'T." Awkwardly clearing his throat and feeling his face starting to burn, he starts examining his shoes as if they're the most interesting thing on the planet. "Anyway, I kind of want to die right now and I don't think it's a good idea for me to go with you."

"Oh no, nuh-uh, you're not backing out of this that easily. We had a deal, honour your part or suffer the consequences." Uraraka gives him a stern look and he blanches.

"What are the consequences..." His words trail off into silence, unsure if he wants to actually hear the answer. When she dangles his phone in front of his face, he nearly chokes, reaching for it desperately, but she's too fast for him to even get close. How did she even get that?!

"I'll use this to arrange a date for you two."

"WHAT? You wouldn't!" The outrage was evident in his voice but, unfortunately, so was the crushing doubt.

"Wouldn't I?" Uraraka's expression turns dark, a devilish glint settling in her eyes, and Izuku gulps audibly before nervously trying to defuse the situation.

"I just wouldn't go. What am I saying? He wouldn't even say yes to begin with."

"Oh, but if he did, you don't have the heart to stand him up. If you're so sure he wouldn't accept just let it happen."

"You- but I- that's just... If you do that you're just gonna make me seem like an even bigger jerk than he probably already thinks I am! You shouldn't play with people like that, Ocha!" The way she just shrugs and flashes him an evil grin has him questioning all of his life choices up until this point. Why are we best friends again?

"I'm only doing this for your own good. You need to get out of that house."

"I did! I'm right here! Outside the house!" He shouts indignantly, throwing his arms up in the air in frustration and earning himself some strange looks from people walking past them on the streets.

"You know what I mean. Get back to your life, stop trying to avoid Bakugou or dwelling on 'what ifs'." Uraraka shoves his shoulder lightly, her face softening with a plea.

Ah, that's why... She really was just trying to help him out of this slump. Whether her methods are legitimate or not is a completely different story, but she means well. Hell, she probably wouldn't even go through with it and is just trying to get him to act on his own. Izuku sighs heavily and reaches for his phone once more, yet this time, she lets him take it back. Taking the hand he'd just freed up for Uraraka, he starts walking towards the studio with her in tow.

"Good choice." She smiles up at him before resting her head on his shoulder for a second and he sighs again, albeit a little more theatrically.

"I know. Seriously though, you need to stop using threats and bribes to get what you want." Izuku chuckles lowly, bumping his hip into hers.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Shaking his head, Izuku rolls his eyes at her, but he's smiling softly, in a way that he's been able to do only ever since she showed up at his apartment to cheer him up. If not for her, it was highly likely that he'd still be sitting in the darkness, crying by himself and wondering if all the pain was even worth it. He'd be lying if he said it doesn't hurt anymore, it does. But it's because of her that he's up and about instead of wallowing in self-pity.

Izuku squeezes her hand slightly and she returns it as they keep walking side by side and some of the weight in his chest seems to slowly be lifting. He starts thinking about dancing with her again, with everyone else, and finds that the corners of his lips are doing an awful lot of twitching. Soon, he just stops resisting it and there's a goofy grin plastered on his face that Uraraka definitely doesn't miss when she turns to glance at him.

"Thinking about the cute guy?" She teases, letting go of his hand to poke his side.

His cheeks flood with a crimson tinge and he looks away with a scowl. "No. I was thinking about you, actually. And all the others. About dancing with you guys."

It's her turn to become a little pinker than usual in the cheeks, smiling at him as she flings an arm over his shoulders and pulls him to her. "Look at you, being all cheesy."

Shoving her away with an overly exaggerated frown he clicks his tongue at her. "You're ruining it."

Izuku's heartrate picks up when he finally sees the building in the distance, spotting bright blonde hair that has him choking for a second before actually rationalising that Kacchan's hair is ashier. And looks literally nothing like Kaminari's. His anxiety really is getting out of hand all of a sudden. As if understanding his sudden panic, Uraraka holds his arm for a moment in a reassuring gesture and Izuku tries to breathe. It's a little harder than he would like to admit but he can handle it.

As soon as they make it through the door, Izuku barely has time to take in the familiar surroundings before his feet are being swept off of the floor.

"Midoriya, my boy!" Izuku yelps at the large man spinning him around once before setting him back on steady ground. Even if he's a little disoriented and it feels like said ground is moving away from him. "I hear you've been missing! What luck that the day I come by is when you decide to return as well!"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Izuku laughs nervously and shifts from one foot to another. He didn't expect Yagi-sensei to even notice his absence despite Uraraka's comment that he missed him… The tall and larger than life man had taken a liking to Izuku from the moment he first stepped into the auditions to get into the school, sure, but he never thought… He honestly thought that Uraraka was just saying that to further convince him to come back sooner. When he glances at her from the corner of his eye and spots the impish smirk dancing on her lips, it hits him like a truck that she knew he'd be here today. That sneaky-

"So, what's been keeping you away?"

Izuku snaps his attention back to his idol/teacher and once more lets out a trembling little laugh. "Uh… I was… You see…" What was he supposed to say to that? Oh, I'm sorry sensei, I broke up with one of your best dancers and my childhood friend and don't trust myself to look at him again without either breaking down crying or begging him to have me back. Also while crying. Because that would go swimmingly.

"Deku-kun was a little sick, that's all." Uraraka comes to his aid with her innocent little smile that seems to somehow deflect the attention from him and he tries not to sigh in relief.

"I see, well I'm glad to see you're doing better." Yagi-sensei claps him on the shoulder and he nearly topples over from the sheer force.

Despite his injury having taken most of his strength the man still manages to pack a lot of punch. Where he gets all his energy from? Izuku may never really know. He smiles shakily while he whispers a 'thank you' before Yagi-sensei goes off to do whatever business he'd come to take care of and Uraraka goes to one of the lockers to leave the cake and her bag.

As they make their way towards their usual little corner of the studio, Izuku can't help but stare all around him in earnest. He's scanning every face, the back of everyone's heads, every wall, door and window. Searching. With each step they take forwards, his heartrate picks up and his body shakes just a little harder. His heart is in his throat, forming a lump there that makes it nearly impossible to breathe, and it's all he can do to blink away the tears that are building up in his eyes. Izuku feels as if he's on the verge of a severe panic attack and the only thing that's grounding him is Uraraka's fingers brushing the back of his hand.

All of that ceases when they finally reach their regular room and there he is, with his back turned to them. Izuku brings one of his hands up to his chest, gripping the fabric of his vest so tightly his knuckles turn pale white. Kacchan is stretching, though Izuku isn't sure if he's warming up or cooling down, but from the way his clothes seem to be completely dry, he would guess the first. He looks up and crimson eyes meet his in the large mirror that covers the far end wall opposite the doorway he's standing in.

Kacchan's expression is always defaulted to a scowl, but as soon as he sees him standing there, the corners of his lips pull down even further. Izuku sees his fist clench around his elbow where he'd been pulling to stretch out his shoulder muscles and it feels like it's his heart he's crushing. Jaw dropping slightly, Izuku feels like he should say something, anything really, but no sounds come out but for the shuddering breath that leaves him harshly. The next move his brain suggests is to turn tail and just run away as far and as fast as his legs would take him, but his muscles are locked in place.

When the blonde turns around to actually face them, Izuku feels the urge to flinch but he still can't seem to move. He expects Kacchan to yell, to lash out, to explode right in his face, insult him and throw poisoned words his way. But what happens instead, is that he wordlessly moves to where he'd discarded his jacket and picks it up off of the floor. He walks straight for him, his fiery gaze never leaving him and shoves his way past him, knocking him sideways with a shoulder, no words, no shouting, nothing. And somehow it hurts so much worse.

Finally managing to get his body to respond, Izuku reaches for him. "Kacchan…" His voice calls, weak, small, desperate. But he doesn't even acknowledge any noises coming from him, and now Izuku's trying to go after him. Uraraka's hand around his wrist is what stops him, bringing him back from wherever his mind was and pulling him to the here and now. He looks back at her and notices with a start that his face feels wet.

Reaching for his cheeks with his free hand, Izuku's fingertips become damp with the tears that stream freely from the corners of his eyes without him even realising. When he turns back to Kacchan, he's no longer there and Izuku has no idea where he's gone but he feels the overwhelming desire to go find him. Yet Uraraka tugs on his arm and pulls him into the room against his will, causing him to stumble after her while still staring after him.

"O-Ocha…" His voice cracks miserably and she pulls his face to hers forcefully, her forehead resting against his and steely brown eyes demanding his attention.

"You're gonna get through this. Deep breaths." Uraraka speaks calmly but her tone is unwavering, and he follows her order obediently as she strokes the tears away from his eyes with her thumbs. One of her hands comes to rest over his chest, over his frantic heart that's betraying him in wanting to go back to the hands of the one that broke it. "You're stronger than this."

Izuku's bottom lip quivers and he squeezes his eyes shut, taking in a deep and steadying breath that comes out in stutters. Some more tears, fat and hot, roll down his cheeks. "I want…" He can't finish the sentence, his throat closing up and choking him.

"I know. Look at me," She tugs at his chin. "Izuku, look at me." He forces his eyes open and his gaze to hers. "You're gonna get through this, okay?" Closing his eyes again, Izuku nods stiffly through a hiccupped gasp.

It takes a few minutes for Uraraka to get him to calm down enough to finally be let go without falling apart. She gives him one long and tight hug before dropping their phones and pulling him to the centre of the room. They go through the motions of stretching and warming up together in a comfortable silence. Izuku is thankful, not yet trusting his voice to not break or sound strangled when he speaks. He gets lost in the familiar movements, sitting down on the floor with his legs spread before Uraraka pushes against his back and helps him through the trickier ones. Once he's done, they switch places and by the end of it, he feels like he can once again breathe normally. His chest still feels heavy and if he thinks about it too long he thinks he might start crying again, so he tries not to.

"What are we dancing to, then?" He gets himself to ask as Uraraka gets back to her feet and pulls her leg up behind her by her ankle.

Uraraka looks thoughtful for a moment, switching to the other leg while he does the same. Walking towards her phone, she picks it up and hooks it to the speakers. She scrolls through her playlists with a drawn-out hum until her eyes land on something that seems to peak her interest and she taps the screen, likely leaving the song on repeat as they often do. As soon as the first notes ring around the room, Izuku feels his lips curve downward and sends her a half-hearted glare. He's not sure if she's trying to make a joke or if she's actually serious but either way, he is entirely unamused.

"I know what you're thinking," Uraraka starts, speaking over Dua Lipa's deep and smooth voice. "but this might be therapeutic."

Izuku tilts his head at her, cocking a disbelieving eyebrow. He regrets introducing her to English artists more and more each day, the lyrics ringing loud and clear in his mind, the message behind them not at all going ignored. Bringing a hand to the back of his neck and running it to the front of his head with a sigh, he nods again.

"Fine. What did you have in mind?"

She smiles at him for a second before taking in the tempo and trying out some steps. Once the chorus picks up again after the second verse, it's like a flip switches and she becomes a whole other person. The fierce and sure way of her movements, the elegance and the emotion behind every single one and the intensity as she drops to her knees make Izuku's whole world shake with it. Pausing for a moment, she picks herself back up and walks over to him, taking his hands in hers.

"Something like that. You think we can do this together?"

Managing a tiny smile, Izuku answers her by mimicking her previous movements, stumbling on a couple of the transitions but recovering until the drop. "I think with a little practice…?"

And so, they set to do just that, perfecting the first steps and adding on to the routine until they finally had something solid to actually stick with after shutting off the music to think. Time seems to fly as they move with each other, stopping to correct each other's posture or to suggest he 'do it less stiffly, like this' or she 'watch the landing on that one'. At one point, Yagi-sensei stops by to compliment their work and give a few pointers of his own. They take his advice to heart and immediately adjust their steps to accommodate the suggestions, the man leaving them to it with a smile and a warm 'goodbye'. They don't notice the afternoon getting away from them outside, but they don't care either, losing themselves in their focus until finally, they come to an agreement on everything.

"It's getting late…" Izuku finally acknowledges, looking at his phone to check the time. "One more time and we wrap this up?" He finds himself suggesting, knowing that he wants to actually see the final piece from start to finish at least once before they leave.

Uraraka beams and skips over to the speakers to reset the song and jumps back to his side in a flash. They stare at their shapes in the mirror tapping their feet until the song works its way up to the chorus. They tiptoe across the floor as they move through a series of pirouettes and Izuku's heart beats hard in his chest in time with the music. He reaches out with Uraraka towards the sky while sliding to the side, recoiling into a twisting drop and feeling the weight lift off of his shoulders. They pick themselves up off the floor and Izuku's heart soars as his feet leave the ground a few steps later.

He's flying as they move not because of the routine itself, but because it sets him free of the coiling emotions twisting in his heart. With each twirl of his body and each stretch of his leg, a little less darkness suffocates him. They move in sync with each other, each with their own expressiveness and their own story and Izuku feels lighter as he tells his. They finish their short routine with their own added flavour, Izuku falling backwards onto the ground panting, but with a small smile tugging at his lips. It wasn't much, given their short time, but it was something.

Uraraka was right, it was therapeutic. Though he's sure any other song would've served the same purpose, he appreciates his best friend's attempt at giving him perspective. In the end, he guesses that it worked. It isn't to say that he's completely changed and healed, but he was slowly getting there. Baby steps, Izuku thinks. He missed this freedom, this overflow of feeling…

"Thank you… For making me come back…"

Uraraka lies down next to him, laying her head on his heaving chest and listening to his frantic heart. "You're welcome." Sitting back up she pats the wet spot his sweat has left on his hoodie. "And gross."

Shoving her aside, he gets to his knees with a tiny laugh, helping her up to her feet a few moments later. "Well, have the gross embrace of gratitude." Izuku pulls her into his sweaty arms and she drawls out a long 'ew' but returns the hug all the same. Uraraka pushes away to go get her phone back and he does the same.

Once they finally make it outside, the streets are already starting to buzz with the night life. She hands him the box with the promised red velvet cake and he takes it, already feeling his mouth watering at the possibilities.

"Don't eat it all in one sitting." The look in his eye must have given him away.

"No promises." Izuku retorts, feeling a pang of sadness now that it dawns on him that they're going to part ways.

For a moment he considers asking Uraraka to stay with him again tonight, but the request turns to ash on his tongue. She has a life of her own, Izuku can't expect her to be his crutch for the rest of his life. He needs to get through this himself as well, without her help every step of the way. With a dejected sigh he hopes she doesn't notice too much, he squeezes her hand with one last 'thanks' before they each set on their way home.

The apartment smells clean and looks less like the mess he still feels inside, but it's also empty and lonely. Izuku trudges his way inside, dropping to his seat by the counter and propping his face up on a fist. It's so quiet… Was it like this the days before too? Or is it just because Uraraka filled his little living space with such life that without her it felt even more dead and cold?

His phone vibrates in his pocket and he smiles at it when he sees a text from the girl in question that was just a string of silly emojis and a heart at the end. He types out the actual 'ily2' in response before going back to staring at the cake box. Reaching for a fork without actually getting out of his seat, Izuku opens it and just digs right in. It's delicious but somehow, he doesn't feel his insides melting with delight with each bite as he usually does. A deep scowl takes over his features and he rests his forehead on his crossed arms after pushing the cake away.

Kacchan's dismissal of him starts clawing at Izuku the longer he just sits in the deafening silence of his apartment. Against his better judgement, he picks up his phone and scrolls down to his contact, feeling the overwhelming urge to text him. His thumbs react as if they have a mind of their own, typing out a message asking for forgiveness, begging for it really. It sounds clingy and needy and desperate the more he reads over it but, still, he hovers over 'send'.

With trembling hands and prickling eyes, he drops his phone carefully and drags himself to the bathroom where he showers and puts on some comfortable, clean clothes. He bunches up in his green hoodie, imagining he can still smell Kacchan on it and goes back to staring at the unsent text from the comfort of his couch, shrouded in darkness. He swallows nervously and backs out of the draft, for a second a crazy idea passing through his mind.

Izuku dismisses it right away, throwing the phone to the opposite end of the couch. But his eyes linger on its back. Tentatively, Izuku reaches for it and scrolls down to the 'T' on his contact list. A gulp is loud and harsh against the quiet of the room, but his heart tugs his fingers back to the draft so he ignores its screaming and taps the name, forcing himself to do anything else.

[Midoriya Izuku 08:56 pm]

Hey

-delivered-

Closing his eyes, Izuku brings the phone to rest against his chest, feeling the anxiety crawling icily up his veins. This was a mistake. He shouldn't… He shouldn't have… It's a fake number… This isn't any better than what he was about to do before, he is never going to get a-

The phone vibrates in his hand and Izuku jumps. Shaking, he unlocks the screen.

[Todoroki Shouto 3 09:01 pm]

Midoriya?

There's a large lump in Izuku's throat as he stares at the text, that little heart still glaring back at him offensively. Still, instead of deleting it, he taps out a reply and gets one in return before he even has the chance to back out of the text.

[Todoroki Shouto 3 09:04 pm]

Is everything okay?

Izuku can't help but look around him before gaping at the phone again, holding the too long sleeve of his hoodie over his mouth. He doesn't know how to reply to that, or how he would even know to ask it in the first place. There's another text below as he tries to even think of what to say.

[Todoroki Shouto 3 09:05 pm]

It feels like you're upset.

Standing up at the sight, Izuku drops his phone on the cushions and runs to his room where he locks himself for the rest of the night. He doesn't know why he ran from the text, and he certainly doesn't understand why he's curled up under his covers with his heart beating faster than he thinks he's ever felt it. He closes his eyes and sees red and white swimming around in his thoughts until sleep finally takes mercy on him.

NOTES: And here is chapter 3! I sincerely hope you're enjoying this because, like I said before, I'm just having fun and I'd like you guys to do so as well!

Feel free to leave any feedback you may have and thank you for reading! ^-^

ALSO: If you'd like to see the choreographies for the dances included in the chapters, I'll put the links on my profile!