(9:00 PM)
From the very moment her foot hit the floor of the house, Momo Yaoyorozu regretted her previous life choices. The blaring house music and low flashing lights attacked her senses and the obnoxious crowds of drunken teenagers obstructed her view of her surroundings.
Why, oh why did she come to this damned party? Momo vaguely recalled her best friend Jiro convincing her some time last week. Jiro had claimed that it would be "a fun way to unwind after the exams!" and that "everyone would be there!" and most importantly, that it would be "very low-key and chill". Low-key and chill? Yeah, right. Her pounding head begged to differ.
Pushing through the crowd, Momo scanned the room for familiar faces. She saw Bakugo, Kirishima and Kaminari, huddled together as per usual. Those three were attached at the hip. They were currently having a very animated discussion, Kirishima slinging his arms over his two friends shoulders while they bickered. Momo couldn't help but grin at the endearing sight.
Her black eyes continued to roam the room, and she spotted Uraraka, Midoriya and Iida mid conversation. She waved to them, and Uraraka noticed.
"Yaoyorozu! Over here!" she called cheerfully. Momo made her way over to the three of them. Midoriya looked slightly uncomfortable and awkward in the party setting. Momo felt for him. Iida was wearing a tuxedo for some inexplicable reason.
"Hey Iida, what's with the suit?" Momo asked in a very determinedly normal voice. She didn't want to make him feel self-conscious, though self-conscious was not an emotion Iida commonly felt.
"I was informed that this would be a party celebrating the end of exams and I thought it called for formal dress! Though clearly I was mistaken. I should have realized that it would only be a regular high school party," Iida proclaimed, clenching his fist in the air. He seemed less bothered by possible embarrassment than getting a fact wrong.
"Well, we are graduating this year. It's only natural people would want to celebrate finishing their last high school exams!" Uraraka said cheerfully.
"Yes, and they seem to like doing it using alcohol, which is clearly illegal! It's a good thing I'm here to keep watch," Iida said importantly.
Momo looked at Midoriya, who was looking at Iida with a small smile. "How are you doing, Midoriya?" she asked him.
"Good, I think? I mean I don't know, this is my first party," he mumbled, wringing his fingers a bit with nerves. "I like spending time with my friends and I like seeing them happy but all these people make me nervous and the music is so loud and it's really, really hot in here and…" he continued to rant, forgetting he was in the middle of a conversation.
Uraraka lightly punched his head, which broke his trance. "Stop over analyzing things, Deku! Just relax and enjoy yourself."
Midoriya blushed lightly and nodded. Momo smiled. The two of them were just too cute together. She hoped they realized that soon. "Have any of you guys seen Jiro?" she asked them.
"Not recently, but I saw her come in a bit ago," Iida informed her.
"Ok, I'm going to look for her then. I'll see you guys later," Momo said. The friends said goodbye and Momo moved back into the raging ocean of people.
Midoriya is right, it's so hot and crowded in here! Momo thought as she fought her way through the pool of dancing teenagers. She clenched the sides of her white button-up silk shirt and made sure that her skirt was staying down. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a flash of red. Locking on to it, she saw a head of white and crimson hair, casually leaning against a relatively less crowded wall.
"Todoroki!" Momo called to him. Shoto Todoroki looked up at the mention of his name and his gray and blue eyes widened. She pushed herself towards him. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm currently asking myself the same question," he sighed. He ran a hand through his duel coloured hair, ruffling it into white and red spikes. It looked soft, Momo noticed. She wondered what it would feel like if she touched it.
"What? You mean you aren't enjoying this fabulous party?" She said in mock shock. Momo shook her head and gave him a sardonic smile. "I'm only here because Jiro said it would be fun. Teach me to trust her ever again," she muttered ruefully.
"Yeah, I'm here because of Midoriya. He said he wanted 'support'," Todoroki said. "He, Iida and Uraraka were standing too close to the crowd so I moved."
"I'm kind of choking in here, I'm going to head out for fresh air. Want to come?" Momo politely offered Todoroki. She began to walk away, already assuming his answer was no.
"Yeah, sure," he agreed to Momo's immense surprise. She hadn't actually expected him to take her up on her offer. "Oh. Ok. Uh, yeah. Let's go," she stuttered, losing her usual cool. If Todoroki noticed, he said nothing.
(9:30 PM)
Outside of the house, the pair could hear the faint pound of a drum beat and muted laughter and yelling. They decided to walk around the neighborhood. Neither of them were hasty to return to the party any time soon.
Momo knew this neighborhood quite well, seeing as the school she and her friends went to, U.A Academy, was in the centre of it. It was a bizarre mix of urban and suburban that ultimately gave off a rather pleasant vibe, if not a little boring. Momo hummed a bit under her breath in an attempt to fill the growing void of silence between herself and her aloof companion. It wasn't working.
"So," Momo began a bit uncertainly. "Do you know who's house that was?"
"No. Midoriya just gave me the address." was Todoroki's monotone reply. The two turned the curb to a quieter street, one filled with sleepy houses and watery starlight.
"Why was Midoriya there in the first place? He doesn't strike me as a party-loving fellow," Momo tried another attempt at conversation.
"He came because Uraraka came," Todoroki said, the slightest hint of exasperation colouring his voice.
Momo gave a rather unlady-like snort. "What's taking so long with them any way? They obviously like each other."
"Even I noticed something. If I noticed something about people's feelings before other people, you know there's a problem," Todoroki added. Momo laughed softly, ducking her head slightly with her giggles. When she lifted her head, she noticed Todoroki looking at her with the oddest expression. His eyes looked distant, but not cold. He stared at her face a gentle thoughtfulness, almost as if he were realizing something.
Momo opened her mouth to ask him what he was thinking, but was interrupted by the sharp trill of her ringtone. "Sorry, this will only be a moment," she muttered to Todoroki, fishing out her phone from her bag. Todoroki nodded nonchalantly.
Looking at the caller ID, Momo saw that it was Jiro who was calling. "Hey Jiro," she said as she picked up the phone.
"Yo, Momo, where are you? Did you not show up to the party?" came Jiro's voice, barely audible with the blaring music in the background.
"I was there but I couldn't find you so I left to get some air with Todoroki."
"With Todoroki? Girl, I'm so sorry if I interrupted anything important." Momo could hear the glaringly obvious innuendo behind her words.
"Oh please. Why did you call?"
"A, to make sure you came to the party, which you did. B, because this party fucking sucks and a couple of us are going to a nearby park to chill. You know the one with the rock that kind of looks like a heart?"
"Yes," Momo answered, recalling the afternoons where Jiro and her had relaxed there and listened to music together.
"That one. Any how, you're coming and you're going to come with four six-packs and Todoroki."
"How will I get beer? I'm under aged."
"There's a convenient store on the street up from the party house. I know the guy who works there. He's hella creepy, so if you use your hot body he won't ID you. You're so lucky you have boobs, otherwise this wouldn't work."
"Oh geez, that's so creepy."
"But alcohol, man."
"Fair enough. I'll be there in an hour."
"See ya then. Love you!"
"Love you too," Momo said with a smile and she hung up. She turned to Todoroki. "That was Jiro."
"So I heard," he answered.
"We're going to pick up alcohol from the nearest convenient store and then we're heading to a park where a couple of our friends will be. Sound good?" she asked him.
"Of course. Let's go."
(10:00 PM)
The convenience store that Jiro had mentioned was certainly not a sight to behold. It had a sad, shabby feel that was only amplified by the melancholy buzz of the flickering streetlight above the two students. They stared at the small building, one that was aptly labeled 'CONVENIENT STORE'.
Momo sighed and mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do. With slightly trembling fingers, Momo undid the first couple buttons of her shirt.
Todoroki's normally emotionless face erupted into a mask of shock before he spun 180 degrees away from Momo's body. "What are you doing," he stated with no inflection in his voice. Momo would have laughed if she hadn't been so utterly mortified.
"The guy who works here doesn't ID if you distract him in, uh, certain ways," she explained in a small, constrained voice. "You have to do what you have to do. Come on Todoroki, let's go inside."
Todoroki firmly avoided looking in her direction as they walked in. Momo didn't know whether to be thankful or a bit hurt. Was she that ugly? No, now isn't the time for dumb thoughts like these, she reminded herself. She had to focus on the unappealing task at hand.
Momo and Todoroki picked up two six-packs each from the fridge and walked to the cashier. He was a guy who was roughly their age, and had the scruffy appearance of person who didn't get out much.
"What can I do for a fine thing like you," he said, eyes focused on her breasts. Momo resisted the urge to punch him.
"Hi there, I'd like these beers please. How much are they?" she asked him politely.
The man's face morphed into a lecherous grin. "How about we make a special deal? I can touch them and you get them free."
Momo felt a flicker of fear in her stomach. This guy was alarming her. Before she could answer, Todoroki slammed his pal on the cashier table.
"How about you take her money and leave her alone?" he asked in a voice so ominous that Momo got chills. The man squeaked and accepted Momo's money, not even counting the amount. Todoroki put his arm around Momo's shoulders in a protective gesture and the two left the store.
The moment they were outside, Todoroki let his arm drop. Momo's face was burning red with the close contact. She was pretty sure her feelings for Todoroki were platonic, but the fast beating of her heart was making her doubt herself.
"Firstly, please button up your shirt," Todoroki started. Momo did as he requested silently. "Yaoyorozu, look at me," he said seriously. Momo looked into his eyes. They were the colours of storms, she thought fleetingly. One eye was the colour of crackling clouds and the other was the colour of flashing lightning. Their intensity gave her goosebumps. "Please don't walk into situations like that again. Had I not been there, he really could have taken advantage of you. Promise me." His voice was low and serious.
"Ok," she said softly. Todoroki relaxed incrementally.
"How much were the beers?" he asked.
"About $50."
"Let me pay," he said, taking out his wallet. Momo frowned and crossed her arms.
"If this is your masculine pride talking, you need to loosen up. I'm rich as hell, I can afford this," she reassured him. He glowered at her.
"I want to pay."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Half?"
"Fine."
Todoroki fished out $25 and handed it to Momo. She accepted it with a bit of a pout.
"Thanks," she said at last, as they crossed the road away from the store.
"You're welcome," Todoroki replied, and a smile graced his lips. His eyes seemed to glow a bit. And as the pair continued to walk in comfortable silence, Momo couldn't help but notice how heartbreakingly beautiful he looked when he smiled.
A.N: another chapter? Don't get used to this, I'm usually slow. Hope you're liking the story so far, even if it only is the first chapter. Pleas review and give me feed back!
Love,
night