Flirting With Disaster [Chapter 5]

Izuku shifted his grocery bags to one hand, freeing up enough motion to wave goodbye as he left the store, giving the old lady at the counter the biggest smile he could manage. She had always been so sweet to him, from giving him and Kacchan candy when they came in with their parents as kids, to asking him all about his school classes and club activities now. He’d just dropped in for five minutes to grab some stuff his mother wanted for dinner, but he’d ended up chatting with her for an extra five, while the store was slow. He hoped his mother wouldn’t mind.

When he stepped out the door, his eyes immediately landed on a familiar figure across the street. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets, as usual, but his arms were bare, an orange tank top highlighting everything Katsuki had to offer, these days. Izuku had gotten so used to seeing him in his school uniform, it always took him by surprise for a moment when he wore something of his own choosing. His arms were really starting to look good, too. They’d always been decent, sure, but Katsuki had really been putting in the work over the last few months, and Izuku was living for it.

“Oh, hello Midoriya!”

Katsuki’s head whipped around to look, and Izuku blinked at them, raising his hand again in a much more awkward wave than the last. He hadn’t even noticed Imiko standing beside him, and seeing her hit him like a ton of bricks straight to the stomach. It was the weekend. They were hanging out on their own time. It was really all over, then. He’d finally gotten the point, had finally agreed to a date with her – or, worse, maybe it wasn’t the first. Maybe this was just one of many, and Izuku hadn’t known.

His eyes were burning, and he didn’t know how much longer he could stay composed.

“Hello!” he called back, his voice a little croaky. “Sorry, have to get these home to Mom!”

He gestured with his bags, then hurried off the opposite direction, swallowing hard and blinking back his tears. All the time Imiko had been flirting, all the months on end, Izuku had just assumed it was all one-sided. He’d assumed Katsuki was oblivious, had giggled at the miscommunications, but it looked like he’d been completely off-base. In fact, he found himself thinking, maybe it was the other way around: maybe she’d been hanging around him and flirting because they were dating. Maybe the whole time Izuku had been giggling at her, he’d been the real butt of the joke, the one who had misunderstood the whole thing. Maybe that day in the locker rooms, when Katsuki had stalked off in a hurry, it hadn’t just been from embarrassment, it had been from guilt for letting Izuku do that when he already had a girlfriend.

He’d never be able to show his face at school again, at this rate. How long could he get away with faking sick for, before his mother would stop believing him? Could he just continually double and triple down, make them all think he had some mysterious illness that prevented him from going to school, specifically? There were online schools for that kind of thing, right? He could still get an education, maybe he could even have some kind of miraculous recovery before high school began, when he could get a fresh start away from them all. Well, them all except Katsuki, if everything went to plan. He wasn’t sure if that was better or worse. Would he really give up on his dream of attending U.A. just to avoid Katsuki forever? Especially when he liked being around Katsuki? It seemed like a big sacrifice, to save himself a little more embarrassment. It wasn’t like he didn’t spend every day at school mortified as it was.

As Izuku hurried away, Katsuki glanced back over his shoulder, watching the tense, hunched-over posture that he knew meant the nerd was mumbling up a storm. He’d been so fucking weird lately – not that he wasn’t always weird as fuck – and it was driving Katsuki crazy, trying to understand why. It wasn’t like he could ask: for one thing, he’d never lower himself that far; for another, his classmates would taunt him for the rest of his life if they found out. They’d go on about Kacchan being concerned and all that stupid shit, and he’d never live it down.

“He’ll be fine,” Imiko assured him, reaching for his arm again and sighing when Katsuki tore it away. “Even he can carry, like, six grocery bags.”

“Whatever,” Katsuki huffed, taking a step sideways to put some more space between them. “Where’s this shitty store, anyway?”

“Just two more blocks!” she assured him, giggling. “I know you don’t need any help passing an entrance exam, but for the rest of us, this place is a game changer!”

Truth be told, Katsuki had been a little curious, when Imiko had showed up on his doorstep spouting shit about study guides. Apparently there was even one for U.A. in particular, with hints about what he’d encounter in the entrance exam. He knew he’d get in regardless, obviously, but a little extra help to be at the top of the scoreboard couldn’t hurt. He’d planned to sneak down after school one day and grab one, but his stupid mother had done that whole stupid thing about going out with your cute friend and practically shoved him out the door, so he’d had to settle for swearing her to secrecy about the whole thing. She hadn’t seemed too fussed about that.

There was a whole crowd of teenagers at the little store, waving their cash in the air and calling out school names. Most of them were a little older, frantically taking their last chance to get in where they wanted, but Katsuki had never been a last minute person – he was gonna have an entire year to study his copy, to make sure he was perfect when that day finally came.

“Isamu!” Imiko called, when the owner’s eyes landed on her. “And U.A.!”

A lot of people turned to look, when she added that, and Katsuki sighed. So much for being incognito about it. Not that any of the older students looked remotely capable of getting into U.A. anyway, he supposed – he’d probably never see them again in his life.

“One for Isamu!” the man agreed, handing her a little booklet. “We don’t get much call for U.A. around here, I’ve only got two left!”

“I’ll take them both,” Katsuki said quickly.

“You sure, young man?”

“Don’t wanna lose it or something and have none left,” he said, ignoring Imiko’s eyes burning a hole in him. “I’ll take ‘em.”

“As you wish!”

He handed over cash for the pair of them, then stepped outside while Imiko dug out her purse, finding the money for her own. They’d gotten in and out quickly, in the end; he supposed Imiko had her uses, considering everyone – grown men included, gross – seemed to stop and look at her the moment she entered a room.

“I’m going home now,” he said, when she emerged behind him, her book carefully clutched to her chest. “See you at school or whatever.”

“You’re not gonna walk me home?” she asked with a pout.

“Why would I do that?” he frowned. “You want to be a hero, don’t you? You shouldn’t need protecting, take care of yourself.”

“That’s not what I...” she trailed off, sighing. “Okay. See you at school, Bakugou!”

“Whatever.”

He started off down the street, back toward the comfort and quiet of his own home – well, whatever quiet he could get with his mother around. He dithered when he reached that one specific corner though, hesitating, and finally turned the other direction, heading up to a familiar old apartment building. He didn’t ring the doorbell, tried his best not to draw attention to himself at all, instead just slipping one of his new books into a mailbox and hurrying back the other way.

It wasn’t like Izuku was gonna get in anyway, so what was the harm in letting him study?