CHAPTER FOURTY-FOUR

"THIS IS BULLSHIT." Bakugo muttered, sliding a chair over to your desk. He plopped down, slamming his assignment beside yours. You sighed, resting your head onto the desk as you continued to write. Your punishment was to miss a week of hero-training while finishing extra assignments, which was nothing short of torturous. You could clearly hear the cheering of 1-A from just outside the window, making this punishment feel even worse.

"He's making me organize the library after school, — for two whole weeks." You cried out, covering your face with your hands. "This is abusive. Shouldn't we be rewarded for heroic behavior?! Besides, how can we become proper heroes if we're missing everything?!" Bakugo didn't respond as he set his pencil down. He then laid his head beside you, becoming face-to-face. His gaze traveled from the scar on your forehead, down to your eyes. Your face heated up at his close proximity, but you couldn't bring yourself to move. He then looked down to your lips. Wordlessly, he began to lean forward. You quickly shut your eyes, feeling his breath tickle your lips. But before he could make contact, a loud thud echoed from the window.

"What the fuck?!" He exclaimed, the two of you jumping up to locate the sound. You scoffed, spotting one of Mineta's balls that was stuck to the window. Why the fuck is he throwing his balls up so high?! Idiot ...

"Whatever," You muttered, picking your pencil back up. "Let's just get this over with." Bakugo sunk into his seat, continuing his assignment as he muttered curses under his breath.

☆彡

"Did you see how close they were during lunch?!" Mina whispered, walking alongside you to the library. It was finally the end of the school day, and you begrudgingly made your way to the library to continue with your punishment. Mina decided to walk with you, and she couldn't help but gossip about Todoroki and Yaoyorozu.

"Yeah, she's been avoiding me, too." You muttered, turning the corner. "Not that I care, but I wonder how Todoroki responded to it." Mina shook her head as she adjusted her backpack.

"I don't know, but this was seriously an unexpected turn in events— and so close to your birthday, too!! So, when're you going to talk to Todoroki?!" You shrugged your shoulders, not having thought about it much.

"God, maybe tomorrow?! I don't know. I'm tangled up in a bunch of assignments, I don't know when I'll have time for it." After reaching the library, you waved Mina off, watching as she skipped down the hallway and down toward the dormitory. Must be nice. Letting out a sigh, you made your way into the library, observing the mountain of unorganized books you were instructed to put away.

"This blows." You spoke to yourself, before picking up a handful of books and beginning your after-school punishment.  Making your way through the aisles of books, you realized just how gigantic the UA library really was. You prayed this didn't take longer than it needed to, and hopefully, you'd finished organizing by the end of the week. You really didn't want this to drag for two weeks. After putting a majority of the books away, you were left with one large book. Walking down the aisle, you searched for the correct genre for it to be stored.

"And this goes..." You located the science genre, looking through it's alphabetical order. It was on the highest shelf. You huffed, grabbing hold of the shelf as you stepped on your tippie-toes. The book was surprisingly heavy, and it was difficult to slide it into place.

"Student fucking book." You muttered, slamming it into the other books in an attempt slide it in-between. It was no use, they weren't budging. Suddenly, the book was snatched from your hand.  You spun around, spotting none other than Bakugo. He held the book above your head, smirking. You attempted to grab the book, but instead, he held it higher.

"Can't reach?" He teased, dangling the book just out of your reach. You puffed your cheeks, crossing your arms in annoyance. Yet you weren't really annoyed. You were excited to see the blonde.

"Are you gonna put it away, fireworks?!" He rolled his eyes at your nickname, before putting the book where it belonged. "What're you even doing here?! Aren't you supposed to be at the dorm?"

"I came to help you, duh." He responded, before turning to walk back to the mountain of books. You laughed, earning his attention.

"As if an idiot like you could find where they're supposed to go." He paused, peeking over his shoulder to stare at you. Normally, Bakugo would've decked anyone who dared to speak to him that way. Since it was you, and you knew he had a crush on you, he reacted quite differently— and you couldn't help but push his buttons a bit. Turning to face you, he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Hilarious." He sarcastically said, earning a laugh from you. "I'll leave, since you don't need my help reaching the higher shelves." He then turned to walk away, but not before you ran up to him, grasping onto his hand.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Katsuki." You laughed as you pulled him toward you. "Don't go, I could use the company." He squeezed your hand, turning to lock eyes with you. His gaze travelled from your eyes, down to your lips.

"(Y/n)..." He spoke softly, gently caressing your cheek either his free hand. "How the hell did you do it, huh?! You've got me wrapped around your finger..." His thumb brushed against your lip, sending a shiver down your spine. As he leaned closer, you closed your eyes, gripping tighter onto his hand.

"Hello, anyone in here?!"

"Shit!!" The two of you whispered simultaneously, frantically searching for a place to hide. It sounded like a student, and if Mr. Aizawa found out you were hanging out with Bakugo, you'd probably get in even bigger trouble. As you panicked, you felt yourself stumble back due to Bakugo standing on your shoe-string. You reached for his shirt to save yourself, but ended up dragging him down with you. You both hit the ground with a loud thud, which shook the bookshelves beside you. Bakugo landed in-between your legs, landing face-first into your chest. You gasped, pulling on his hair in an attempt to get him off of you.

"Move, you fatass!!" You whisper-yelled, face turning a bright shade of red. Bakugo smacked your hand away, scrambling to his feet. He pulled you up, and led you through the dozens of aisles.

"Hello?! Anyone?!"

Finding a supply closet, Bakugo pulled the door open, pulling you inside with him. He quietly shut the door, peeking out the small glass window to see who it was. The supply closet was tighter than you'd expected, the size forcing you to push up against Bakugo's chest.

He scoffed. "It's that half-and-half bastard, and he's with that chick who creates stuff." Your eyes widened, and you leaned toward the window to peek at the two. They wandered through the bookshelves, glancing through the genres. You couldn't help but squint at them in annoyance, wondering what they were doing here together. They then stopped in their tracks, engaging in what appeared to be a serious discussion.

"What're they talking about?" You asked, pressing your ear against the door. Bakugo looked down at you, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. What the hell did you care?! He bit his lip, averting his gaze. He just hoped that you returned his feelings, and weren't rethinking your previous relationship with Todoroki.