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“Okay, is everyone here?” asked Momo quietly, looking back into her room. She quickly counted 5 heads, no, 4 since she couldn’t technically see Tooru’s.
“Yeah, shut the door,” called out Kyouka, plopping down on Momo’s bed.
“There’s like no space in here,” teased Mina, wedging herself between Tooru and Ochako. “Your bed is so big it takes up the whole room.” Momo blushed and rubbed the back of her neck with her hand.
“Well, you see, I didn’t want to get homesick, and when I made the measurements of my room I didn’t really take walking space into account,” rambled Momo. “I hope it’s okay, though, we can all hang out on my bed.” Tsuyu gave her a thumbs up.
“I haven’t had a sleepover in forever, I’m so excited!” exclaimed Ochako. “I can’t wait to do all sorts of sleepover things, like painting each other’s nails, and doing each other’s nails, and all that sort of fun stuff.” Tsuyu blushed. Ochako was so bubbly and cute, who couldn’t have a crush on her? The two of them were close friends, so admittedly it was rather easy to crush on her, but even if they weren’t friends, Tsuyu thought she’d still like her.
“You know what I’m curious about? I want to know what boys everyone has crushes on,” said Tooru, bouncing slightly on the bed. Tsuyu felt the butterflies in her stomach swarming around. Hopefully, it wasn’t literally. She breathed in, then out, and looked at the other girls sitting in the circle. She smiled a bit to make sure it didn’t appear that she was thinking too much about this. All she had to do was pick one guy in class to say she had a crush on, and no one would suspect anything. Maybe she could copy one of the other girls’ crushes? No, that wouldn’t work, she wanted to avoid any unnecessary drama.
“Ooh, that sounds like fun!” exclaimed Ochako. “But I’m only going to say who if everyone else does.” Tsuyu’s ears perked up. Ochako was going to reveal her crush? Her euphoria lasted less than a few seconds when she realized that Ochako’s crush was most likely a boy like Midoriya or Iida. Probably Izuku.
“Like, I don’t know if you noticed, but Ojiro is like, totally adorable. I think he likes me, too,” said Tooru. “Alright, now that I shared my crush, you guys have to share yours, it’s only fair.” Tsuyu rubbed her thumbs against her index fingers. Quick, she needed to come up with a guy. Why was it so hard to just pick one? Tokoyami? No, they could tease her about how birds eat frogs. Satou? No, they’d probably make a comment about his lips or something.
“Fine,” said Kyouka, tapping her earphone jacks together nervously. Tsuyu sighed with relief as she realized she still had time to pick someone. “Mine’s…..Kaminari.” Momo burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry, but Kaminari?” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. Kyouka blushed and hid her face in her hands. Poor Kyouka, she shouldn’t be made fun of over her crush like this.
“Momo,” she whined. “Don’t make this more embarrassing than it is.”
“So you admit it’s embarrassing?” teased Mina, her dark eyes narrowed. Tsuyu winced. Would they be like this to her? She had to pay close attention to how everyone reacted to each other’s crushes so she wouldn’t pick the wrong guy. Let’s see, they’d tease her for liking bad boys if she picked Bakugou, and if Kaminari was the wrong type of choice, that probably eliminated Sero too.
“I never would have guessed that!” exclaimed Ochako.
“Really?” inquired Tsuyu. “I always see the two of them teasing each other in class.”
“Oh, you’re right, I guess that does make sense,” said Ochako, the corner of her mouth turning up into a slight smile. Tsuyu felt her cheeks blushing but it was too late to do anything to hide it. She turned her face away and touched her cheeks. Ochako had smiled at her. Why was she so nervous around her? She was just a girl. No, she was more than just a girl. She was Ochako.
“Well, if you think my crush is so strange, then what guy do you have a crush on?” demanded Kyouka. Momo looked taken aback.
“M-me?” she said, as if there were another person standing behind her. “Well, um, Todoroki.” Now it was Kyouka’s turn to laugh.
“You’re so basic,” she said, prodding her friend in the cheek with her earphone jack.
“He is the most handsome guy in the class,” piped up Mina. “I mean, who doesn’t like Todoroki?”
“That’s why it’s so basic to have a crush on him,” teased Kyouka. So guys like Todoroki were too basic then. Would Aoyama count as too basic then? Hm, he probably wasn’t basic, but they’d definitely make comments about he would like himself more than any other girl.
“Okay but can we all agree that he’s the most attractive guy in the class, at least?” asked Momo.
“I stand by my previous answer,” said Tooru. Tsuyu looked over towards Ochako.
“I mean, I do think he’s cute,” she said nervously. Her cheeks went a bit pink as she noticed Tsuyu staring at her.
“Aw, do you have a crush on Todoroki too?” asked Mina. Ochako squirmed in her seat.
“Do you? Do you?” asked Tooru excitedly.
“Watch out, Momo’s got dibs,” said Kyouka. Momo turned to her, appalled.
“I do not ,” she scoffed.
“Alright, no need to watch out, Ochako, he’s all yours-”
“Why you-”
“I don’t have a crush on Todoroki,” said Ochako softly. “He’s cute and all, but I don’t know him very well.”
“Yeah? Yeah? But would you like to get to know him better?” pressed Mina. She looked as if she were about to explode with giddiness.
“Well, yes,” said Ochako. Tsuyu folded her hands neatly in her lap. “But he’s still not my crush.”
“Then who is it?” asked Tooru. “I’m dying to know.”
“Me too,” said Mina.
“I’ll tell you once you tell me yours,” said Ochako. Mina rolled her eyes.
“Uhg, fine,” she said, cracking her knuckles. “So like, I don’t know if this counts as a “crush crush” or not, because like. I don’t know.”
“I have no idea what you’re trying to say, but go on,” said Kyouka.
“Right, right. Alright,” said Mina.
“Left,” said Tsuyu. Ochako burst out in laughter and for the first time in a while Tsuyu felt truly happy. Just watching the smile on Ochako’s face was enough to make her feel good inside, but the fact that she was the one who caused it made her feel all melty.
“Tsuyu!” complained Mina. “Okay. So, where was I?”
“No idea,” said Momo. Mina rolled her eyes again.
“Okay so just saying, I’m not actively pursuing him, but if Kirishima asked me out I’d totally say yes,” said Mina.
“Really?” asked Tooru. “But he’s so….”
“So what , Tooru?”
“He’s kinda obsessed with manliness?” giggled Tooru.
“Uhg, I know, but have you seen his abs? Like, well, yeah,” said Mina. “They speak for themselves.”
“That took five minutes too long for you to say,” said Kyouka. Mina’s cheeks pinkened.
“I had to make sure you guys weren’t going to take this the wrong way!” she exclaimed. Tsuyu pondered for a moment. She couldn’t repeat Mina’s fiasco, otherwise they’d keep bringing up whatever guy she picked. She had to just say the name, and then move on, no excuses. Who was even left in the class? Koda? No, he was too quiet. Shouji? She hadn’t even seen his face yet.
“I don’t even know which way you want us to take it,” said Kyouka. “I’m sincerely confused.”
“So~ Ochako, who’s your crush?” asked Mina, trying to deflect all the other comments.
“Oh,” said Ochako. “Right.” She twiddled her thumbs nervously. She looked so nervous, Tsuyu just wanted to pull her into a tight hug to make her feel better. She restrained herself, however.
“She doesn’t have to share if she doesn’t want to, right?” inquired Tsuyu, asking for Ochako but also for future reference.
“Nope, she does,” said Tooru.
“Yeah, I even shared,” said Mina. “It’s only fair.” Tsuyu’s expression fell flat. There was still time for her to think of another guy, right? Iida? No, he was too nerdy. Midoriya? Wait, that’s it! Midoriya! He wasn’t quirky enough that he’d be a weird choice, and he wasn’t attractive enough to be called basic. The two of them were friends, too, so it wouldn’t seem completely out of the blue for Tsuyu to have a crush on him. Of course, why was this so hard to come up with?
Tsuyu looked over at Ochako, and tried to prepare herself for the answer. It wasn’t her, she knew it wasn’t her, but part of her still hoped that Ochako would say her name, and then she could say hers, and everything would work out. But that wasn’t going to happen. Tsuyu looked away, at Kyouka and Momo, who were watching intently to see what Ochako would say.
“My crush is-”
“It’s Midoriya, isn’t it?” blurted out Mina. Ochako’s face went bright red.
“I knew it!” exclaimed Tooru. “It was so obvious!” Tsuyu’s shut her eyes and chewed on the inside of her lip a bit before reopening them.
“Aw, that’s adorable, you two are really close friends, I can totally see him liking you back,” said Momo. Ochako squirmed in her seat a bit, again.
“Actually, I’m not that sure I like him that much anymore,” said Ochako, looking off to the side of the room to avoid eye contact with everyone.
“So you admit that you at least did have a crush on him?” asked Mina, eating up every piece of information Ochako gave her.
“Yeah,” said Ochako. “I don’t really know if he likes me or not, he kinda just gets nervous around most girls so it’s hard to tell.”
“Is that why you don’t like him that much anymore?” asked Tsuyu, unable to contain her curiosity.
“Well, that, and there’s some other stuff too,” said Ochako. “But I don’t know.”
“But you do like him, right?” asked Tooru.
“Yeah?”
“Then that’s good enough for me!” said Tooru loudly. Everyone’s eyes turned towards Tsuyu and she felt her palms sweating enough to put Bakugou to shame. She froze once she realized, she couldn’t pick Midoriya anymore, could she? Ochako had a crush on him. She couldn’t claim to have the same crush as her crush! She tried to picture the class, who was even left? There had to be someone she hadn’t eliminated yet. Think, think. Mineta! Wait no! That was absolutely the worst answer!
“So Tsuyu, who is it?” prodded Mina. Tsuyu looked around the room nervously. What about class 1-B? Or that kid with the purple hair? Wait, she didn’t even remember his name, there was no way they’d believe her about that.
“I don’t have a crush,” said Tsuyu in her best poker face. Everyone started murmuring to whoever was next to them.
“Everyone has a crush, silly,” said Tooru. “I don’t believe you.” Well, she wasn’t wrong about her second statement.
“I just, I don’t,” said Tsuyu, folding her hands in her lap, and then again, and then a third time to the point where everyone picked up on how nervous she was.
“Is it Tokoyami?” asked Kyouka.
“No.”
“Iida?” asked Momo.
“No.”
“Mineta-”
“No, and I’m not going to answer any more of these questions,” said Tsuyu, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Why won’t you tell us?” asked Mina. “We all shared ours.”
“I told you, I don’t like anyone.”
“Your cheeks are blushing,” pointed out Kyouka. Tsuyu covered her cheeks with her hands.
“They are not ,” she protested, but it was futile.
“Oooh, Tsuyu has a crush!” said Tooru in a sing songy voice.
“I do not ,” said Tsuyu, firmly again.
“He’s probably someone embarrassing. Aoyama?” asked Mina.
“No.”
“Wait, have you ever had a crush?” asked Ochako, speaking for the first time in what felt like forever. Tsuyu thought about this for a moment. Would it be easier to claim that she’s never had a crush, or easier to say that she has, and just doesn’t have one at the moment? The second option sounded better.
“Yes,” she said, straightening her posture.
“So which guys in our class have you had a crush on?” asked Mina. Tsuyu thought for a second before coming up with the perfect response.
“I haven’t, but I’ve had crushes on people from my old school.”
“Aw, you’re no fun.”
“Sorry,” said Tsuyu, but she really wasn’t. She noticed Ochako looking at her from the corner of her eye. She mouthed something, but Tsuyu couldn’t make out what it was.
“Tsuyu, do you even like boys?” asked Ochako. Tsuyu felt her heart stop. Had Ochako figured her out? Was she being too obvious? A million more questions raced through her mind as she sat there on Momo’s bed, trying to figure out what was going on.
“I….” Whatever Tsuyu was going to say was lost to her inability to get the words out of her mouth. She sat there, feeling awkward as everyone stared at her, waiting for her response. It wasn’t fair.
“Are you a lesbian?” asked Mina, piecing everything together. Tsuyu’s face flushed red. She felt her heart rate increase tenfold. Her hands shook, and she squirmed in her spot. The bed didn’t feel so comfortable anymore.
“I was just….I didn’t….I wanted….” Tsuyu tried to say literally anything, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so.
“Hey, Tsuyu, it’s okay if you’re a lesbian. In fact,” Kyouka looked over at Momo, who nodded. “Momo and I both like girls, we’re actually dating.” Tsuyu paused her internal freakout. What? What?
“You’re….together?” asked Tsuyu, trying to piece everything together. Momo put her arm around Kyouka.
“Yep, we didn’t want unneeded attention so we decided to keep our relationship secret,” said Momo.
“But I thought you had a crush on Todoroki?” asked Tooru, sounding a bit disappointed.
“Why do you think I laughed at her response?” asked Kyouka.
“I mean, he is the hottest guy in the class,” said Momo.
“I can dump you so you can be with him, you know.”
“Kyouka!”
“I’m embarrassed it took me that long to realize, given that I’m into girls too. I guess I just have a bad habit of assuming all other girls I know are straight,” said Mina, putting her hands on her hips. Tsuyu couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The other girls in her class, they liked girls too? She wasn’t the only one? “So, Tsuyu, let’s ask you again. What girl do you have a crush on?”
“Ochako.” Tsuyu covered her mouth with her hands. She hadn’t meant to say that! It just kind of slipped out in the excitement. She looked over at Ochako quickly, who buried her face in her hands. Oh no, was she averse to this? Did she find it weird that she liked her? Tsuyu chewed on her bottom lip again.
As Ochako uncovered her face, Tsuyu was shocked to see that she had the biggest smile on it. She blushed as she noticed Tsuyu was staring at her.
“You like me?” asked Ochako as if she were unable to believe her ears. Tsuyu blushed.
“Yeah.”
“Oh,” said Ochako. “OH. I like….” She covered her face with her hands again. “I like you too.”
“Aw,” said Kyouka.
“I thought you liked Midoriya?” asked Tooru.
“I said I had some reasons for not liking him as much anymore….” Ochako trailed off before looking back over at Tsuyu. She looked down at her lap, and touched the back of one of Tsuyu’s hands.
“Can I hold your hand?” asked Ochako, a bit nervous.
“Of course,” said Tsuyu, fitting her large hand nicely with Ochako’s smaller ones. She noticed Ochako’s hands were different than any she’d felt before, her fingers had a sort of ‘pad’ on them, probably related to her quirk. She rubbed her thumb on the back of Ochako’s hand. She couldn’t believe it! The girl she liked, the girl she had had a crush on for so long, liked girls, and liked her specifically!
Mina pointed two fingers at Kyouka and Momo, then two fingers at Ochako and Tsuyu, then turned to face Tooru.
“So, Tooru, how about we-”
“I’m like 100% sure Ojiro is going to ask me out, like, tomorrow,” said Tooru. “Sorry.”
“Uhg, you’re no fun,” whined Mina, pouting overdramatically.