Izuku would've been comfortably reading in the quaint space of his dorm room. Today was an exception and a welcome one at that.

After the confusing and emotional night of Halloween, Katsuki had begun to text Izuku again. Two weeks had passed since then. They mostly talked about the assignments with the occasional 'getting to know each other' conversation, but it was progress nonetheless.

This was a rare exception, though. Katsuki, who revealed himself to be a major in music, had invited Izuku to his weekly band practice. Katsuki was very serious about pursuing a career as a musician and writer and told Izuku he was the drummer and backup vocalist. Midoriya found himself admiring the passion that was vivid in the blond's texts.

On the other hand, Izuku wanted Katsuki to address the obvious display of confusion and vulnerability he'd presented that night, but the blond had asked for time, and he decided to cooperate.

Anyhow, Izuku took up Katsuki's offer on visiting his band practice and was currently heading to the Performing Arts auditorium on with Katsuki's friends--with the exception of Kaminari and Jiro, who were already there. Ochako, who'd been heading in the same direction by coincidence, decided to accompany them.

The group of young adults chatted amongst themselves, walking at a generally fast pace as they did.

The squeak of sneakers hit the concrete. Izuku lifted his head.

A halo of amber locks lolled wildly in the wind. A pair of golden eyes stared back at him with an equal balance of intensity and disinterest. The girl these features belonged to was somewhat short in height, and Izuku was well aware of her conventional beauty. She wore a thin-strapped red dress with gold paint splash designs that were loose and casually ended mid-thigh.

The strong scent of cinnamon lodged itself into his lungs, and his chest felt warm.

She smiled knowingly, and it was a smile that stretched her pink lips widely. It was uneven, almost misplaced, and odd, and her sharp teeth bared themselves. It was almost as if she didn't know how to smile.

"I'm going on a date," she piped up suddenly, her enthusiastic tone not matching her dull eyes. "Do I look okay?"

"You do," Izuku said, a prickly feeling nipping at his skin at the sound of her voice.

"Who's that?" Ochako piped up, suddenly appearing beside Izuku. She had realized Izuku slowed down only a moment ago.

"Thanks for the feedback, green bean. See ya!" The girl began to strut off, her tone somewhat mocking as she waved. What was it with blond teens comparing him to vegetables?

"I don't think I know her," the teen muttered, his lips curling downwards in thought and confusion. Something about her felt... unsettling.

"Oh," Ochako could tell her friend was deep in thought and decided to change the topic. "Anyway, you haven't really told me what's been going on with that walking time bomb!"

Midoriya began to walk again, and he chuckled. "I don't really know either. He's suddenly a lot... nicer. Still does and says some shady stuff, but he's way more likable."

"Didn't know that was possible," Uraraka chuckled awkwardly. She and Iida were understandably shocked when Izuku told them about the kiss and the things the blond said. In her opinion, something was really, really off, but she'd address that later.

"Me neither," Izuku hummed, still trying to shake off the weird feeling the girl gave him, "But he's been opening up and stuff. I think...I think he has feelings for me."

"Well," the brunette said responsibly, "do you feel the same? You have to think about everything, I think."

"What do you mean?"

"Like, if you were already attracted to him before, or if you're just attracted to him because of this side of him he's showing you." She toed the dirt below her. "If he's so hot and cold like what you've complained about in the past, how are you sure he won't push you away again? I know you've only just begun to know him, but he kind of rubs me the wrong way, Zu."

Izuku scrunched up his dark brows in thought. The chubby-faced girl had a point. She didn't have to clarify that she was only being cautious on his behalf either-- that sort of intent is automatic with a friendship like theirs.

"Well-" he began to speak but was interrupted.

"C'mon, keep up Midoriya my man!" Kirishima said a little too enthusiastically. The group had paused to wait for the two. Izuku smiled sheepishly.

"Zu, I gotta run. Mr. Hizashi's office is near this corridor. We'll talk later, okay?" She hugged him tightly before sprinting off urgently. To the others, she said, "Later guys!"

The group of teens returned the farewell before heading down the vacant path again. Shoto steadied his pace, inching just a little closer to Izuku.

"So," he said, his voice velvety but monotone, "are you and Bakugou, like, a thing?"

"We aren't," Izuku clarified a little too quickly, and stiffened a bit right after. Todoroki smiled a little.

"Good. I do like you, after all."

Midoriya reddened intensely, finding that statement to be simply unbelievable. How could someone this good looking take a liking to him? His mind wandered to Katsuki right after that thought, but he pushed it away.

"I, well um-"

"I'm not trying to drive you into a corner," the dual haired teen said smoothly. "I just think it should've been a priority to let you know." Izuku nodded in understanding, still flustered.

"Jeez, Todoroki. You don't waste any time," Sero laughed, his jaw clenching a bit as he chewed on bubblegum. His soft, dark hair was brushed back messily, and Izuku only just noticed how relatively long it was for a guy(since he often had it in a bun). It extended just a little past his shoulders, blending in with the black turtleneck he wore.

Mina hummed in agreement, a little bounce evident in her step. "Right! Bakugou's not gonna appreciate that."

"Bakugou is irrelevant," Shoto said bluntly. "I'm interested in Midoriya."

Izuku's face was so red he feared they'd never make it to the auditorium. Luckily, they did.

And oh, when they did.

In the absolute corner of the large room, a duo was practically glued together. Izuku blinked.

A blonde-haired girl removed her face from the comfort of Katsuki's neck, though she remained seated on his lap.

Kirishima cringed.

Luckily, Kaminari and Jiro emerged from the other side of the room, distracting Izuku for a second.

"Hey, guys!" The bright blond smiled enthusiastically, spreading his arms as if to indicate his need to hug everyone. Jiro flicked at his head playfully.

"You're so obnoxious," she snickered, and then simply waved at the group in greeting. Denki pouted a bit and rubbed at the spot on his forehead. His eyes caught Izuku's, and he brightened in realization.

"Izuku," he said, "I had no idea you'd be here. I should've thought of bringing you myself. Dammit, who beat me to it?"

Mina cleared her throat. "Bakugou."

"Well damn, I didn't know that you were progressing that well with each other now. He doesn't really tell us shit if we don't pummel him for it." Denki casually wrapped his arms around Jiro's waist and rested his cheek on the crook of her neck. Kyoka smiled and leaned into his warmth.

Izuku smiled softly at the display of affection. They were a cute couple. That feeling was smudged as soon as the image of Katsuki and that girl invaded his thoughts again.

Kirishima noticed, and placed a warm hand on the greenette's neck comfortingly. "I think you should speak to him, yeah?"

"I should?" Izuku questioned dubiously. He wanted to feel a little more irritated, but he couldn't find the energy for that. He didn't think he had any right to feel that way, anyway; he wasn't in a relationship with Bakugou, nor was he explicitly under the impression that they'd progress that far. The guy was somewhat free to do whatever he wanted, though it would be fucked up if Katsuki was in an actual relationship the entire time.

"Asparagus," Katsuki called, just noticing the greenette's arrival.

Izuku took hesitant steps towards the blond, his face somewhat blank.

The nameless girl eased up from Katsuki's lap after he bounced his leg as an indication. She turned around, smiling at Izuku a bit.

"Hey," she said casually.

"Hi," Izuku reciprocated awkwardly. Her brown eyes seemed to scan him over and her grin widened.

"You a friend of Kat?" She asked, tilting her head. The movement caused strands of her long light-colored hair to fall over her shoulders. Izuku noticed the hourglass figure she had that paired perfectly with her beautiful face. She was the definition of textbook feminity.

Kastuki spoke up, his voice leaking irritation. "This isn't a fucking interview, Camie. Shut the hell up."

"Calm down you walking time bomb, damn," the newly dubbed Camie laughed light-heartedly. Izuku blinked owlishly.

Bakugou ignored the comment and turned to Midoriya. Suddenly his demeanor became slightly....docile. "We're performing at the end of the semester for the Starlight Fest, so we're rehearsing more often than usual."

The Starlight Festival was an event held in June each year on campus that was planned by the Performing Arts department. It was a celebration of artistic liberation and freedom, and it was meant to honor the history of Yueei University since it was originally an art school in its first fifteen years of existence.

Though Izuku was an antisocial first year, he was very much aware of the event (since it's been mentioned a lot at the orientation, and there'd already been chatter about it everywhere), and became immediately interested in going. It seemed like a huge deal, after all.

The green-eyed teen smiled a little. "Sounds pretty cool."

Camie sat elsewhere, fishing her phone out of her pocket.

"We were on a break, but now that you guys are here, we can keep the ball bouncing!" Denki suddenly chimed in. To Jirou he said, "Is that the saying?"

Jiro snickered. "You should know, Mr. Literature Major."

"Let's keep it moving then, people," another teen said from across the room, emerging from a side door. Izuku recognized him as the same tired, purple-haired guy Kaminari was hanging out with in class. Beside him, two other people stood idly, one of them a beautiful girl with long black hair tied into a ponytail, and the other being a raven-haired boy with pale skin.

Kaminari turned to Izuku and pointed at the unknown individuals in order of their appearances. "Midoriya, meet Shinso, Momo, and Tokoyami. You guys, this is Midoriya."

The five of them moved to the center of the room, readjusting their equipment. Bakugou sat comfortably behind the drum set, and he shifted the mic that leaned towards his mouth. Kaminari stood next to Jiro, a mic stand in front of him. He placed the strap of his electric guitar over his head and on his shoulder. Yaoyorozu adjusted the keyboard before her, and Shinso picked up a bass guitar. Tokoyami settled behind a soundboard, checking everything briefly before lifting two thumbs up. Lastly, Jiro reached for her own guitar and fixed the mic stand before her.

Katsuki knocked his drumsticks together, yelling, "One! Two! One, two, three, four!"

The music chimed in, each instrument blending beautifully. Izuku, and seemingly everyone else, was awed. Then, Jiro leaned into her mic and began to sing.

"Going through the motions,

Sick and tired of feeling these emotions

Need a couple potions

And a spliff or two to push away the doldrums

Dying my hair,

Got a tat and it says, 'lick here'

Can't get outta bed,

So I'll cry till my eyes are dry instead."

Izuku's eyes widened; the purple-haired girl had an amazing rock-esque voice-- melodic and just a little gravelly. It was an unbeatable combination. The music slowed just a little as she sang the pre-chorus, and Kaminari joined in, harmonizing with his partner.

"Don't tell me that I'm overreacting

Cuz clearly, God's spitting his wrath upon me."

The blond leaned back again, letting Jiro belt out the chorus.

"Smells like teenage rebellion!

Looks like the onset of a revelation

That youth ain't gone make you invincible

And life can be fragile when you're alone

Smells like teenage rebellion!"

Izuku was still appreciating the surprisingly smooth alto that was Denki's voice when he noticed Tokoyami pressing different buttons back where he stood behind them, emitting complementary percussion esque sounds. Shinso tapped his foot lightly as he played the bass guitar effortlessly, and Momo was fully concentrated on the keys she played. Katsuki was amazing on the drums, his movements aggressive, almost erratic, and free.

On the second pre-chorus, Bakugou joined in with Kaminari and Jiro, his deep tenor adding depth to the overall sound. Izuku was pleasantly surprised.

"If you judge me that's okay

Won't pretend to care anyway."

"Smells like teenage rebellion!

Looks like the onset of a revelation

That youth ain't gone make you invincible

And life can be fragile when you're alone

Smells like teenage rebellion!"

After another round of the chorus and an incredible instrumental, the song came to an end. Everyone in the room applauded enthusiastically, and Jiro grinned widely.

"Thanks, guys," she said gracefully, chuckling a little. To her bandmates, she said, "Let's go over 'All My Friends' and 'Gold' while we're at it." The other teens nodded in understanding, and soon music filled the area again.

___________

Everyone left the auditorium together, walking towards the nearby parking lot. The instruments were hauled off into the back of Shinso's SUV. Everyone then divided themselves into groups to be driven back to the dorms. Kaminari, Jiro, Sero, Mina, and Todoroki huddled into Shinso's vehicle, while Kirishima, Tokoyami, Camie, Izuku, and Momo assembled into Bakugou's Audi.

Izuku headed for the front seat, but Camie beat him to it. The greenette rose his eyebrows just a little and went into the passenger seat instead. The other four teens slipped in, squishing together a bit in the now tight space.

Everyone said their goodbyes(which was just them sticking their heads through the open windows and yelling with enthusiasm, much to the drivers' dismay) and headed off.

The drive was mostly silent, save for the occasional chatter between Kirishima and Momo. The former leaned towards Izuku a little (which was, in retrospect, kind of unnecessary due to the already close proximity), whispering so that the others wouldn't hear his words.

"They're not together if that's what's on your mind," the redhead said. Izuku smiled politely.

"Oh, I don't care about it that much. It's a bit reassuring to know though, I guess?" His tone holding an intonation, since the behavior they displayed earlier gave the impression that they were at least something. "Thanks for being concerned about me though, Kiri."

Ejiro smiled a little, but his gaze lowered a bit in thought. "No problem."

After a few minutes, Bakugou arrived at Izuku's dorm complex, needing a few instructions to get there first since he didn't know where he lived.

Izuku hopped out the vehicle, briefly thanking Katsuki for the lift and bidding his farewells to everyone else.

Camie's eyes were trained on him, and even though Midoriya never looked, he could feel it.

"Later, dude," she finally said. Her face and tone were unreadable. Bakugou eyed her, his lips curling downwards a bit. What was up with these two?

Izuku tightly smiled in return and headed up the stairs. After entering his room, he slipped his clothes off and slid into bed, too tired to do anything more. He fell asleep almost instantly.

There was no way he'd be losing sleep over Camie.

_________