Koto's POV

My feet drag into class the next morning. I sit down with a huff, resting my chin in my hands.

I had stayed up until the early morning with Jupiter, which for him was only mid morning. Not all of it was spent sewing; we spent most of the time just chatting and catching up. I explained my situation and just how frustrated I was, and he listened with an attentive ear. In return, I listened as he ranted about his senior year classes and all the things he doesn't have time for.

It was a good chat, but it certainly left me feeling drained.

I didn't acknowledge Bakugo through the whole morning. I had put the shirt in front of his door at around two in the morning, and it was gone when I got up, so I figure it's back in his possession.

Frankly, part of me was expecting him to blow up and haul me out of my bed to yell at me, but nothing. He went about his business like nothing was wrong, leaving me in a stony silence.

Good, I can't help but think, in my exhaustion. If he's pissed, then that's his problem.

To be honest, his question-no, demand-that I go out with him still has me shaken up. I should have believed Mina when she said that he liked me, but I wasn't about to believe that until I heard it from him.

And now that I have?

It truly begins to sink in just how long we've been playing this back and forth game of nicknames and competition. But we've also grown to look out for each other in a way. It's been surprisingly easy to care for him, even when he was the type to brush it off. Something tells me he's lived so long without that sort of care that he felt the need to push it away.

And yet, despite all that, last night...happened. And it certainly didn't leave us in a good position.

Am I a coward for leaving the shirt for him to find? I ponder during history class. Should I have talked to him about the whole thing? Does he think that was me cutting him off entirely?

No, I tell myself. He was a jerk and had a temper tantrum like a little brat. I don't owe him anything. It doesn't matter if I have feelings for him or not; he was the one that handled it poorly. He needs to be the one to reach out.

Right?

I tell myself to breathe and focus. All I'm doing is giving him the space and time to figure himself out. This will not affect me in the slightest.

Even so, I feel a slight twinge in my heart when I glance his way. I stifle it and force myself to listen to the lecture.

•°•°•°•

For the rest of the week, the band has dutifully only practiced when Bakugo has been away at his supplemental lessons, allowing Kaminari to actually catch up with the rest of us. As far as I know, none of us have talked to Bakugo about it, but he seems to know, merely glowering at us when he walks through the door, but what else is new?

When Friday arrives, we take the opportunity to have a break and celebrate the holiday. As such, fake cobwebs, cauldrons, and plastic spiders are strewn about the common room. Purple and orange streamers hang from the ceiling and pumpkins sit ready and waiting on the kitchen counter.

As Sato and I are setting out the food, we make sure Tokoyami doesn't notice the large purple and black chocolate cake we made for his birthday. We plan to surprise him later tonight, but we have to make sure nobody spoils it for him.

I give Sato a fist bump, then run off to don my costume.

I recognize how long it will take to straighten my hair and do my makeup, so I enlist Mina and Toru to help. Thankfully, they seem to have simple costumes. Floating cat ears are enough for me to get the gist of Toru's costume. Meanwhile, Mina wears a low cut black and red dress. When she smiles at me, little fake vampire teeth flash.

I take a seat at Mina's vanity and start work on my makeup. With my hair starting to fade back to red, I know I only have this one chance to dress as this character before my blonde hair is gone forever. So I carefully apply my purple eyeshadow while my friends each take a side of my hair to straighten.

The arrangement reminds me of the one I had with Kati and Macy only a few months ago. I examine my friends' faces in the mirror, wondering how I got so lucky with all the good people in my life.

A sharp pain digs at my scalp and I inhale sharply as Toru opens the iron, struggling to get the caught hair out.

"Sorry, sorry!" she exclaims as Mina goes over to assist. "I'm not used to any of this!"

Exactly what I want to hear with hot metal near my head, I restrain myself from saying. But I shake it off and let her resume. I just have to pray she'll be more careful.

•°•°•°•

The white fabric flutters gently over my head, brushing my cheek. I slip my hands through the stretchy sleeves, securing their place with an elastic band around one of my fingers. I twirl around in Mina's full length mirror, watching the flowy dress spin out. Thank goodness this costume also comes with pants; very regal.

"Hello again, Elsa," I whisper to myself, smiling wide. So what if my hair is closer to strawberry blonde? I wanted to dress up as one of my favorite characters again, properly this time.

"We should get going," Toru chirps, hopping up and down near the door. Her clip-on tail swishes behind her.

My friends all but skid out of the room in their haste to make it to the party. I take one last look in the mirror and follow after them.

Music already blares from the speakers, pop music from Mina's playlist filling the air. The girl in question links her arm with mine and pulls us over to our group of friends.

Thankfully, Bakugo seems to be somewhere else, so I send the three assembled guys a smile. Eijiro waves with a covered hand of his shark costume, his sharp teeth flashing. I can't help but laugh at Sero's Kuzco costume, having watched the movie with them only a couple weeks ago. Some part of me had made the comparison, but it's even funnier to see him all dressed up like the character. And then there's Kaminari...

His giant inflatable dinosaur costume rustles as he bops along to the music. I can barely see his face as he takes in our outfits.

He extends a stubby arm in my direction. "Care for a dance, my lady? Or is 'your majesty' more accurate?" His smile is evident through his voice.

I feign having to think about it for a moment. "I think I'll take you up on that, m'lociraptor," I quip in a prim voice, causing an outburst of laughter from the group.

The living room furniture has been pushed aside for a makeshift dance floor. The five of us migrate over, quickly falling into the groove of the song. My skirt swirls around me as Kaminari spins me.

However, when he ducks down to spin under my arm, he ends up smacking me in the face with the inflated t-rex head. I brush the hair from my face, laughing hysterically. What did he think would happen?

After a couple more songs, I catch the eyes of someone on the outskirts. Unknowingly, my smile falters for a moment. Something dull thuds at my heart. I'll recognize later that it's guilt.

It's guilt that has me leaving my friends on the dance floor and following the boy into the stairwell.

"You look nice," Todoroki simply says after a moment.

"Same to you." I can't lie, he fits the role of vampire quite well with his hair slicked back and his fancy cloak. I can't help but wonder how much money he spent on the whole ensemble.

His mismatched eyes glance away for a moment. "I wanted to apologize."

The guilt gnaws at me once again. "No, I should apologize," I refute.

But he goes on, "I was using you as an escape, you were right. And I shouldn't have said anything about your scar. I just didn't know it was a secret."

I cross my arms over my chest, looking down at my feet. "I knew it would get out anyway; I couldn't hide it forever. And as far as using me as an escape, you had every right to. I w-was a bad friend for not understanding that you needed a break. It really does mean a lot that you were comfortable enough to c-come to me when things were rough at home. I'm sorry that I made you feel bad for that. It was wrong."

The echo of the stairwell fades away, leaving us in a deafening silence. I brace myself for him to say something like "no, it's not your fault," or "don't blame yourself," which would only make me feel worse. I've come to terms with my mistake, the last thing I need is to relive it, trying to justify why I'm at fault.

"I guess we both have a lot to learn," he says after what feels like forever. The words ricochet around in my head. Or is that the cement walls? My eyes sting, but a minute weight seems to lift from my chest.

I find his eyes, his expression soft. "I've missed you," he continues, blunt as ever. "I'm sorry I didn't value your friendship as well as I should've." I shake my head, but he plows forward. "Can we be friends again?"

A heavy breath escapes me and I nod, willing the tears to dissipate. Sure, our friendship will probably never be as it once was, but who's to say that different is bad? It may even be stronger, only time will tell. "Yes, I w-would like that."

He gives me a clipped nod, then opens the metal door, leading me back out to the party.

"Oh," he stops himself in the hallway, prompting me to slow as well. "You can't be Elsa without the final touch."

With a gentle flourish of his right hand, a spattering of ice crystals settle into my hair. A huge smile grows on my face as I watch the lights refract in the ice. His eyes gleam as I spin around, reveling in my true Elsa transformation.

"They will probably melt in a minute, but the effect is there for now," he says, resuming his pace to the living room with a small smile on his face.

"Thank you."

•°•°•°•

Kaminari tumbles from the dinosaur suit, hair clinging to his sweaty forehead. "It's hot in there!"

"Excuses, excuses," Mina tsks, snatching the controller from his hand. "I beat you fair and square."

The scores on the screen indicate as such. We decided to break out Just Dance and do a tournament-style bracket when we exhausted all of our other games, but it has devolved into us playing as groups. As my blonde friend crawls to a couch, trailing his deflating costume behind him, Midoriya takes the player one controller. He selects This Is Halloween for him, Ochaco, Iida, and Tsu to play.

I can only hope his ghost poncho doesn't get in his way or we'll have another Kaminari situation on our hands.

I head to the kitchen to grab a drink, but hesitate at the doorway. Bakugo is leaning against the counter, taking terse bites of a cookie. The ears of his werewolf costume poke from his spiked hair.

This is ridiculous, I don't need to avoid him. I march in, not paying him any mind as I pour myself a glass of punch.

"So what's the deal with IcyHot?" He growls when my back is turned.

I turn and raise an eyebrow at him. "And why is that any of your business?" Raising the drink to my lips, I hope my hand doesn't shake as I try to look nonchalant.

His scarlet eyes cut deep into me. Part of me lurches at his glare, but the majority revels in his annoyance. I'm still annoyed with him, after all.

"Are you dating now?"

"Jealous?" I spat before I can catch myself. I try to keep a level head. "But, just so you know, we're not. We had a civil discussion and worked out our problems. Not everything is about dating, you know?"

"Didn't say it was," he growls back.

"Good," I state plainly. "Wouldn't want you thinking that casual discussion is enough to justify a relationship."

With an aloof shrug, I walk back to the living room. If he tries to say anything else, I don't hear it.

•°•°•°•

After singing 'Happy Birthday' to Tokoyami and cutting the cake, the party kicks into an even higher gear. A group of my classmates watch a horror movie while another group sits on the floor, playing a combination game of Truth or Dare and Spin the Bottle. A game from which I excused myself after they made me take a shot of mustard and vinegar.

Outside, Ochaco and I light the candles inside the newly carved jack-o-lanterns on the front steps. She tugs her witch's cloak tightly around her and pulls a handful of candy from her pocket, placing it between us on the front porch.

"So how've you been?" I ask, opening a Twix. "With the work study and everything."

She folds her legs under her and shakes a box of Nerds. "It's been good. I mean, of course juggling everything is difficult, but I'm learning a lot. It's so different from the internships. The whole experience feels more real in a way. Like...this is what I'm going to be doing with my life."

I give her a teasing smile. "I sure hope that's a good thing."

She elbows me with a bright smile. "It's a great thing! I've been able to put all this training to use and help people. It's what I've always wanted!"

I lean back on my elbows and gaze at the sky. The lights from the city hide any stars that might be out. "Do you like w-working there, specifically? Like...do you ever think about starting your own agency instead? Or would you partner up with other heroes?"

She stretches out next to me, her face scrunched up in thought. "I haven't thought that far. But you bet I'll always be up for a team-up with you. Maestro and Uravity! Best friends against the forces of evil!"

She nudges me again and we both chuckle. "An unstoppable team!" I cry out to the night, which makes her smile even wider. "Sounds like a plan."

We sit in the amicable silence until I feel my fingers starting to turn blue in the cold. Before I can suggest going back inside, Ochaco takes a breath.

Then another.

Like she's still working through what she wants to say. Or she's debating whether it's worth saying at all.

When she catches me staring, she gives me a sheepish smile, eyebrows scrunched. "What's happening with you and Bakugo?"

I heavy sigh escapes me. "I'm not sure, myself. I mean, he's just been so...so..." I wrack my brain for the word. "Entitled. I mean, I'm not supposed to just jump into his arms because he expects me to."

"I thought you liked him," Ochaco mumbles, picking at the hem of her skirt.

"I do, but..."

"He's not right for you." She states it, but it feels open-ended.

I nod in agreement, a breeze pulling my hair into my face. I tuck a strand behind my ear. "I may have feelings for him, but it wouldn't work. He's entitled and rude, and I don't think I'd ever get a say. That's not healthy."

My friend puts her arm around me, and I notice I've been shivering. "I know. And I think you made the right decision."

She rubs my arm, tugging her cloak around both of us. I lean into her warmth, my heart soaring at the gesture. Even though we haven't had much time to hang out recently, she's still one of my best friends, and we can pick up right where we left off. This is the stuff true friendships are made of.

"Now, I hate to ask," she starts, "but what's going to happen at the festival? Is he still going to play with the band? 'Cause don't take this the wrong way or anything, but your drumming isn't much better than when we started that band."

I snicker at her remark, but the thought sobers me. "I hope he'll stick it out for one performance." My statement doesn't sit well with either of us. It leaves too much open to fate. "I'll try to talk to him about it. We need to practice with him or Kaminari will trip over himself in the show."

She nods her head sagely and pats my arm. "I'll back you up if you need. Now let's get you inside before you freeze."

I all but sprint through the front door. The air is hot and humid inside, but it's certainly better than the cold outside. Momo and Toru are mimicking the couples dance on the screen. I guess they went back to Just Dance after the movie.

Most of the class cheers them on, but I notice a marked absence. Glancing around, I sidle up to Shoji.

"Where are Ei and Bakugo?" I ask. If anyone knows, it's surely him.

He seems hesitant to answer. "Out back."

There's something about his tense posture that leads me to inquire, "What's happening?"

He leans back against the wall. "A private discussion."

"That you're eavesdropping on?" I prod him.

He rolls his eyes, but it doesn't seem awfully pointed. "I can't help it; my ears pick up everything. But I wouldn't interrupt them."

I lean back next to him. "Fine," I sigh.

"You should talk to him, you know."

"He doesn't seem to want to talk, except to accuse me of things."

"Maybe, but we're classmates. The festival will be rough if we don't work things out, much less the next two and a half years."

"I know," I gripe. "But no time seems right."

"Maybe, but you gotta try," he says, ruffling my hair. "If anyone can get through to him, it's you. I know he's been a jerk, but I know you two are good friends. I think he'll get over it with time. He's just too prideful to admit he was wrong."

A gust of wind floods into the room, announcing the presence of the two boys at the door. Bakugo's jaw is set.

I swallow my nerves.

------Author's Note------

Hey guys! Fanart incoming!!

Big thanks to aBitGrim for the drawing of Koto and their OC Rose having fun with a piggyback! And additionally for the colorings of Koto and Reina!

And thanks riceygirl101 for these cool Koto graphics!! The collage is especially amazing. I see those little ducks and ghosts in there! 😉

Anyways, thanks to all of you for being patient with me between updates.

Don't forget to vote and comment if you've enjoyed!

See y'all next time! ❤