When my friends and I walked into my living room, I was greeted with the sight of my mother and Mitsuki. The women were laughing about something, both sporting their own glass of wine. My mother's carefree smile dropped when she caught sight of us.

For lack of literally anything better to say, I slide to the side, waving my arms at my friends. "Surprise, shawty!"

"Izuku Midoriya," my mother said in a clipped tone.

"Shit," Shinsou whispered beside me. "She is pissed."

"Hello, Ms. Midoriya," Todoroki greeted with a small head bow.

"What are they doing here?" my mother asked, completely ignoring the dual haired boy.

A lie formed in my brain easily, years of practice kicking in and taking over. "I told Uraraka about the break up and she forced them both on a trip out here. For emotional support or some shit," I made a point of sounding a little less happy and excited, rubbing at my elbow awkwardly.

"Break up?" Mistuki was the one to ask, one brow raised.

"Yeah..." I confirmed, wincing as I realized that Mitsuki knew when my friends had arrived and that Katsuki, Eijirou and I were very much in a relationship at that time.

"But you were just fine this morning?" Her eyes narrowed, sniffing out the lie a little too easily.

I rolled my eyes, really laying the teenage angst on thick. "We broke up last night and I called Uraraka, then we got back together like two hours later, and then broke up again like ten minutes ago. Shit's a little complicated right now."

"Izuku," my mother scolded, appalled by my behavior towards another adult. She could take my sass, but she'd be damned if I disrespected anyone else.

"Oh hush, Inko," Mitsuki tutted with a wave of her hand. "The boy's going through a break up with my kids, he's allowed to be a little shit about it."

My mother frowned at her reasoning, but didn't scold me further. I wasn't sure how long it would last after the blonde woman left though.

I crossed my arms over my chest, fully going the troubled teen son route. "What is she doing here anyways?" Okay, my tone was a little too bitchy. Dial it back.

Mitsuki answered for my mother, patting her leg. "Oh, well we thought if our boys were going to date, we should probably meet. Now, I'm just being neighborly," she said while tilting her wine glass towards me.

"Great," I sarcastically replied. "We'll be upstairs."

I didn't give either of them a chance to reply before I was beelining it for the stairs, my slightly dazed friends following behind. I made it to my bedroom door before halting.

Shinsou nearly ran into me, not expecting my sudden stop. "Iz?" he questioned in a soft voice.

"I don't think I can go in," I mumbled, dropping my eyes to the floor. I wasn't in the mood to push it. I didn't want to work through it, I didn't want to take it slowly, or face any demons. All I wanted was to hang out with three of my best friends and forget about how shitty my life was for one night.

"Guest room?"

The question caught me off guard. I blinked at Shinsou, a little lost for words. He hadn't pushed it, just found another solution to the problem. "Um, last door down the hall," I stuttered.

He nodded, tossing a look down the hall. "Need anything from here?" he tossed a look behind me.

"Um." I probably sounded stupid. I know I sounded stupid, but I physically could not understand how Shinsou just read me so well. "Comfy clothes... my blanket, that's about it."

Uraraka and Todoroki finally wandered their ways up the stairs. "Why are we standing in the hall?" the brunette asked.

"We're staying in the guest room," Shinsou answered plainly.

"Dope." She just nodded her head, looking down the hall. "Which one is that?"

"Last door."

She started down the hall, dragging Todoroki by his wrist. "Cool beans."

Shinsou nodded his head after them, his stupid sleepy smile on his face. "Go with them, I'll be there with comfy clothes, your blanket, and charger in a sec."

Oh, I had forgotten to request my charger. I hadn't even thought of it. "Thanks," I mumbled, a little skeptically. He was slipping back into the role of my knight in shining armor and that freaked me out a little bit. The familiarity of it was unsettling.

I mechanically started walking towards the guest room. Uraraka was already sprawled out on the bed, Todoroki calming a corner at the foot of it, sitting criss cross.

The brunette lifted her head when she heard me walk in. "Are we pulling an all-nighter?" she whined, clearly not thrilled by the prospect.

I snorted, shoving her to the side so I could sit against the headboard. "Yeah, right. We're gonna wait for my mom to fall asleep, then we're gonna get stoner in the garage and pass the fuck out."

She let out a content sigh, turning so her head was in my lap, causing her feet to hang off the side of the mattress. "Awesome," she spoke in a dreamy voice.

"Whoa, I just got crazy deja vu," Shinsou mumbled when he walked in and took in the sight of us. I quietly laughed at the response, noticing the blanket, clothes, and phone charger he had stacked in one hand.

"You're the best," I said, holding my arms out for my things. Slipping back into my old group was as easy as breathing, I hadn't even noticed.

But Shinsou did, if his smug smile was any indication. "I'm well aware," he stated, handing my stuff to me.

I playfully rolled my eyes, because of course that gave him an ego. I tapped the blanket over Uraraka's face, causing her to squeal and sit bolt upright. "What the hell?" she cried, glaring daggers at me.

"I have to change," I said innocently.

Her eyes narrowed even more at my excuse. "You're the devil in disguise and one day I'll prove it."

"Awe, thank you," I cooed, a hand reaching out to pinch her cheek. She intercepted it, swatting me away with an angry pout.

"Brb!" I called over my shoulder as I skipped out of the room and down to the bathroom. I could hear my mom and Mitsuki talking downstairs, so I wasn't risking bumping into her.

I changed quickly, heading back to the guest room even faster. The less time I spent wandering the house, the more likely my mom would catch me and start a lecture. I really didn't want to deal with that.

I shut the door a little too hard when I made it, causing all three of my friends to turn their heads in surprise. "Sorry," I apologized with a sheepish smile. "I was worried about running into my mom."

Realization hit all of them as they nodded in understanding. They'd been through my mom's worst flavor of crazy, so they truly understood my fear. It was so weird not having someone ask me a million questions.

It's not that I didn't love the new friends I had made living there, but nothing could replace my old group. They were my first friends and quite literally saved my life on multiple occasions. They knew my entire life story, having lived with me through some of the most important parts. They knew me, even the parts I kept hidden. My friendship with all of them was incomparable.

I walked to the bed and collapsed into it, laying next to Uraraka and in between the boys. "I missed you guys," I mumbled against the duvet.

"Move home," Uraraka suggested for the millionth time. "Bring Ashido," she added with a giggle.

I rolled onto my side to face her, propping myself up on an elbow. "After graduation, maybe," I admitted in a quiet voice.

It was harder to ignore the longing I felt for my old group when they were all right there. It was like something just clicked into place around them. I wasn't sure how to describe it.

"Are you serious?" Shinsou asked from behind me.

I turned my head slightly so I could actually see him. "I've thought about it a lot. That was the plan when I first moved, but then things kinda got complicated."

"Mm, I think everyone should just move back home. Bring the whole squad, seeing as most of them are dating one of us," Uraraka pointed out with a snort.

I rolled my eyes, nudging her with my shoulder. "I can't just ask a whole friend group to pack up and move across the country."

She shook her head in a condescending manner. "Hunny, you have to ask two people. I have to ask Ash, and Todo has to ask Sero. Then, once they all agree, they'll ask Kaminari. There, one big happy family."

"Do I get any say about these new additions?" Shinsou asked with his hand raised in question.

"No," Uraraka, Todoroki, and I all said in sync.

Uraraka and I looked at each other and then fell into laughter. Shinsou tried to be annoyed, but ended up laughing with us after a whopping five seconds, and even Todoroki was quietly chuckling.

Maybe we could convince them all to move...

************************

Smoking with that group went about how I expected. Uraraka took three hits and promptly fell asleep sitting up, while Todoroki took one and called it quites. He ended up helping Uraraka back inside to head to bed. They left Shinsou and I laughing while passing a joint back and forth.

"Are you a little freaked out by how much this feels like last year?" I asked eventually, taking a puff from the joint and handing it back to him.

He shook his head at me. "A little?" he responded with a chuckle.

"Fair." I nodded as I mulled over the crazy feeling of deja vu I was getting. "Secretly smoking in my mom's garage, what a typical night," I giggled.

"Ura and Todo being unable to hang," he said after taking a hit. "Now, that's a typical night."

I hummed in agreement, letting my eyes slip closed. "I miss when it was this easy."

Shinsou snickered at the comment. "Getting rid of the other two?"

My eyes blinked open as I turned my head slightly so he was in my field of vision. "No, dumbass," I jabbed. "Hanging out with you." My eyes shut again, full body relaxation kicking in again.

"You don't think it's easy anymore?"

The conversation had turned into one of Shinsou and I's high talks. We had them frequently before I moved, at least a few times a week. It was easier for both of us to talk things out like this, whether it was a fight between us or the meaning of life. The topic didn't matter, we just got to fully express whatever was on our mind.

"My boyfriends hate you, you hate them, and you won't stop flirting with me. If that doesn't make hanging out hard, I'm not sure what does," I answered honestly, my world still dark behind my eyelids.

"Izuku?"

"Hm?"

"What would you do if you woke up tomorrow and Kirishima and Bakugou broke up with you, for real, because they were moving? They tell you that they still want to be friends, and then when you visit they tell you that they never loved you?"

"Probably kill myself, but I see what you're getting at."

"Yeah."

"So, you love me like I love them?"

"Pretty much."

"Oh."

"Mhm."

"... I'm sorry."

"So am I."

so i put on a playlist with slow songs bc i was feeling a very mellow vibe, but i forgot this this was my perfectly crafted, heart wrenching, angst inspiring, and self targeting playlist. i hurt my own feelings so you got this. bone apple teeth.