Quirk: Plant Growth

 It was Saturday, and also my birthday. Usually people were supposed to feel happy and excited on their birthday, but I was only feeling depressed and upset. For the past week, my boyfriend of six months had been ignoring me more and more. He seemed much more interested in spending time with Tsuyu, them going into town together, spending lunch times together, Shoto cancelling on me to spend time with her. With each day my heart broke a little bit more.

So far I had stayed cooped up in my room. A few people knocked on my door, and each time I checked through the peephole to see if it was Shoto, but it never was. I hadn't even received a text from him, wishing me a happy birthday.

I simply laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking back to the past weeks and the events which led up to me coming to the conclusion that he was more interested in Tsuyu then myself.

- Seven days ago -

The start of the weekend came, and I was keen to spend time with my boyfriend. I thought maybe we could head to the park together, and have a nice walk around the ponds whilst the sun shone down on us. I decided to call him to suggest the idea.

"Hey Sho! Fancy going to the park today? I thought it best not to waste a nice day, y'know?"

"Sorry (y/n), I can't today, I've got a few things I need to do," he said.

"Oh, okay, how about I join you-,"

"No! I-I mean, no, it's okay, it's pretty dull stuff that my father's asked me to do, I wouldn't want you to get bored. Anyway, see you later," he said sweetly, then hanging up the phone.

'Well that was weird,' I thought, furrowing my eyebrows at my phone. I decided however to head out anyway, as it was such a lovely day, but instead of going to the park I decided to walk around town for a bit.

I turned onto the high street and that's when I saw something that confused me. On the other side of the street, Shoto was walking with Tsuyu. I hid behind a lamppost, watching the two of them from afar, wondering why he refused to let me come along but was more then happy to let Tsuyu keep him company. They turned a corner and as soon as they were out of sight, I decided to head straight back to the dorms.

Later that evening there was a knock on my bedroom door, and when I answered I saw Shoto standing there. "Everyone's downstairs in the common room, fancy joining us?" He asked sweetly with a smile. I thought back to earlier but also thought about the fact I could be reading too much into it, so I nodded and headed down with him. I began to feel more and more comfortable again, as I sat next to Shoto on the sofas, him lifting my legs up and placing them across his lap. That evening all my thoughts went back to normal.

-Six days ago -

As it was a Sunday, I decided to have quite a long lay in. I checked my phone to see I had received a good morning text from Shoto which made me smile, so I sent one back asking him what he was doing today. He responded fairly quickly saying he was going into town with Midoriya and Iida, so I simply told him to have fun on his guys day out.

I decided I needed to get up as it had reached midday, so I headed downstairs to the kitchen to get breakfast/lunch. When I walked through the common room I saw Ochaco and Tsuyu standing close together, whispering to each other, and as soon as Tsuyu spotted me she stopped talking abruptly, making Ochaco turn around. "Hi guys, what are you doing?" I asked skeptically.

"Nothing!" Tsuyu said rather quickly. I flickered my eyebrows in confusion before deciding to carry on my way towards the kitchen, but before I went in I looked back to see them gossiping again. I gulped, trying not to think about Tsuyu and my boyfriend walking around town together yesterday as I got my food and ate it alone on one of the dining tables.

It wasn't until late afternoon that Shoto came back, and I only realised as I heard Iida shout at Mina for running down the corridor. He hadn't text me saying he had returned, so I decided to head to his room to say hello.

When I reached his door I knocked gently, and he answered by only opening the door a crack and peeking his head through the gap. "Shoto, are you okay?" I asked, confused.

"Er, yeah, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I wanted to see my boyfriend," I smiled. He blushed a little and smiled in return. Suddenly however I heard a cough coming from his room, and I knotted my eyebrows together.

"I'm sorry babe, now isn't really a great time, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He said quickly.

"E-er... okay?" I said nervously. He quickly shut the door and I simply stood there, staring at it for a moment. There was someone else inside his room, someone he apparently didn't want me to know about. I trudged my way back to my room, simply changing into my pyjamas before turning in early.

- Five days ago -

Cementoss's Modern Literature class had just finished, meaning that it was the end of the school day. As soon as I had packed away all of my books, I turned and headed over to Shoto's desk, seeing him talking to Midoriya. Midoriya spotted me coming and tapped Shoto, Shoto then turning around and ceasing their conversation straight away making me furrow my eyebrows. "Hey, what are you guys talking about?" I asked.

"Nothing, oh, I won't be able to study in the library with you tonight (y/n)," Shoto said.

"Oh... okay, I'll ask Tsuyu-,"

"She won't be able to either," Shoto said quickly which took me by surprise.

"Okay..." I mumbled, quite confused.

"I've gotta go, see you later," he said, kissing my cheek abruptly and without waiting for a response he and Midoriya walked off, leaving me standing there quite shocked. My mind couldn't stop wandering - was he seeing her behind my back? No, Shoto would never cheat, he's not that kind of person, and Tsuyu would never do that to me... would she?

- Four days ago -

The only time I had seen Shoto all day was during lessons. When lunch came around, I couldn't see him anywhere. He, Midoriya, Tsuyu and Ochaco were nowhere to be seen, so I sat down with Kirishima and Bakugou, nibbling on my food quietly. I tried texting my boyfriend and he did respond, saying he went to buy food from town but I wasn't sure I believed it. The two boys sent me looks, and I could tell they were silently communicating but I didn't care, I was too busy thinking about my boyfriend.

I was quiet all day, and when the end of last lesson came I slowly packed away my things when suddenly there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Shoto standing there with a slight smile on his face which confused me - all day he'd been ignoring me, avoiding me, what did he want now?

"Fancy walking back together?" He asked politely, this question throwing me slightly off guard.

"Yeah okay," I said with a smile and together we walked, us behaving like we usually would around each other, my mind slowing down its unpleasant thoughts. He opened the door to the dorms for me, me ducking under his arm and entering. "Fancy coming to my room to watch a film?" I asked, hopeful.

"Sorry I can't, I need to see Sato about something," he said. This surprised me, Shoto and Sato barely ever talked, what could he possibly need to see him about?

"Oh, okay, see you later?" I suggested and he merely nodded before walking away. Of course however, I didn't see him later, he just sent me a 'goodnight' text and that was it.

- Three days ago -

Today had been much like yesterday. He made occasional contact with me, however it was only brief. At the end of the day I saw him walk off with Tsuyu once again, out towards town. Before he went however he did say goodbye, kissing my head before walking off. My thoughts were escalating uncontrollably, and my self-consciousness was rising fast.

It was after school and I was sat waiting in the common room, the hope of them returning quickly vanishing with each minute. It had reached seven and there was still no sign of them. Trying not to cry I stood up, and without saying a word to anyone I walked off back to my room. I tried to be strong and decided to message him, asking where he was and telling him I was worried about him. A few minutes later, which was quicker then expected, he responded with 'Yeah I'm fine, just got back from seeing mum. Sorry I didn't tell you that that's where I was going.'

I sighed, gritting my teeth as I stared at his excuse. He apparently didn't realise that I had seen him exit the campus with Tsuyu, but what hurt was that he lied.

- Two days ago -

I needed to get this hurt out of my system. I needed to talk to someone about this. It was hurting so much, as once again I ended up sitting with Kirishima and his group as my group were nowhere to be seen.

I had finished my lunch and was just staring down at the table, before announcing I needed to be alone. I stood up and began making my way back to the classroom, and that's when I saw Ochaco walking down the corridor from the other direction. "Hey (y/n)!" She called, waving as she ran over.

"Hey," I said meekly.

"What's wrong?" She asked, concern lacing her voice.

"Can I- can I talk to you about something?" I asked nervously and she nodded quickly. "Somewhere private."

"There's some toilets down here, c'mon," she said, taking my hand. We walked in the empty toilets and once we were in there, I broke down. Tears I had been holding back all week flooded from my eyes, catching Ochaco by utter surprise. "(y/n)! What's wrong?!"

"S-Shoto is c-cheating on me!" I cried, finally admitting it to myself.

"What?" She exclaimed, her already big eyes widening even more.

"I-it gets worse... h-he's cheating on me w-with Tsuyu," I whispered, pulling toilet roll from a dispenser and wiping my eyes brutally. Ochaco paused for a moment, then sighed as she took the tissue from me and wiped my eyes gently.

"(y/n), what on Earth makes you think this?" She asked quietly. I tried to steady my breathing as I readied myself to tell her everything.

"L-last Saturday he cancelled on my suggestion of going on a walk because his dad gave him things to do in town, so I-I went on a walk alone, a-and I saw him on a date with Tsuyu," I breathed, and Ochaco's eyebrows furrowed. "Then on Sunday I went to his room to see him, and he wouldn't let me in. I-I heard someone inside his room though, someone w-was in there. A few days ago he told me he'd have to cancel our study date, so I said I'd ask Tsuyu and he told he knew she wasn't free either. I also n-noticed that whenever Shoto h-hasn't been around, Tsuyu hasn't either."

"(y/n)," Ochaco sighed, looking at me with pitiful eyes. "(y/n), listen to me. I can't tell you how I know this, but I know this for a fact. Shoto is not cheating on you. He would never cheat on you, surely you know that? And with Tsu of all people? He wouldn't do that, and neither would she," she said, rubbing my arm.

"B-but what about all the times h-he's blown me off to be w-with her?" I asked, trembling.

"Please (y/n), please believe me. Shoto isn't cheating on you. He loves you way too much," Ochaco said confidently. I sighed, unsure on whether to believe her or not. I did however nod, and we both decided to head back to class as it was soon starting. Once there I decided to simply sit in my sit, avoiding contact with anyone, my anxiety still sky high.

- Yesterday -

It was my birthday tomorrow, and I thought I'd be much more happier and excited about it, but I was just miserable. Ochaco seemed certain that Shoto and Tsuyu weren't dating behind my back, but my anxiety said otherwise. I decided to walk to class early that morning, keeping my headphones in and ignoring everyone who was walking into class.

There was a tap on my shoulder and I looked up to see my boyfriend. Trying to wear the most stoic face I could despite my rapidly beating heart I took out an earphone and waited for him to talk. "You got here early," he simply observed, wearing a smile.

"Yeah, I had stuff to do," I said, gesturing the homework I had out in front of me. "I need to get back to it," I added dully as I put my headphone back in and looked down at my work. I could see Shoto was still standing next to me before awkwardly walking away towards his seat.

Lunch came around and I decided to stay in the classroom, doing the homework we had just been set in order to distract me. I put my headphones in again and pulled out my lunch from my bag when I felt another tap on my shoulder. Again I looked up to see my boyfriend smiling down at me. "Yes?" I said sharply, pulling out a headphone.

"Aren't you coming to the cafeteria to have lunch with us?" He asked in a slightly sad tone.

"No, I'm going to do the homework," I said, looking back down at my desk.

"We've got two weeks to do the homework though," he said with furrowed eyebrows.

"So? Why don't you have lunch with Tsuyu or someone?" I said bitterly.

"O-okay... I'll see you later," he mumbled, walking away. Before he left the classroom however he turned back to me, catching my eye. He looked sad and a little lost which broke my heart, but I looked down at the work, trying to ignore the pain.

- Today -

My phone suddenly buzzed and I looked over to see it was Shoto's caller ID. I left it to ring out, but he called again. And again. And again. Finally on the fifth time I picked up the phone, just because the vibrating was annoying me. I didn't say anything however, and just waited for him to talk.

"Happy birthday babe," he said sweetly. I responded with a simple 'hm'. "Are you okay?"

"Peachy," I said simply.

"You don't seem it... can you come down here for a moment? I'm in the common room," he said.

"Why?"

"I've got something I want to show you," he said and I scoffed.

"Why not just show Tsuyu?" I regretted saying it as soon as I had.

"What do you mean?" He asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Nothing," I whispered, fiddling with the rim of my pyjama top.

"Please (y/n), please come down here," he was borderline begging.

"Fine!" I huffed, then hung up the phone. I sighed, not caring that I didn't have any makeup on or that I was only in my pyjama shorts and top. I opened my door and on the wall opposite was an arrow drawn on a bit of paper. I followed its direction towards the lifts, another arrow pointing down at the lift doors. When I stepped in I saw there was another arrow pointing to 'G', so I clicked it and the lift slowly took me down. What I saw in front of me in the common room almost gave me a heart attack.

There were balloons and streamers all over the room, scattered across the ceiling, and huge helium balloons that spelt out (y/n) in the background. There was a large table scattered with confetti and topped with presents and cards. Next to it was a huge birthday cake with unlit candles on top. Everyone from class was there, some holding up banners that read 'Happy Birthday (y/n)'. People who didn't have their hands full with banners popped party poppers as I stepped out of the lift towards the boy stood in the middle of the room, who was holding a small box shaped present.

"S-Shoto?" I mumbled, realisation of what was happening in the past week hitting me, along with incredible amounts of guilt.

"Happy birthday (y/n)," he smiled sweetly. I began to cry from shock and guilt, wrapping my arms around him tightly, unable to stop crying into his chest. "Happy birthday," he said again.

"I-I'm so sorry Shoto," I mumbled into his chest, barely audible.

"Sorry?" He asked, confused. I nodded my head and smiled at my boyfriend who had his hands on my waist tightly. "Come here," he whispered, kissing my head and pulling me in for another hug. "Lets get you changed into something more party-ish, yeah?"

I nodded, letting him pull me back towards the lift. The rest of the class began the music and started the party as the lift doors shut, it taking us up to my floor level. His hand holding tightly onto mine, we walked to my room and stepped inside, and as soon as we did I held onto him again. "I'm so so sorry Shoto!" I cried desperately, his shirt getting wet by my tears.

"Why are you so sorry?" He asked, worried, as he wrapped his arms around me tightly.

"I-I thought... well, this past week I thought you were avoiding me... I-I thought you were cheating on me with Tsuyu... I saw you two together... a-and you both were never around... a-and she was in your room that time you wouldn't let me in... I-I'm sorry, I thought you were cheating on me," I cried into his chest.

"(y/n), I'd never cheat on you! You know I'd never, because I love you so much. I'm sorry I was being so distant this past week, I was trying to plan you the best surprise birthday party. Kaminari told me that pretending to forget about your birthday or act like I didn't care would make you more surprised when you saw the party... that's the last time I ever take advice from him. As for the person in my room, that was Midoriya, we had just gotten all your decorations and they were all over my room," he explained everything and I sobbed even more. "I love you (y/n), so much, I would never ever do anything to hurt you."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled again, shaking a little. "I shouldn't of jumped to conclusions."

"It's okay, looking back at it it's kind of understandable that you came to that conclusion, but babe I need you to know that you're the only one for me, okay? And... the reason I was with Asui so much was because I wanted a girls opinion on the present I got you... here," he said. I pulled my head away from his chest and looked up at him as he handed it me, then quickly putting his arms back around my waist. Tears still falling from my eyes, I slid off the ribbon and gently lifted the lid of the box to see a beautiful golden necklace with the letter S hanging from it.

I looked up at him, unable to stop smiling as I went on my tiptoes and pressed my lips against him. He happily kissed me back, cupping my cheeks and wiping away my tears at the same time. I mumbled more apologies against his lips but he pulled away looking down at me. "You don't need to apologise (y/n), really. I'm the one who should apologise, I shouldn't have ignored you in the way I did-,"

"But you were only trying to get this amazing party sorted for me-,"

"Still it was rude of me-,"

"No, I jumped to conclusions-,"

At the same time we slammed our lips together to shut each other up, the softness and gentleness making my heart melt. "We've both apologised, lets just leave it at that," Shoto said with a smile and I nodded. "I don't want to hear you apologise again, got it?" Again I nodded and he smiled. "Good. Now, let me put this on you," he said, gesturing the necklace. I moved my hair out the way to make it easier for him to do, and it hung wonderfully off of my neck.

"Thank you Shoto, I love it," I whispered, turning to face him.

"It looks good," he smiled with a slight blush. "Come on, lets get you dressed up then we can join the others downstairs."

Together we picked out a pair of my nicest jeans and a party style top which was quite low cut so it could show off the necklace. Hand it hand we made our way back down to the party, and when we were there Sato was holding the cake which had its candles now lit. Shoto held back my hair protectively as I blew the candles out and made a wish.

"I hope you like the cake, I baked it myself," Sato said, puffing his chest out proudly.

"I'm sure it'll taste delicious, thank you so much, everybody," I said, smiling brightly. All throughout the party I stayed by Shoto's side, either our hands were entwined or we were snuggling together on one of the sofas. The cake was delicious, and Shoto insisted on feeding it to me which made me giggle. This moment, this surprise birthday party, was definitely going to be one of the moments I would treasure most with him. The past week may have been hard, but the outcome made our relationship ten times stronger.