"Yo, you ready?"

"Yep! What's left is my aunt to finish signing the release papers and we good," (Y/n) nodded at Katsuki who peered at her from the couch. She zipped close her bag and threw it onto the couch before settling herself beside it.

"Are you fucking sure you're okay?" the boy asked her as he took his place next to her on the seat. "Because if I had a say in this I'd say you stay until you get completely healed."

"And that, my friend," (Y/n) winked at him. "Is why you don't have a say in this."

Katsuki frowned at her making her giggle.

"Besides, I don't feel any pain. All I have to do is go to school tomorrow, head over to Recovery Girl, get one last big ol' fat kiss to heal the scratches remaining and I'll be as good as new! I mean, isn't that what you did for your arm?" she said, her hand going over to touch Katsuki's healed arm.

The boy swatted her hand away, his crimson-colored eyes darting away from her with a scowl. "That's different."

"Different my ass," she chuckled humorously before grabbing his arm with both hands.

"Hey! What are you-?!"

"Chillax," she soothed the startled boy as she began rolling up his shirt sleeve. "I just want to know where you got hurt. You never even told me how you got hurt in the first place."

Katsuki's face heated up as he watched her study his arm carefully. He couldn't admit it, but he liked the way her soft fingers slowly trailed up and down his skin.

"Well...?"

The boy sighed and looked away before she could see his red face. "Some fucking piece of wood fell on me and shit. Cut it deep."

"Ooh...wow that's so sad..." (Y/n) nodded in a daze, completely mesmerized by his drool-worthy, well-built muscles as she continued stroking his arm leisurely, even squeezing a bit at one point.

Katsuki furrowed his eyebrows at her odd state and flicked her forehead with his free hand.

"Ow! Fucking hell!" (Y/n)'s hands immediately dropped from his arm to cover to her sore spot.

"That's what you get for being weird," Katsuki clicked his tongue in irritation while he rolled down his sleeve. But still, he couldn't get over the feeling of her hands on him, the ghost of her skin lingering on his.

"I wasn't being weird!" she huffed stubbornly, her head turned away from him to hide her imminent blush.

"Yeah sure," he sniggered, a smirk making its way to his lips.

The girl turned back to him and pushed his shoulder. "I'm serious! I was just checking if you're still injured! That's all!"

He rolled his eyes and laid back on the couch, a deep, loud groan emitting from his mouth.

(Y/n) scowled and averted her eyes from him, still flustered by her unusual behavior.

Physical attraction?! I remember thinking about this after we got from the arcade...is that it?! Nah, I was just checking if he was okay...right? Fuck! What if I'm-!

"You ready, honey?"

(Y/n) jumped in surprise at the interruption of her thoughts and looked at Nanami who had entered the room.

When did she get here?

"Come on!" she beckoned at the girl. "Let's go home!"

(Y/n) shook her head to clear her mind and gave her a nod. Sending Katsuki one last glance, she stood up and grabbed her bag as they made way to the door and out of the hospital.

***
Both (Y/n) and Nanami arrived home, Katsuki having had gone to his own home earlier on.

The girl decided to take a shower first, to get the smell of medicine off her before anything.

She was currently picking out which clothes to wear, singing a song under her breath. Her phone rang and look over her shoulder at the device that was on her bed.

With a sigh, she headed over to it and peered over at the screen.

Incoming call: Prince❤

(Y/n) frowned and went back to her closet. She took out one of the clothes hangers and hanged one of the t-shirts she had taken out on it. Her phone continued ringing and the longer it did, the longer the feelings of guilt overpowered her pride. She tried to push away the feelings but it got worse when she realized that she didn't have a lot of time remaining before it stopped ringing altogether.

With a groan, she quickly returned the hanger into the closet and rushed for her phone. She grabbed it and accepted the call.

"Uh...hi," she hurriedly said as soon as she placed the phone to her ear.

"Hi."

The girl pressed her free hand on her forehead and bit the inside of her cheek. Their last conversation, which was two days ago, had ended in a complete flop with her hanging up on him. She couldn't blame him for not calling her those past few days and she also couldn't help but feel that the uncomfortable silence was because of her.

"So..." she awkwardly drawled, sitting down on her bed to get more comfortable. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to inform you that I'll be coming back today," he said, his voice sounding distant and cold as usual.

"Okay," the girl nodded, already feeling chills due to his cold voice, something that made her regret hanging up on him in the first place.

The line went completely silent, with each person resorting to an awkward silence that lasted a couple of seconds.

"I'm sorry."

(Y/n) blinked in discomfiture at his small utterance, not having clearly caught it. "What?"

"I'm sorry I started an argument with you when I should've been focusing on your wellbeing other than my jealousy," he apologized. "I'm really sorry."

"You do know that this ain't the first time, right?" she asked, narrowing her eyes sightlessly at the wall.

"I know."

The girl then sighed and looked down at her lap. "I'm sorry too...for hanging up on you."

"It's alright."

(Y/n) could tell that he was struggling with trying not to push on the point about Katsuki but was grateful he didn't. She didn't want to start another unnecessary argument again. One was enough.

The female blew out her cheeks and collapsed back on her bed.

"I hate not talking to you," she twisted her face at the ceiling. "It felt weird. Especially when it's so boring at the hospital."

He sighed. "I wish I could've been there with you. I'm sorry I couldn't."

"It's alright," she smiled as her eyes traced lines over the ceiling. "We can see each other tomorrow."

"Or today."

Her forehead creased. "Huh?"

"I'm coming over," he clarified, leaving no room for argument.

"You sure?" she sat up, remembering that she still hadn't showered. "I mean, aren't you going to be tired and all?"

"No, I won't. Besides, I want to see you. I've missed you."

The girl smiled. "I missed you too."

"I can't wait to see you."

"Yeah, me too."

***

It was already night when Shouto arrived at (Y/n)'s home, flowers in hand for her. The minute her eyes landed on the bouquet of flowers, she smiled.

"Aww Shouto...You didn't have to."

"This is my way of apologizing," he said, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

(Y/n) giggled as she flung herself on him. Shouto was taken aback by the sudden gesture, stumbling back a bit before regaining his balance.

He wrapped his arms around the girl, appreciating her small warm form in his. (Y/n) pulled away and shot him a quick smile before leaning towards his lips. She teasingly brushed her lips against his but when he leaned into her to fully close the distance, (Y/n) pulled away from his arms, snatching the flowers in the process.

Shouto's widened in surprise for a bit before an amused smile graced his lips.

"Coming in?" the girl smirked back at him, holding out her free hand for him to take.

The boy nodded and took her hand, permitting her to pull him inside.

"Is your aunt in?" the boy inquired as he closed the door behind him.

"Nah. She went out like an hour ago," the girl shook her head, earning another nod from him.

(Y/n) let go of his hand to take the flowers to the nearest vase that was set over a mantelpiece in their living room. She placed them in the vase together with other old lilies that had begun withering.

I should take those out...she thought as she gently stroked the soft petals of (fave flowers), a gentle smile on her soft lips. As she admired the flowers, her (e/c) eyes caught onto a white card peeking out of the bouquet.

The girl knitted her eyebrows as she took the card out and checked it out. The front was blank, except for a beautifully drawn red heart. She smiled and turned it over, her lips parting at the words written in bold.

I know we belong today. Want to know how? It was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together...and I knew it. I knew the very first time I saw you. It was like coming home...only to no home I'd ever known...

(Y/n) smiled, her heart completely moved by the touching words. She swiveled around, her eyes meeting with the heterochromatic ones of Shouto. How she felt was indescribable, like she was falling in love with him all over him again. All she wanted to do now was kiss him, feel him against her.

The girl walked over to him and silently grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the direction of her room. As soon as they were in, (Y/n) locked the door behind her.

The boy turned to look at her in slight confusion as to why they were in her room. (Y/n) remained at the door, her back pressed against it as she stared brazenly into his eyes. Her heart was racing, her cheeks flushed as her whole body awakened with arousal.

Shouto noticed this and arched an eyebrow at her sudden change of mood. His questioning mind was answered when the girl abruptly grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him towards her, crashing her lips against hers. Shouto was startled by her aggressiveness but immediately reciprocated the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her nearer.

(Y/n) ran her hands through his soft bi-colored hair, tugging at the roots impatiently. His lips were soft, gentle with a hint of confident assertiveness, warm and cool at the same time, just how she liked it. The girl could feel herself heat up with desire and need for the male, parting her lips so that he could deepen the kiss.

Shouto's hands slowly trailed down her waist to her hips, gripping them hard to push her against him. He pulled away from her lips, immediately latching his lips onto her neck as he left wet kisses down his trail. (Y/n) was left breathless and panting, leaning her head back to give him more ground to cover as her fingers went from his hair to grip his shoulders.

Shouto ran his nose along her neck in a slow, sensual way before ending at the crook of her neck where he bit down onto it before sucking. He made sure to keep it gentle yet enough to leave a mark. (Y/n) let out a low moan, biting her lower lip as she smirked at the pleasurable feeling.

When he was done sucking, he blew on it briefly then placed another soft kiss on the reddening spot. (Y/n) giggled, her hands making their way to his chest and pushed him back towards the bed. Shouto's legs hit the bed, sending them both tumbling on top of it.

The boy didn't waste time in overturning them both, his hands against the bed on either side of the girl's head. Shouto leaned his forehead against hers, his bi-colored eyes staring deep into the girl's (e/c) own. Shouto's scent infiltrated her senses, jumbling up her mind and leaving only the boy's picture burnt into her brain. The only sounds were of their rapid, short breaths originated by their need and love for each other.

The boy leaned into her, capturing her lips into a passionate, gentle kiss. He pulled away a tiny bit, lips brushing against hers affectionately before he tenderly pulled at her bottom lip with his teeth. He let go, earning a small giggle from the girl.

"Fucking tease..." she murmured, her hands going up to grab each side of his head, bringing it down to her.

She captured his lips into hers, tilting her head a bit to the right as their mouths molded against each others. (Y/n)'s fingers trailed down to his shoulders, down to his chest where she could feel his defined muscles pressing against her palms. Her hands slid under his shirt, raising it up as she felt up his ripped chest. Shouto got her signal and separated from the kiss, sitting up as he quickly pulled off the shirt. He flung it across the room, wasting no time in leaning back down to the girl.

He buried his head in her neck, placing butterfly kisses along her skin making her laugh a bit. His lips teasingly trailed down to the base of her neck and hovered above the neckline of her shirt. His hands went to the hem of her shirt and slowly inched it up. He shifted down to her exposed stomach and placed a kiss on the soft skin.

(Y/n) sighed in bliss, a shiver passing through her spine as Shouto made his way up her stomach, leaving kisses in his trail while simultaneously inching her shirt further up. When he was at her midriff, the girl raised her upper body, allowing him to completely remove the garment. He chucked it to the side of the bed, his darkened heterochromatic staring hungrily at her bra-covered breasts.

He enticingly licked his bottom lip, arousing the girl even more. The way he looked at her made her feel beautiful, one of the things she appreciated from him. Shouto went back down above her, his hands gripping the sides of her upper body as he kissed her exposed cleavage. The cold metal of the half-heart necklace dangling from his neck felt cool on the heated skin of her stomach and it made her shiver.

(Y/n) drew in a shaky breath, her fingers weaving into his hair as he sucked on the tender skin above her cleavage. Her breath hitched when she felt one of his hands attempt to pull her bra strap down. In one go, all her earlier on confidence shattered, all going down the drain. Her heart quickened its pace even more at the thought of what would happen if she didn't stop him soon.

She was wrong. She wasn't ready yet.

"Shouto, wait."

She placed her hands against his bare chest and pushed him away a bit. The boy looked up at her in confusion and slight fear, worried that he might've hurt her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice huskier and octaves lower due to his pent-up arousal, the sound itself making the girl shudder.

"Not...tonight, okay?" she said, her hand going up to brush some of his hair that had fallen on his face.

Shouto sighed in disappointment but nodded nevertheless. (Y/n) smiled at his consideration, her hand moving from his hair to the back of his neck to pull him down to her lips for a gentle and brief kiss.

***

(Y/n) stood in front of her bathroom mirror, fully dressed, her hands holding up her hair in a ponytail. She was trying to figure out which style she'd tie up her hair in for the next morning at school.

Shouto was on her bed, also fully dressed as he busied himself on his phone.

The girl's eyes landed on the dark-red spot visible at the crook of her neck. She sighed, making a mental note to make sure it's well hidden before going to school. She let go of her hair, the (h/c) locks cascading down her shoulder in waves. She went to take a brush from her bathroom cabinet when she noticed that the necklace she always wore was missing from her neck.

(Y/n)'s eyebrows creased. She rarely took it off...so how come-oh, she smacked a hand on her forehead. She had placed it in her bedside drawer while she was unpacking her bag. She must've forgotten to put it on after her shower.

But then, she pressed a hand to her throat and bit her lip. Did Shouto notice she hadn't been wearing the necklace?

Armed and ready with an excuse to give him when he asked why she wasn't wearing it and also not really feeling up to the task of going for it herself, she decided to send for him before he noticed for himself that she didn't have it on.

"Shouto!" she called out, going back to take the brush from the cabinet.

"Yeah?"

"Could you check if my necklace is in my bedside drawer?" she requested, taking a handful of her hair and commenced to brush it. "I must've put it there when I got into the shower."

"Sure."

Thanking the stars that she believed him, she smiled. "Thanks."

The girl began humming a song, her hips swaying from side to side as she continued brushing her hair. She had completely forgotten that she had told Shouto to look for her necklace, her mind focusing on untangling some of the knots in her hair.

Once she was done, she placed the brush on the counter and ran her hands through her hair to spread it out. She smiled at her appearance, satisfied with the outcome.

The girl went to open the tap to wash hands when she froze. Her eyes fell wide open as she stared at her hands in stark horror.

She raised them nearer her face, her eyes taking in the pitch black color that was now spreading from her fingers to her wrists. Small wisps of smoke began seeping from her fingertips, the blackened parts of her hands forming small cracks that crawled towards her wrists. She couldn't feel anything. It was painless. But that didn't make it any less horrifying.

Her hands started shaking uncontrollably, her heart beating hard against her chest at the horror film scene. Panic gripped her as she frantically opened the tap, dousing her hands under the rapid rushing water.

She pulled them out and sighed in relief and slight disbelief. Her hands had regained their usual color, no cracking or darkness visible.

She took in a deep breath, her wet hand on her chest to calm herself as she closed the tap with the other hand.

I must be seeing things....have I gone mad?

"(Y/n)."

Shoto's deep voice startled her, making her squeak in surprise, her head turning to look at the boy who had entered the bathroom. An angry frown creased his forehead as he glared at her. (Y/n)'s face twisted in confusion at his expression but that was answered when her eyes fell on the piece of paper he held in his hand.

Her eye widened like saucers, her mouth falling agape at the sight of the picture. Her heart beat fast with dread as her mind raced to form an explanation.

"I can explain..." she began, taking a step forward to Shouto who looked like he was about to burn the house down.

"Explain what?" he cut her off, raising the picture high to display it to her. "I think this is enough proof."

(Y/n) sighed. Shit, I should've thrown it out. "Look, it's not what it looks like, kay? There's a perfectly reasonable reason for it. If only you hear me ou-"

"You were never going to tell me, were you?" he cut her short.

"I-I," (Y/n) hesitated, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. She quickly cast a glance to the side and back to Shouto. Her mind was filled with a thousand words to say to him but she couldn't manage to get even one out, not when he was right about her planning to never show him the picture.

"No, you weren't," Shouto answered for her, his mismatched eyes boring into hers. Disappointment was laced in his voice from her lack of response, confirming his fears. Many questions ran in his mind from the moment he laid his disbelieving eyes on the picture and he just had to know.

"How many weeks has it been since then?" he asked. "Were you still planning to show it to me once you run into his arms?"

"Wha-" (Y/n) frowned, shaking her head a bit. "We were forced to do it!! I didn't plan on it to happen! Listen to me-!!"

"What did he ever do for you that I haven't?"

(Y/n) hated herself for having an answer to that question, no multiple answers but all she could manage was a "Nothing!"

Shouto set his lips in a sour line. It was always the same answer with her, the same response. What was he even expecting by questioning her in the first place?

Keeping his anger in was a struggle. He didn't want to shout at her or worse, say something that he might come to regret in the future but he was finding it hard to have a decent conversation with her when she kept dodging his questions.

"You're always defending him," he said, the hand that was holding onto the picture falling back to his side. "You're always quick to counter everything I say about him, even when you know that I'm right. How blind can you be (Y/n)? All this time, everything he's been doing, how can you not see that every step he's made up until now is a deliberate move to come between us? And you still think that all he wants to do is be friends?"

(Y/n) scoffed and threaded a hand through her hair. "You know, this why I didn't tell you. Because I knew that this is how you'll react and-"

"So you'd rather keep it a secret? Because of how I'll react?" he pushed on.

The girl huffed. "I was going to tell you-"

"I thought you said you weren't," he interjected in a cold tone. His fingers tightened around the picture, threatening to set it on fire as he felt like its very existence was mocking him. Telling him that there was something (Y/n) had with Katsuki that he didn't have with her.

"Do you have feelings for him?" his mouth opened even before he could stop it. He just wanted to know. To know the truth of whether he had lost her.

His fears were confirmed yet again when (Y/n) opened her mouth but remained silent. She then gave a bitter laugh and asked him if he 'was going insane' followed by an unconvincing but yet defensive 'I don't have feelings for him. He's just my friend!'

"But you hesitated," his shoulders slumped in defeat and he looked down at the tiled floor. "You've changed (Y/n). I know you don't want to hear this but you have. A year ago-"

"I haven't changed," she hissed through gritted teeth. She hated hearing those words, especially when it came from someone who's known her for five years. "I told you, I'm still the same girl!"

"Yes, you have," he said with no hesitation. "The girl I knew wouldn't let anyone come between what we have. What happened to 'I'll never leave you', huh? We were always together, we always had each other. I was your first choice but now...every time I'm with you, or even when I talk to you, I feel like you'd rather be talking to someone else."

(Y/n)'s heart fell from his confession and her eyes trailed to the floor.

"People change and people grow..." she said, the words feeling heavy on her tongue. "I think we just grew apart."

"And whose fault do think it is?"

"Oh my God!" she pulled her hair in frustration. "Again with Katsuki! Will you leave him out of this?! This is our issue, not his!"

"But he's the cause the cause of this, isn't he?!" Shouto finally snapped, making her flinch. "Without him, we wouldn't be having this conversation!"

A wave of futile rage swept over (Y/n) and she stopped herself from cussing. She placed her hands together in front of her face and took in a sharp breath. Angry tears threatened to spill from her eyes but she rapidly blinked them away before turning back to Shouto.

"You know, what?" she threw an arm in the air. "I can't do this anymore! I'm tired! I'm tired of having these arguments! I'm tired of hearing 'Katsuki this', 'Katsuki that'! I'm tired of everything! Seriously, when will this stop?!"

Shouto stared at her with shocked wide eyes and he slowly nodded in understanding. "I guess this it then."

(Y/n) narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you talking about?"

"You said it yourself. You're tired of everything, right?" he asked, his angry features taken over by his cold, aloof expression. "So why don't I relieve you of this burden?"

The girl froze on the spot. It was the end.

Ignoring the churning dread in her pit, she gave a mirthless laugh. "Are you kidding me? You're seriously breaking up with me because of this?"

"No," he said. "I'm breaking up with you because of you."

She rolled her eyes. "That doesn't make any-"

"I'm sorry," his hand went up to his neck and hooked his finger under the necklace. "But I don't think we should continue this relationship any further if we'll always keep arguing about one person who you have no intentions of letting go."

"No wai-"

With a hard tug, Shouto yanked the necklace off and placed the picture on the sink's counter before dropping the broken necklace on top of the picture.

"I have to go," the boy said, managing to do a perfectly good job at masking the pain and heartache he felt inside as he turned to leave the bathroom.

The girl remained on the spot, Shouto's words ringing in her mind. She didn't go after him, not even when the sound of the banging door confirmed whatever had happened. A painful lump formed in her throat as she tried to hold on to her mind rejection.

She looked at the picture and the necklace he had left behind and she swallowed. I've lost him. I've lost...Shouto...

She felt as if her heart had been ripped from her body, the searing pain coursing through her body. Her vision became blurry from the tears gathering in her eyes and she looked up at the ceiling to try and keep the tears from falling. She looked out the bathroom door, reminding herself that Shouto had walked out that very door and out of her life.

More heartache and denial surged through her and with a sob, she slammed the door closed with a loud bang. Tears began rolling down her cheeks, her body convulsing with painful sobs. She fell to her knees, hugging herself in despair as she loudly voiced her heartache. She couldn't hold in the tears anymore, she couldn't pretend that she was okay with it because she wasn't.

She had forever lost him.

(Y/n)'s body collapsed and she fell back in a sitting position, her back leaning against the sink drawers as she cried, hiccups interrupting her sobs. Everything was perfect until she slipped up. She couldn't help but feel regret, self-loathing and pain.

Her hand clutched at her chest, indirectly holding on to the broken little muscle inside. She felt like she wasn't breathing, like she was drowning in her sorrow.

Because it hurt.

It hurt a lot.

***