Holding my cup in shaking hands, the water rippled slightly. As if I had just drunk ten energy drinks in one sitting, I felt a surge of energy run through my body. I leaned over my drink, took a deep breath, and mumbled to myself. "Stop shaking. You were so weird there. How the hell can I bounce back from that?

The clock on the wall in front of me caught my eye as another minute ticked away. I had been sitting and sprawling for ten minutes. The cheap paper cup in my hands was soggy like it was about to start leaking any moment. It looked like my plan to wait for the Aizawa visitor to leave wasn't going to work. As a thought crossed my mind, my heart sank in my stomach. He won't leave, of course, they are friends. I have to go back.

I swallowed my drink in two big gulps and stood up, crumbling the paper cup into a tight ball. The voice in my head had a false confidence in it as I prepared myself by walking towards Aizawa's room. You can do it, girl. You have this. Go ahead and do your thing. If bad guys are nothing, then being in a room with him should be a breeze.

Through the small window in the door, I could see him standing at Aizawa's bedside. My heart pounded against my fingers as soon as I touched the cold metal doorknob. I tried to cheer myself up, but uncertainty and fear coated my words. "You can do it. Just step inside.

As if ripping off a bandaid, I turned the doorknob and threw myself through the door frame. The door closed behind me, making me nearly jump out of my skin. I hugged my clipboard close to my chest tighter with each step forward. “How is everything?”

“He…” My voice faltered as he turned to face me. I shifted my eyes to the ground and cleared my throat before continuing. “Mr. Aizawa, I mean, he wasn’t showing any signs of pain or irritation while I was out, right?”

“I don’t think so,” he replied. I peeked over my clipboard and asked if he had been talking at all. He had a small grin on his face, and my heart swelled. “He’s never really been much of a talker.”

Feeling my face flush, I turned a bit away and looked down at my clipboard. I stumbled through my words as I spoke. “I, uh, need to fill this out, mark visitors, I mean.”

“Voice Hero: Present Mic at your service!” His excited tone mellowed down and he chuckled under his breath. “Or Hizashi Yamada, if you need my real name.”

“I do, thanks.” It was starting to cause me physical pain to pretend that I had no idea who he was. I kept my body partially turned away from him as I continued. “And Mr. Yamada—”

He cut me off. “Hizashi’s fine. I don’t dig formalities.”

My entire body could have melted into a puddle. The hero that I use as background noise to fall asleep and work to gave me, of all people, permission to call him by his first name. I tried to keep my cool. “Okay. Hisashi, what is your relationship with Mr. Aizawa?”

We’ve been buddies for ages.” Hisashi had a lighthearted and laid-back air about him. “We’re also coworkers.”

“So, he works with you at the radio station?” I dug my teeth into my bottom lip as soon as my question slipped out and my body tensed up. Stupid. Why did you ask him that?

“Oh!” His voice perked up. “You’re a listener?”

The ruse was partially up. I couldn’t pretend that I had no idea who he was anymore; instead, I fell into the next lie. “I’ve tuned in once or twice.”

The wide grin on his face remained as he spoke. “Well, I hope you’ll continue to tune in.”

“Uh, yeah, I’m sure I will.” My gaze traveled to the bandaged-up man, and I swiftly changed the subject. It was time for Aizawa’s next check-up and to swap out his IV bag. Hizashi asked if he could stay and watch. I gestured my hand to the rolling chair by Aizawa’s bedside. “I don’t mind. If you watch close enough, I might let you change it next time.”

A heavy aura filled the room. I glanced at Aizawa and saw a sharpened look in his eyes. Clearly, he didn’t think my joke was funny. “Ah, sorry, that was a joke.”

I kept my back towards Hizashi as I turned my attention to the near empty IV bag hanging by Aizawa’s side. Behind me, I could hear the chair rolling around the room. I caught him sliding just into my peripheral vision. “So, what’s it like working in the ER?”

“Well…” My voice trailed off. It was much easier talking to Hizashi when I wasn’t looking directly at him. “I’m not really sure how to answer that. I don’t normally work in the ER.”

“You don’t?” Hizashi rolled a little bit closer to me, placing himself even more into my view and working up my nerves again. He rested his head in his hand.

I shook my head and tried to focus on the IV. “Ah- no. I work in the villain ward. I’m just covering for a friend today.”

His chair continued to roll, and I soon found Hizashi sitting in front of me. He leaned forward, staring directly into my eyes. “Really? That sounds crazy dangerous, chickadee.”

Chickadee? My heart felt as if it would burst at any moment. I reminded myself to keep calm and be professional, before replying to him in a softened tone. “Not really, we have a lot of precautions to keep the staff safe. I know I have nothing to worry about here, but I just don’t feel safe, y’know. I guess I’m just used to all the security cameras and locked doors.”

Hizashi had a warm grin on his face. He lifted his orange glasses, giving me a view of his unobstructed eyes. “Hey now, no need to worry with me around.”

His eyes are so green. Hizashi asked if I was okay after I failed to respond to him. I partially covered my face with my clipboard and nodded. “I feel a lot better, thank you. You’re right, this is probably the safest room in the hospital right now.”

Hizashi sat still for the most part as I finished Aizawa’s evaluation. Every so often, he would roll close to his friend and have a one-sided conversation between the two. I couldn’t say I knew Aizawa very well, he didn’t speak to me at all, but something told me this was their dynamic at work as well. It reminded me of Takahashi and I. I suppose all quiet people need at least one loud friend in their life, and that loud friend will be hell-bent on being their best friend.

As the new hour came closer, I collected my things and cleaned up the room. To my surprise, Hizashi was still in the room with us. It was unusual for friends to stay at the hospital like this, especially since Aizawa was cleared and given his discharge date. Having him in the room was both pleasant and stressful. I was a bit thankful for my shift to come to an end.

“Excuse me, I’m about to give these papers to the technician scheduled to watch Mr. Aizawa after I leave. Feel free to stay here for as long as you like,” I said.

Before I made it to the door, Hizashi called out after me. “Oh, you’re leaving already Chickadee?”

I stopped and turned to face him, confirming that my shift was going to be over in a few minutes. Hizashi rose from his seat and approached me. My face felt hot. It took all of my strength to keep from hiding my face with the clipboard as I had been doing since he stepped into the room. He lowered his head and began to speak. “Thank you, erm—”

Hizashi cut himself off and looked me in the eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck and gave me a partial grin. “I don’t think I got your name.”

I introduced myself, and Hizashi’s eyes narrowed a bit. He repeated my name a few times under his breath. Finally, he spoke to me directly. “That name sounds familiar. Have we met before?”

A lump large enough to choke on formed in my throat. I frantically shook my head and spat out an excuse. “No, I think I would remember meeting you.”

Regardless of my answer, the suspiciously thoughtful look on his face remained. I swiftly said goodbye again and excused myself from the room before he could ask another question that might jog his memory.

The sound of the door closing behind me felt like a godsend. My chest was rattling in my chest, ready to burst. I couldn’t believe the Present Mic spoke to me the entire time and I made a complete fool of myself. This was officially the best and worst day of my life.

***

Hey there, Chickadee. If three words could stir a whirlwind of emotions, for me, that would be it. I slid my phone to the side and replaced it with a folder. I had been staring at the text message for an hour, and I needed to get some work done.

Although I had stopped looking at my phone, it was distracting me. Questions piled up by the minute, weighing heavy on my mind. He was a hero. I suppose he may have access to some sort of special hero-only search database. After a moment of thought, the theory began to feel like a huge stretch. 

Between paragraphs, I stopped typing and took a tea break as I reread my report and compared it to the file sitting on my desk in front of me. My phone lit up in the corner of my eye and I saw that unfamiliar number. Hizashi sent me another text.

Without thinking twice, I swiped up my phone and read the text. “Sorry, I forgot to say this is Hizashi. Your friend gave me your number.”

“I should have guessed.” I backed out of the so far one-sided conversation, digging through my contacts until I found Takahashi’s name. “I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”

I leaned forward, folding my arms across the desk as the phone rang on the other end. Finally, it clicked and I immediately began to talk. “Taka! What did you say to him? I know you did more than give him my phone number.”

The momentary silence made my nerves flare up. It gave me time to think about my own question. What did he say to him? Something told me that he had said too much. He always said too much.

A cackle unlike Takahashi’s rang out through the phone and the warmth drained from my entire body. Before speaking to me, I heard Hizashi call out to someone in the background. “Hey, you called it when you said she was going to yell at you.”

I buried my face in my hands. Of course the two of them would be in the same room right now; it’s about that time for Hizashi to visit Aizawa.

Hizashi greeted me and instinctively I placed my hand over my mouth, feeling my face burn. I cleared my throat before speaking. “Hey, Hizashi, good afternoon.”

“Hey, Chickadee, listen carefully. I wanted to invite you out to talk. Your friend says you’re shy. It’s cool if you don’t want to come.” I wondered what else Takahashi had said. If I knew him as well as I thought I did, I knew there had to be more. Instead, I asked him what he wanted to talk about. Hizashi continued to speak. “It was about your song entry.” 

Before he could explain, Hizashi paused and started talking to someone in the background. His words were nearly impossible to hear, sounding like he had covered the receiver. “Oh, I have to hand off the phone. Let me know if you want to talk, you have my number now. Here is your friend.” 

“Taka…” Venom coated my words. He, in turn, let out a nervous chuckle. “Meet me in front of the villain ward in an hour.”

***

“What did you say?” Takahashi rubbed the back of his neck with a slight smile. With one hand, my fingers grabbed onto the front of his shirt and I repeated myself, taking pauses between my words. I shook him as I spoke. “What did you tell him?”

Takahashi hummed in thought. He then began talking, barely pausing for breaths between his sentences. “I mentioned that my best friend was a huge fan of his. He asked about you. Then I told him you were the said mega fan. I asked if he would sign a Present Mic body pillow if I bought you one for your birthday. I mentioned you entered his song contest. He talked about how shy you were, and I told him you’re always like that but you were probably extra nervous because you have the hots for him. He said he liked your song. Nice guy, very cute. Oh! He said he’d sign that body pillow. It’s coming in the post next week. Happy early birthday!”

My hold on his shirt loosened and I hugged my clipboard close to my chest. I paced around in a tight circle. “I can never show my face to him again. That’s it, I gotta move out of the country, change my name, and make better friends.”

A firm hold on my shoulder snapped me out of my thoughts. Takahashi chuckled. “Hey, I called your name like six times.”

I had no idea; I didn’t hear him at all. My vision blurred slightly and I wiped away the tears before I began to bawl in front of the hospital. I breathed in and counted to five. Takahashi spoke as soon as I exhaled. “There’s a silver lining.”

Before he finished his thought, I knew I was going to throw something at him if it ended up being a joke. “When I said you had the biggest crush on him, he didn’t look repulsed.”

My clipboard flew through the air. Takahashi caught it with one hand and held it out in front of me. “You’re so lucky you have enhanced reflexes. I was aiming for your head.”

“Come on, don’t start throwing yourself a pity party just yet. He asked you out on a date.” I raised my brow. Hizashi did no such thing. I asked Takahashi to explain himself. “He invited you to go get drinks with him and talk about your song.”

“What is there to talk about anyway? It’s a stupid song.” Takahashi grinned and playfully shrugged. My eyes narrowed at him. “You know, don’t you?”

“Maybe I do,” he replied. His smile widened, growing more mischievous.

“And you’re going to tell me what it was about.” Takahashi placed a finger across his lips and shook his head. My brows furrowed. “And why not?”

He rolled his eyes and glanced away from me for a moment. Takahashi motioned to me to come closer. “Well... if you really want to know.”

He leaned in, his eyes squinting as he chuckled under his breath. “Meet up with him and ask him yourself. I promise it’ll be worth it.”

“Don’t do this to me,” I mutter. Takahashi informed me in a matter-of-fact tone that he was obligated to keep it a secret.

“Would it make things easier if you brought a friend? I’ll come.” I told Takahashi he had done enough damage and that I’d bring another friend. He placed his hands on his hips and cocked his head to the side. “What other friends? The villains don’t count.”

After a moment of pause, I took it back. “Fine. You can come with me.”

His voice perked up. “Cool! I have some free time in my busy schedule next week. We can talk to him and get that body pillow signed on the same day.”

“No. Never mind, I’m not taking you anywhere,” I said.

“So you’ll be a big girl and go all by yourself?” he asked. “It’s just a little date.”

 I was reluctant to agree and I hesitated for a moment. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see Hizashi, regardless of whether it was or wasn’t a date. Finally, I responded with a sigh. “I’ll think about it.”

Hey there, Chickadee. I read the text far too many times to count and the giddy feeling never faded. It was like a rollercoaster of emotions; one minute I was up, feeling excited, and the next minute I was down, feeling uncertain.

As promised, I thought about it. Each time, I came to a fork in the road—both paths terrifying in their own right. I was nervous about the possibility that this could develop into something more than just a friendly meeting. I was also scared of the possibility that it could end up being awkward and uncomfortable.

I tried convincing Takahashi to tell me what Hizashi wanted to discuss. Surprisingly, he refused to talk about it. I sighed and mumbled to myself. “The first time he can actually keep a secret and it’s this. Great.”

 Frustrated, I gave up and resigned myself to the fact that I would have to pick something. I turned on my phone and stared at my keyboard like it was a giant jigsaw puzzle I had no hope of completing. My head repeated the same three words until I couldn’t take it anymore. Yes or no.

A long sigh escaped me as I felt my stomach twist in a nervous knot. I typed my message, read it, deleted it, and repeated the process. I could never seem to get the phrasing just right, and the longer I waited, the more anxious I became.

Finally, I settled on a short, five-word answer. Now, it was time to wait for a reply.