~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mina POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The second Mr. Aizawa dismissed class, the boys headed straight for the locker room to change out of their hero gear. Ochaco and I hurried to the girls' side, but I couldn't stop thinking about what we saw on the field."Ochaco, we need to hurry!" I whispered, quickly pulling my school uniform out of my locker. "If the boys' locker room is as loud as usual, Bakugo is going to lose his temper, and what if he lets something slip about yesterday?""Mina, don't worry so much," Ochaco laughed, buttoning her blazer. "They aren't going to just shout it out loud."But my gut was telling me to pay attention. We finished changing in record time and waited out in the main hallway just as the boys' locker room door swung open.Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero walked out first, laughing about some video game. Right behind them were Bakugo and Deku. They were walking a little too close, and just as they stepped into the hallway, a small object slipped right out of Bakugo’s gym bag and clattered onto the tiled floor. My eyes went wide. It was a limited-edition, silver All Might keychain. Bakugo doesn't collect those, my brain screamed. Deku does! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ochaco POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I saw the keychain hit the floor at the exact same moment Mina did. Before Kaminari or Sero could turn around and notice it, Mina practically leaped across the hallway."Wow, Kaminari! Is that a smudge on your shoe?!" Mina shouted at the top of her lungs, throwing her hands in the air to create the loudest, most chaotic distraction possible. Kaminari jumped, completely distracted, looking down at his feet. "Wait, where?! My new sneakers?! "While the boys were all looking at Kaminari's perfectly clean shoes, I swiftly stepped forward, using my foot to slide the All Might keychain right back toward Deku’s boots. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bakugo POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I felt my heart drop into my stomach when I heard that metallic click on the floor. I had grabbed the nerd's stupid keychain by mistake when I was packing my bag in a rush. If Shit!y Hair or Dunce Face saw that in my possession, they would never shut up about it. Before I could even think of a cover story, Raccoon Eyes started screaming about Kaminari's shoes like a total lunatic. Then I saw Pink Cheeks slide the keychain back to Deku with her foot. My jaw tightened, and I looked up at the two girls. They weren't trying to catch us—they were actually trying to help us. A sudden, deeply flustered wave of heat hit my face. I looked away quickly, adjusting my collar, but mentally gave them a rare nod of appreciation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Deku POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My breath completely hitched as I looked down at the silver All Might keychain resting by my shoe. If anyone else noticed it, the whole secret would be out. I quickly scooped it up and shoved it into my pocket, my face turning bright red as I threw a look of pure, breathless gratitude toward Ochaco and Mina. Kaminari was still grumbling about his shoes being clean as we all started walking toward the cafeteria for lunch. I peeked sideways at Kacchan, whose ears were still a light shade of pink. He caught me looking and let out a tiny, soft "Tsk" under his breath. Mina and Ochaco were doing so much to protect us, and for the first time all day, I felt completely safe.
more to come.
