*This chapter is closely linked to Love-Coach Ochako | Ch. 44: "Wilted Flower". (Check it out for extra context!)
"Iida? Iida, are you there?"
He blinked, barely even noticing Midoriya's hand waving rapidly in front of his face. Eventually his eyes finally focused on it, and he quirked an eyebrow up at his friend—straightening his posture.
"Is there a problem?" he asked pointedly, not particularly in the mood for general conversation. He hadn't been all day.
"You just don't really seem like yourself today..." he frowned, "You've been staring into space a lot. Are you feeling okay?"
Iida looked down, his face unchanging as he focused on the grainy pattern of his white desktop, "I'm fine, Midoriya. Thank you for asking. There are lots of things on my mind, but I am managing. Really..."
He made sure to emphasize that last part. Midoriya had been there during the Stain incident, after all—he didn't want to worry him like before, though Iida wasn't exactly sure if that was avoidable. Midoriya was just like that—the worrier of the group. He had to admit, Midoriya's persistent energy to care about everyone in the class at all times was a mystery to even himself; and he was the class president.
"I... guess if you say so," Midoriya sighed, not appearing to believe him—which was honestly reasonable, "But remember, you can talk to me if anything's wrong."
"Yes, thank you. I... promise I will."
Midoriya's gaze lingered one last second on him, before he finally turned to seat himself across the room. Iida's eyes didn't follow him, but he still took the time to wonder about his good friend. He wondered again where Midoriya got his energy from—that undying willpower to always care for others; even if it was at his own expense sometimes. It was something Iida wanted to match, but struggled to every day. Especially recently, it seemed the more effort he put into others, the more he doubted himself of how good of a leader he actually was.
Iida hadn't let anyone know about these feelings of his, and it was suffocating. It didn't help either how their license exams were creeping closer with each passing day. His stress level had already risen well beyond what he could normally manage—he believed he would soon reach his mental limit.
Despite that...
I have to be perfect.
He clenched his pencil so hard, he could hear it creak inside of his fist.
Absolutely... perfect.
But then, there was that other problem.
Iida found himself flinching at every glimpse of pink he saw. Ashido as she bounded into class a minute late, made his heart tremor with surprise. It had taken everything in him to not let his expression change to—well, whatever his face did when he saw her now. Was it excitement? Fear? No matter what he was feeling, he knew he had to keep his expression indifferent. Otherwise, people would know. Know that something was wrong with him. That someone had... altered him.
Halfway through a pop quiz in math class, Iida remembered something.
He had told someone about his feelings before. He'd confided in that person about his burdens as the class president—as the upholder of the Ingenium name. He'd told her all about the pressure and the weight he'd been under... about how it stressed him to no end. If he sought her out, they could talk like that again. She would stroke his back, and assure him everything was going to be okay—
NO.
The cracked pencil in his hands snapped into two halves. A couple of his classmates glanced at him, but he was quick to replace it with a separate one from his pencil pouch.
YOU ARE READING
The Couples of Class 1-A
RomanceLove is a tricky thing, and it's different for everyone. That is something the students of class 1-A quickly understand as their school life unfolds around them. Todoroki experiences his heart fluttering for the first time, after getting stuck insid...