When the Bell Rings

As Star Skyline stood in the lunch line, she started muttering under her breath.

She couldn't believe Mashirao was actually serious about lunch for a month! Where does the cruelty end with this man?! Hitoshi bought yesterday, so today was her turn. She glanced over at their table where Mashirao was sitting, smiling sweetly as he awaited his meal. Maybe she could pour hot sauce on it and he wouldn't notice...

She sighed, probably not.

Not only because she was already drinking since she was in the packed cafeteria, but also because she was too tired to get away with much of anything today. She had seen the text on her phone. She wasn't oblivious to the glares she received when she had left that morning, especially since she can read their stupid minds. She had started drinking more and more as she passed other students to drown it out. Not that it stopped the verbal comments she had been getting all morning. She even had to turn her phone off, flooded with messages from an unknown number. For someone trying to stay under the radar, she had been doing an awful job so far.

Hitsohi had been trying to track the person down without the use of his quirk, but it would take time. She almost regretted coming to this school, knowing it would mean she couldn't rely on Hitoshi at night as much as she had before. It didn't help having the press outside the gates for the past two day either. Despite her changed name and dyed hair, Star was still terrified of any of her secrets getting out. The press would've loved the story of the two kidnapping victims being rescued after a week… Imagine how much worse it would be once they found out the first victim was the daughter of the top two Pro Heros in America. She would be made to come home faster than she could remind them she was an adult and didn't have to. And she needed to find what her dad was hiding here before she let that happen.

Bakugo had saved her from the press on the first day, which was a blessing since the reporter she had threatened was there, and had tried helping today as well. Being who she is though, she avoided him today after what happened last night, hiding behind an emotionless Todoroki. Avoiding conflict was her specialty given her quirk, especially when she wasn't able to read his mind well enough to tell what he wanted to say to her. She sighed, at least today she would be able to show off her quirk in rescue training. That was the one thing she was looking forward to.

"Why all the sighs, queen of Gen Ed?" She heard a snide voice ask behind her. Star turned around to see a shorter long faced male student with a large backpack on, glaring down at her maliciously. She turned away to ignore him, tired of the comments. "Upset that your boyfriend didn't take you to his bed last night like how Monoma was by his girlfriend? Ah what the hell!"

She turned back around to see what the commotion was, and came face-to-face with strong muscular arms crossed on a broad chest. She smelt carmel and burnt sugar, and looked up into the burning eyes of Katsuki Bakugo. She felt her cheeks flush at their proximity and he smirked, about to say something before-

"How dare you! You can't just cut in line and interrupt me like that!" The snide voice returned from somewhere behind Bakugo.

He glowered, turning around with his hands crackling in the shorter man's face. "Wanna fucking try me and find out what happens, you Gen Ed bastard?" The dark grey eyed man took a step back instinctually, and Bakugo growled. "That's what I fucking thought."

He turned back to Star and casually put his hands in his pockets, as if she wasn't angry with him and he hadn't just threatened another student, before nonchalantly asking, "So, who's this boyfriend I'm hearing about, Sweet Cheeks?"

She glared at him, and at his stupid nicknames. He tells her to drop out and then acts like nothing happened? This guy had worse mood swings than even she does.

"First, I had that handled. But... thank you." She looked away in annoyance at the satisfied feeling she could tell was enveloping him. It would take more than that to sway her after last night. "Second, even if I had a boyfriend, it wouldn't be any of your business." She felt his tangled emotions at that, and was again reminded of how irritating it was to try and understand the chaos that was Katsuki Bakugo's mind. "Last, you don't get to tell me to stop wasting your time and then waltz in and waste mine. Fuck off, Bakugo."

He let out an annoyed "Tch" and avoided her eyes. "About that, Freckles..." He finally looked back at her, before looking away again. "I was wrong. Sorry."

Star looked at him in surprise. It would have sounded gruff and insincere to anyone else, but she had an advantage when it came to figuring him out.

She reached out and touched him.

Katsuki looked down at her hand in confusion, eyebrows knitting together, but didn't move away. His brain was always harder to untangle, despite sleeping a wall apart for a week. But she saw flashes of their warm drinks at night and felt sincerity. He opened his mouth to say something else, before an alarm sounded.

Star took a looong swing from the water bottle, knowing what was about to happen. -Warning, level 3 security breach- Bakugo snatched the bottle from her mouth and smelt it, frowning. "Are you fucking serious, Red?" -Please evacuate the building- Star looked around the cafeteria as the thoughts around her caused a ringing in her ears. -in an orderly fashion- She needed the alcohol to take more of an effect or else this would be hell on her quirk.

Starting to feel it hit her more, she complained as her ears started ringing. "I'm going to dieeee..."

Finally, she felt the hard liquor hit her completely, and thanked the gods above.

"What the fuck are you talking ab-"

At that moment, as she feared it would, the cafeteria came alive.