Shouto wasn't very familiar with popular trends or general pop culture. He was even less familiar with pop culture for adolescents.

References toward famous movies and TV shows usually went over his head. Commonly played songs were foreign to him. It took until he entered UA for him to discover what internet jokes - or more frequently known as memes - were, much less remember them; he still didn't understand the intrigue and comedy behind some of them, or why Bakugo once called Tsuyu 'Pepe'. Party games, such as Truth or Dare, were also unknown to him.

Truth or Dare must be very well-known though, he thinks as he sees Kaminari nearly choke on his gum as Kirishima and Sero look at him with wide eyes. They were sitting on another sofa in the common room, almost directly across from where he was. They were talking about something regarding the rules of the game, and asked him for his opinion. Kaminari coughs for a moment and breaks Shouto's train of thought.

"Wait a second, dude." Kaminari said, regaining his posture. He points at Shouto accusingly as he speaks. "You've never heard of Truth or Dare?"

"No." He replies, eyebrows briefly scrunching together as Kaminari's own jaw drops. "How do you play?"

The three boys quickly regain their posture, hands flailing wildly as they speak.

"Okay, so-"

"You play with several people and-"

"If you say truth, you gotta answer-"

"If you pick dare, you gotta do-"

The sentences seemed to blur into each other, few things were clear enough for Shouto to understand. He leaned back into the couch, glancing down at his phone for a moment before Kaminari suddenly stood up.

"Wait a second!" He exclaimed, eyes wide with a large grin on his face. "Instead of trying to explain it, why don't we just play it?" Before Shouto could protest, he took out his phone and began typing feverishly. "At 19:00, we'll all meet down here and you can lose your Truth or Dare-ginity! We could also do some karaoke, and watch some shitty movies - I'm down for whatever." He looked back up at Shouto, eyes shining in excitement.They can't make me play the damn game, nor can they force me to come down- "Before you try to back out, I'll make sure you come. I have my ways." He winked at Shouto before he turned back to Kirishima and Sero, who had looks of excitement, confusion and confusion on their faces.

"Uh, Denki?" Sero asked as he stood up. "I don't think you can or should force him to come."

"Yeah, man." Kirishima agreed as Shouto stood up, shoving his phone into his pocket and silently moved away from the sofas. The voices of his classmates slowly become nothing but a faint noise, although he was able to hear one of them exclaim loudly that "Todoroki is whipped".

What does being "whipped" mean? he wondered.

"I don't understand why you think I'm 'whipped', Uraraka." Izuku said, arms wrapped around his legs as he stared at her beaming from ear to ear. They were sitting in his room, his back pressed against the wall as she sat on his office chair, slowly spinning herself around.

"Deku," She said, looking at him mischievously. "Tell me about Todoroki - the first things that come to your head when you think about him."

"Well," he said, pursing his lips for a moment as he pressed his chin against his knees. "Hes definitely a powerful guy - you saw how he did in the Sports Festival - yet he's also proven to be a loyal friend and someone who I hope I could stay in-contact with well after we graduate. He's striking physically, with that scar and his hair, and I think most people would agree when I say he's aesthetically pleasing to look at, although I would like to see him smile more, he sometimes looks really sad-"

"Loyal? Aesthetically pleasing? Want to see him happy?" Izuku looked up at Uraraka and saw her smirking. He opened his mouth to speak - "And don't forget about the times I saw you staring at him, probably daydreaming about him and you being young and in love."

He could feel his face turn a bright red as his eyes widened, any attempt to argue vanished in an instant. How does she know - oh, no. He moved his arms around his knees again and bit his lip, realization hitting him like a bag of bricks.

"Face it, Deku, you like him."

Izuku looked at her briefly before looking down at his suddenly very eye-catching pants. "Oh, damn it." He mumbled. "This is just infatuation, it should fade in a couple weeks. I can get through this, especially since I was able to get through tougher things. It's not like Todoroki would have similar feelings for me, I'm dull and reckless and he's most likely straight, anyway."

"Uh, Deku?" Uraraka asked, kneeling in front of him. She had a look of concern on her face as she tapped his hand. He rose his head and hummed, looking at her confused. She grinned again. "You know, for someone who is very observant of others, you're acting kinda oblivious. If you're whipped because of Todoroki, then he is easily clay in your hands the minute you so much as look at him. If I didn't know you two, I would think that you two were already dat-"

YOU HAVE A TEXT!

YOU HAVE A TEXT!

YOU HAVE A TEXT!

The loud, excited voice of All Might interrupted her and made Izuku jump. He mumbled a quick apologies before grabbing his cell phone from his pocket. He scanned the message quickly before turning his phone around to Uraraka.

"From : Kaminari Denki - Heyyy! So uh 2nite we're havin a party in the common room 19:00. B there or b square (also mido you better confirm your boy todo is comin with ya!)(Sent at 16:20 to you and 18 others.)"

"Interesting." She mumbled, smiling again. "I appreciate the fact that he called Todoroki 'your boy'." She held back a laugh as he groaned loudly, hiding his face.

"Why did he ask me to talk to Todoroki?"

"Cause he's putty in your hands; you're in denial, Deku - even more than I was before Mina confirmed my feelings were requited."

"But you knew she was bisexual."

"And I'm willing to bet you 1000 yen that Todoroki is gay - very gay, in fact, and extremely attracted to you."

He picked his head up and sighed."I doubt that highly, Uraraka."

"Alright, think what you want, but I'm hoping I get my money before the end of third year."

16:25

Shouto reached the fifth floor of the building when his phone went off without warning, vibrating in his sweatshirt. He groaned quietly, grabbing it as he approached his room.

Damn it. He thought. I want to sleep.

His phone screen lit up, the name "Midoriya" at the top as his phone shook. His annoyance seemed to fade, a small smile on his face developing as he clicked the answer button.

"Hello, Midoriya." He said, putting his free hand into his sweatshirt pocket.

"Hi, Todoroki!" Midoriya replied. He seemed to be making an attempt to speak calmly. "So, uh, did you hear about the party going on tonight in the common room?"

"Yeah. How did you find out?"

"Oh. Well, um," he paused for a moment and Shouto grabbed his key from his sweatshirt pocket. "Kaminari sent out a group text about it. I thought it sent to everyone." He laughed awkwardly for a moment. "I don't think he did it on purpose, you two have never really argued or anything. The two of you are very different in personality, though, with him being very extroverted and upbeat while you're more introverted and calm - that's not a bad thing, though!" He's muttering again. "Sometimes we all need a friend who'll just listen and help you out if they can." Cute.

Shouto's smile felt wider as he unlocked his door. "Are you going tonight?"

"I think so! Kaminari seems to really want me to come." He paused for a moment, long enough for Shouto to fall back onto his bed. "I hope you can make it, Todoroki - although it's alright if you don't want to! I know these sort of things can be a little intimidating and can feel draining, but it could also be fun!"

Shouto hummed, closing his eyes. His mind created an image of Midoriya as he spoke. With his green eyes, filled with compassion and kindness that he hadn't felt in years, and a smile that could compete with the brightness of the sun -

"I'm going." He said before he had a chance to think. His eyes shot open and his whole body jerked up.

"Oh!" Midoriya responded, noticeably taken aback by the reply, and Shouto could practically see his smile through the telephone. His heart seemed to be beating faster than usual. "Great! I'll see you there, Todoroki! Bye!"

"Bye." He replied - or at least he thought he did - as his mind raced with multiple thoughts. He confirmed he was going before he had a chance to think - all because he thought of Midoriya; he had imagined his friend before, but it never affected him in this way. Odd.

He lied back down on the bed slowly and unlocked his phone. I need to ask someone about this.

You

Yaoyorozu, could you help me with something? It doesn't involve academics.

Yaoyorozu

Hello, Todoroki! What do you need help with?

You

1. What does being 'whipped' mean?

2. I recently talked to someone and said something impulsively because I was thinking

of them. Is there a term for this phenomenon?

Yaoyourozu

Assuming you don't mean the culinary definition, being whipped

could mean either being harmed because of a whip, or you could be referring

to the slang term, which means that someone is so in love or infatuated with

someone else that they could influence you or your decisions intentionally or

unintentionally.

Yaoyorozu

...Were you talking to Midoriya?

You

I was.

Yaoyorozu

Oh. Oh.

Todoroki, I know what you have; you've had it for a while, actually. At least

three months.

You

What is it? Is it lethal?

Yaoyorozu

You really don't know?

You

No, and I would appreciate it if you told me.

Yaoyorozu

todo yure gay and whipe3erijk

Yaoyorozu

I apologize, I'm with Kyouka right now and she wanted to say something

and took my phone.

Yaoyorozu

...Todoroki?

Yaoyorozu

I know you read these texts, Todoroki. Are you alright?

Yaoyorozu

Well, if you need anything, please let me know. Kyouka is asking for

help with English. I'll talk to you later.

17:13

You

Give me a call; I need help.

(Sent 17:01. Read 17:13.)

19:00

"You should text him, Deku!" Uraraka exclaimed, her legs crossed as she pressed her back against the arm of the sofa; the TV was on, playing a cartoon about rocks that apparently made Kaminari cry.

"I don't know, Uraraka." Izuku replied, his thumbs fiddled together nervously. "He said he was going to come, but he might have changed his mind. He's never come to one of these parties, although I usually don't come either since they can be a little intense at times. Plus, if I do text him, I might put even more pressure on him to come down and I don't want to sound rud-"

"Holy shit, you came!" Kaminari screamed suddenly, and Izuku sighed quietly. He turned around and, right near the other side of the hallway through the dining area, Kaminari walked closer to the TV area with Todoroki. He wore a simple white t-shirt and jeans, yet Izuku could feel his face turn colors.

"Remember when you denied that you liked him, not even a day ago?" Uraraka whispered into his ear, a sly smile on her face. "Pretty funny, right?" Izuku opened his mouth to speak, but his voice refused to work.

"Ochako!"

Izuku looked to his left as Ashido ran toward them, wearing pinks pajamas that looked fuzzy, a grin on her face. She looked at him briefly before bursting into laughter. "Holy shit Midoriya, your face is pinker than I am. What did Todoroki do now?"

"You know, too?!" He asked as he attempted to stop himself from screaming into the sofa.

"Duh. It's a little obvious, Midoriya - almost as obvious as Todoroki losing his cool whenever you so much as look at him." She turned toward Uraraka, ignoring him while his face continued to turn a deep red. "Anyway, Ochako, you won't believe what I just remembered. It's so exciting that I think I may die from hype!"

"Please don't die, Mina!" Uraraka replied and turned toward her. Izuku sighed and turned back around, the girls' voices fading into the background. He saw Kaminari's arms flail around excitedly as he spoke to Todoroki, talking about how thrilled he was that he showed up. So am I, Kaminari. He thought and forced himself not to groan out loud. Just a few weeks of this, then the thoughts will fade and everything will go back to normal. I can do th-

"Hello, Midoriya." Todoroki said from behind him. Izuku turned to face him and attempted to breathe slowly and act calm.

It didn't work.

"Oh! Hi-Hi there, Todoroki!" He stuttered, mentally cursing at himself. "I'm happy to see you here."

He hummed, a small smile on his face as he moved and sat on the other sofa. He looked like he was going to spea-

"Alright everyone," Kaminari said and quickly ran toward the TV area. "Now that the guest of honor has arrived, let's get this crazy show on the road!" Without warning, he jumped onto the table, a contagious grin on his face. "Hanta over there did a head count for me, and everyone except Tokoyami, Iida and Shouji showed up - not surprised, though. Jirou also said that she's running a little late with Yaoyorozu and to start without 'em. They shouldn't be too lon-"

"Get on with it, Pikachu!" Bakugo screamed from the other side of the room.

"You got it, Kacchan." Kaminari finger-gunned at him while he clicked his tongue. "Anyway, it is now time to start this night in the only way I know how," He looked at Todoroki. "Truth or Dare."

"Finally!"

"Great."

"I've been waiting for this!"

"Oh boy." Izuku turned toward Todoroki and watched as he leaned backward into the couch. He forced down the urge to move to where Todoroki was as several of his classmates walked toward the area, sitting down either on the sofas or the floor (except Sero, who stood next to the table Kaminari stood on).

"Now that you've all gathered around, in case any of you are new to this," He looked at Todoroki again, who quietly sighed. "The rules are simple - if you get called on, you gotta choose truth or dare. Truth means that you have to answer something with complete honesty, while picking dare means you gotta do something crazy. Now, let's start this game - I'll choose someone first." He spun around once. Twice. He nearly fell into Sero's arms after the third spin. He looked around for a moment before he pointed at Ashido. "Ashido, my pink-skinned friend, Truth or Dare?"

She giggled excitedly and moved herself so her legs rested on top of Uraraka's. "Well, we gotta start off this night crazy. Dare me, Kaminari!"

His smile widened, if that was even possible, and seemed to look more mischievous. "I dare you to text Tokoyami the lyrics of the most emo song you know."

Almost everyone in the room bursted out in laughter. Izuku managed a small chuckle as Ashido took out her phone before he turned toward Todoroki. His expression was blank, but he seemed intrigued.

"'Wake me up! Wake me up inside!'" She sang suddenly, and he watched as Kaminari fell off the table into Sero's trembling arms as nearly everyone laughed outside of Todoroki, who looked confused, Shinso, who sat next to him, and himself.

"Save me!" Kaminari yelled the lyrics and wrapped his arms around Sero's neck. He didn't look like he was moving anytime soon; Izuku nearly slapped himself as his mind imagined him carrying Todoroki bridal-style.

"Hey, yo, Shinso! Truth or Dare?"

He looked at Ashido and smirked. "Truth."

"Damn it," She mumbled under her breath. "Well, uh." Ashido paused and pressed her hand to her chin in thought. "When we begin Fusion Training in two weeks, who would you want to fuse with first?"

Izuku's eyes widened as Ashido finished speaking. I forgot about that. He thought to himself. Aizawa-sensei only brought it up once early on in the year. I wonder who'll be the first people to fuse. Maybe it'll be Ashido and Uraraka, or -

"Yaoyorozu, as she is a strategist with a powerful quirk, or Midoriya, since I've known him the longest." Shinso said and interrupted his train of thought.

Ashido hummed and wrapped one arm around Uraraka. "Makes sense."

He smirked and looked around the room for a few moments. He paused and looked at Izuku, who looked back at him with a small nod, and crossed his arms as he leaned back into the sofa. "Todoroki, Truth or Dare?"

Oh. Izuku thought as he glanced at Todoroki, who stared at Shinso with slightly parted lips. He's surprised, probably wondering why Shinso picked him. I can't blame him, I thought he would pick me.

"Oh boy." Kaminari mumbled with a smile.

"This is gonna be interesting - kero." Tsuyu said; she sat next to Hagakure on the floor near the TV.

"As if it wasn't already." Ashido said and scanned Kaminari and Sero with a smirk. "Kaminari, I hope you know you're still being held bridal style by your boyfriend."

"I don't mind." Sero replied, a small blush on his face.

Izuku caught Todoroki's glance for a moment and gave him a shy smile. Depending on what he picks, Shinso may activate his quirk to influence him. If he wants to play it safe, he'll probably go with-

"Truth."

Izuku watched anxiously as Todoroki sunk back into the sofa, eyes rapidly becoming glossy with his lips slightly parted. He had seen what he had looked like during his fight with Shinso last year when he watched the recording, glass-eyed and completely expressionless, yet actually seeing it in-person to someone he knew - especially when that person happened to be Todoroki - was a little unnerving.

"Did that purple bastard use his quirk?" Bakugo asked after a moment. He was crammed onto another sofa next to Kirishima, who was watching him intently with a small smile. "I can't tell - he might just be thinking about fucking Deku again."

Izuku felt his face heat up for what felt like the millionth time as Uraraka, Ashido, Hagakure and a few others laughed. "Guys." He mumbled, hiding his face into his hands. Even Kacchan?!

"At this fucking point, you might as well tell IcyHot to spit out his feelings so we don't need to suffer watching these two dumbasses act even dumber than usual."

"Please!" Hagakure begged. "You guys' pining over the other is adorable, but this is becoming a dragged-out slow burn."

Shinso sighed and rolled his eyes. Izuku thought he may have heard him say a command, something about acting candor, but his attention was focused on Todoroki. He still sat there unmoving, his gaze seemed far away.

Todoroki gasped for air a moment later, a cough escaped as he jerked forward. Izuku thought he saw Uraraka and Kaminari look at him with concern, but he wasn't thinking as he stood up and moved closer. "Todoroki - are you alright?!"

"No," he said in between breaths. His eyes were wide, a hand on his heart. He seemed to try to force his mouth shut for a moment and turned to Shinso, who only gave him a smirk; he wasn't done talking. "But you're here, and I heard what you said-"

Izuku could swear that his heart stopped beating for a moment. He heard what we said. He thought. He heard, he hear-

"Fucking finally!" Bakugo screamed. "Can't believe the purple bastard had to nearly force it outta you two asswipes."

Todoroki looked up at Izuku, and attempted to hide his face with one hand. "We need to talk."

Izuku can't do anything except nod.

Over the past year and a half since Izuku met Todoroki, he knew that he was reserved.

Long stretches of comfortable silence between the two were common, usually as they studied in one of their rooms or as they walked somewhere.

The silence between them now was anything but.

They were sitting in the restroom - Todoroki wanted to go to his room, but Izuku decided against it once their classmates started making side comments - with their backs pressed against the cold wall. They were only a few inches apart, their fingers nearly brushing. Izuku stared up at the ceiling, his heart beating furiously; it felt like everything was moving too fast. He only realized that he was infatuated with Todoroki a few hours ago - even though Uraraka told him that he was staring at him for at least three months now. He sighed and forced himself to speak. "You like me?"

"I do." Todoroki replied without hesitation, without showing any signs of nervousness. "And you like me in a non-platonic way?"

"Yeah." He replied, and it felt like a small weight was lifted off his chest. We're talking again, that's good. "Yeah, I do. It seems like everyone else knew except me."

"I didn't know. I didn't know that the feelings I had were non-platonic until Yaoyorozu and Jirou explained to me why some people called me 'whipped'."

Izuku laughed and looked at him, his smile growing larger as he saw a faint blush on Todoroki's face. Is he embarrassed? Nervous? Bashful? "Uraraka almost had to spell it out to me earlier."

He hummed and moved his hand closer to Izuku's, allowing their pinkies to touch. Oh my god, his hand is touching mine. His hand is touching mine. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears and he felt his blush spread to the tips of his ears; Todoroki's small smile didn't help. What do you see in me, Todoroki? He thought. I'm not exactly anything to look at, and I'm not exactly someone who immediately screams their presence. I can also be really reckless, and you know that; I feel lucky that you're someone I'm close to - you're amazing.

"Midoriya," Todoroki said and wrapped his pinky around the other boy's. "I'm the one who's lucky, here. You are the person who changed my life, who put that simple thought into my head while no one else would - it's my power, I'm in control. You reached out, befriended me, stuck with me." He looked at Izuku directly, and Izuku felt his heart going wild - I didn't mean to say those thoughts - his breathing became quicker, and his eyes began to water. "Damn it, I wouldn't be the person I am if you didn't endure our fight before you screamed at me and allowed me to ignite my flames - even though how you defended yourself before that happened was incredibly reckless."

He laughed weakly, scratching his neck as his tears escaped. He could hear a scream of excitement come from the common room as a familiar song began to play, but he ignored it and looked back at Todoroki. He squeezed the pinky wrapped around his own as tight as he could, and Todoroki squeezed back. "Do you want to try this out?" His voice is low, and Todoroki moved closer to him. Izuku ignored his blush and took a deep breath in. "You know - dating? I've never done this sort of thing before."

"Neither have I." Todoroki responded, and Izuku felt his breathing stop as Todoroki's smile widened a little. I want to see him smile more. "We can take this slow."

Izuku hummed a reply and felt his own smile grow wider, waiting another minute before speaking again. "Do you mind if we stayed here for a little while?"

Todoroki nodded, their pinkies remaining twisted together and, as they began talking about little things - like their English project that was due in a week, and wondering why Ashido suddenly screamed "Holy shit!" excitedly from the common room - Izuku could say with certainty that he felt content.

Next chapter : As Todoroki and Midoriya sorted out their feelings, two players got into a very odd situation.

(Author's Note : Hi there! This story was posted on AO3 around a week ago, under the name "Something Entirely New". However, since that is a part of a series, I've decided to publish each story in this series of one-shots/short stories in one fanfic on this site. Also, there may also be some manga spoilers later on, although most likely nothing major. I hope you all enjoyed! Until next chapter!)