Author's Note: This is a concept I have been trying very hard for a pretty decent amount of time to ignore. It doesn't scream Uraraka like I want it to. But good god, it won't leave me alone. So. Here I am. In all of my I-can't-believe-I'm-doing-this glory. Damn it. I hope someone enjoys this, at least, since my brain is so dead set on having me write it. *insert sigh here* That said, I do have a bunch of cute ideas for later chapters. And I think maybe this turned out so...weird for me because there's just so much it had to touch on from the gate? Not really sure. Let me know what you guys think!

Chapter One

It really hadn't been her intention to lie to her friends. It honestly hadn't. But the conversation had taken a turn she wasn't ready for and she had just…panicked.

Oh, man, she had really panicked.

Uraraka chewed on her lip and pushed her fingers together as they stared at her in shock. Her entire face felt like it was burning. This isn't how this was supposed to happen. Even if she had actually wanted to lie, why did she have to say that? And why had that been the lie she had went with, anyways? There were so many issues with it; there was no way that the other girls were ever going to believe it. Honestly, how could they? Nothing about what she had just said made any sense.

She looked down at her fingers as she pushed them together, bouncing between too much pressure and not enough. Apprehension was settling deep in her bones. There wasn't any way to play this off without a bunch of embarrassment. If she had taken two seconds to think about what she was saying before she said it, it would've never even come up.

"I mean…I guess it makes sense." Yaomomo was the first to break the silence. She spoke slowly, as if considering her words even as she said them. "He's, uh, not as…angry around you."

Slowly, the other girls in her dorm room started voicing their agreement. Uraraka could feel the tension in her shoulders dissipate as she exhaled. Had she even been breathing?

Ashido launched herself from the floor, capturing Uraraka in a hug as she squealed. "It's super weird but still cute!"

Uraraka laughed nervously at the comment. She tucked some hair behind her ear as Ashido let go but scooted close to Uraraka's feet, which were hanging off the bed. She stared up at Uraraka expectantly, waiting for more details.

Uraraka sighed. It was weird because it was a lie. But she couldn't say that. The grave digging already started; may as well make it a roomy grave.

"It was weird for me too." She pressed her lips together before smiling. "But he's actually really sweet."

"He is?!" Hagakure's squeal matched Ashido's as she crawled closer. "Does he call you pet names? Does he hold your hand? Are his kisses sweet?"

The heat in her cheeks reignited as she looked back to the girls all waiting for her answers. They were all paying such close attention to her, she was sure that any single detail that didn't make sense in any way would immediately be dissected. She had to make this make sense. She looked back down at her hands and began twiddling her thumbs.

She didn't even know how to answer. It had been a lie. A lie she didn't even know was coming off her lips until it was already hanging in the air. She hadn't thought up specifics like that. She bit her lip before looking up at them and smiling.

"We, uh, we met up during the winter break from school." Her heart stuttered as she tried to find words. She took a small, shaky breath before continuing. "I saw him at a café, eating alone. So, I sat down and started talking to him. He, uh…he originally told me to 'go the eff away' but I just wanted to talk to him since no one ever really does."

"So you initiated it?" Hagakure gasped. With how her clothes moved, it looked like her hands were covering her mouth. Which would make sense.

Uraraka rubbed the back of her head, trying her hardest to keep her hands busy. "Ha, I guess so."

Jirou rubbed her temples as she leaned back into the wall. "I never saw this coming. I wonder why Denki never mentioned it."

Uraraka felt her body go rigid as the other girls nodded and looked towards her. That's right. Jirou started dating Kaminari during their second year. He would've said something to her about this if it wasn't a big, fat, fabricated lie. A lie she hadn't even planned. She really wished she didn't just blurt things out sometimes.

"He's…um…." She paused, frowning. "He's not really an open person. He probably didn't see much of a point in telling him."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tsu cock her head to the side but stay silent. She hadn't said a word the entire time. It was probably for the best though. She could probably see right through her. Tsu knew her better than anyone. Everyone else seemed to accept the explanation though. It did match his personality to be like that, after all.

"Well. I'm going to bed." Jirou announced after the silence stretched for almost a minute. "It's getting late and I'm going to have to deal with Denki tomorrow after I tell him this."

Uraraka giggled, but it was more out of nervousness than anything. What was she going to do when it was brought up? She really had made a huge mistake.

"It's going to be weird for a bunch of people, I think." She mumbled, biting her lip.

Especially him.

"Ah, I'm so excited!" Ashido grinned, wrapping her arm around Hagakure's shoulder and pulling her from the room. "Thanks for having girl's night in your room, Ochako!"

Everyone seemed to follow them, leaving the room almost at the same time. Uraraka stayed planted in her spot at the edge of her bed. Tsu didn't move from the computer chair, either. Once the others left, Tsu walked over and sat next to Uraraka. She cocked her head to the side as she studied the brunette.

"Are you really dating him?" She questioned.

Uraraka bit her lip, her heart was racing. It felt like Tsu's eyes were going to burn holes into her. She needed to say yes. What was the point in lying if she told someone the truth? But she didn't want to lie to Tsu. She didn't want to lie to her best friend.

Tsu reached over, placing her hand on Uraraka's knee. "Or did you say you were because they were talking about how close Midoriya has been getting to Hatsume?"

The brunette froze and her chest began to ache. It hurt so much it took her breath away when she thought of Deku and Mei. At first, it had seemed like Deku had thought that Mei was overbearing and only talked to her about support items for his hero outfit. But they had gotten so much closer the longer they were at UA. Mei was always so handsy when it came to Deku. She was always touching him. Watching Mei run her hands up his arms, seeing his face turn red as he bit his lip and watched her do it, hearing her say that she couldn't wait to "make babies" for him. It hurt. It was all she could do to not scream any time she saw it happen. Even knowing that she meant support items, it still stung every time. Especially since, here lately, he was going to the support department for such minor issues and even talking to Mei a lot outside of school.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she gave a small, hurt smile to her friend. "It was a lie. It was a lie but I didn't mean to say it but once I did I just…I just couldn't take it back."

Tsu placed a finger to her own mouth as she thought about it. It went quiet as she mulled over the information. The tears in Uraraka's eyes threatened to spill over with every passing second. Her heart slammed against her chest.

"I think you shouldn't lie to our friends." Tsu concluded after a moment. "But, if you plan to go through with this, you have to tell him."

Uraraka nodded then looked down at her hands. "I know. But I don't know how. He's so…so prickly. He'll be so mad. He'll never go for it."

"That's why I'm confused." Tsu muttered, but it sounded like she knew exactly why.

It went quiet again. Uraraka didn't want to answer the question that Tsu was implying. Her heartbeat got quicker, and she had to force herself to breathe. She wasn't sure if her body was reacting to the embarrassment, if she was still hanging onto the thought of Deku and Mei being together, or the anger of putting herself in this situation. Her face was hot, too. It felt like a fire was burning at her cheeks. She just wanted to throw her face into her pillow and scream.

Tsu reached up, pulling Uraraka's chin up and forcing the brunette to look at her. "Why Bakugou?"

A single tear made its way from her eye, trailing down her cheek and hanging onto her chin. She knew why she had said Bakugou. There had been so many options. She could've said any of the guys in class, she could have made someone up. Either of those options would have been so much easier, and she knew that.

But was she really that despicable?

Did she really want to try to hurt Deku by claiming she was dating his childhood friend?

Tsu wrapped her arms around Uraraka, pulling her into a hug. The tears that had been holding their place in her eyes spilled over, her chest shook as she sobbed into Tsu's shoulder. Tsu used her free hand to pat Uraraka's head as Uraraka clung to her. Tsu was smart. She knew Uraraka better than anyone. She had seen how she had struggled with her feelings for Deku. She probably knew what was going on before it even happened. Chances are, she just wanted Uraraka to know why she was doing it. But knowing why made it hurt worse. It made her chest feel empty, and the tears made her eyes burn.

"Am I a bad person?" She whimpered.

Tsu shook her head and pulled Uraraka closer. "No. Just human."

Silence filled the room. That answer didn't make her feel any better, but it didn't make her feel worse either. The only thing she knew now was that now that she had told all the girls she was dating Bakugou, she had to make sure that he knew.

She had to make sure he wouldn't expose her as a liar.

All morning, Uraraka was trying to figure out how to talk to Bakugou without seeming suspicious. She hadn't found a way to stop him before class, and during class they didn't sit anywhere near each other. She sighed into her hands. Why did she do this to herself?

Aizawa grumbled about needing more copies of the assignment he was going to hand out before looking across the classroom.

"Bakugou. Go make copies." He paused as he looked at the blonde, contemplating on his choice. "And someone go with him to make sure nothing gets blown up."

Uraraka felt her heart skip a beat. This was her chance to have a moment alone with Bakugou, to tell him what was going on. She jumped up and sauntered towards the blonde who had been glaring at everyone, annoyed that he even had to go.

"I'll go with you." She smiled up at him.

He raised a brow at her, then turned and walked towards the door. Their walk to the copy room was quiet. Her mouth suddenly felt so dry. She couldn't find the words to bring it up. It didn't get any better while the copies were running through the machine. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. She watched the copies get spit into the holding tray one by one, wishing she could talk as easily as the papers printed off.

For a lie that rolled off her lips so smoothly, this was really hard.

"Spit it the fuck out, Cheeks." Bakugou grumbled.

She blinked as she looked at him. He had turned towards her at some point and was leaned up against the copy machine. His arms were crossed over his chest and his face was somewhere between a scowl and…maybe curiosity?

If only she could be so lucky.

"I, uh, w-what…" She cleared her throat. "What do you mean?"

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "You've been frowning at the fucking copier like it killed your folks. Why."

It wasn't a question, but a demand. She swallowed hard, her heart had turned into a caged animal trying to rip out of its cage. She bit her lip as she studied his face. Crimson eyes were staring at her, his expression was more-or-less flat. He would never accept what she was about to tell him.

"I lied to my friends." She started confidently but paused.

He scoffed, turning to pick up the copied papers. "Never mind."

She frowned. He would never accept what she was about to tell him, but her daddy didn't raise her to give up without a fight. She grabbed his arm, turning him back towards her.

"Wait." She breathed, locking her eyes on his.

He looked back at her, raising his brow. She let go and stood up straight, clearing her throat again. He didn't move, indicating he was listening. Thank God he was giving her another chance to talk…now if only she could say this in a way that would keep him from losing his temper.

"I lied to my friends. About you."

His lips pressed into a straight line as he leaned back against the copier, folding his arms over his chest again. She could see the frustration flickering behind his eyes as the crimson orbs burned holes into her own.

"Go on." His voice was so sharp she flinched.

She took a shaky breath. "Last night was girls night and, uh, they started talking about Deku and, uh…and Mei." She paused, looking to the ground as heat rushed to her cheeks.

"What the fuck does that have to do with me." Another non-question.

"I, uh, I said that we started d-dating over the winter break."

Silence.

"We…meaning me and you." She clarified, wondering if that was the reason he hadn't responded.

More silence.

She could only imagine the nasty look on his face, she could already hear the crackles of his quirk in her mind. The idea of him attacking her without her being prepared caused her to look up.

He didn't look angry, so that was a plus. His brows were knitted together as he stared at her, but he didn't seem to register that she was looking back at him. She could only imagine that this was what confusion looked like on him, other than his usual outburst of anger when he didn't know what to feel. Finally, his face morphed into a frown as he looked her in the eyes, but it didn't carry its usual ferocity.

"Explain."

Her brows furrowed. She had just dropped this bomb onto him and all he did was give one-worded responses like it wasn't a big deal. Like he was only inconvenienced, like she was dirt beneath his shoes for having done this to him. He was the last person she should've said. But that's ignoring the fact she shouldn't have even lied about this in the first place.

"Well," She started but then gave a half-hearted laugh. "it's actually embarrassing."

He stared at her in response. She sighed, clearing her throat again. Why did it feel like there was something in her throat today?

"I like Deku –"

"No shit." He interrupted.

She glared at him, then looked away when he met her gaze with just as much confidence. "I like Deku and they were talking about him being with Mei. I know he's not really with her, but it still hurts because he talks about her so much and wants her to be his main support when he becomes a pro. He is with her so much, and she is always his main focus when she's around. So, I…I…."

She trailed off, looking towards her hands as she started pressing her fingers together. "I thought…I wanted to change the subject. And I just kind of…blurted out that we were dating."

She finally looked back up at him. He was frowning, but he didn't say anything as he processed her words. After what felt like ages, he met her eyes with a raised brow.

"Why me?"

Her breath caught in her throat. That one wasn't a demand; that was a question. The difference was so small, but it still caught her off guard. He was softer, and that was something she really wasn't prepared for right now. She wondered if he even realized the change in his own tone.

"Because…" She bit her lip, frowning at herself, still upset by her reason. "Because I figured if it was you, it would hurt him like him being around Mei hurts me."

Bakugou scoffed, turning to grab the papers out of the tray. Uraraka felt her heart stop as she watched him start walking towards the door. She should've known that he wasn't going to go along with it. She really couldn't blame him. He probably didn't even think it was worth his time, and the embarrassment she would have to go through wasn't his problem to deal with. Of course he didn't want to go along with it.

She hung her head as she followed him, staying a few steps behind. She was going to have to come up with a way to tell the other girls. It would be horrible, but she couldn't keep lying to them. Especially if the one person she needed to make the lie work didn't want to be involved.

Why did she even say it? She didn't actually want Deku to hurt, did she? It's more like she just…wanted to not hurt as much. And since Bakugou was the complete opposite of Deku, he was the first person that came to mind. Right? To not hurt, find the things that aren't like the thing that's hurting you. That's a thing, isn't it?

She ran straight into Bakugou's back. Her brows knitted together as she stepped backwards and rubbed at her nose.

"Sorry." She mumbled, then blinked when she realized he wasn't walking into the classroom. "Why'd you stop?"

He turned towards her, a look on his face that she couldn't quite place. He looked, maybe, frustrated but amused while also conflicted? Not that any of that made sense when phrased together. He was so hard to read when he wasn't just using anger as an outlet.

He glanced around the hallway before pushing her back towards the wall. He looked down at her, his crimson eyes flicking back and forth between her eyes as he studied her.

"B-Bakugou..?"

She really wished she had a quirk that let her disappear into this wall. Why was he staring at her so intensely? Was he mad at her? Why did he have her pinned up against the wall?

"You're doing this to hurt Deku."

She frowned; he was back to making statements instead of asking questions. "Yeah. I think."

"You think."

She nodded, trying to look away from him. He grabbed her face and forced her eyes to meet his. He stared at her for a second before letting her go. She immediately looked away. A sigh escaped his lips, but he didn't move.

"If this is only to get under that fucker's skin, I'll do it."

Everything stopped around her as she looked back up at him. He was staring at her with that same unreadable look. Then he grinned; the same grin he gets when he's in the middle of a fight and is way too confident in himself.

"I never took you as someone who was spiteful, Cheeks."

She licked her lips and pressed them together as she studied his expression. After a few seconds of eye contact, she looked away. She could feel her cheeks heating up again.

"I'm not really proud of it." She countered quietly, chewing her bottom lip.

Bakugou shrugged as he backed away from her. "Doesn't matter to me. We'll talk more later."

As he walked into the classroom, she swallowed hard. She hadn't expected him to not get angry. She really hadn't expected him to agree to it. Shouldn't those have been the two biggest hurdles? Why was her stomach tying itself in knots when he agreed to this? She bit her lip and followed him back into the classroom.

All she could do now is hope that this didn't completely blow up in her face.