It was infuriating. That was the only word Katsuki Bakugo had for it.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her. Her. The loudmouthed support course girl who had the nerve — the actual nerve — to yell at him like he was the problem just because he’d snapped at her for bumping into him in the hallway. Yeah, she yelled right back, matching his volume, matching his energy, and didn’t back down once. He’d never met anyone so damn annoying—

—and yet every time he walked past the support wing, his chest got all tight and his brain short-circuited.

“Bro,” Kirishima said one day, slapping his shoulder during lunch. “You’ve been staring at that door for like five minutes.”

“I’m not staring at shit,” Bakugo growled, snapping his head away, the tips of his ears already red.

Sero leaned back in his chair, smirking. “You’re totally staring, man. Don’t think we didn’t see you perk up when she walked by this morning.”

“I didn’t perk up!”

Denki was already laughing. “Yeah, you definitely did. You went all quiet and red— which is new for you, dude. You like her or something?”

Bakugo slammed his tray down. “Shut the hell up before I blow your face off.”

Even Midoriya, who wasn’t even in their friend group, couldn’t help glancing over with a knowing look. “You know… there’s, um, actually a psychological explanation for that reaction, Kacchan—”

“Don’t you start, Deku!”

But the truth was—he didn’t understand it himself. Every time he saw her, his heart raced in a way that pissed him off. He’d catch himself glancing toward the workshop, hearing her laugh echo down the hall. It drove him crazy. He wasn’t supposed to care. He wasn’t supposed to feel like this.

So when he caught sight of her across the training grounds, grease-stained and focused as hell while adjusting some gear on a classmate’s costume—he froze. His throat went dry.

He muttered under his breath, “What the hell’s wrong with me…”

And of course, she looked up right then, eyes locking on his for half a second—before rolling them and turning back to her work.

Mina snickered beside him. “Oh yeah. You’re so doomed.”