no, katsuki hasn’t been observing. especially not because he’s interested. he is literally just looking out for himself, because he doesn’t want to be blindsided just because he wasn’t careful of some scheming pest. the pest in question being you. you’re already wreaking havoc on his mind, full of nothing but thoughts of you, other than being #1. he would never give up on that, no matter how much you make his heart pound and palms sweat.

he’ll never like someone like you. and he’s still wary of you in the secret corner of his mind, not sure why he reacts the way he does to you. he’s not stupid, he knows what a crush is and how it works, but he really can’t see himself being attracted to you at all.

“sure he’s a good guy, but nope, i’m not interested in him romantically. i only act so awkward around him because that’s exactly how he makes me feel. i don’t even know him that well.” you had said in reply to denki asking you if you had liked katsuki. can you stop twisting the knife? They had noticed youd glance away from katsuki when speaking to him, which deep down gave katsuki a glimmer of hope. But as he listened to this conversation from around the corner, his fists clenched and he scoffed before walking away.

kaminari really gave you the best opportunity to get things out in the open! and you let it slip through your fingers like an idiot. Katsuki began to avoid you like the plague.

“you think you can actually get in my way?”

he bursts out, finally speaking to you after you asked if he was avoiding you, he was turning things around on you. Denial.