#hope you enjoyed! :) lowkey screaming this is my first fic aaahhhhhhh

[katsukiscaramel]

crush culture

Pairing: Bakugou x Reader

Summary: Bakugou hates crushes, plain and simple. So, how does he react when he finds himself developing one? He attempts to ignore his feelings, quickly realizing it’s easier said than done. 

Song: Crush Culture by Conan Gray

Bakugou Katsuki absolutely despised the concept of crushes. 

The whole idea of obsessing over someone just because they happened to unconventionally attain your attention completely irked him. It especially bothered him when he’d see couples in the halls, too busy staring into each other’s eyes to do anything else, laughing at whatever the other person said, and living like the world revolves around their own little bubble. Like goddamn it, didn’t they have anything better to do? Just seeing their sickeningly love-struck faces never failed to put a scowl on his face. 

He was perfectly content with being alone, too focused on his goals to really care. So, he couldn’t seem to fathom exactly why these extras would prioritize other people before themselves; obsessing over every word their crush said, waiting for any text they might receive, and spending every moment hoping the other would just notice them. 

He couldn’t seem to fathom why, that is, until after you crashed into his life. 

You were supposed to be a nobody, just some extra in his class whose name he probably would have never learned. Except for some reason, and much to his frustration, you managed to inexplicably attain his attention and he had no idea why. 

Was it because he couldn’t help but admire your stubbornness and determination to succeed, no matter how obnoxious he sometimes found it? Or was it because of the way you’d always have a comeback to whatever comment he’d make, resulting in relatively enjoyable conversation? Maybe it was because of how some part of him had found your weird mannerisms somewhat adorable. 

Whatever it was, one thing was for certain. His friends were sick and tired of watching Bakugou ignore his blatantly obvious feelings.

“Hello? Bakubro? You there?” Kirishima asked, waving his hand in front of the distracted blond’s face, trying to snap him out of his thoughts. Kirishima’s eyes followed Bakugou’s gaze across the crowded cafeteria, landing at the nearby table where you were currently sitting. 

“Looks like he’s staring at Y/N again,” Kaminari commented, his smile shifting into a smirk. “I think his brain short-circuited or something.”

“Well, you’d definitely be the one to know,” Jirou remarked, rolling her eyes at Kaminari’s offended gasp. 

“I’m not staring at her, Dunce Face,” Bakugou snapped, averting his attention back to his friends. Kaminari flinched as his eyes met Bakugou’s harsh gaze, quickly attempting to hide it with a lighthearted smile. 

“All I’m saying is, you stare at her so much you’re slowing creeping into Mineta territory,” Kaminari said, looking at Bakugou. His eyes widened, his body barely dodging the fork that came flying his way.

“Real ironic coming from you,” Sero quietly mumbled, swiftly catching another flying fork before it hit Kaminari. 

“I’m sorry to say Bakubro, but Kaminari has a point,” Kirishima said. His smile barely faltered at the sight of Bakugou’s deadly glare, the rest of their friends cautiously sending Kirishima warning glances. “If you like her so much, why don’t you ask her out?”

“Like her? Where the hell did you get that stupid idea?” Bakugou asked, a light blush spreading onto his face, much to his dismay. 

“It’s so obvious! You have a crush on her!” Mina squealed, growing increasingly frustrated at Bakugou’s denial. “Just ask her out already! You two could be like the ultimate power couple!” 

“I don’t have a crush on her, that’s just fucking absurd,” he crossed his arms, red eyes glaring at all his friends. “The whole concept of crushes is stupid, just a whole exhausting game of manipulation.” 

“Damn bro, who hurt you?” Kirishima asked, sympathetically patting the blond on the back. Bakugou scoffed, shrugging off Kirishima’s hand. 

“Well, if you do like her, you better make a move quick. Before Todoroki or Deku do.” Kaminari nodded his head towards the table you were sitting at, specifically pointing out the two boys who were sitting awfully close to you.

Kaminari never saw the next flying fork coming.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

After that conversation during lunch, Bakugou made it his goal to avoid you. Because there was no way in hell he was going to let a silly crush keep him distracted. 

Except, his blatant attempts to ignore you was becoming increasingly frustrating for you. As determined as Bakugou might have been to ignore you, you were even more determined to talk to him. 

And that’s how he found himself cornered in the hallway, with you standing in front of him, an infectious smile planted on your lips. 

“Hey, Bakugou, how have you been? We haven’t talked in a while,” you said, waiting for any sort of reply from the blond. You would never admit it, but some tiny part of you may have missed talking to him. You stared at him expectantly, waiting for a reply. You only received nothing, as he started walking away. 

Rolling your eyes, you began following him, poking his arm as a way to gain his attention. It didn’t take long for you to feel the irritation practically radiate off of him. His glare was piercing through you, but that didn’t stop the smile on your face.

“What do you want?” He snapped, realizing you weren’t going to quit bothering him until he talked to you. 

“To talk to you, duh.” 

“Bold of you to assume that I want to talk to you,” Bakugou grumbled out, shoving his sweating hands into his pocket. He leaned his back against the wall, his eyes casually focused on the ground. A part of him knew that if he looked you in the eyes, it would almost be game over for him. And he had come too far to lose now. 

“Ah-ha! That’s the Bakugou I know and love!” You excitedly blurted out, immediately gaining the blond’s attention, your poor choice of words echoing in his head.

Did you just say love?

“What did you say?” Bakugou asked, already feeling his face heat up. His eyes looked around, desperately looking for somewhere to escape. It’s not like he didn’t enjoy talking to you, but he was growing increasingly frustrated at how much he liked talking to you. 

It took you a brief moment to realize what you said, an embarrassed blush forming on your cheeks as well. 

“Well-- you see, what I meant was--“ you started stuttering out, suddenly unable to form coherent sentences. Not like it mattered, as Bakugou quickly brushed you aside, walking straight into the closest room you couldn’t follow him into; the bathroom. 

And while he stood in the bathroom, glaring at his reflection, angry at himself for developing such a stupid little crush; you found yourself standing alone, slightly surprised by how quick he was to leave. Did your poor choice of words really weird him out that much?

It’s not like you actually did love him or anything like that. But after days of being given the cold shoulder, you were just beginning to miss talking to him. And maybe you were also missing that feeling you’d get whenever he accidentally laughed at one of your corny jokes, or the way he’d managed to motivate you to be better with his stupidly unnecessary comments, and the way he had such a cute smile on his face when-

You paused for a moment, being hit with sudden realization. Maybe you did like him. 

But with him so persistent on ignoring you, what were you supposed to do now?

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

You were patiently waiting outside of the cafeteria, your eyes searching the crowd of students for a particularly familiar group of faces. 

It had been a few weeks since the hallway incident, and Bakugou had been more determined than ever to ignore every single thing you did. There was the occasional shared glance between the two of you; those lingering looks where it clearly seemed like you both wanted to talk to the other, but Bakugou had made it a point of leave before any real conversation could take place. And to be perfectly honest, your patience was running thin. 

And so, deciding you were running out of options, you turned towards the one group of people who knew Bakugou better than he knew himself. 

Just then, spotting a familiar head of spiked red hair, you quickly rushed towards them before they could enter the cafeteria. 

“Oh hey Y/N! What’s up?” Kirishima asked, sending you a cheery smile. You smiled back, waving at the group. 

“I’m sorry to barge in like this, but considering you all are his best friends, I was wondering if you could tell me why Bakugou is ignoring me?” You hesitantly asked. 

The group just blankly stared at you, sending confused glances at each other. Almost as if a collective light bulb lit up above their heads, their eyes slowly widened, all of them simultaneously mumbling a soft “oh”. 

“Well no wonder why he’s been angrier than usual,” Sero realized, leaving you confused. Did you do something to make him mad? That sounded like something you’d do. 

“I swear to god he’s such an oblivious simple-minded idiot,” Mina grumbled, the whole group nodding their heads in agreement. 

“Am I missing something?” You asked, making Kaminari let out a laugh.

“Oh, I guess you don’t know. You see, Bakugou really likes-“ Jirou quickly jabbed Kaminari with her elbow, effectively shutting him up as he groaned in pain.

“Don’t pay attention to a word he says, he’s an idiot,” Kirishima explained while sending a quick glare towards Kaminari. He then averted his attention back towards you. “But why don’t you sit with us during lunch? That’ll get him to talk to you for sure!” 

Well, that wasn’t what you were expecting.

“Well--uh, sure I guess--“

“Great!” Mina exclaimed, excitedly clapping her hands. “Just grab your lunch and meet us at the table, okay?” 

You nodded, wasting no time heading into the cafeteria to grab your lunch. As you made your way towards where the group usually sat, you were surprised to see the table empty. 

Almost empty, that is, the only person sitting there was none other than Bakugou. 

Hesitantly making your way towards him, you awkwardly cleared your throat, effectively gaining his attention. 

Bakugou froze, his eyes meeting yours. After weeks of ignoring you, he was truly beginning to believe his stupid little infatuation with you was gone. But seeing you standing there, nervously smiling at him, told him otherwise.

“What are you doing here?” He snapped, part of him just wanting nothing more than to get rid of you. 

“Aw, c’mon! You know you love me,” you jokingly said. Unfortunately for him, that comment only smacked him in the face. “Can I sit here?” 

After taking a couple seconds to compose himself, he nodded his head, realizing his friends were off doing god knows what. He felt himself stiffen up, realizing how you chose to sit directly beside him. 

He really hated this. 

“Why aren’t you sitting with Deku or that icy hot bastard?” As soon as that sentence left his mouth, he inwardly cursed at himself, realizing he might have just given you a reason to leave. Not like he cared if you had left or stayed. 

“They’re too busy making heart eyes at each other to notice I’m not there,” you simply said before taking a bite of your food.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love them and all,” you looked towards the blond, “but I’m really tired of seeing them be so in love with each other. Really reminds me how lonely I am.” 

Bakugou found himself nodding along to what you were saying. Damn, he really did miss these conversations with you. 

“Don’t even get me started on all those couples that just stand there in the hall,” Bakugou muttered. 

“I know right, like don’t you have anything better to do? It’s so ridiculous!” You exclaimed, eliciting an amused smile from the blond. 

“Crushes, in general, are ridiculous,” he grumbled out. You looked at him, his words grabbing your attention.

“Oh really? Why do you think so?” You asked, turning towards him.

“It’s ridiculous because of how much of your time crushes take up,” Bakugou began, his crimson eyes radiating nothing but pure frustration. “You’re so distracted by them that you can’t even focus on yourself. And then you want to do nothing more than just talk to them. Even when you try to ignore them, wanting those stupid feelings to go away, you just end up missing them even more. It’s just so fucking annoying,” he ranted, the words just flowing out of him. He didn’t even realize he needed to let that off his chest

“Well, that’s awkward,” you said. Your eyes met Bakugou’s confused ones, making you smile. “You’re really gonna make me say it, aren’t you?” 

“Say what?” He snapped, feeling himself grow increasingly frustrated.  What was so obvious to you that he couldn’t seem to get?

“I have a crush on you, idiot.” You could feel your face immediately burning up, instant regret filling you as you said those words. Did you just ruin a friendship? Possibly. And what exactly compelled you to admit your feelings? You had no idea.

Except while you were facing an internal crisis, Bakugou just sat there, his brain processing what you had just said. 

You liked him?

He slowly blinked, his eyes looking at you. In an instant, something inside of him just clicked into place. 

Maybe he never hated the concept of crushes, instead despised the fact that crushes were full of so much uncertainty. Because at that moment, as he stared at your blushing face, he couldn’t help but believe that maybe having a crush wasn’t so bad. 

“Well, this is awkward,” Bakugou started, effectively gaining your attention. At that moment you wanted to do nothing more than spontaneously combust. You looked at him, feeling ironically crushed, as you awaited the worst.

“The reason I said all those things was because,” Bakugou moved his face slightly closer to yours, “I have a crush on you too.” 

Bakugou Katsuki might have absolutely despised the concept of crushes, but for some reason, you made it somewhat tolerable.