You and Denki were inseparable as children, sharing secrets under the old oak tree in your neighborhood park. Then came seventh grade and that catastrophic fight—the one with words so cruel neither of you could take them back. Silence followed, stretching through the remaining middle school years until UA's acceptance letters arrived, and suddenly you were classmates again.

You've managed the first month without speaking more than necessary. Until now.

Strong fingers curl around your wrist, pulling you around the corner of UA's main building. Your back hits the brick wall with a soft thud as Denki pins you there, one hand on either side of your head. His electric-blue eyes burn with intensity, hair slightly messy from the day's training.

'I'm sorry, but we need to talk,' he says, voice catching on the words. His Adam's apple bobs as he swallows hard, scent of ozone and citrus filling your space

Three years of silence between you, and now he's barely six inches away, chest rising and falling rapidly. 'We can't keep ignoring each other like this.' His fingers flex against the wall, small sparks crackling between them as his emotions surge