Amelia sat in the quiet dorm, staring out the window at the sunny day. Realizing she hadn't spoken to many of her classmates since she was brought to this hidden dorm that no one knew about, made the isolation start to feel heavy.
Her phone buzzed on the table, pulling her out of her thoughts. She picked it up and saw Izuku's name on the screen. Her heart did a little flip, as it often did when he called her. She swiped to answer.
"Hey, Amelia," Izuku's voice came through with his usual upbeat tone. "I know you're probably busy, but we're all heading to the school pool for some endurance training today, and I wanted to invite you."
Amelia smiled, though she hesitated. "Wait, does everyone know about the dorms yet?"
"Not exactly... Denki and Minoru overheard the girls planning to go to the pool and wanted to, well, train there, but I thought it'd be good to turn it into an actual class thing. They don't know you're staying here, though so don't stress. I figured I'd invite you as a surprise. It might be good to see everyone again."
She felt a warmth in her chest, touched that Izuku had thought to include her even though she had been hidden away. "That sounds... nice, actually. I'd love to come. I miss them."
"Great! It'll be good to see you too. And don't worry, it's just endurance training, so everyone's gonna be in school swimsuits, not bikinis," he added quickly, making Amelia giggle.
"That's reassuring," she teased. "I'll be there in a bit."
Later at the pool as Amelia stood at the side of the pool, watching the boys take their turns with endurance training, her attention was drawn toward the volleyball game the girls were playing nearby. Mina, ever the lively one, spotted Amelia and waved her over with an enthusiastic shout.
"Amelia! Come on, join us!"
Amelia hesitated for a moment but quickly smiled and jogged over. It had been so long since she had done something as carefree as playing volleyball with her friends. Momo tossed the ball to her with a grin. "You're on our team!"
The game started up again with lively energy, and Amelia soon found herself immersed in the fun. Mina spiked the ball with force, and Toru made an incredible jump to save it, though her invisible form left everyone guessing where she was going to land. Jiro, usually more reserved, showed surprising skill with her quick reactions, and even Ochaco used her Quirk a bit, though only to give the ball an extra lift when it looked like it was going out of bounds.
Amelia laughed as she dove to save a ball, narrowly sending it over the net. "Nice save!" Momo called out, high-fiving her.
The boys, in the middle of their training, couldn't help but glance over at the girls. Denki and Minoru tried to keep their eyes on the game more than their endurance drills, both of them looking completely distracted. "Man, this is the best training day ever," Denki whispered to Minoru, who nodded in agreement.
Amelia hit the ball over the net, scoring another point for her team, and she couldn't help but feel the eyes on her. She glanced over at the boys' group, catching Izuku's gaze. He was watching her with a warm smile, one of those looks that made her stomach flutter. Even from a distance, she could see the softness in his eyes, like he was happy just to see her having fun again. His smile was sincere, and it filled her with a quiet warmth.
Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she smiled back at him before returning her focus to the game. The ball was coming her way again, and she was determined not to miss.
Katsuki, standing near Izuku, grumbled under his breath. He had caught the entire silent exchange between the two and clenched his fists in irritation. "Tch, this is stupid," he muttered, glaring at the volleyball game. His patience was wearing thin, and he could only take so much of watching Izuku smiling like that.
Finally, unable to hold it in any longer, Katsuki shouted out across the pool, his voice booming. "DEKU! Stop messing around and fight me already!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing, the volleyball rolling off to the side as the girls turned to look at Katsuki in confusion. Izuku blinked in surprise before sighing, scratching the back of his head as he turned to face his longtime rival.
"Kacchan, we're just supposed to be training," Izuku tried to reason, but Katsuki was having none of it.
"Shut up and fight me, nerd!" Katsuki growled, his hands sparking with tiny explosions, clearly itching for a challenge.
Amelia exchanged amused glances with the other girls. The boys never changed. Even in the middle of a fun day, Katsuki's need to challenge Izuku was like clockwork. She couldn't help but smile to herself, her heart a little lighter from the normalcy of it all.
Tenya, ever the mediator, stepped in. "How about a competition instead? Let's see who can swim fifty meters the fastest. No Quirks."
The group agreed, though the idea of "No Quirks" quickly fell apart as everyone took their turns, using their powers to enhance their swimming. Izuku, true to form, swam normally but used his Quirk toward the end to win against even Tenya's Recipro Burst.
Amelia watched from the side, cheering along with the others. She felt a sense of belonging again, and the burden of being away from them started to melt away.
As the final race between Izuku, Katsuki, and Shoto was about to begin, their fun was cut short by Shota Aizawa's arrival. He appeared from nowhere, kicking them all out of the pool area with his usual no-nonsense attitude. "Training camp is soon. You need rest, not pool games."
With the day winding down, everyone began heading home. Katsuki, still fuming about the interrupted race, walked alongside Eijiro, ranting about how he would never let Izuku or Shoto beat him. "That was just a warm-up, Deku! Next time, I'm winning!"
As they left, Izuku walked Amelia back to the dorms. The sun was setting, casting a golden hue over the grounds. They walked in comfortable silence until they reached her door.
"Thanks for inviting me today, Izuku. I really needed that," Amelia said softly.
Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. "Of course. I thought you'd want to be there... with everyone."
Before he could say more, Amelia quickly leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Goodnight, Izu," she said with a bright smile before rushing into the dorm.
Izuku stood there, frozen for a moment, his face turning bright red as he slowly broke into a winning smile. His heart raced, and he couldn't stop the goofy grin that spread across his face as he walked away, replaying the moment in his head.