Finding Me (Todoroki x Reader)

Chapter 17

'Focus, Y/N,' I reprimanded myself as I stared down the slim, sliver of light at the end of the tunnel. 'He made it quite clear that he didn't want to be friends anymore. I just gotta let it go, and view him only as my opponent.'

But no matter how much my brain told me to erase my emotional ties to him, my heart always followed the thought with a stab of guilt.

'He is - was - my friend, and no matter how mad I am with him, I can't just shut him out completely. Maybe I can talk to him after the race.'

"On your marks," Midnight - our referee - announced, signalling us all to take out places on the line. I crouched, taking deep steady breaths.

'Come on, Y/N, you can do this. You need to be first out of the blocks to even stand a chance at making it out of the tunnel alive, let alone in the running.'

"Get set..." she raised her torture whip, and our bodies prepped themselves for take off.

'Breathe... breathe...'

"Go!"

Taking off, I used the slightest boost of stored energy in my legs to get me out first. I didn't look around to see if I was first; I was only focussed on the tunnel, and how small it actually was.

Engulfed suddenly by darkness, I entered the narrow tunnel first, feeling my energy boost start to fade.

'That's okay, I only needed a small amount to just stay ahead to begin with. After that, I just need to stay in the top few competitors to stay in this.'

As I neared the end of the tunnel, the sunlight became brighter, and the tunnel didn't feel so small anymore. Heavier footsteps sounded behind me, letting me know that my peers were catching up. Their presence seemed to begin pressing down on me in the tight space.

'Almost there...'

I was about to step out when a thick wall of blue and white suddenly formed in front of the exit, stopping me dead in my tracks. I felt someone leap over me, and I looked up to see none other than the icy-hot prince himself jumping over his own ice wall without breaking a sweat.

My frustration grew more as I saw him land over the side, unfazed by the leap.

'Cocky bugger.' He was my friend, but he seriously was getting on my nerves.

My back was slammed by someone, forcing me face first into Todoroki's ice wall. I tried pushing off of the barrier, but more people ran into me, pressing me hard against the cold surface. I was being trapped, and that just made me even angrier.

I was angry at Todoroki, and at how cold his ice wall was against my skin, and how no one knew how to slow down before slamming into someone. My hands grew hotter and hotter, as if a fire was burning in me, and growing with each level of anger and hurt I reached. It kept growing and growing until I felt like I would explode. So I did.

"Enough!"

A huge focus of energy blasted from my hands, burning a hole in the barrier of ice. I didn't hesitate to run through and continue my journey, unfazed by all of the looks I was given by my peers. I didn't even blink when Todoroki made his next move.

The heterochromatic-eyed boy took a step forward, and a thin sheet of ice came racing towards me, hoping to ensnare me in its icy grip, and plant me in the ground.

'Not today, Todoroki,' I jumped up, enough to blast the ground ahead of me with my remaining anger, creating a path to the next course. 'You're not stopping me anymore, Todoroki.'