You and Melissa had gathered up the broken parts of the gauntlet and got them into boxes and made a walked back to the main lab. Once you guys got into the room, Adrian looked over and cocked an eyebrow. He got off of his step ladder and walked over to the table with the broken pieces.

Adrian: What the hell happened here?

(Y/N): About 7,500 Newtons of force.

Adrian: Holy son of a...what was the max on this thing?

Melissa: About 7,150 Newtons.

Adrian: Nice work, kiddos. You should be proud of yourselves.

(Y/N): We still need to reinforce the framing some more.

Melissa: But, the gauntlet we used was a prototype to my final. That gauntlet could withstand 3,500 newtons of force alone. So the framework was able to get most of the work done.

(Y/N): Then we get working on that.

Melissa: Right. But food.

(Y/N): Good point. I didn't get breakfast this morning. Speaking of, what time is it?

Adrian: It's bloody 6 PM you nerds.

(Y/N): We've been working on this all damn day??!!

Melissa: Guess so. Food time then. Come on.

Melissa began to walk out of the lab. You turned back and watched a little as she walked off. As you watched, you felt something nudge you along your back. You turned around and saw Adrian standing there.

Adrian: Go my man.

You then remember his words. You rolled your eyes slightly and gave him an annoyed look as you walked out of the room. You quickly caught up to Melissa and walked down to the cafeteria. As you were walking, you noticed she did have more of a skip in her step than usual. She also seemed to walk in pace with you.

(Y/N): Uh, so...

Melissa: Yeah?

(Y/N): I uh...Well, that test went well.

Melissa: Yeah. Although the dynamics of it all may need to be reworked. Maybe it is a little too bulky.

(Y/N): I don't think so. I mean, I think the bulk is fine. But how would we go about that?

Melissa: We can worry about that over dinner.

(Y/N): Right!

You were slightly taken aback after that. It sounded like some cheesy dating thing people would say to one another. But, despite that, you shook your head and kept walking with Melissa. The words Adrian has told you resonated with you. "Ask her out", it was just...so odd. I mean, you certainly had a crush on her. But...you had never had a crush on a girl before. You were always working on the next project.

You didn't know what else to really do. So, as you had these thoughts flow through your head and grabbed some food, you just kept your eye on Melissa. You could catch the odd glance your way and a quick turn away. But otherwise, no major signals. Well, whatever these "signals" could be. You shook your head and walked over to a table to eat. While you were waiting on Melissa, the words still hit you. You quickly shook those away and focused on something else.

You pulled out some designs for new goggles. You wanted to find better ways to cure your vision. In other words, cure your quirk. You typed on your computer a bit as you waited on Melissa. As you fixed some math on the designs of the goggles, Melissa walked over to your table and joined you. She gave you a smile as she looked at your designs.

Melissa: What are you working on?

(Y/N): Trying to get new designs in for the goggles.

Melissa: Why's that?

(Y/N): They don't completely get rid of my quirk's effects. I need to mitigate them down in order to-

Melissa: Don't get rid of it!

(Y/N): Are you serious? My quirk would drive any person insane. Heck, I'm surprised I haven't gone insane already. It would be best if it just went away.

Melissa: Don't resent it. It's a gift.

(Y/N): Not really.

Melissa: Don't take away a quirk! And don't resent it either. You don't know how much a quirk like that could be of benefit. And you don't know who would die just to have a quirk at all.

You were slightly taken aback. You didn't know how much quirks meant to her. The wheels in your head spun and you slowly looked back at her. Melissa was holding her breath, clearly not that happy at you. You dropped your stunned reaction and nodded slowly at her. You already knew why she loved quirks just based upon that reaction alone. You grabbed your fork and looked over at her.

(Y/N): Ok. I won't. But I still want to find a way to mitigate the effects just a tiny bit more.

Melissa: After the gauntlet is complete.

(Y/N): After that. Speaking of, what is our end goal here?

Melissa: Ten-thousand newtons of force.

(Y/N): Well, we already have a solid track to getting it done then.

Melissa gave you a smile before she continued to eat. You smiled back at her and joined in. The rest of dinner was mostly over the gauntlet and how one could improve it. Otherwise, it was mostly silence for the two of you. The talk about getting rid of quirks had really brought the mood down, even a blind man could see it. You should know, you nearly are blind.

Still, it was a nice evening nonetheless. But, the looming words of both Adrian and Melissa hit you. So, once dinner was done with, it was back to the lab for you both. After walking some distance, you had those thoughts and the entire event of dinner ringing in your ears. You gripped your head in frustration just a little as you walked, with Melissa taking note rather quickly.

Melissa: (Y/N)? What's wrong?

(Y/N): Nothing. Just...sorry about dinner. I didn't mean to bring the mood all the way down.

Melissa: It's fine. I wouldn't worry about it.

(Y/N): But I'm going to worry. There's just no getting around that.

Melissa: (Y/N), don't worry about it. I just had never met anyone who would want to get rid of their quirk.

(Y/N): Yeah. Well...it's a blessing and a curse sometimes. Mostly for heroes though.

Melissa: I see. But, you have to admit, it does have its benefits.

(Y/N): Oh it does. But still, I just...not a fan sometimes.

Melissa: Well, just remember the good aspects of it, please. For me?

(Y/N): (Sighs) Alright. For you.

Melissa stepped in front of you and smiled. You gave her a slight smile back and walked on with her back to the lab. The walk was just as quiet as dinner, awkwardness filling the air. Either of you really had much in the way to say. Once you got back it was just more of the same. You and her got to work on some new designs, and finished the blueprints within an hour's time.

As you guys worked a bit more on it, the awkward air still fueled the entire lab. Almost everyone could notice it, hell even Adrian noticed.

Adrian: You two have been bustin your asses all day. How about you guys go grab some rest?

Melissa: I'm good.

(Y/N): Same here.

Adrian: Out voted.

You and Melissa looked up and saw that everyone else in the lab had their hands raised to vote on what should be done. Melissa nodded slowly and closed her laptop.

Melissa: Gotcha. I'll see you guys tomorrow.

Melissa then left the lab. You reached out to her but she slipped away from you. You slowly lowered your hand and began to pack up as well. Adrian walked over and sat across from you.

Adrian: Trying to stop a quirk?

(Y/N): She doesn't have one, does she?

Adrian: Completely quirkless. Hey man, you didn't know. Don't beat yourself over this. You-

(Y/N): Adrian, I get it. I just need to fix this.

Adrian: Well, then get started boy.

(Y/N): No really.

Adrian: Well, at least get some rest. Sleep on it a little.

You nodded and packed up your bag for the day. He was right. You walked back to your room and threw yourself down onto your bed once the door was locked. You groaned a little and slowly dragged your hands down your face. You were tired. You were annoyed and you were sad. A wave of emotion overwhelmed you. You had just messed up big time and now your first friend, hell your first crush was pissed off at you.

But you had to get rid of that quirk. Just for a few moments. Just to make sure you didn't go insane with all the different pieces of metal flowing through your brain. You sighed and turned your head to the side then you shifted your body to follow. You had no idea what there was left to do. No idea how you were going to fix this. But you had to. You just had to fix this somehow.

Somehow...you were going to fix this entire mess. And fast.