Freeze Frame

Chapter 16

Third person pov

Lunch rolled around, and Lillian found herself at a loss as she gazed out at the vast cafeteria. She and Uraraka had gotten separated at some point, and she knew trying to find her in such a crowd would prove to be fruitless. By the time she did track the brunette down, she was sure the bell would be about to ring. She glanced around nervously.

"Lillian?" A voice asked. It was only mildly familiar. Lillian whirled around, her eyes lighting up with surprise. She offered a small smile.

"Shinso!" She squeaked out, blinking up at him. "You passed! I'm so glad!"

"I made it into class 1-C... I thought you said your quirk wasn't useful." His lips pulled into a smirk. Lillian felt her cheeks redden with embarrassment, and she offered a nervous laugh. She had said that, hadn't she? She supposed her quirk was... pretty useful. She just wasn't the right person to properly hone its skills. Yet, anyways. Maybe UA could help her...

"It worked well in the setting." She admitted sheepishly, clutching her lunch tray tightly. "I-I somehow made it into class 1-A."

Now it was Shinso's turn to be surprised. He gazed down at the timid girl before him. She didn't look like she could do much. He'd assumed her quirk would be something mild, and maybe it was, and had done well in the city setting. Yet somehow, she was here telling him that she'd made it into the hero course. Only twenty people out of hundreds had made it in, and she was one of them.

"The hero course?" Shinso found himself asking before he could stop himself. Lillian's cheeks lit aflame again.

"Y-Yeah. I still think you would have done better." She suddenly lit up, some of her shyness fading. Her passion and interest in quirks brought her more out of her shell when the topic was brought up. "I-I've never seen one like yours. You'd be the perfect hero!"

Shinso was, again, taken aback. It was common knowledge that the students in class 1-A were typically stuck up. They were prideful in their quirks, which were usually extremely powerful and showy. They liked to brag. They almost had a right to, but maybe not to their fellow UA students. The students in 1-A weren't usually all that liked by the others enrolled in UA, whether it be from jealousy, or their attitude. 

And yet here was one of those very students, telling him he'd be the perfect hero. 

"Thank you, Lillian. I've always... wanted to be a hero." Shinso admitted, smiling a small smile down at the girl. She lit up like a Christmas tree, bouncing slightly. "Would you like to sit with us?"

"Can you hypnotize me?" She asked at the same time, blurting the question out. Her cheeks going red. "I-I mean, you don't have to-"

Shinso was even more surprised now, and maybe a little more confused. "You... want me to hypnotize you?" He checked, raising his eyebrows. People usually feared his quirk, calling it a quirk fit for a villain. They were cautious, fearing they might  be put under the spell his quirk had the ability to cast. 

"Just for a bit?" Lillian winced. "S-Sorry."

"Are you sure?" Shinso really didn't want to get sued, or send to the principles office. 

"Of cou-" Lillian stopped suddenly, her eyes going dull as she gazed up at Shinso, her face going slack. Shinso felt his nerves rise a little bit as he gazed down at her, under the control of his quirk. He glanced around to make sure nobody had noticed. He got a lot of shit for his power as it was.

"Come with me." Shinso told her. Robotically, she began to trail after him, her steps even and short. His classmates looked up upon his arrival, fear ebbing into their eyes when they saw Lillian's dulled eyes. Immediately, he released his quirk, wanting to avoid panic. He placed a hand on her back to keep her from stumbling back and falling, watching as she blinked back into reality.

"Wow!" She gasped, eyes lighting up all over again with awe and admiration. Shinso flinched slightly as she gazed up at him. "That was so cool! I wish I had a quirk like that! There's no way you won't be transferred to 1-A eventually. A quirk like that is super useful in a battle against real people." She grinned up at him.

His classmates looked taken aback as Shinso sat down. Lillian, hesitating, took the seat across from him, gazing at him excitedly. He awkwardly avoided her gaze, his cheeks heating slightly from the praise. He'd never had someone so amazed by his quirk before. It wasn't flashy like others in 1-A.

"I think it's only fair you tell me what your quirk is." Shinso said with a smirk. His classmates cautiously went back to eating, their shoulders tense. Shinso would have rather eaten at empty table, but... well, there weren't any. So he was stuck with his cautious classmates, and apparently with this peppy girl who didn't much care that he could put her under his control just by getting an answer to a question.

"A-Ah, I call it Freeze Frame." Lillian smiled a little, feeling embarrassed. "I can freeze anything I can see in front of me. But I can't turn around and freeze what's behind me too.... just one scene at a time." She smiled a little.

"How is that not useful?" Shinso scoffed slightly, but he had a small smile on his face. He'd never really been treated normal before, so this was... it was a nice surprise, to say the least. Maybe he and Lillian could be friends. She didn't seem terrified of him, after all, and thought his quirk was nothing short of amazing.

"I-I guess it is." Lillian laughed nervously, moving her food around with her fork. "Sorry. I just... I'm not that good at using it. My whole family is quirkless. I... I only just recently accepted my quirk." She admitted quietly. "They-  They don't know I have it. They think I got in without one."

Shinso was surprised. "You just started using it?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah, so I get tired pretty fast." She laughed a little. "I was lucky the exam was an urban setting. I would have flunked at anything else."

"It sounds like you've got a good understanding of it, at least." Shinso offered a small smile, not quite knowing what to do or say to the girl.

"Yeah." Lillian brightened again. "So, about your quirk-"

Shinso couldn't help but smile a little to. Yes, he and Lillian most certainly could be friends.