Freeze Frame

Chapter 27

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Third person pov

Lillian woke up with a gasp, her heart racing. Her head swiveled left, and then right. In general, her body felt... okay. Very heavy and a little achy, but her stomach wasn't twisting in on itself anymore. Her throat felt incredibly dry, but it wasn't completely unbearable. Just enough to make her tongue feel oddly swollen.

It was dark outside, and the TV was playing, switched onto the news. It was definitely a rerun from earlier. She blinked a few times, pushing some hair out of her face. It had been taken out of its ponytail, and she was glad. It meant less tangling. Her eyes shifted to the TV, and she paled when she realized what she was seeing.

"Just today the USJ, a rescue training facility build for UA students, was attacked. Police say it was a coordinated and thought-out plan of attack. Students were forced to fight for their lives until help could arrive. Here we see footage of Lillian Faust, a student in the hero course, using her quirk to keep her teacher's body frozen in order to prevent him from succumbing to his injuries."

Fuck.

Her parents had to have seen this. Her, vomiting blood over the side of a gurney holding her paralyzed teacher, sobbing. She was almost glad her phone was still at the school in the locker room. It had to be blowing up. Not only that, but... they knew now. They knew she wasn't quirkless. They had literally just said it. That footage had to be everywhere by now! Oh, god, were they going to disown her? They were going to disown her. This was it. This was the absolute end.

"Lillian?" A voice asked. The girl snapped out of her panic, realizing that she was hyperventilating. Hajime Shinso stood there, looking truly exhausted. She wasn't sure if that was because it was late, or if it was just due to his quirk. She took a few deep breaths. Was she crying?

"I-Is Mr. Aizawa okay?!" Her eyes widened, and she moved to get out of bed. The man immediately rushed over to try and stop the girl. She stumbled a little, eyes wide with fear. Had her teacher made it? Had her efforts been enough? The look in his eyes as she was pulled from the operating room still stood out boldly in contrast to the hazy memories she had while keeping the man frozen.

"He's fine, Lillian, he pulled through. But try not to move too much. You're still drained." Hajime sighed, and the girl sniffled. He'd gotten off work around... two hours ago or so, but he couldn't bear to leave his son's friend here unconscious. So far, he hadn't contacted her parents. He was tasked with doing as such. It was his job. But he'd gotten a call from his son, asking if he'd seen her, and begging him not to call her mom and dad until she woke up. The man didn't know why, but he trusted Hitoshi enough to wait.

"H-He..." Lillian wiped at her eyes, stumbling a little. She looked horrible, her skin pale, and her hair disheveled. Small tremors skipped along her shoulders as she tried her best to reel her panic back in. Hajime frowned, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. This poor kid had been through hell. All of those kids had, but Lillian especially. Holding a life in your hands like that was not something to be taken lightly.

Lillian stared at her hands, which quivered much like they had back at the USJ. Her teacher had lived. Hajime had told her it was going to be okay, and it was. He was alive. He was fine. She'd done it! She'd... Sh-She'd...

Mr. Aizawa was alive.

"I haven't called your parents yet. Hitoshi insisted I don't." Hajime spoke softly. Lillian blinked up at him blearily, her mind still rolling over the fact that even after all that, her teacher had lived. "Why is that?"