Freeze Frame

Chapter 31

Third person pov

"Will you be okay?" Hitoshi asked. He and Lillian had watched some Tik Tok cringe compilations before the girl decided that she needed to get home to her worried parents. She'd finally calmed down enough to walk with her friend around the corner and to her house. Hitoshi couldn't help but notice that her hands were shaking. He put a hand on her shoulder and offered her a smile.

"Y-Yeah, thanks." She mumbled, and them seemed to realize something. "A-Ah, your hoodie!" 

"Keep it." He shrugged as she began to pull it off. It was big on her, but Hitoshi had a feeling she liked over sized clothing. He always saw her tugging down the sleeves of her blazer as though to hide her hands. Besides, he had loads of other hoodies at home. Sparing one for a little while wasn't going to hurt. He didn't doubt Lillian would be returning it the second she saw him again. Plus, it gave her an excuse to come over to his house, didn't it?

"B-But-" He cut Lillian off.

"You can give it back later, if you really want to. I have others." His lips twitched up. "Don't worry about it."

Lillian hesitated, but nodded, eyes moving back to her front door. She let out a shuddering breath of air. She knew Mr. Shinso had called her parents, but she could shake the thought of them rejecting her and her quirk. Her whole family was quirkless. She knew there was no way she was adopted, either, so that couldn't be it. A quirk had just... finally decided to manifest in their bloodline, she supposed.

She took one last glance at Hitoshi, murmuring yet another thank you. He gave a simple nod, crossing his arms over his chest as she shuffled up to the door. She could hear blood rushing past her ears, and the breaths she took seemed shorter and choppier. She bit her lip and blinked back a wave of tears. She'd be okay. Her parents wouldn't be mad, and it would all be fine. In fact, things would be so fine she'd forget they were ever no-fine. Totally.

She took another glance back at Hitoshi. He gave a brief thumbs up and an encouraging jerk of the head, as if telling her to go forward. She turned back around and prepared herself for the worst. If she got kicked out, it was okay! Sh... it would be fine, right? A-And if they hated her, she could figure i-it out, right? And... And they couldn't stay mad forever if that was the case. Nobody... N-Nobody could stay mad at their own daughter forever.

Right?

She took a deep breath and held it, knocking softly on the door. Her hands curled into tight fists. She wondered how bad her frame was quivering right now. She just wanted to freeze and tip right over, and never move again. Maybe she'd cry some while wasting away on the floor. Crying actually didn't sound too bad right now! Maybe she could just find a corner to curl up in. That would be nice, wouldn't it? Her existence wasn't too pertinent. Everything would be better if she just-

The door flew open so fast Lillian almost tipped backwards in surprise. Her wide blue eyes met two teary ones nearly identical to her own, and her mother choked out a loud sob, throwing her arms around the girl with a wail. Her father came rushing around the corner, letting out a gasp when he saw his daughter standing there, alive and okay. He let his tears fall as he rushed to join the embrace. Lillian was already crying.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry I-I didn't te-tell you. I-I'm sorry, p-please don't hate me." Lillian blurted out before she could stop herself, her fingers curling desperately into her mother's shirt as the woman gulped down heavy breaths of air. She could feel her dad's body shaking as he tried to hold in his tears. She didn't have to look to know Hitoshi had taken his leave. She made a mental not to profusely thank the boy later. He'd helped her more than he'd ever know.

June and Hisato Faust had never felt such relief. They'd both been home together, eating lunch with one another when their phones blared. The siren-like noise had startled them both, and them'd immediately assumed it was some sort of amber alert, or maybe a severe thunderstorm warning of some sort, despite the lack of rain around these parts. But no... no, it had been so much worse.