Freeze Frame

Chapter 35

This is the last filler I swear hahahahdhkad please don't kill me I'm trying to make time pass so it's not all hahhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHhHhHhHhHhHhHhhHHHH

Third person pov

The rest of the week went about as smoothly as you'd expect. The amount of reporters lurking around died down, though Lillian did make it a point to go literally nowhere outside of school alone. Hitoshi was more than happy to walk her home, and she was glad. She greatly enjoyed his company. The fact that he cared at all made her want to smile until her cheeks ached. He was a great person.

Mina, Kaminari and Sero had all tried to corner her the days following her ominous note. She played dumb every time. Lillian had no idea she could pull such a poker face before now, but she was glad she could. The look on Mina's face when Lillian blinked innocently up her the girl and her two friends would be burned into her brain for the rest of her life, and she found that glorious.

Present Mic was another thing that was odd. She sort of wanted to ask him if something was wrong, as all he did was stare and smile at her. The smile varied at times, ranging from completely joyful to utterly devastated. She wished she wasn't, but she found herself actually get used to it. That didn't necessarily mean she liked it, but at least it didn't make her sweat bullets anymore.

She noticed herself falling in with a friend group and settling, like many of her other classmates were doing. Everyone was friendly with one another, but they were beginning to form pods, and Lillian found herself drawn to two. At times she'd be sitting Ochako, Izuku, Iida and Tsu, while others she'd find herself immersed in conversation with Shoji, Tokoyami, and Koda. She'd never had this many friends before, and she almost cried when Ochako added her the the "Dekusquad" group chat, and when Tokoyami did the same for the "Mad Banquet of Darkness" chat.

One other thing that was slightly different was Hitoshi. It was nothing bad, but Lillian could confidently say he was her best friend without sputtering without doubt. Even Hitoshi had admitted that he'd never had a better friend before. They texted endlessly, and Lillian found her evenings filled with drawn-out phone calls. It made her giddy even just thinking about it all.

Lillian couldn't recall a time she'd ever been so happy. Some of her overall anxiety faded, and her parents noticed. The didn't mention it for fear that their daughter might become self aware and accidentally recede or something like that, so instead they happily watched on and tried to sate their worries about her going to UA with the school's new security installations, and with their little girl's positive change.

"I don't know how to feel about this." Lillian murmured quietly. It was ten o'clock at night, and she was making an attempt not to wake her parents as Hitoshi struggled to pull himself and Eraserhead through her window. He'd insisted that this couldn't wait, and she was honestly a little scared.

"Is this your king?" Hitoshi replied quietly, gesturing towards Eraserhead, who had absolutely no idea what was happening or why he'd been dragged from the comfort of his home. Lillian couldn't help but see the correlation between Aizawa and the cat naturally. She just couldn't figure out if the feline was more human, or if her homeroom teacher just naturally acted like a cat.

"Wakanda forever." Lillian responded in a whisper before speaking a little louder. "Is this a pigeon?"

Hitoshi snorted, finally managing to pull his leg out of the bush outside Lillian's room and tumble onto her floor. She wasn't impressed, but her friend was quick to recover, scrambling to his feet and brushing himself off. Lillian took a small step back as he stretched his arms over his head, his back giving a crack.

"Is everything... okay?" Lillian asked in a hushed tone. Hitoshi had never come to her house before. She'd spent the past five minutes shoving anything on the floor under the bed in a fit of absolute panic. Other than that, her room didn't outwardly have anything embarrassing that she could find. That being said, Hitoshi could probably make fun of literally anything and she'd feel embarrassed.

"Yeah, my mom is listening to Celine Dion full blast and crying over The Notebook again." Hitoshi plopped down on her bed. "But I also had something to tell you..."

Lillian felt her shoulders tense at the nervous look on Hitoshi's face. He waved her over cautiously. Hitoshi normally looked so relaxed and unconcerned. She found herself a little scared as she inched over, sitting down carefully next to him. He waved her even closer, eyes darting anywhere but her face. She leaned forward a little.

Hitoshi hesitated before leaning towards her. Their eyes locked, and Lillian felt his breath tickle her ear. Her heart rate immediately picked up, the tops of her ears getting hot. She readied herself, brows furrowed and lips pressed together. Hitoshi took a deep breath.

"...China."

Lillian barely had time to slap a hand over her mouth to muffle the squeak that escaped her. Hitoshi pulled back with a shit-eating grin stretched across his face. Lillian's eyes narrowed in retaliation, and she dropped her hand. She glared, though her smile took away from the effect. She took a slow breath, centering herself. She looked Hitoshi in the eye. He raised a brow.

Lillian folded her arms over her chest. "E." 

Hitoshi snorted, but he managed to stop any other bits of laughter from escaping him. Lillian felt satisfied, stroking Eraserhead as the cat purred. Hitoshi looked pained and proud at the same time. Lillian could understand that. Truly, not laughing when she was Hitoshi was proving to be harder than she thought.

They spent the next three hours watching vine compilations and shushing each other anytime they got too loud. Lillian was pretty sure her parents could hear their snickering, but she also knew they wouldn't try entering her room, which was a little sad, but it worked in her and Hitoshi's favor tonight.

"This tea? Scalding." Lillian shook her head quietly.

"Omg wig." Hitoshi murmured. He and Lillian were scrolling through his Instagram feed, the pair huddled up side by side, a blanket draped over their legs. Lillian was drifting off every so often, but would wake back up before she could. Hitoshi being warm didn't help, nor did Eraserhead, who'd curled up in her lap.

"We stan a queen." Lillian mumbled, raising her fist a little before letting it drop. Hitoshi snorted.

Lillian eventually faded out of consciousness, leaving Hitoshi to snap several pictures of her drooling as black mail for later before he made his great escape, Eraserhead in tow. He actually came pretty close to saying 'fuck it' and falling asleep next to her, but he didn't want to risk getting her trouble. Plus, there was a pretty good chance his mother would be noticing his absence pretty soon, and he didn't need that.

Lillian slept soundly that night for the first time in a while, curled up under a blanket, wearing the hoodie she'd been gifted.