Freeze Frame

Chapter 58

Third person pov

Everyone surged forward toward the tunnel. Lillian felt paralyzed, planting her feet and tensing her shoulders as people darted past her. She could still hear Bakugo's explosions echoing in her ears, leaving them to ring, and Mina's victorious whoop as she slid into the crowd in an attempt to fight her way to the front. Even Ochako and Izuku didn't hesitate to barrel forward into the mass of UA students, all of which were determined to do their very best in the course.

Lillian could relate, but she knew for a fact she couldn't win alone. She didn't know where her friends were, but she could only hope they'd track her down. Somehow, she knew they wouldn't make it without each other. Lillian's quirk wasn't a physical attack, but it could stop things. Shinso could stop people and use them as tools. Neito could do anything anyone else did, so he'd probably do okay without them, but...

"And we're off to a racing start! How 'bout some color commentary, Mummy Man?" Mic turned to Aizawa with an excited grin. The man very clearly wasn't all that happy to be in the announcer's booth. Lillian's ears pricked at the sound of that, and she instinctively turned to try and look at where her English mentor and Homeroom teacher were. She felt rather frantic. What did she do? She didn't feel like going forward was the best idea, but what if Hitoshi and Neito had gotten swept up?

"How did I let you talk me into this?" Aizawa sighed.

"What we should be paying attention to in the early stages of this race?" Mic prodded his friend, knowing full and well that the guy's daughter was down there paralyzed with anxiety-driven fear. Wow, what a great best friend he was! Letting his bestie know about his long lost daughter who he didn't even know existed. This was just... this was just the greatest. Totally and completely the best. 101% the greatest.

"The doorway." Aizawa said shortly, though something did gleam in his tone. "Three students haven't moved forward like the rest have."

Hitoshi and Neito trudged towards Lillian, grins stretching across their faces as they locked eyes. They both clapped a hand down on either one of her shoulders, drawing her out of the shadowy realm that some referred to as the void and back into reality. They watched her blink, peering up at them with teary eyes. Hitoshi's veins thrummed with adrenaline, and Neito could hear his heart beating in his ears. Lillian gulped, though she felt her panic fall into something steadier as her two friends gazed at her with surety and confidence. 

"Ready?" Neito cocked his head.

"R...Ready." Lillian gave a small smile.

Most of the students had gotten out of the tunnel and fanned out, so they had to work fast. A great deal of ice had covered the area, but there was still a patch that was clean and fine at the exit of the tunnel. Lillian's eyes scanned across the crowd, most of which had their legs encased in Todoroki's frost. Mic's commentary echoed behind them, fainter than before, but most definitely still there.

"What's this?! Three students, all from different courses, banding together?! Unheard of! One of them must be some sort of genius, or just perf-" Aizawa kicked Mic's shin before he could continued, unable to suppress a grin of his own as Lillian hurriedly demanded something of her friends. He watched the camera feed closely as the pair of boys nodded to her. The camera zoomed in.

Lacing his fingers together, Neito helped boost Lillian up. She grabbed their shoulders, shakily pushing herself upwards with their help. Everyone watched in a tense silence to see what they'd do as Lillian stood unsteadily upon their shoulders. They gripped her legs, looking up at her as she struggled to find her balance. Why they were forming a cheer leading pyramid, even Mic wasn't sure. 

"Can you see them all?" Hitoshi asked as Lillian waved her arms in a desperate attempt not to fall. No longer did she feel so anxious about the crowd now that they were behind them. Now, it was all about winning. For Hitoshi, and for Neito. She wanted desperately for her purple-haired friend to enter the hero course! It was his dream, after all. And they'd worked too hard for this for her to submit to her nerves now. They had to do their best. Her friends were clearly ready to give it their absolute all. She'd be damned if she didn't do the same.