Freeze Frame

Chapter 71

Third person pov

Lillian hadn't planned on falling asleep on Bakugo again without closing their conversation, and thus there was once again an obligation to apologize for leaving him on read the next morning. This had the effect one might expect. He'd told her to "shut the fuck up, it's fine" and then pulled her into yet another conversation. She was too socially inept to back out of it, and soon found herself texting him on and off throughout Sunday too.

[Lillian has changed her name to Freckled Mess™]

[Freckled Mess™ has changed Bakugo's name to Surprisingly Has A Heart]

Surprisingly Has A Heart:
Now listen the fuck up-

All in all, he wasn't too bad to talk to!

However, come Monday, she had no idea what to do. Did this mean she had to say hello now? Were they friends? There was a fair chance he didn't want anyone knowing they'd texted. I mean, wouldn't it tarnish his reputation if people knew he was a decent human being deep, deep down in there somewhere? She had no idea. Bakugo was a confident guy, so if she was lucky, he'd take the lead and she could follow off that.

"So Shoto, how do you feel?" Neito asked as they walked towards the school. A lot had happened over the weekend. After a small mishap with a toaster oven, they'd all become bonded for life. That, and the half-and-half boy now had a mild phobia of any and all kitchen appliances. They'd only been trying to teach him how to use it, that's all! Blowing up half the kitchen truly wasn't the plan. Mihoko had seemed pleased. She said something about it giving her an excuse to remodel the entire thing.

"Alive." Shoto whispered.

"At least one of us does." Lillian sighed heavily. Hitoshi snorted, but also seemed mildly concerned. Neito just nodded in agreement, which also earned him a worried look from Hitoshi as well. Todoroki remained unfazed, which was no big surprise. He was still having trouble understanding basic human emotions. As he happened to be someone who'd had little to no human contact until entering high school, they had to give him the benefit of the doubt. At least Lillian and Hitoshi had their parents, even if Lillian no longer had a mom and dad anymore. As for Neito, he was hot enough that he had a few friends.

They chatted idly as they walked to school. Shoto was most definitely more tense than he had been back at the house, but nobody mentioned it for fear of making him feel even more uncomfortable. They instead focused on keeping the conversation normal and light. Lillian referenced the dying Ugandan Knuckles meme, which led to them essentially repeating "do you know the way" to one another for half the walk. Even Shoto joined in, even though he had no idea what in hot hell they were talking about. At least he was trying!

"I'll see you youngsters at lunch." Hitoshi made the motion of tipping a hat. Shoto just blinked at him, while Lillian gave two thumbs up and a bright smile. Neito blew them all a dramatic kiss, hugging Lillian for good measure before he was ducking into Class 1-B and shouting something about how he'd finally arrived, and they could all relax now. Shoto and Lillian just stood side by side and watched it happen, Lillian gripping the straps of her backpack the whole time with cheer.

"Come on, Shoto. Fashionably late isn't really our style." Lillian turned on her heel and began heading for 1-A, Shoto following close behind. The boy didn't have to work hard to keep up. Lillian's legs were like stubby marshmallows compared to his tree trunks.

"Is that a meme too?" He asked as they walked in.

"No, just my trashy personality." The girl assured him. His brows furrowed as he was caught between telling her he understood and assuring her that her personality was in no way trashy. There was also a good chance he realized that her personality was indeed trashy, though in a good way, and had no idea how to react. Lillian didn't blame him. When she actually managed to open up, she had that effect on people.