Freeze Frame

Chapter 88

Third person pov

Hitoshi turned out to be the perfect distraction. Attention shifted from Lillian to him instead as people marveled over the fact that they were getting a transfer, which wasn't unheard of, but was still pretty rare. Lillian's bright smile as she all but vibrated in her seat was all that was needed for Aizawa's day to be made. He hid his smirk in his scarf as Hitoshi processed, fidgeting in place. Shoto also had a small smile on his face, glancing at Lillian every so often to make sure she was still breathing. All his friends were nutcases or emotionally damaged. Or both. That's probably why he got along with them so well.

Having Hitoshi join 1-A was amazing. The only person missing was Neito, but Lillian and the rest of her friends would most definitely be looking into that. Lillian really appreciated all of her classmates, so she couldn't see anyone switching out anytime soon. They were amazing and talented, and she certainly didn't want anyone to be removed from the hero course. Neito being in 1-B wasn't ideal, but it was okay. At least he still went to this school! That was enough for her.

She wrote an essay about her internship like everyone else, barring Hitoshi of course. He was writing a paper on what he wanted to accomplish in the hero course and what sort of hero he wanted to be. It wasn't hard to answer. Like Mr. Aizawa, he really wanted to be an underground hero. His quirk was absolutely perfect for it. Lillian had it on good authority, and by that she meant Hitoshi had told her, that he was going to ask Mr. Aizawa to teach him how to use his capture weapon. Lillian thought that was an amazing idea! She was sure her... dad would say yes. That was still so weird to think about. Dad. Could she call him that? Was asking weird?

She'd texted Neito a few times to no avail. The freckled girl was still worried about him. She was exhausted, and that didn't help. Nor did the looks her peers sent her every so often. While they were pretty preoccupied with Hitoshi, ("I'm not here to make friends," he'd said when someone tried to engage him in conversation. How charming.) they were also still very curious about Lillian and her sudden increase in popularity. Apparently there were entire websites going up dedicated to her, centered around footage of her, quotes from her, audio from the radio show, and such of the like. It was all oddly detailed, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it.

Lillian's phone gave a quiet "It's Free Real Estate" to let her know someone had texted. Right now, they were pretty much allowed to do whatever as long as they were quiet and had their worksheets done by the end of the period. She fished out her phone hastily in hopes of a message from Neito, blinking. 

Blasted Pepper Son:
You look like something just crawled up your ass and died.

Tired and Freckled:
Wow, thanks. I try.

Blasted Pepper Son:
I didn't ask for your damn sass. What the fuck's wrong?

Tired and Freckled:
What's this??? Bakugo Katsuki??? Caring about the shit that crawled up my ass and died???

Blasted Pepper Son:
Shut the fuck up I'm trying to be

Tired and Freckled:
Trying to be....

Blasted Pepper Son: 
Just answer the fucking question!

Tired and Freckled:
You never let me have any fun, I swear

Tired and Freckled:
I'm just worried about Neito, that's all. He's been... weird. Hitoshi and I think something happened. If Shoto was more socially aware, he'd probably think so too.