Freeze Frame

Chapter 124

I'm sorry for my absence! If you have the time, please read the note at the bottom. Thank you all <3

Third person pov

Lillian was sweating literal fucking buckets. Katsuki was giving her a concerned look as the rest of their class filtered off the bus, all of them looking some level of nervous. It was a big day, after all, and the licensing was a serious matter. Lillian didn't want to think about what might happen if she failed. She'd let down all her friends, for one thing. They were counting on her to pass so she could help them in interning. Biting the Yakuza back was a team effort, after all. They had a solid plan all laid out. One she played a big role in due to her connections to Mirio and Amajiki. 

The air was fairly warm, but Lillian couldn't stop herself from feeling chilled as anxiety poured through her body. Her dad had given her a pep-talk and jelly packet on the bus, which had been very comforting at the time. Any of the meager confidence she'd managed to gather up had flown out of the window, through the window of a nine story building, and into a pit of lava. Just getting here had been hard enough. Now, she already wanted to leave. And nothing had happened yet. 

"Shut the hell up and calm down." Bakugo griped at her in an oddly-concerned way as Hitoshi climbed out of the bus. The tired teen wouldn't be participating, but there was no reason he couldn't come to watch. His stump was wrapped up tightly, the white bandages sticking out starkly against his dark shirt as he held it to his chest. He looked too exhausted to be here, but there was no way he wouldn't come support his friends. Lillian was far, far too nervous for him to skimp out on her. Even if she did have the support of Shoto, her dad, Kaminari, and the explosive bastard he and Neito couldn't seem to stop from following her around.

"I didn't say anything." Lillian murmured, giving him a sour look. He sniffed in an uptight, egotistical way that made Lillian wonder if slapping him would get her blown up. Probably not. Most of the time, he was all bark and no bite when it came to her, even with how scary his bark happened to be. That really didn't matter right now. The problem at hand was that she was scared and didn't want to be here. 

Lillian wondered if she'd fail. She had no idea what these tests included. Her Google searches had yielded nothing-- the tests were different every time, just like the Sports Festival. It was all randomized. She knew they'd probably cover a few points: combat and rescue being the two major ones. Teamwork too, maybe? Lillian didn't know, and she was starting to dread finding out as she gazed in horror at the massive stadium in front of her. If there was ever an appropriate time to have a panic attack, it was now. Like, right this very second. It was happening. She was going to die. Hyperventilate. This was it for her, wasn't it? 

"Ugh, I'm starting to get kind of nervous..." Jiro's groan drew her from her train of thought. The freckled girl blinked, turning to look at Bakugo, who'd placed a hand on her shoulder without her realizing. Shoto and Kaminari were also in front of her, looking at her with mild concern. Kaminari's previous phobia of her was mostly gone, so long as she didn't bring Chungus or Cranberry Sprite up. Lillian was glad. He was a good friend, and he brought a lighthearted element to their little group that they really needed after what had happened with Izuku.

Shoto was worried too. He was better at hiding it, but he didn't feel ready for this. He was tired. He hadn't been able to sleep since Kamino, and everyone could see it. He loved his friends and he wasn't sure where he'd be without them, but they couldn't stop him from feeling empty and betrayed. Izuku had been his other half. Or he'd thought he had been, anyway. Having that ripped away and revealed to have been a lie made him feel that a part of him was... was missing. Lost. And it wasn't coming back, he feared. Izuku hadn't just dug his own grave. He'd dug Shoto's, too. It was just a matter of whether or not the Todoroki boy could keep himself from stepping in it now.