Freeze Frame

Chapter 28

Written on phone. Expect typos.

Third person pov

They let Lillian shower and get out of the sweat pants and shirt the hospital had provided. Instead, Mihoko gave the girl some of her old clothing, as well as some fresh undergarments. While wearing someone else's underwear, washed it not, was a little weird, it was better than the ones she had on. She'd waded through water, vomited in her lap, and had been sweating nervously throughout the entire USJ incident. At this point her bra and panties probably needed to be bleached and burned.

Unfortunately, Mihoko's bras were too big for Lillian, so the girl had to awkwardly hope Hitoshi wouldn't notice. The Shinso house was chilly, though it probably didn't help much that her hair was still damp from her shower. Still, she shuffled to her friend's room. The teen had insisted she stay in there, assuring her that it was fine. He'd even pulled out the futon for her. Secretly, she was glad to have someone else in the room.

"I'll take the futon. You can have the bed." Hitoshi said as she walked in, not even bothering to turn her way as be unrolled the mat. She blinked a few times, her arms wrapped around herself.

"Th-That's alright, Hitoshi. I don't mind ta-taking the-" She was cut off when he whirled around to face her, a dry expression on his face. He'd changed into sweatpants and an Eraserhead-themed shirt that must have been specially ordered. She wondered momentarily if he had any idea Aizawa was Eraserhead. Being an underground hero, his name wasn't really broadcasted to the press. Nobody had connected the dots until Izuku pointed it out.

"Either you take the bed or we both sleep on the futon. Together. It's your call." Hitoshi said coolly. Truth was, the boy was a little spooked from the whole USJ attack thing. Alarms had blared out across the school, teachers ordered to report to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint immediately. He knew Class 1-A was going there today. The way his heart had plummeted and squeezed was a feeling he'd never forget.

He'd seen the live broadcast on the news. He'd watched, in real time, as Lillian was hauled through the gates by one of her classmates. She'd looked like a corpse, staring at her homeroom teacher intently as she was set on the gurney with him. He'd stared in horror as she leaned over the side of the rolling bed and vomited a pool of blood, only to wipe her mouth, grimace, and go back to staring. If just seeing that had shaken Hitoshi, the not couldn't imagine how Lillian felt.

Lillian hesitated, but shuffled over to his bed anyway, carefully sitting on the edge of it. Hitoshi's cat immediately came to greet her with a happy purr. Lillian didn't know the thing's name, only that it was a boy. She let it nuzzle against her arm as she quietly rubbed her hands together in a futile attempt to create some warmth between her palms.

Hitoshi took one look at her and immediately made a bee-line for the closet. Lillian watched him curiously as he threw the door open and began to shuffle through hangers. The clack the plastic made as he moved different shirts and sweaters aside seemed extremely loud in the otherwise silent room. Lillian moment wondered if his parents would wake up. Even if they did, she doubted they'd come disturb them. They were too nice to do that, and Lillian knew it.

"Here." Hitoshi pulled a hoodie from the closet. It was grey with the UA logo on the front. It was something he'd worn in middle school, though for some reason he hadn't touched it ever since actually being accepted into the said highschool. It's not like it didn't fit or anything. He supposed he'd just got so caught up in the rush that came with preparing for and attending such a prestigious highschool he hadn't thought about it.

"I-I couldn't." She immediately denied, but he was already dropping it on her. She scrambled to gather the fabric up before it could slip out of her lap. He shuffled across the room and flicked on a lamp before trudging for the light switch. Lillian watched him go, hesitantly pulling the hoodie on when he showed no indication of coming to take it back. She gnawed nervously on the inside of her cheek. She was already imposing. Hitoshi also seemed super tired. More so than usual, anyway.