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.

"Morning, Lillian! Todoroki!" Ochako waved wildly from her seat, a grin on her face and her brown eyes bright. Mr. Aizawa walked into the room just as the freckled girl got to her seat, Shoto once again tailing her in a way akin to a mildly lost puppy. He'd done this several times before, of course. Coming to school. Entering the classroom. Going to his desk. Sitting in said desk. It was the fact that he'd come from his new... home, and arrived with actual... actual friends that had set his world off kilter. 

"M-Morning, Ochako, Iida." Lillian gave a shy smile, cheeks heating with embarrassment. Should she have addressed Iida? He was sitting right there, but he hadn't said morning to her. Maybe he was busy. He looked busy. Was he busy? She didn't want to ask, because if he was busy, that would mean she was bothering him more. But if he wasn't busy, then maybe he'd feel left out of any conversation she and Ochako happened to engage in. She really didn't want that, and-

"Good morning, Lillian!" Iida made a familiar chopping motion with his hand, though he looked exhausted. More so than usual, anyway. There were heavy bags under his eyes, and he was paler. "Did you sleep well?"

Relief flooded her. He didn't seem too mad. "Y-Yeah, thank you." The freckled girl squinted at him. Looking closer, he... really didn't look too good. Like, at all. There was definitely something wrong. She wanted to mention it, but she also didn't want to offend him in any way. Iida was just so proper, that's all! Lillian didn't want anything she said to bother him in any way, because that would be unbecoming of her.

"Man, Iida, are you okay? You're lookin' a little pale there!" Ochako saved her from having to ask. The glasses-wearing boy managed a smile. Lillian recognized that smile. It was one she'd worn before. There was no doubt in her mind that it was forced, and it was so pained it was practically screaming out for help. She felt herself wince, turning to look at Shoto only to see that he hadn't noticed at all. Right. Social cues. They needed to work on those next.

Bakugo entered the room with a scowl, eyes immediately dropping onto Lillian. His lips pressed together when blue eyes flickered to him. She offered a nervous smile, and he jerked his head briefly in greeting before going off to his desk. He was pretty sure trying to say hello verbally would either draw attention or cause her to cry. Probably both, knowing her stellar luck. Plus it was sorta... well, awkward. They weren't really friends but had somehow ended up talking.

Still, he found his gaze straying over to where she was as Kirishima and Kaminari rambled on to him about something he really didn't give a shit about. Looking closer, robo-legs over there was looking like absolute shit. The guy was uptight, even in the health department by the glimpses Bakugo had gotten of his diet and workouts few and far between since the year started. The bags under his damn eyes were darker than Lillian's had been a month before the festival, and he was pale as a shitty piece of paper.

He scoffed quietly to himself and looked away. Right, like he cared. Though... he guessed he could ask Lillian later.

Mina came bounding into the room with Sero following close behind, grinning. "Good morning, Mr. Aizawa!" She chirped cheerfully. How anyone could be that terribly happy in the morning, Aizawa didn't know. "What's that box?"

Aizawa eyes strayed to the package, and he felt like thumping his palm against his forehead. He'd stacked a bunch of papers on top of it, and it wasn't really that tall, which meant it was less noticeable. He'd gotten so wrapped up organizing internship applications by student that he'd forgotten to take it home and open it. He felt his eye twitch. If it really was dangerous or a weapon of some sort, there was a chance it could hurt the students. He would have to open it later.

"Just a box." The man said dismissively, standing up as the bell rang. Mina scrambled to her seat, greeting Kaminari and saying something about how glad she was that he was recovered from his mental breakdown. Aizawa wondered if that's why Hound Dog had been in asking for the blonde's file. He sighed and shook his head. These kids would be the absolute death of him, really. Why was Kaminari afraid of Lillian? The way he'd run out of the stadium... it's as though he'd seen a ghost. Maybe it was the blood?

Aizawa took the package and jammed it on the shelf under the podium, telling himself he'd take it home later to investigate its contents. The class settled, Lillian whispering something to Todoroki briefly before everyone fell silent. Aizawa's eyes narrowed as the boy smiled a small smile. In all his time as this class's teacher, he'd never seen Shoto Todoroki smile, save for during his fight at the Sports Festival with Midoriya. Something was amiss.

"Ribbit." Tsuyu blinked. "Mr. Aizawa, you don't have bandages anymore. That's good news."

Lillian's gaze snapped up, eyes going wide at the sight of her teacher. Aizawa glanced at her as she scanned him with an alert expression on her face, a shiver wracking up her spine as her stare came to rest on the scar beneath his right eye. Almost unconsciously, he held his breath to see what would happen. Todoroki muttered something under his breath to her that seemed to snap her back to reality, and she ducked her head. He could see her take a deep, shuddering breath of air, but she wasn't crying. 

Lillian blinked down at her desk, willing herself to calm down. How could she have not noticed that Mr. Aizawa was out of his bandages?! She'd been so preoccupied observing Iida to try and deduce what was wrong, she couldn't help but tune out of her surroundings. And that scar... under his eye. Just looked at it made her shiver. She could still recall how smashed up his face was when she froze him. The orbital fractures had been almost visible to her in an odd way, even with all the blood that had been... that had been...

"The old lady went a little overboard in her treatment." He pried his eyes from Lillian with a mild grimace. He hoped she was okay. "Anyway. We have a big class today on Hero Informatics."

This seemed to make a sense of dread wash over the class. Most were expecting a pop quiz, as one might. Maybe something on hero laws, which were hard to understand as they were. Having someone try to explain them was even worse, especially if they piled one on top of the other. Most were severely contradicting as well, which really didn't help at all.

Aizawa sighed. "You need codenames." He said simply. "Time to pick your hero identities."

The class erupted with cheers. Lillian sunk back into her seat with a pale face, already beginning to sweat. Of course they were picking hero names! With hero internships just two weeks away, they'd be needing their aliases for their temporary IDs. How could she not have made that connection? She had no idea what she was going to call herself! Not a clue. She couldn't just call herself "Freeze Frame." Too generic. Just...

Aizawa's quirk activated, silencing the class. Lillian felt her eyes tingle oddly at the sight and blinked rapidly a few times to try and dispel it. His hair drifted back down once every had fallen quiet, arms crossed over his chest. Lillian tugged at her ponytail slightly, glancing at Shoto. He was staring at her suspiciously. She stared suspiciously back.

"This is related to the pro-hero draft picks that I mentioned last time we were in class together. Normally, students don't have to worry about the draft yet. Normally, students don't have to worry about the draft. Not until their second or third year actually, but your class is different, as I warned you of in the past. In fact, by extending offers to first-years like you, pros are essentially investing in your potential. Any offers can be rescinded if their interest in you dies down before graduation, though."

Lillian rolled her shoulders. Due to the villain attack at the USJ, Aizawa had warned them several times that they'd probably be having internships. It wasn't something first years normally had to worry about. Sure, there'd been a few classes in the past with a lot of potential that had went ahead and started early like they were doing, but it wasn't the most common thing ever. Lillian took some deep breaths. And by that she meant a lot of them. This was for the best. Maybe she could... could work on her confidence! And durability! And... And uh...

"So what you're saying is that we'll still have to prove ourselves after we've gotten recruited." It wasn't a question, but more of an unsure statement from Hagakure. 

"Correct." Aizawa nodded to her. "Now. Here are the totals for those who got offers so far." 

He clicked on the projector. Lillian choked.

She was at the top of the list with a total of 4,457 offers. Todoroki was behind her at 4,123, followed by Bakugo at 3,556, then Tokoyami at 360, Iida at 301, Kaminari somehow managed a 272 despite running and such, Momo was at 108, Kirishima was at 68, Uraraka sat at 20, and Sero finished with 14. Lillian gaped with wide eyes, mouth opening and closing repeatedly. Uraraka was staring at her with ghastly shock, and Shoto was impassive. A few people twisted around to look at her and Todoroki.

"In past years, it's been more spread out. But there's a pretty big gap this time." Aizawa tapped the board, eyes going to the shell-shocked Lillian. Poor kid looked like she was about to fall right out of her desk from sheer surprise. That's what placing second and freezing two-hundred plus people would do, though. People were itching to get her on their side. Aizawa really wasn't too sure how he felt about that.

"Gah! That's no fair." Kaminari threw his head back with a groan.

"What about the real star? Moi?" Aoyama asked, resting his head in his hands. Mina was in an offended shock, her jaw dropped in disbelief. 

"Lillian makes sense, but Todoroki got more than Bakugo?" Jiro blinked. Lillian brought her hands up to cover her face as more of her classmates quietly gave their opinions on the results before them. What was she going to do? Ochako was freaking out because she got offers, period, shaking poor Iida by his shoulders and all but crying. 

"Despite these results, you'll all be interning with pros. Got it?" Aizawa raised a brow. "Even those of you who didn't get any offers."

This seemed to surprise the class. "Oh, so we're all interning?" Izuku seemed to blurt it out in a surprised panic despite what Aizawa had just said. If the man was annoyed by the repetition, he didn't show it.

"Yes. You already got to experience combat with real villains during the..." He glanced at Lillian, "attack on the USJ facility. But it'll still be helpful to see pros at work. Up close and personal, in the field. Firsthand."

"And for that we need hero names!" Kirishima grinned, raising his fist. Lillian was too busy staring blankly down at her hands. What was happening? What is love? Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more. Oh god, she was going to die. How would she choose? Did she have to? Of course she had to. That was the whole point. But just... more saving, more doing... that's the power of Home Depot. Oh my god she was going to cry. Right here, right now.

"Things are suddenly getting a lot more fun!" Ochako grinned at Lillian, not seeming to notice her catatonic state.

"These hero names will likely be temporary, but taken them seriously or-" Aizawa was cut off.

"You'll have hell to pay later!" Midnight slammed open the door with gusto only someone with real kink could ever really have. She walked in with flare, ready to rumble. "What you pick today could be your code name for life. You better be careful, or you'll be stuck with something utterly indecent." She said, wearing an indecent outfit.

"Yeah. She's got a point. Midnight is going to have final approval over your names. It's not my forte." Aizawa wasn't fazed as he lifted his yellow sleeping bag up off the ground, ready for a nap. Lillian forced herself to breath. She could cry over her offers later. For now, she needed to think of a hero name. She might be stuck with it for life, so she had to choose carefully. Could she name herself after her quirk? Freeze Frame wasn't... the worse name... yeah, that would be okay, right?

"The name you give yourself is important. It helps reinforce your image and shows what kind of hero you wanna be in the future. A code name tells people exactly what you represent. Take "All Might" for example." Aizawa sighed.

Boards were passed around the room, along with dry erase markers. Lillian took hers with shaky hands, sweating enough that even Todoroki began to notice. He raised a brow and exuded a little cool air in her direction in hopes of stopping her from overheating. Bakugo glared at his, clearly unsure. His hand twitched towards his phone. Fuck, he had no ideas.

People began to murmur to themselves as write, some going right ahead with certainty Lillian wished she could have. Shoto wrote his first name with literally no shame whatsoever. Again, Lillian wished she had that. Writing Lillian would just be so, so much easier! But she was also afraid to do that, because that was her first name. Oh, god. She was so done for. Mr. Aizawa's name was Eraserhead, and his quirk was Erasure. That was... That was close, right? Could she be Freeze Frame?

Aoyama strutted up to the front of the room like he owned it. Lillian felt her phone buzz and slipped it out, glad for the distraction.

Surprisingly Has A Heart:
I have no fucking ideas

Bakugo wasn't sure why he'd texted Lillian of all people. He'd just done so before he even knew what was happening, and now he could see that she'd seen it and regretted it immensely. The fuck was he doing? She might start thinking they were friends or that he actually cared about her opinion, and then what would he do? He'd be stuck with some whiny chick trying to talk to him all the times, and he didn't want that.

Honestly, Lillian wasn't the worst at conversation. She'd also proven to be pretty damn smart when she really wanted to be, so that was something. He guess he hoped she had some form of an idea in her head that he could leech off of somewhat. It's not like he was about to ask Shitty Hair. Lillian seemed like the type who'd hesitate before telling anyone they were talking. At least, she would until she had his permission. That was another less-shitty thing about her. She didn't like drama like the rest of the extras.

Freckled Mess™:
You and me both

Freckled Mess™:
That being said, I may or may not have one for you—

Bakugo blinked in surprise, feeling hopeful. Lillian's cheeks flared at her own boldness. Oh my god, he was literally right there across the room. She didn't need anyone knowing she secretly had hero names for every one of her classmates, but most of 1-B. It was embarrassing that she even thought about stuff like that, and moreover, it wasn't her business! What if Bakugo told someone? Oh my god she was going to regret this.

Surprisingly Has A Heart: 
Well? The fuck is it?

Freckled Mess™:
It's definitely not that good, so don't feel pressured to use it or anything!

Freckled Mess™:
Not that you could ever be pressured or anything

Freckled Mess™: 
Like you could, but just not by me. Or maybe you could. I don't want to offend you. You're really strong though and yes you wouldn't... hahahhhhh

Surprisingly Has A Heart: 
Calm down and spit it out

Freckled Mess™:
Well I was thinking something like Ground Zero? You know, because that's what the spot directly above or below an exploding nuclear bomb is called. I don't know, it was just a passing thought. Because of your quirk and all. I don't know. It's really dumb sorry. It was just in history class and we were talking about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It sort of reminded me of your quirk, you know? Explosions and all... yay... Sorry for rambling and sending a whole essay wow—

"Lillian, are you ready?" Midnight asked, snapping the girl's attention from her phone. She nearly threw the mobile device, nodding jerkily before scribbling something down and rushing to the front in a panic. Her face was blazing red by the time she stumbled to the front. Aizawa cracked open an eye as she nervously fidgeted, clutching the board tightly in two hands and holding it against her chest like a shield. It was painfully clear she hadn't been ready, but she hadn't had the guts to say no. Hopefully she could work on that during her internship.

Bakugo lowered his head with a grin, etching the words out. So what someone gave him the name? It wasn't a big deal. He could have thought of it any day. Though he would admit... it wasn't half bad. He was pretty damn nuclear, and his explosions did originate from... well, him. He was literally ground zero. Lillian had just noticed it faster than he had, that's all. It was too perfect and fitting for him not to use it, and the reasoning behind it was too sound. He wasn't petty enough to pass this up.

"S-Sorry." Lillian managed to weakly sputter, flipping her board around for the class to see. Mina let out a shriek, and Sero swallowed the wrong way and fell into a coughing fit. Kaminari stared in a state of shock, but nobody else really seemed to get it. Lillian felt like crying. She'd panicked! She'd panicked, and now there was no going back, and she was totally fucked! Oh my god she was going to die. Mina was turning red. Sero was literally dying. Kaminari could only stare in horror.

"Perfect! It really tells who you are and what you can do! Frozone!" Midnight chirped.

Mina's shrieking only got louder.