𝐍𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 → 𝑭. 𝑯

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍: 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏

𝙼𝙰𝚁𝙲𝙷 𝟸𝟸𝚗𝚍, 𝟷𝟿𝟼𝟹
―

ELLA WALKED WITH OLDER FIVE FOR THE FIRST FEW MINUTES, EXPLAINING WHY SHE WAS BOTH JULIETTE AND ELLA. She had to keep her words short and sweet as younger Five, her Five, was acting more and more agitated by the minute. He stuck by her side, almost as if they were glued together, but he had also began itching his neck and his sides. She kept a glance on Luther, who was doing a close to terrible job at being a spotter.

Older Five kept silent as Ella finished her explanation.

"So you're...Juliette, but Ella as well."

"Well," Five straightened his blazer. "That's what she's tell ya', isn't she?"

He didn't respond to his younger self, "You were alone?"

"For a while." She nodded. "I eventually found Diego – well, he found me – and I wasn't alone anymore."

Older Five sighed and cleared his throat. He felt the guilt ride through him. If he hadn't let Juliette go that day, she wouldn't have been in the world of pain that she still seemed to be in. If he hadn't locked her out, then maybe she would have stayed. While younger Five came to terms and had asked her forgiveness, older Five didn't receive that. A part of him felt like he could strangle his younger self – he should have found her sooner – but he kept that part hidden. He was much better at hiding his psychosis than his younger self 

They went up a staircase that led to a small bridge and that was when younger Five began...stage five symptoms. Luther, again being a terrible spotter, went ahead with older Five when Ella stopped to wait for younger Five.

"What are you looking at?" Five shouted at a random male pedestrian. Ella put a hand on his tricep, wrapping around it, pulling him forward. "See something funny? Mind your business!"

"Five." She said, "Calm down. You're being unreasonable right now. He was minding his business."

Five began to scratch himself again, "You wish you could pull off these shorts!" He shouted at the man coming from in front of them. The man put as much distance as he could between him and Five.

"If someone punches you, I will let them." Ella chastised, her arm still firm on his tricep.

"Who said that?" He raised his voice before pointing ahead of him to his older self. "Him? I swear I will–"

"I know it's psychosis."

"I am not in psychosis right now."

"Sure." She nodded, still guiding him along.

"It's not!" 

"Look, I am your spotter now. Luther can't seem to understand anything that doesn't involve him being number one. So, I am telling you to stay on task. You need to calm down."

"You were always so headstrong. Some people would say it's stubbornness, but I know better. It always was attractive when you pulled me along." He smirked, delusions of her flirting with him filling his head.

Ella's face turned pink, "Five, you might as well be drunk right now."

"You wish I was."

"You know what? Maybe I do."