MEGALOMANIAC. five hargreeves [2]

nineteen. whenever you're ready

EDITED NOVEMBER 18, 2021

Eight sat awkwardly at the table in front of Five. There was no one else in the house, as Diego and Lila went out to get themselves some proper clothes, June and Daniel stealing in a shop a few minutes away from them, and Elliott, who was kicked out of his own home by the pair.

"I can't believe we kicked him out of his own home." she started off with a joke, trying to lighten the tense mood up. Five didn't laugh, though, which made Eight realized that this was something probably really serious and that she needed to take it seriously too.

God knows it was about time she faced her fears like a grown adult.

"You haven't been the same since we got here, Love."

Eight flinched again, which shattered his heart into pieces. "See? You keep on flinching and it's scaring the hell out of me."

The girl let out a tired sigh, finally deciding that it was time to stop ignoring everything that had happened to her and everything she found out, and spill her heart out. It was only right.

"How can I? We wouldn't even be together if it weren't for Alison rumoring you. It doesn't feel right." she reasoned out, leaning unto her chair. She was vulnerable - it felt like she everything was being set free, and she didn't like it. At all.

Five let out a dry laugh as he spoke again. "Alison rumored us to be civil, she never rumored me into loving you."

Eight let out a scoff at him. "You're right. But if she never rumored you, do you think you'd love me?"

"Come on, love. We don't need to—"

"If she never rumored you, do you think you'd love me?" she repeated again, staring at his eyes.

Five gulped. He knew better than to lie to Eight, now out of all times. "No."

Her heart didn't break. It was crushed. Completely utterly crushed. She couldn't help but think all hope for the two of them was gone, whether it was as a couple, or as best friends, as absolutely anything.

One syllable. Five seconds. That's all it takes to completely change everything about a person. One syllable and five seconds.

"See, this is why I was trying to pretend like nothing had happened. It isn't just you, but the others too. None of them would've really loved me if it weren't for Allison. You won't understand how crushed I felt when I found out that the relationships of people I've been spending my whole life with was nothing but artificial. Built on a rumor." she stated, a few tears dropping from her eyes. Stop crying. Stop it.

Five softened up, pulling the girl towards him as he enveloped her into a hug. "Please don't cry."

"The reason why I trusted June really easily was because I wanted to have something genuine with someone. She never knew me before, and we immediately clicked and some part of me just wanted to form a friendship with her, since I knew there was no way she would be faking herself cause she never knew Allison." she mumbled, still in his embrace.

No matter how much it hurt her, his embrace still felt like the safest place in the world.

"And I'm sorry if I trusted her and Daniel too easily cause they might be working for someone, but I just really wanted to have a genuine friendship with someone and Nicole was the first person I clicked with and—"

"You don't need to say sorry to me." Five mumbled, removing himself from the embrace. He stared at Eight adoringly as he wiped the tears off her eyes. It hurt him so much seeing her in a vulnerable position, but he decided to stay strong for her even though he was on the verge of breaking down.

"I know we've been through so much together, and I'm sorry if I come out really selfish with this mentality, but whenever I talk to you, or Diego, or Klaus, or anyone, I can't help but think that everything feels so fake. I might be overreacting—"

"You're not overreacting." he assured her, even though he felt really hurt inside. He was trying so hard to hide it from her. Not when she was in tears - not when it was always Eight who had been so strong. It was his turn now.

"Tell me what, what if we start everything from the start again? I don't know if this would make you feel any better, but I hope it would." Five suggested. What they once had was now broken, but there was time to repair it.

He could feel a giant weight lift from his shoulders when when Eight nodded her head through her tears.

The boy let out a soft chuckle, grabbing her hand and softly removing the ring he had gave her a lot of years ago from her finger, even though it pained him so much. The girl shuddered as her hand felt quite empty without the small ring.

He showed her the ring, a sad smile on his face. "And whenever you're ready, I'm putting this ring back on your finger, yeah?"

Eight nodded, wiping her tears away. Five took a handkerchief and slowly wrapped it up before he carefully put it in his pocket. He cleared his throat, trying to not let his voice crack as he took his arm out infront of the girl.

"Hi. My name is Five."

Eight let out a giggle, taking his hand in hers.

"Hi, my name is Karina, but you can call me Eight. It's nice to meet you."

Just like that, all those years stuck together in the academy, the hardships they went through in the apocalypse, and the promises they made to each other went down the drain.

At that moment, they were just a girl and a boy, meeting each other for the very first time.

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AUTHORS NOTE:
did i hurt you with this one
what did you think of this chapter lol