[✓] 𝑃𝑅𝐸𝐿𝑈𝐷𝐸 | 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐒

𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑠

Vanya narrowed her eyes at his arm, where a little blood had soaked through the gauze. "Is that blood?"

"It's nothing," Five quickly reassured her as he shook his sleeve down so that it covered any sign of injury. "Don't worry about it."

Vanya's eyes lingered on the area of his arm, but let go of the subject as she folded her arms and furrowed her eyebrows. "Why are you guys here?"

Five sighed, giving a sideways glance to Valerie before looking back at Vanya. "I've decided you're the only one I can trust."

"What?" Valerie questioned in disbelief, her forehead creased and her mouth agape. Vanya was the only one?

"Why me?" Vanya questioned, her eyebrows knitting together tightly as she glanced between Valerie and Five.

Five kept his eyes off of Valerie. "Because you're ordinary. Because you'll listen."

Vanya didn't seem much more convinced by this. "Okay. . . ."

Valerie swallowed thickly. Five didn't trust her? After everything that she's done for him?

All she wanted to do at that moment was burst out in tears and yell at the boy in front of her. But rather than humiliate herself, she pressed her lips together and stood. 

"I'll be in Vanya's room, then."

She gave Vanya a half-attempted smile as she passed, and she made sure not to even glance towards Five—a peek at his face right now would do nothing but break her down. 

Vanya's room was at the end of the hall, and she closed the door as soon as she stepped inside; whether she liked it or not, she had to respect their privacy.

Valerie sighed as she sat down on the edge of the bed. She and Five had always trusted each other with everything. And now, all of a sudden, he didn't trust her?

Sure, quite some time had passed. And yes, perhaps this disqualified them from the terms and conditions that 'best friends' had. But still, how was she any different from Vanya? He had been apart from both of them for the same period of time—and not to mention, Valerie had risked her life for him. 

Ten minutes later, and her cheeks were stained with the few tears that had managed to escape. She rubbed it away when the door creaked open, and toughed a smile when Vanya stepped in. 

"Hey," Vanya said softly, reaching out and grazing her thumb against Valerie's cheek. "I'm sorry that he didn't—"

"It's not your fault," Valerie reassured her with a small smile as she got to her feet. "I'm not mad at you, don't worry."

Vanya patted her shoulder as she murmured, "I'll—I'll see you in the morning. You can crash on one of my chairs. Or the ground. Or the couch, if you can convince Five to give you it."

"Thanks, Vanny," Valerie whispered before pulling her sister in for a hug. She embraced her tightly, digging her face into the crook of her neck. If there was anyone who appreciated her, it was Vanya. 

After bidding the woman goodnight, Valerie entered the living room, now a little nervous. Five was sitting in the same position on the couch as before.

At the sound of footsteps, he looked over at her. His eyes locked on hers for a brief moment before they slowly returned to the floor. 

"Hey, Val," he greeted, his body now unmoving. "How's it going?"

"How's it going?" she repeated incredulously, her eyebrows raised rather high. "How's it going?"