Idk if I like this one but whatever
Chunks of my H/C hair on the floor surrounded me as the hair stylist chimed, "Done!", and turned my chair around to let me view myself. My hair turned out better than expected. It was a side swept long taper cut and bits of my hair covered my eye. I never realized how much a haircut could shape your face, and my eyes widened at my reflection. I looked drastically different.
That reminded me of Five. What would he think? What would he say? Would he think I look weird? Questions swirled around in my head until it almost made me dizzy. My concentration was only focused on Five, and it made me forget that the stylist was talking to me. Her hand that held the thinning scissors waved around in the air as she explained how to wash and style my hair properly. I nodded as if I heard what she was saying.
The kind stylist took the styling cape off my shoulders and I hopped off the chair. The only thing I wanted to do was get Five, go home, and sleep. Talking to people just drained me. Just walking into the salon was just as tiring as it could get. It was always a wonder how people could get around so easily conversing with people. She led me to the front to allow me to pay, and I pulled out my wallet and took out my debit card. No telling how much money I've spent with this debit card over the past week, it's been so rough.
"Thank you for visiting." The monotone-lady muttered beside my hair stylist, and I reluctantly shuffled to the waiting room. The sunlit room was empty, other than Five taking up two leather seats, curled up and asleep. No telling how long I've been back there, it wasn't a surprise that he dozed off. His dark hair was messy and in his face, and his blazer slightly rode up his back. A pink blush tinted his cheeks, and I wondered what he was dreaming about. Though, the boy was probably asleep for about 10 minutes. He couldn't have dreamt of much.
A quiet chuckle escaped my lips, and I picked the sleeping boy up bridal style. The last thing I wanted to happen was for him to wake up from his peaceful slumber, so I made sure to be careful. Thankfully, his eyes remained closed. Oh, how he needed sleep. Five was always so engrossed in his work, that he would stay up nights on end to finish even one equation. His eyes would be bright red, and dark circles would circle them. No matter how many times I pleaded for him to take a break, he would mutter 'in a second', or just scoff at me as if I was being ridiculous. Nothing he worked on made sense to me, but he was so passionate about it, so I didn't question it.
I stifled a laugh when I saw the desk lady stare at me with an unpleasant expression when I was carrying Five outside of the salon. My foot kicked the door, and he and I exited the salon, and approached the car. The sun fell slightly above the city skyline, and it gave the town a rest from its blinding glory. Neither the windows nor the sidewalks shined with bright light then, but with a dull orange. I have been there for around an hour, so the siblings wouldn't notice I was gone. I could be gone for days and they wouldn't notice. But if Five left? Yes. Yes they would.
The car beeped as I unlocked it, and I adjusted my grip on him once I opened the passenger door. I carefully placed Five into the seat, and walked over to the driver's seat.
Buildings passed by as I silently drove back to the Academy with the best of my ability. A few stop signs I have missed, and a couple curbs I've run up on startled me, but I shook the terror off my face and continued paying attention to the road. Too bad Five was not awake, for he would have kindly taken the wheel for me. Well, he wasn't asleep for much longer.
When I was paying attention to the road, I felt a hand tuck a piece of my short hair behind my ear, and I flinched. Five was wide awake, and his body was facing mine. All the fatigue that shadowed his face disappeared. "You got a lot cut off." He mumbled with a smile.
I looked down, embarrassed. "Yeah."
The academy came into view, and I pulled into a parking lot, missing the parking space completely. My body felt like a dead weight, and I didn't move from my seat, my gaze fixed on the streets beyond the car.
Five's hand guided my face towards him, and he examined my new hair style with his dangerously green eyes. "You look so beautiful. No matter what haircut you have or what clothes you choose to wear, you still seem to astonish me."
My lips turned up into a small smile, and I thanked him with a wordless nod. Five's compliments always left me flustered. It could be in the middle of the day, or the middle of the night, and I could be doing anything. He would just walk up to me, and compliment about my outfit, eyes, anything; it would vary on his mood. Then, just as soon as he had approached me, he would leave without another word. Everything about him confused me; his train of thought, or the reasons behind his actions. What confused me the most was why he always acted sweet around me. It was like the other siblings didn't even matter to him, and he would treat them like he didn't wish to waste his time on them. But me? I have no clue. Maybe it was because I wasn't a part of the family, and he just wanted to make me feel welcome.
We sat in the car, staring deeply into each other's eyes while Five's hand still gently played with my hair. I finally spoke up, "Do you want to go inside? It's getting a little late.."
Five smiled at me, and responded, "Sure. My siblings are probably wondering where we went."
I scoffed. "They are probably looking for you, Five Hargreeves." I poked his shoulder playfully as I spoke.
"You know they do care deeply about you, right?" The car doors squeaked shut as we exited it, reminding us to get it repaired.
As we approached the Academy, we took each other's hands hesitantly, as if we were just touching for the first time. "Maybe. Maybe not."
The dark grand doors opened silently as we set foot into the building. Though, we were greeted by the group of siblings huddled by the staircase, awaiting our arrival. I was oblivious to this. Oblivious to the fact that they only cared about me at this moment, when they finally got to see the new look I had. All of their eyes slid to me, and I looked at my feet.
"Woah Y/N... What happened?" "Where did all of your hair go?" "You look like a boy." "Dad won't like this." "Why did you do that to your hair?" They all started talking at once, their words colliding with each other. Diego and Klaus started shushing one another when they kept interrupting each other, until it broke out into a verbal fight. I was mortified, ashamed; until I heard an "I like it" from the group. Vanya.
Vanya and I weren't the bestest of friends, but she still treated me fairly well. Not much have we conversed before, but when we did, it was for significant things. Like if Sir Reginald Hargreeves ordered us to complete a mission prior to an event, or when we had to go to sleep. Though there was one time we spoke willingly to each other: I had once fallen on the concrete and scraped my knees horribly. Blood trailed down my legs as did my tears down my face. I was trying to catch up to the Academy when they were running towards a bank for a mission, but Vanya and Sir Reginald were a step behind us, observing.
Vanya saw me writhe in pain on the sidewalk, and did not hesitate to run over and help me up. "Dang. This sidewalk has no sympathy, does it?" She put an arm around my back and supported my weight so I didn't topple down once again. "Cmon, let's go back. You can always try again another time."
So, as I glanced up at Vanya, the same girl who had helped me with my careless injuries, I thanked her quietly. It went silent, until Five snapped, "If you guys have such a big problem with their hair then fuck off!" It took the lot by surprise, and they dispersed awkwardly, exchanging confused glances with one another. I stood there, gaping at him.
"Five you didn't have to-"
"Yes I absolutely did. I won't just sit here and watch them bully you about your fucking hair!" Five cut me off angrily without meaning to. Even though I wasn't the one he was frustrated with, when you anger him, you better run. One time, Luther had accidentally eaten his peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich he had prepared himself for lunch the previous day, and when he figured it out, the whole Academy was rewarded with a free show of an entertaining brawl between the two teens. It always humored me in a way how Five had a bit of an anger issue. But as Five was struggling under Luther, he peered up at me to see me laughing. Let me just tell you: I shut up immediately.
Though the brown haired boy was vexed, he still took my hand in his softly, and led me to his room upstairs. Even being on the same floor as the others angered him. As we traveled down the halls, I heard him whispering profanities, most likely about his family. Sometimes, his grip on my hand would tighten almost painfully, and he would stop when I winced.
We arrived at his door, and he opened it for me, gesturing inside. I had no idea why Five had led me to his room, but I was not complaining. I mean, Five was my only friend. Who else was I going to talk to?
Immediately when my foot made contact with the wooden floor of Five's room, a hand whirled me around to face the door again, and the strong force of a body slammed against mine. The sudden contact almost made me lose my balance, but Five's arms kept me standing. For what seemed like an eternity, he and I stood there with his arms wrapped around my waist in a warm hug, and mine still resting at my sides. No one had ever embraced me in such a manner, or even at all in fact; so, I stood there looking like an imbecile with wide eyes.
After a couple minutes, Five slowly pulled away once he figured out I wasn't hugging back. In a daze, I stuttered out a sentence under my breath, "W-What was that f-for?"
The brunette just stared at me with his viridescent eyes, and I found myself frozen in his gaze, like a deer standing before headlights. He always did this in various situations: making me confused as hell just for the fun of it, or scaring the living shit out of me. In this situation, he was doing both. And just by standing there and staring at me. I had no clue what he was doing at that moment, until he began leaning his head closer to mine. Oh.
His bright green eyes disappeared once he closed them slowly, and his pink lips parted barely. The feeling of my heart pounding in my chest made my hand fly up to it, as if I could stop the aching pain of each furious beat. Despite my closed off and stubborn demeanor, my body began moving on its own; it was as if someone was taking control of my mind. My short hair fell over my eyebrows as I cocked my head slightly to the side, and the room grew dark as my eyes fell shut. I had never done this before, and yes: I was terrified. But somehow in a good way.
And then we were kissing. Slowly, but passionately. My hands that rested beside my legs traveled up to caress Five's neck while my lips moved on his. All that was happening in that moment was so utterly new, and I have never loved that word any more than I did right then. He lightly pressed on my back and pulled me closer in his embrace, wanting for me to be as close to him as possible. Though his lips moved with confidence, his touch was quite tentative.
This isn't happening. Five wouldn't want to be with someone like me. Did he even like me in the first place? He must be tired. Really tired. And not thinking straight.
Once I realized what we were doing, I pulled away with a gasp. My mouth already missed the sensational contact, but I ignored it. "Five... What are you doing? Y-You can't kiss me."
The boy giggled at my strange commentary. As if to shut me up, he leaned in to brush his lips against mine with a small smile. "And why can't I, Y/N?" He asked slowly.
"I..." My words drifted off into silence, and the absence of speaking exclaimed much more than intended, since he caught on right away.
"Oh, I see... And you think I am into girls, hm?" He cocked his head to one side and studied my suddenly shocked features. Not once he had told me or anyone in the academy such things. It was unknown to all of us. So the fact that Five was trusting me with this information boosted my ego greatly.
My heart was racing as he leaned down to whisper quietly in my ear, "Let's keep that our little secret, yeah? Just between you and me." The way he phrased it sent shivers down my spine, and I nodded.
With one last peck on the lips, he let me go and began to exit his room. Until he stopped. "Oh, and by the way," I looked up from the floor, a scarlet blush painted across my face. "Keep the haircut. It suits you." And with that, he vanished into the hallway, leaving me alone and smiling like an idiot.
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Didn't expect that, did you? Well it's ok. Me neither. Literally when I was writing this I was even surprising myself 😭
I hope you liked it