𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐫 || 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐒

[ 𝟎𝟒𝟕 ] 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬

*mentions anger while on the
influence of alcohol*

this is where you should ask your future-self
how you handled this chapter.
im sorry I'm advance

┌───────────────────┐
☂︎☂︎☂︎
└───────────────────┘

The thought crossed Y/n's head: "How did I get myself into this?"

Now, she had a solid, concrete plan: Go back to her room, get dressed in satisfied attire, then go to sleep and not mind anyone or anything until the following day because she didn't have time for this. She didn't have time for any of this.

But, no, she wasn't in her room, but back in the venue at a table with Sloane, Viktor, Luther, and Mace. Everyone was forced into a seat as Five stood on a table with a microphone. The boy clasped an alcoholic beverage in his other hand as he chugged it immensely, the sound of liquid drowning down his throat became evident as he moved closer to the mic, and feedback spread throughout the area.

He moved his face toward the silver and black object, swallowing his booze as he was now ready to start his speech. "Luther!" Five leaned forward with a smile as he yelled into the microphone, leading to the sound of whining feedback. "Congrats. It's—It's a goddamn miracle, that's what it is," Five slurred his words.

Mace shook his head as he laid his temple on his sister's shoulder. "He's out of it." Y/n nodded in agreement as she watched Five embarrass himself, but the girl also wished she had a camera to record the oration as it happened.

"I mean, did anyone here think that Luther, of all people, would find someone to touch his . . . ?" Five turned silent as he pointed to Sloane who gave a straight face as all she wanted to do was sleep.

"I mean—The guy's a monkey virgin from space. It's a . . . It's a hard match to make. We're all . . . " Five interrupted himself with a chuckle. "We're all thinking about it. It's the elephant in the room here, buddy."

Luther gave a straight face as well, not minding what his brother was saying. Everyone in the arena wanted to rest, go to sleep, and calm down for the night (do whatever they called "calm down" because all everyone wanted to do was get drunk and have sex). Panning around at everyone, the same clear—resting face was shown as if it were a straightforward picture being taken.

Five leaned forward and held the mic in his left hand as he looked toward his brother. "I wish you well. Happy—" Five stopped himself once again. But, this time, for an error. "It's not your birthday. Happy wedding day, my friend. Take care."

Everyone raised their hands and clapped to their avail.

Five dropped the mic to the ground, stumbling around as he guided himself toward the edge of the table and jumped off, landing with a wobble until he steadied himself again, heading toward the elevator.

"Where the hell is he going?" Mace asked aloud.

"Probably to eat something," Y/n sighed as she answered. The girl sat with her elbow propped up on the table, her s/c cheek resting bunched up in her palm as she let out a yawn, covering her mouth with her other hand as she excused herself solemnly.

Mace hummed, looking around the area, spotting Klaus who waved him over. Mace held up a finger as if he were saying "one minute" and turned to Y/n. "I'm gonna go to Klaus really quick." The boy got up, pushing in his chair as he made his way over to the man who was laughing with Ben.

Y/n leaned her back against her seat with a calm thump, placing a piece of fruit in her mouth, then soon chewing softly as her eyes started to close. Her eyes would bump open and close every second, and she found herself unable to stay awake. She wanted to stay awake to make sure nothing happened to Mace or to make sure the boy didn't do anything.

She had a horrible feeling in her stomach that something was coming . . . something bad; but she couldn't be so sure.

Mace could take care of himself, yes, but that didn't mean that she would just ignore the bad feeling.

Y/n bumped herself awake once again as the action repeated for about thirty minutes. Mace soon came back to the table, sitting down as he calmed his stature and sighed aloud.

Number Eight wanted to go to sleep.

"I mean . . . If Mace needs me, he'll come to get me," Y/n thought to herself.

She began standing up, now grabbing the blazer off the back of her chair and throwing it over her shoulder. "I'm going to bed." The girl let out, yet, another yawn, bringing her hand over her mouth as she excused herself once again.

Mace leaned up straight in his chair and watched as his sibling took off her heels. "What? No," he whined.

"Yes," Y/n mocked with a whine while she took her shoes into her hand, turning her shoulder.

"Wait, wait—" Mace grabbed her arm, gently pulling her towards himself. "Can I stay with Klaus and Ben tonight? They said they're gonna go play pool and then hang out . . . maybe drink more, too." Y/n sighed, giving a blank look since all she wanted to do was sleep, and didn't want any noise to disrupt her as the boy carried on with his plan. "We promise we won't be too loud or have a threesome."

Y/n peered down at her brother with a straight face. "Fine, I don't care. And stop acting like I'm your mother. You're making me feel old."

Mace gave her a dead look. "You are old."

Y/n kicked his shin with her bare foot and turned away. "You better behave, garçon éclair." She made her way to the elevator, hearing the footsteps of Lila and Diego behind her.

Mace stood up and shouted back, "You too, f/c combattante."

Y/n shook her head with a smile as she reached her form of transportation, pressing the up button and watching the door open in front of her. She stepped in, turned around, and looked before her to see Diego and Lila in a harsh make-out session. She was not about to be stuck with that in the elevator. At a rapid-fire pace, she started to press the close door button.

The couple bumped into things (chairs, tables, etc.) as they made their own descent to the moving transportation, but they were too slow. The doors closed with a satisfying thump, and Y/n sighed as she was now alone. The elevator took her to the floor she desired with the touch of a button, leaving her to only wait for the doors to reveal it.

After a few seconds, the doors opened to the hallway and she walked out, surprised at what she was seeing. The hallway was trashed with weird, spontaneous objects. The first thing she saw when she looked to the left was toilet paper and . . . mannequin parts? Chuckling, she made her way over to the corner of the hallway to see drops of cereal and a mannequin head.

"What the hell . . . " she leads on, taking steps as she looked around at the mess the boy made. "Five is crazy. Jeez."

Y/n huffed as she reached her room, not minding what the little boy was doing because if she tried to fix it, it would get messed up again. Heading into her hotel room she split with Mace, she closed the door behind her, hearing the satisfied click of the knob, then soon the lock as she whipped her hand through the air.

The soft sound of an ad playing on the radio in the background led the girl to look toward the window. She shut the curtains, watching as they calmly came over the blinds and set themselves into place as she moved them carefully. She dropped her shoes into a small closet that was off to the side—she had just discovered it the morning of and put all their things in there—and soon then set her blazer inside, too.

The girl then made her way over to the vanity, sitting down as she got ready to take off the jewelry and small rhinestones she placed on her face. One by one she pulled off the rhinestones, watching as they made only a small remembrance space of them being there which made her chuckle softly. Y/n then took off her rings, earrings, necklaces, whatever she had on, to the side, and placed the necklace Eleanor gave her back on—also making sure the shared one her and Mace had was faced the right way, too.

A calm song surrounded her as she soon moved her head in the same motion, liking the melody, leading her to move herself to the bathroom, turning on the water so she could wash her face. She moved her hair out of the way so it wouldn't get wet, and splashed water all over her front, feeling the warmness invite itself in.

The contents on her face soon came off as she applied a face wash, scrubbing and cleaning the makeup off her, and then wiping it off with a cool towel, soon heading over to the closet to pick out clothes to sleep in.

Once changed into comfortable clothes and socks, yes socks, and here's why:

Once when the whole academy was sleeping, the mission alarm went off, frightening them all. The girl had no time to get dressed, being able to put on her uniform and stuff her mask in her pocket and fix her hair. She went to put on her socks, but Reginald said there was no time, and that she should always be prepared. She had to do the mission without socks in her extremely uncomfortable shoes. So, she always made it her goal to sleep with socks on just in case she needed to leave somewhere in a hurry.

Her hair was fixed into a better style so she could rest in, and she headed over to her bed. She got under her covers, used her powers to turn the lights off, and everything was quiet except for the gentle playing song on the radio that was soon to make her fall asleep. The girl closed her eyes, getting comfy, and soon drifted off.

Thump.

Or not.

The e/c girl opened her eyes with a groan as she heard the loud thump. "Can these people not make so much noise, my goodness." She sighed, repositioning herself as she tried to fall asleep again, but she heard another faint thump which, to her avail, led her to lose sleep. "Really?"

The young girl sat up, her feet dangling off the bed as she waited for yet another bump to come. She waited for it because she knew it was going to happen. She was being moody, yes, but someone was taking her sleep time and she was not about to deal with that.

"I swear if there is another—"

Thump.

This time it was louder. Way louder.

"Oh, this bitch needs to be put down." Y/n got up from her bed and headed straight for her door. She didn't care if she was only wearing socks, but she needed this to be over with so she could sleep.

Y/n walked down the hallway, trailing after the sounds to which she heard come from the direction of the elevator. Once she arrived, she pressed the down button and waited to see who it was. Crossing her arms, and tapping her finger to her skin impatiently, she sighed as she watched the number change from two floors above to the floor she was on.

The door opened to reveal a boy. He was in a suit, his hair was tossed over his face, and his dress shirt was ruffled. The girl didn't want to admit it, but with his hair fluffed up on his face . . . he looked kinda cute.

Y/n sighed. "Great." She looked at Five's passed-out feature. "I mean, I could leave him here . . . but he does need to clean up his mess, so—" Y/n clapped her hands in the elevator and Five's head bopped upward. "Hey! Get up!"

Five groaned as he slowly brought himself to a stand. "What the *hic* do you want?" He stared at the girl and looked at her up and down.

"Uh, I want you to wake the hell up and stop making so much noise, thank you very much." She turned her heel, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the elevator. She brought him to the center of the hallway and let go of his arm, gesturing around herself. "See this shit!"

Five hummed as he looked around at the objects he left around. "I—" he chuckled. "I didn't do any of this. Maybe it was you."

Y/n clicked her tongue as she stood with her arms crossed. "Oh, I did it?" Five nodded.

"Yeah, I mean, you cause everything, so—" Five began to mumble to himself as he turned his body, moving down the hallway.

Y/n trailed after him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you mean "what's that supposed to mean", Y/n? It means you cause everything, duh." Five rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. "Such an idiot."

Y/n whipped his shoulder around quickly leading the boy to wobble. "Excuse you?"

"You're excused—"

"No," she interrupted with a glare. "What the hell is up with you Five? It's like you've got a stick up your ass ever since we got back from the Commission."

Five chuckled as he urged his shoulder away from her arm. "I finally came to my senses, that's what." Five moved toward his room and opened the door, walking in as Y/n got in behind him, closing the door behind herself.

Y/n was so confused. It was like he was shouting out gibberish all of a sudden. "And that's supposed to mean . . . what?"

Five tilted his face toward the ceiling, laughing aloud as the girl stood with confusion. "Jeez, I always wondered why I chose you instead of her."

Her expressions froze. "What?"

Five took small strides toward her with his back hunched, his breath reeking of alcohol, and his eyes slowly closing with every step. "You ever heard of the French rhyme "he loves me, he loves me not"? I mean, you should since you love those French books," Five slurred his words as he stumbled. "Here's the thesis:" he held up two fingers and began to count off, "He loves me . . . he loves me not."

The hand fell back to his side with a soft slap, and he chuckled as the girl's face bunched up with confusion ever so slightly. "So, what . . . you—"

"Yes, Y/n, I don't love you! Why would I?" the boy asked aloud as he moved to the side of the room, grabbing a one-fourth drunk open beer bottle that was left over from Klaus and started chugging it into his system. "I never even told you I've loved you, and —as a matter of fact—I've already found the love of my life before, and I intend that I won't lose her again."

Y/n scoffed. "Wait, I—" she erupted in laughter as she cut herself off. "You're telling me you're choosing a mannequin over me?"

Five gave a drunk laugh. "Yeah, she gives me what I want."

Y/n was astounded. "She's a doll, Five!"

Five threw the beer bottle to the floor and it shattered, glass shooting in every direction, and a pool of booze started to form near his shoes. Y/n let out a small yell as Five did so, slowly moving away from him as the action frightened her.

"She's my wife! I shouldn't have chosen you over her, and you want to know why? It's because she gives me the love I want."

Y/n shook her head with bewilderment and disgust as she watched her step. She needed to remember that she was only in socks. "What do I not give you, Five? Tell me."

"She knows me, she talks to me—"

"I try to talk to you, alright?" the girl shouted. "I always do, but guess who keeps shutting me out? You, Five. You keep shutting me out!"

Five inhaled deeply. "Because I was tired of you!" His voice started to increase and grow in volume. "You don't give affection as she does, you don't talk to me like she does, you don't do anything like her. You don't understand how long I had to keep faking it until now. It was like a full-time job."

The girl couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You . . . You were faking everything?"

Five nodded. "Yeah. All since we got back from the mall." Y/n went silent for a few seconds to try and process everything.

What was she even supposed to say to that? "I'm sorry that I never noticed you faking it, I'll do better next time"? There really isn't a right thing to say in the circumstances of these events.

The girl wasn't ready for a situation like this. Sure, she noticed Five was distant and knew he never said, "I love you", but she didn't think that the reason was that he loved someone else.

She hadn't even uttered the eight letters to him either . . . But don't let your thoughts turn to think she never thought about it.

The main thing that crossed her mind is that Y/n couldn't figure out if Number Five was joking, or if he was actually serious. But from the anger he was expressing, she knew he wasn't lying.

"Oh, so now she's silent?" Five gave a low chuckle as he watched Y/n's eyes search around the room, looking at anything but the boy who stood in front of her. "Good thing, too. You talk too much. It's your fault that I love her still, I hope you know." Five pointed a finger at Y/n as he proceeded over to the diminutive table to grab another beer, shaking his head whilst he popped it open.

The loud sound moved around the room as he watched smoke come off the top, and alcohol spill over. Once the action slowed down, calming back into its bottle, he soon downed it into his system. The boy didn't think of what he was saying but let it all spill out as if it were water coming out of a faucet.

Five wasn't going to stop his confession; it took too much of him to even keep it down. If someone straight-up asked Five if he was happy with himself for saving his family and getting back to a semi—kind of—normal life, he'd lie to their face with a pleasant smile.

Five Hargreeves would say, "Yes, I'm happy. Why wouldn't I be?"

But that person would know he was lying.

Everyone would.

He couldn't be happy.

People know it sounds unjust, but it's the truth. He was unable to maintain a reputable amount of happiness in his life like any other average person.

But that didn't mean he hasn't experienced happiness before.

Five was blind when it came to feelings, we all knew that, but he never acknowledged that the happiness he always wanted was right in front of him.

Too bad he already screwed up.

"You said it happened at the mall . . . That was days ago," Y/n uttered her first words.

Five nodded. "Yep. And I don't know why my older self wants me to keep you safe, because you're capable of doing that yourself, right?"

"I'm capable of doing anything myself, Five." She shook her head. "I don't need you anymore." Y/n scoffed to herself. "You know what?" Five hummed at her question. "I should've just left you the moment you arrived in nineteen sixty-three. I'm such an idiot."

Five scrunched his eyebrows as he flopped himself on a chair. "Enlighten me."

"You're not a dependable person, Five. You dumped me in the forties, and the only thing I get is a shitty apology, and—let's not forget when you arrived back in twenty-nineteen, I was the one apologizing, not you."

Five brought the beer to his lips. "So . . . ? I'm not seeing the point here."

She scoffed. "Of course, you're not, you man version of Helen Keller. All I'm saying is that I'm naïve to not have seen it the first time."

She took a brief pause as she gathered her thoughts together.

"Every time you leave, make a mistake, or do anything, I feel like I have to find a way to say sorry, or ask if I did anything wrong when it's mainly you. You're the reason we're toxic to each other, Five, not me, and I'm not gonna hear you complain about it—"

Five huffed. "There she goes. Making it about herself once again." Five stood up and tilted his head the way she usually does as a way to mock her. "The reason I love Delores again is because of you, Y/n. You made me see her in the apocalypse."

Y/n shook her head. "No, I didn't. My powers can't do that—"

Five shook his head. "Don't try to blame everyone else, Y/n, because it was you that showed me her. I arrived in the apocalypse, walked around for a few seconds until I saw the love of my life—"

Love of my life.

That had to sting.

"—and she came toward me. We were sent back into the space of the academy, upstairs near the balcony, when we exchanged words of love, then I embraced her in the most amazing kiss anyone could ever imagine."

Y/n swallowed thickly as she watched the event play out in Five's mind as he told her the past occurrences.

He kissed the thing, then he moved on as if it were nothing and didn't even tell anyone . . . tell me.

"I couldn't take my mind off of her at all, and I don't think I can even now."

Y/n blinked as her eyes began to glisten with tears, but she rapidly flashed them away. She was sure as hell not going to let Five make her cry right in front of him; she was better than that. She wasn't going to let some mindless boy make her cry and weep, then carelessly move on.

No. She was gonna leave her mark.

"At the mall, I even thought I saw her through the window, but my mind was playing tricks on me." Five took another sip of his beer, leaning back into his chair as he breathed out. "Delores gives me so much, and you give me so . . . little."

Y/n scoffed. "I'm not the best with affection, Five. I'm sorry if it's not enough, but at least I'm trying—"

"I was just using you as a replacement for Delores, but then, I soon realized that nobody could replace her."

The girl eradicated all other thoughts.

A replacement.

That's all she was.

A replacement . . . ?

Even saying the word in her head made her want to throw up.

She was being used.

Like a toy, or a pair of scissors; an object.

The word itself is disgusting, and when it came out of Five's mouth, it was even worse.

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes as he threw away his thoughts from before, focusing on the truth than the lies. "And Delores never lies to me. She only speaks the truth."

Y/n scoffed. "With what? A fucking mime?" Five took a sip of his beer with a glare aimed at her eyes. "The bitch can't speak."

"She's not a bitch—"

"Yes, and you're not crazy," Y/n summed up as she crossed her arms. "I have lied to you, Five, yes. I won't deny it. But when I did, it was to protect you. To protect all of you!"

Five let out a loud laugh. "You only protect yourself." He stood up and started to inch toward her, his shoes stepping on the shards of glass and beer that was on the ground. "I don't need your protection. I never did. I don't need any of you!" He slammed his second beer bottle onto the ground.

Y/n put her hand out, yelping as the glass landed near her feet, and broke out loudly before her. "Five, calm down—"

"No, because I'm not who you think I am!" He advanced forward.

Y/n gave an unadulterated-faced facade as she was terrified on the inside, but calm on the outside to not agitate Five any more than he needed to be.

The dear girl was afraid of what he might do.

"I've had it harder than all of you, and none of you seem to realize that. I'm not a child. I grew up faster than other people. I didn't need a stupid family to hold me back, or a brother that was stuck in another timeline." His eyes glistened with tears. "I only had myself—"

Y/n started, "I know that Five, believe me, and it's hard to understand, alright? I don't have the first-person point of view as you do, and I never will—I know that—but at least know that I'm trying, okay?" Y/n watched as the boy opened up more before her.

Five threw his arms out. "I never once received a thank you from any of you. All you guys do is settle in, forget that I brought you here and did so much for everyone—"

"Is that what you want, Five?" Y/n asked out with no patience. "Do you want a thank you? Thank you, seriously, Five. I'm appreciative of you, we all are, in fact. But the proceeding still stands that you don't understand that we are thankful for you—"

Five shook his head as he put his arms down. "I have never heard any of you say thank you, Y/n. That's all I want . . . and I never get what I want." He became quiet for a few moments before speaking out with a broken voice, "I killed for you all." Five nudged a hand forward. "I sacrificed things, I've lost things, but I never once received a thank you."

Y/n sighed in defeat as she was to give the boy what he desired. "Then I'll speak for everyone. Thank you, Five. We appreciate you diligently, believe me. We all have lost things, but not as you have, and we know that. But some of us hold onto things, and others don't. It's just the people we are."

"Not me." Five shook his head in denial with a chuckle.

He knew for a fact he wasn't one of those people.

He could let go of something like losing a pair of headphones or a wallet.

Once it's gone . . . it's gone, and Five Hargreeves wasn't the type of person to go looking for it. He would accept his fate and move on.

"I don't carry grievances along with me through time and hold onto them because I'm too weak to let them go." Five indicated the gold picture necklace around Y/n's neck, and the girl swiped his hand away from her as the boy drove his hand toward her. "You hold onto everything like a pathetic, tragic child who lost a toy. I don't need someone like that."

Y/n stepped away from him. "So, nothing I do is ever good? Nothing I do is ever good enough. Good enough for you?" She stared him dead in the eyes. "Everything I do for you is . . . what? —discarded to the side and not thought of?"

The silence Y/n left after that sentence was so bitter.

Painful even to the two who stood in front of each other, pouring their hearts out as they complained, expressed, and argued like no other time, but didn't care what was coming out of their mouths. They meant what they said, hell yes, but the discretion and emotions that were running through their veins didn't make anything better.

Five leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling letting his raven hair flop above his eyes as his eyesight moved around the designs that were etched into the space spread above him. "Drunk sayings are sober thoughts." The boy chuckled as he brought his head back down, staring into her e/c eyes.

The girl let the room go silent.

"Is that the reason you started to move away from me, ignore me, belittle me, all of that . . . because I don't give you "enough"?" The word rolled off of Y/n's tongue as if it were a slur.

Five swallowed viscously as he thought to himself. He hadn't heard it said back to him which made the boy presume to himself.

Was he doing the right thing?

His actions moved before he could think, and he nodded his head.

"Yeah," he whispered out, not even minding the word that left his mouth.

Y/n blinked softly, making the tears that wanted to come out go away as she, nevertheless, wasn't going to allow Five to make her cry in front of him.

"So . . . I'm just . . . n—nothing to you anymore?" asked Y/n as her voice turned quiet to the boy who now put his head down, looking toward the damp ground that was covered in dangerous shards of glass and puddles of alcohol.

Five stayed silent.

Y/n then let out the heartbreaking words: "You were only using me?"

Her throat felt like it was collapsing on itself because of how much she wanted to pour her emotions out in tears but held herself back as the voices in her head were telling her "suck it up and don't cry, or he'll think you're weak".

Five Hargreeves gave a familiar response that the girl herself gave earlier: silence.

In the most of events that were happening . . . Y/n took that as her answer.

She breathed in shakily through her nose and exhaled out her mouth quietly. "I'm done arguing with you." Y/n shook her head as she gasped with a chuckle. "I'm so—I'm just so done with you."

Five's head moved around like a rolling ball on the ground, moving from side to side until he found himself at a stop, giving a sad and confused look as he made out the words she said. "What—"

"This is done." Y/n motioned to herself and Number Five. "You can finally get what you want: a lifetime with the "love of your life", Five."

Five clicked his tongue and put his head down, looking toward the ground once again. "What about . . . you know, us?" He motioned from himself to the girl with his finger, predominantly missing where the girl stood from his drunken haze. His hand soon dropped between his thighs which were covered by his black dress pants.

Y/n let out a breathy chuckle as she huffed. "You seriously think there's going to be something between us? You think there's going to even be an "us" anymore? You've gotta be joking," she murmured the last part to herself. She looked toward Five with a glare that could blow up a thousand suns. "We're done, Five. Okay?"

Five snapped into a semi-conscious state and shook his head. "What—"

Y/n shook her head and turned around, driving toward the door. "No, this conversation is over." She twisted the doorknob and drew the door toward her shoulder. "And so are we," she glanced over her shoulder and uttered harsh words. Leaving the room, she slammed the door on her way out, soon venturing down the hallway to her enclosure. "Have fun with your sex doll from the future!"

☂︎

The area was disastrous as food, magazines—horny ones—pool cues, bottles, cups, napkins, you name it, littered the floor of the upstairs lounge area that Mace, Ben, and Klaus slept over in the previous night.

The boys had fun—obviously, as everyone could see, and had gotten drunker, had some fun, and then crashed in different areas. Ben was on a pool table, Klaus was under him, and Mace was asleep on the other pool table that was west of Ben's.

Ben groaned and sighed as he awoke from his slumber. He brought his left hand to his head, rubbing his temple softly as he began to gasp out for breaths. His eyes stayed closed as the breeze from the air conditioning hit his toned chest and arms, causing the hairs on his arms to stick upward.

Ben then started to complain as he rocked his head gently to the left, "God, my head—"

"Not so loud," replied Klaus in a groggy tone as he laid below Ben with his top open wide, his arms spread beside him, and crumbs, bottles, and discards encircled him as if he were in a seance.

"Klaus? Klaus?" Ben began to twist around in his spot as he called for Number Four. "Klaus, where are you?"

Klaus slowly opened his eyes, which soon allowed the blurriness to commence and take over his vision. "I'm here, I'm here. Don't panic." Ben groaned as he leaned off his back and peered over the edge of the table to see the man. "Nobody should panic."

Ben exhaled sharply as he flung his legs over the edge of the pool table, soon taking in his surroundings slowly so he could process. Klaus groaned as he pulled himself to a stand, slightly tumbling over himself as he now faced Ben.

"Woo!" he uttered as Ben sighed, looking over his shoulder for the rest of his clothes—maybe even Klaus', too.

If one didn't know, Klaus didn't have a shirt on, yes, but he also didn't have . . . pants on. The man was going full commando with the opened black dress shirt and blue underwear look that wasn't pleasant to look at, but the man knew that he'd been in more ominous clothing in more menacing places.

Ben took a quick look back at Klaus asking as he put a hand forward, "Do you—"

To which Klaus quickly responded as his left hand rested on his stomach, "No. Not a thing." The man let out a peaceful laugh as he put a hand on his forehead.

Ben pushed his hand toward Klaus as he gasped out, "Same."

"Yeah, that was some night." This statement led Ben to chuckle as well, causing the boy to turn around and laugh with Klaus. "Woo!"

Ben held up his dress shoe in his right hand, seeing an orange number five ball resting in it. The man flipped his shoe forward, letting the ball roll out as he exclaimed to Klaus, "It was. It was." Ben let out a laugh as Klaus pointed a hand forward, his dress shirt slowly raising above his arm so you could see his umbrella tattoo.

"See? I knew you had a little of the ol' Ben in ya. Now you can stop with all the sulking and the brooding," Klaus wobbled from side to side as he explained to Number Two.

But Ben was stubborn. He wasn't going to admit he brooded because he knew he never was one to brood. "I don't brood." He shook his head with a calm smile.

His attitude was brought down from an angry, teacher's pet title to a kind, and a soft man with a clear conscious. Klaus wanted to keep this state for as long as he wanted, hoping to not enrage the boy and change his demeanor.

Klaus put his hands down to all needs, tired of his actions. "Ben-er-ino—"

"Don't call me that," hissed Ben.

The old him was back.

Klaus internally cursed himself as the other Ben took over, letting the happy Ben hide back in its corner. Klaus sighed as he realized all he had done the one-time night was now a waste. "We were making so much progress." The man brought his hands up and back down at his sides.

Ben was confused. He didn't understand why everyone wanted to change him into someone he wasn't. "With what?"

"With your Mr. Tough Guy routine." Klaus brought his arms into a strong pose as he scrunched his mouth up. "Last night! I remember!" the man clapped his hands as the occurrence came back to him. "You opened your kimono to me, remember?" Klaus opened his dress shirt up to show his bare, tattooed stomach and chest as Ben showed an annoyed, confused face. "And you showed me who you really are inside. All those bottled-up emotions." Klaus moved toward the boy as his voice soon became soft.

Ben drove his face forward, hissing at the man in a low tone, "I was drunk."

"You're a good person, Ben, but you're trying really, really hard to be a bad one."

"I hate you," Ben put straight forward with no emotion.

"No, you don't." Klaus denied it, shaking his head with a smile that started to form.

"I do—"

Klaus interrupted the boy's ranting with a, "No, no."

"I do. I really do!" Ben turned around, now angrily moving to pick up his clothes.

"No," Klaus muttered as he watched the man gather his belongings. "Ah, a classic defense mechanism. Pushing away the people who care about you the most. Just like Dad."

That statement made Ben stop and think, plucking his other shoe from the socket of the pool table where the balls went in.

Was he really turning into his father?

He didn't want to admit it, but the dear boy was terrified to do so.

He may be big, and strong on the outside; like a nut or a jawbreaker. But on the inside, he had some hope and kindness in him, but with years and years and years of Hargreeves breathing down his back and never letting him go from his reach, he never had time to rebel or be himself.

Klaus moved around aimlessly as he delivered his speech, gasping as he found another topic to add. "You know, it wouldn't hurt to try to get to know him just a little bit better. You'd be surprised how much love he has to give. And also, he's got this whole plan to save the universe." Klaus clapped his hands after he spoke. "Done! One and done!"

Ben was tired of hearing the boy talk. While in the midst of listening to Klaus speak, he put on his shoes, hopping as he did so since his balance wasn't so good, but finished the job successfully. The man turned his cold shoulder, heading toward the long hallway that led to a waypoint out of there as Klaus yelled out behind him.

"Come on! Ben-eri—" Ben held up a middle finger and Klaus sighed. He stood mindlessly for a few seconds before opening back up his dress shirt to show his tattooed front. "Kimono open, baby."

A groan was heard from the other pool table and Klaus looked over to see Mace sit up, hand on his head, and his dress shirt button undone at the top. His hair was matted—messy with no end—and his shoes were nowhere to be found. The boy looked around with a scrunched-up face which made Klaus chuckle as the younger boy returned to a stable—mindful—state.

The older man advanced to the boy, waving his hands in the air as he did a turn, stepping on chips and crumbs which crunched under his feet. "Welcome back, bestie number two, to the land of the living. Whoop, Whoop!"

Mace winced as he shook his head, placing his face in his hands as shushed Klaus. "Not so loud, please. My head is killing me so badly." The boy rubbed his temples.

Klaus awed in sadness as he moved closer to the boy, putting his arms around his shoulders as he moved the boy to his chest, the young one's head moving to the top of his chest near his heart and his shoulder being near his stomach. The man rubbed his shoulders, placing his chin on top of his head—giving a quick peck to the head—and rocking him back and forth at a slow and steady pace.

Mace sighed as he felt the motion, soon closing his eyes as if he was in a peaceful state. He wasn't going to fall asleep, but the sound of Klaus's heartbeat thumping in his ears was a pleasure. His heart moved in a calm state—nothing too fast or slow—and his breathing soon slowed down to mimic the pace.

Mace was always the one to comfort others, he never received any treatment of his own for anything he'd done. Sure, he had moments where Y/n would comfort him, but it was nothing compared to Klaus.

He wouldn't always tell Y/n everything, some things he just needed to tell Klaus, and she was fine with that. As long as Mace was comfortable, and not keeping his thoughts in and boarded up, Y/n couldn't care less about who he was telling.

Klaus was the type of person who could light up your day if you were feeling horrible. He'd be the friend to show up at your door with ice cream after a breakup, stressful day, bad mood, anything, Klaus would be there.

That's why—after Viktor—Klaus was the twins' favorite.

☂︎

Numb.

That's what Y/n felt like.

Her thoughts stopped and everything was shut down. The girl was laying on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling with no emotion. Her back rested on the mattress as her dominant hand was positioned on her stomach and her opposite hand was set beside her. Her hair was a bit matted, but not because she moved around—she didn't at all since she didn't sleep—it was because of when she entered back into the room.

When the girl got back into the room after her argument and confession exchange with Five, she felt so many emotions at once that her brain couldn't comprehend what was going on. Her thoughts were like trains or cars going at high speed, crashing into one another without anything thought, not turning the wheel or anything to avoid the incoming and soon disaster—but letting it happen.

Once she closed the door to her room, she took a few deep breaths in, sighing as she ran her hands over her face, deeply inhaling through her hands as the words Five said to her were still circulating around her brain.

I don't love you! Why would I?

Five's voice played in her mind.

I was tired of you.

Again.

You don't understand how long I had to keep faking it until now.

And again.

I was only using you as a replacement.

And again.

Using.

And again.

Replacement.

Y/n pressed her hands over her ears as his voice became loud in her mind. "Stop, stop, stop, please. Shut up, shut up." Her head shook from side to side as she wanted the yelling to stop.

"He doesn't love you. He never did. Get over it," the voice in her head told her as Y/n sat down on her bed, rubbing her head in and out of her hands, then running her hands atop her head and down her neck, grasping it with a firm hold for a few seconds.

She picked her head back up, looking straight forward as she swallowed harshly, getting rid of the second heavy feeling in her throat that made her eyes burn and her nose start to stuff up. She placed her face in her hands, shaking her head as she knew that everything that happened couldn't be turned back or fixed at the moment.

She didn't want to admit it, but . . . her heart felt as if it were crushed into a million pieces.

The girl let out a sob as she felt tears move into the palms of her hands. She didn't want to cry—she didn't want Five to make her cry, but those words being played over and over and over again on a constant and dreadful repeat made the girl sick to her stomach.

She tried to make her cry quiet, letting the sound stay in her body as she feared that the boy could hear her in the hallway or even if he walked by—anyone for that matter—but only faint sobs came through which were minor, but still quiet. She wiped her eyes quickly, hoping the tears would stop after, but they didn't; still coming down like a waterfall with no end.

Y/n had never experienced this type of human emotion before: heartbreak to be exact, but she now knew how much of a serious emotion it was.

She wasn't one much for emotions, romance, or feelings like any other person, considering she was pretty nonchalant and sarcastic which turned situations in another direction and made her avoid the bad parts. She was grateful for that, truly grateful, but that didn't always make every situation better.

Some conversations need emotion to continue. . . but she didn't really like this type of emotion.

The girl soon stopped her crying after going continuously for ten minutes and wiped her eyes, leaned back so her head was against her pillow, and stared blankly at the ceiling. Over the course of the rest of the night, she would daydream, slow tears would fall out of the corner of her eye—which she didn't even bother to wipe because she didn't know why they fell—and she would think about—well, anything honestly.

And . . . now we're back at the start.

It was now daytime, and the sun gleamed into the room, emitting a little bit of light as it glowed inside the area from the closed curtains, letting the room to be able to search without turning on the lights. The loud sound of the Kugelblitz could be heard from the outside as Y/n stared at the ceiling, zoning out once more about something random.

She didn't get any sleep, so her eyes were red from drowsiness, and the tears that were slipping out. The waterworks had stopped a few hours ago, and the only thing that was left over was downward tears marks that led from the far end of her eyes to the lobes of her ears.

She blinked slowly as her chest moved up and down at a persistent swiftness, moving calmly as a blanket was put over the bottom part of her body, letting the top part be cooled down by the air conditioning in the room.

The hairs on her arms straightened up at how cold the temperature was, but she just didn't have the energy to cover the rest of her body. She could've used her powers, but she just didn't have the energy. All she wanted to do was rest and process everything since—yes everything was clear from the night before—but it took a toll on her.

The main thing she wondered was how Five took the situation after she left: How did the young boy react with all of his emotions coming out all of a sudden and not being able to stop them?

Now, Five took this situation in a totally different and unique manner than the girl . . . which was by getting more drunk than he already was and passing out in the kitchen. A simple and distinctive plan that he thought of easily after she left the room.

After she left, Five sat in the chair for a bit longer while he stared at the space Y/n was at and breathed in shakily. He was confused.

Shocking, seriously. Especially for him.

He didn't know what just happened, but when his stomach rumbled not even a millisecond after the thought came into his mind, Y/n immediately left, and food took her spot. Five wobbled up from his chair, smacking his lips as he headed toward the door, grasping the handle and twisting it clockwise until he heard the satisfying creak of the door opening.

His eyes were half open and his hair covered most of his field of view, so the boy was wobbling around. He giggled slightly as his eyesight warped in and out, not really understanding what was happening, but knew where he was going.

As he passed more doors, he idiotically passed the elevator, getting confused when he arrived at what he thought was the spot for transportation, but it turned out to be a blank wall. The boy sighed, letting out an "Aw, man" as he now headed toward the stairs.

He shuffled his feet against the colorful carpet softly as he remembered that there were other people—Mace and Y/n—on the floor who were probably sleeping. Just as he remembered Y/n was on the floor, he showed a bright smile.

"Oh! I could visit her," he whispered to himself as he headed toward her door, slowly stoping in front of it as he put his ear to the wood, hoping to hear a noise that would indicate if she were awake or not.

But what he heard was different.

He heard crying.

Five moved his head back with a confused look and scrunched his eyebrows together. That's when an idea popped into his head: "Maybe some food will cheer her up."

The boy headed down the hallway—bumping into the wall on his way—and headed toward the stairwell as he made his way to the kitchen. Once he made it there, he noticed more alcohol than he ever did before and this time, it was better flavors and stronger liquor.

The boy forgot about what he was doing once again and he started to open a bottle, taking sips that turned into large gulps which then turned into empty bottles being laid before him. As he did that, the poor boy got hungry and fixed himself a bowl of cereal that could for sure fill him up.

He didn't care what kind of bowl he used, but it just had to be one.

He searched cabinets and took out a gray metallic mixing bowl and slammed it on the counter and the sound spread throughout the area loudly with a wham, causing the boy to shush the bowl for being too noisy.

He searched other cabinets to find cereal, took one that came to his appeal and caught his eye, poured it into the bowl, and added milk after to wash it all down. He perched himself up on the counter and began to eat happily.

Though as this occurred, his eyes felt droopy, and the boy felt his body shutting down from tiredness and lack of sleep. So, instead of spacial jumping back to his room or to the lobby to find a comfortable place to rest, he decided to stay in the kitchen, propping himself in between the stove and the lights above—a small place to be cramped, but he made it work—accidentally spilling his leftover cereal, but shrugged it off as he knew he could make more.

Five let out a yawn as he rested his head on the cold surface, sighing out in relaxation as he went to bed peacefully . . . not remembering anything that happened between him and his girlfriend.

Well now . . . ex-girlfriend.