𝐗𝐗
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𝟏𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕
A gentle hand slipped around my waist as I made my way towards the elevator. He didn't say anything, and for a moment the only sounds were of everyone going their separate ways. It was when the doors closed on us that I heard Five's voice.
"What are you planning on doing for the next hour?"
I wasn't taken aback by the question, but I'd expected something more about the voting. Even then, I knew I'd have to make my decision soon, before he inevitably asked.
"I don't really know." I replied, pondering but not catching his gaze. He stared straight ahead.
"Go to the rooftop. I'll meet you there after I speak to Luther."
The ring of the elevator stopping prevented my answer, and Five left as soon as the doors opened. I remained still, staring after him.
When the doors didn't close, I mindlessly pushed the button for the top floor. Which way should I vote? If I said no to going, I could save myself a very unnecessarily painful death and be evaporated into nothing. But saying yes could give us a chance of saving the universe, only with the possibility of being sliced open. Fuck. Which would be the better way to die?
The bell rung again and as the doors slid open, I found my feet moving towards the stairs without consulting my brain. Who knew choosing how you die would be so confusing?
I stepped out onto the rooftop, stunned by the sight. Since my last encounter with the kugelshitz at the Sparrows', I hadn't taken a chance to view it again.
The were no longer stars, scattered like glitter, across the smoky sky. I could no longer sit on the rooftop and watch the stars. I couldn't point out the constellations anymore, or stare up at the north star; the brightest one. Now, the sunset hues of the ball caught my eye, writhing and twisting as it consumed more and more of what little was left of the Earth.
At long last, I found my feet and sauntered to the edge to sit. I swung my legs over so that they dangled in the empty space. A soft breeze blew through my hair, warm yet sinister. The only light, once from the stars and the moon, now came from the ball before me. The city was silent and empty.
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𝟏𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕 (𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄)
My footsteps seemed to echo around the nothingness as I joined her side. I down sat beside her, staring up at the sky. She turned her gaze to me, but I only stared intently forwards.
"Why did you want to meet here?" Her voice was quiet, "Is everything okay?"
I hummed in response, still staring up at the sky. I felt her eyes trail along my face, drawing lines between my features.
"What's on your mind?" She asked, bringing her fingers to my chin. They hesitated over my skin for a moment, eventually resting gently. She pulled my face towards her, forcing me to look at her for the first time.
In the warm light, I could see a flush of pale pink across her cheeks, and her eyes held a look of worry and concern. I took in her neat appearance, smiling slightly to myself. She looked almost angelic in the fiery light and I couldn't keep myself from speaking my mind.
"You're so gorgeous..." I uttered, my voice almost a whisper. She swallowed hard and I noticed the shrinking distance between us. I could feel her breath on my face, hot and heavy, and see every tiny perfection on her skin.
"I-" She couldn't find the words to say, so I stopped her from needing to.
I planted a soft kiss on her lips before turning back to the sky. My lips barely grazed hers, but her face flushed darker and I could practically hear her internal cries of how bright it was outside.
"Which way will you be voting?" I pondered, though I knew already what she would do. Even if she didn't. She rested her head on my shoulder, her face buried into my neck.
"I still don't know. Probably whatever you do." She answered, before placing a gentle kiss on my neck, right above the bruise.
I knew she had made her decision though. I knew she already knew, but she wouldn't tell me. She wouldn't tell me since I'd argue. I chose not to pry.
"I love you..." She whispered against my skin, biting her lip to stop the very obvious smile from creeping across her face.
"I love you too." I whispered back.
The silence that followed was somehow comforting in the midst of all the chaos surrounding us. She brought her head up to stare at the sky too, and I slipped my hand into hers. The gentle hum of the wind was only interrupted every now and then by the noise of another chunk of Earth crumbling away.
"We should probably go back now." (Y/N) turned to me, unlacing her fingers from mine and standing abruptly. She was nervous.
"Okay." I pulled myself up too and followed after the girl, as she was careful to always be two steps ahead. She didn't want me to see the look of panic I knew would be hidden in her eyes.
The walk down to the elevator was silent, and the atmosphere inside was even worse. The air was thick with tension and she averted her gaze from mine. I could tell she was silently begging the doors to open faster. Why, though? Was her decision really what I thought it wasn't going to be?
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𝟏𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕
The doors opened after an eternity. I was starting to think they were purposely holding back, just to see how long it would take me to break down. I wasn't about to lose an imaginary war against a pair of elevator doors.
When at last they did open, I practically ran towards the rest of the group, finally able to breathe now that the air was less suffocating. Everyone had already gathered around and I began to worry we had kept them all waiting.
"Now that we're all here, we can begin." Reggie's voice drawled with boredom and obvious irritation. Allison stepped into the middle as I took a seat beside Viktor on the stairs. To my relief, Five chose to keep his distance.
"I think you can all guess which way I'll be voting." Allison began, "We've all been through a lot. We've all lost people. M-Mannequins..." She sent a concerned look to Five who looked down instantly. What the fuck- "But their deaths have to mean something. Which is why I'll be voting to go with Dad."
Lila stepped down and leaned into Diego, muttering something I couldn't quite catch. She continued towards Reggie, raising a fist in the air.
"Let's go save the bloody universe!"
Klaus cheered and suddenly I didn't feel so bad about my decision.
"All right, since she said yes, I vote stay." Diego skipped up the stairs to stand beside me. Oh. Fuck. Lila scoffed.
"How's that for nice?"
"You're not being serious." The blonde woman looked more than a little pissed and now I wasn't quite sure anymore. Would Five be like that with me?
"It's his vote, Lila." Allison glared at Diego. "Klaus?"
"I am with Father." He said, raising a hand to the man who smirked, amused. Ben nodded too.
"Okay, that's four to one."
I stood from the staircase, swallowing the doubt in my decision. "Five to one."
Allison's face twisted into a look of confusion before settling into satisfaction. Lila and Klaus both offered me reassuring grins as I made my way over to join them. I didn't spare a glance in Five's direction. I could practically feel his eyes burning holes through my skull.
Allison continued, "All right, Viktor?"
He sighed, sitting up straighter. "Look, I wanna believe, okay? I really do. I just can't shake the feeling we don't know what we're getting ourselves into."
"No." Allison agreed, and it almost sounded like she was pleading, "But we know what we've got if we don't. We have to go into this together, Viktor. A family."
"You can't just keep throwing the word 'family' around." He rubbed circles on his knees with his palms, an act of clear discomfort. "It isn't enough. I vote stay."
I could practically see her expression, despite her back being faced to me; cold, hard, and very pissed.
"Luther?"
"Um...Sloane and I talked, and, well, we're out."
I couldn't blame them. The hardest part of my decision was that Five and I might not both survive Oblivion. Luther and Sloane clearly felt the same.
"Look, we wanna spend whatever time we have left together, and not fighting some guy with a sword and ringing bells and stuff. So..."
"Well, that's five in, four out." Viktor sighed.
"That leaves you, Number Five."
Finally, I dared to move my gaze from the floor to his face. His jaw hardened when he looked to me.
"I saw the future, and it told me to sit this one out. I vote stay. It's time we accept our fate."
The lobby fell into silence.
Despite my brain telling me to shut the fuck up, I was the first to interrupt it. "So, it's a tie?"
Five's jaw twitched.
"Well..." Viktor began, "Since there's no majority, I think we should stay, right? It's only fair if we go by majority vote, since you're asking us to risk our lives."
He had a point. As much as I didn't want to admit.
"You're all pathetic." Allison muttered before storming away.
Ben turned to Reggie, "Why can't we go in there, just the five of us?"
The old man sighed, "That would mean certain failure. There must be seven."
Well, there goes my chances of living to see 18. Damn.
"Children, I can't say I'm happy with this. But I see now the blame falls on me." Reggie made his way to the centre of the group. "I failed you when you were young and I have failed you now. And, in doing so, I have doomed the entire universe. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the courtyard...awaiting the end."
With that, he left, soon followed by Ben. Five took a careful step in my direction and all the confidence I'd had earlier vanished. And that was all I needed to turn and leave for the stairs.
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yay i'm back again :) (hopefully for good this time)
i'll update again next friday, since i've already started working on the next chapter :D
i love u guys sm, seriously u have no idea, and ty all for being so patient while i figure shit out <3
good day/night mls <33
-eva xoxo