"Why don't we meet back here in an hour?" Luther asked, and you nodded reluctantly.
"Agreed," Five said.
"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Confirmations echoed from all of your siblings as you stood up, stretching. Everyone dispersed quickly, but Diego made a point to walk over to you, raising an eyebrow.
"(Y/N), huh?"
"Yup," you mumbled, inspecting your fingernails and trying to seem like it didn't bother you that he knew. "I'm gonna kill Five."
Diego snorted, but it was humorless. "I'll bet."
And then he was gone, and you were left standing alone in the living room.
Actually, no. When you turned around, Oliver was right there. "So. Yay or nay?"
"To what?" you asked, and Oliver raised an eyebrow at you.
"Don't pretend you don't know."
"I don't know yet," you lied, and he shook his head quickly, cutting you off.
"Yes, you do. You don't want to die," he said confidently.
"Okay then, telepath," you said with a sigh, looking up at him finally. He was wrong - you were torn. If you just got it over with before the vote, none of your siblings would have to hurt. Would have to die. It was wrong to vote in favor of going through the portal. "What's your vote?"
He hesitated, his eyes trained on you, then shrugged. "What do we have to live for anymore?"
"Oh, I don't know," you said sarcastically, tilting your head. "Maybe our family?"
"Our?" he repeated, scoffing like the idea was ridiculous. "You mean your family. I don't care for them. And do you really think I care about mine?"
"You are part of our family now, whether you like it or not," you argued, frowning. "First of all, Reginald adopted all of us, and Luther is married to Sloane. Sure, maybe you don't care about Ben. But Sloane? I saw you two dancing last night. She's your sister, and you're just going to let her die? When she's finally happy?"
"You know nothing about my family," he snarled, narrowing his hauntingly familiar blonde eyes.
"I know everything about them," you said quietly, and he opened his mouth slightly, but no words came out. You turned and walked away, heading for the room you had shared with Viktor and Allison.
You weren't wrong. You knew his mother, uncle, and grandfather better than he ever would. And you knew Ben. Maybe not this one, but...
You had known him. And that counted for something.
You bumped into Klaus and Ben in the hallway, looking up at them in surprise. Klaus raised an eyebrow and grabbed your wrist, a smile spreading across his face. You frowned in confusion before your eyes widened in surprise and you snatched your hand back.
"Whose ring is that, (Y/N)?! Are you hitched?! Oh my God!" He started jumping up and down, grabbing onto Ben's shoulders. Ben made a disgusted face and shoved him away, and he raced back over to you and pulled you into a tight hug, your feet dangling above the floor.
"K-Klaus!" You stuttered in surprise, patting at his back in an attempt to make him put you back down. "Hey! No! We're not!" He dropped you ungracefully, and you stumbled to regain your footing with an 'oomph'.
"What?" he asked sadly, the corners of his lips tilting down as he slumped. "Then why do you-"
"I don't know," you interrupted, looking down at the little scrappy circle around your ring finger. "I don't remember anything from last night, Klaus."
He perked up again, grabbing your hands excitedly. Ben scoffed and stalked off, apparently disgusted by the thought of you and Klaus getting along. "So maybe he did propose? Or you! I'm all for modern feminism, you know. My cult actually-"
"Okay, okay," you said with a snort, looking around nervously. "Just don't tell anyone, okay? I need to ask Five about this later. I should probably find him now."
"Go! Go!" Klaus squealed, pushing you away by your shoulders. "I'll go track Ben down before he kills someone. Tell me what happens!" And then he jogged around the corner and was gone. You grinned, walking toward your room still. You opened the door, spotting Viktor lying on the bed. You started to say his name before realizing he had headphones on, and was listening to some tapes.
Harlan's tapes.
Pressing your lips together, you stepped back and quietly shut the door.
"So, (Y/N)."
You spun around with a gasp, forming a shield around yourself before realizing it was just Allison. You let out an annoyed breath, closing your eyes briefly and releasing the force field.
"Allison."
"I don't know, I guess I just thought you'd tell me first. I heard Five, Viktor, and Klaus already knew." She looked down at you, her cold gaze oddly smoothed over, like she was trying to appear more loving.
You snorted. "You've got to be kidding."
"I'm not," she said, frowning at you. "I get Five. And maybe even Klaus. You two were always best friends. But Viktor, really? Before me? I was always your favorite when we were kids."
You bit your lip - she wasn't wrong. When you were kids, she'd always comforted you after a particularly bad training session. Even when you were in the coma, you had many memories of her that you were sure she'd made sure to insert into your mind herself.
"You fucked up my head, Allison. The only thing you didn't make me forget was my name. Why on earth would I trust you with it now?" you asked, crossing your arms and glaring up at her. Her mouth twisted into a frustrated, angry smile, before she quickly flattened it back out.
"You haven't forgiven me yet?"
You scoffed and looked away from her, rage boiling under your fingertips. Although your power was getting weaker by the hour, you felt strengthened in the moment. "Allison. You never said sorry. It's hard to forgive someone who doesn't apologize."
"Then I'm sorry."
Your head snapped up in surprise, your eyes narrowing and tracing her face suspiciously. You knew how to read her - that flicker of her eyes said she was unsure of something. The way her knee was bent slightly, the way her arms hung limp at her sides - she was angry but trying not to show it outwardly.
You sighed. "Why are you doing this, Allison?" you asked tiredly.
"Because I miss you." She was a good liar. This good? She had been an actor... "And I don't want you to die. I don't want any of us to die. So please, just... when the time comes, choose to fight the guardian, please, Eight. It's our only chance."
You poked your tongue into your cheek, holding back an angry laugh. Of course. She was only using you for another vote in favor of fighting the guardian. You knew in that moment - if Allison was voting that way, it was wrong.
"No," you said simply, heart thrumming with the power of the choice you had just made. Death. You were going to die. Very, very soon. Like, now. You needed to. "I'm sorry, Allison." You paused. "Actually, I'm not. Good luck with your suicide mission."
You almost laughed at your own twisted words as you turned and walked off to do the very thing you had accused her of attempting.
"I heard a rumor you froze."
You froze in place, eyes widening. You turned your head to face her, breathing a bit heavier. "Allison. Stop." In a blind panic, you formed a shield around yourself, arms dangling at your sides uselessly and causing the sphere to be slightly misshapen. "Allison!" you shouted, voice breaking slightly as she opened her mouth to utter the next command.
"I heard a rumor..." Her lips twitched downward like she actually felt remorse for a minute, then returned to their usual frown.
"Stop!" you shrieked, eyes widening in terror. You formed a shield around her, trying to tighten it, but being immobile only weakened your power even more than it already had been.
"That you voted in favor of going through the portal." For a moment, all you saw was a blinding whiteness. Then, your vision returned to normal, and you found yourself staring in horror at your sister. The effects of her original rumor were beginning to wear off, and you wiggled your fingers. Even now, you could feel her words taking effect on your brain.
It was like... why would you NOT vote in favor? You didn't want to die! Hell no!
"I heard a rumor you didn't breathe a word of this to anyone," she finished off, before spinning and stalking away in the darkened hallway.
"Shit," you whispered, mind spinning. Everything felt so screwed up.