Number Zero- The Umbrella Academy (Book 1)

☂4☂

Zero and Five made their way up the long staircase in silence until finally reaching the floor they wanted and into Five's room. Zero looked around the room, realizing that nothing in it had changed. It was as if Five had never left

Five's room was on a different floor than Klaus, Allison, and Luther, those three sharing a floor while he, Zero, Ben, and Vanya shared another. Zero's room was directly across from Five's while Ben's was beside Five's and Vanya's was beside Zero's.

Zero didn't know how Ben died, but he assumed it must've been horrible considering that the boy was one of the strongest powers out of the eight. The blonde couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt as he thought about how Vanya had been left all alone after Ben's death. The girl probably felt like everyone that cared for her abandoned her. Zero wouldn't blame her if she resented or even hated them.

"So, are you just going to stare off into space like a lost puppy?" Five asked, breaking the silence in the room.

"No, I'm just debating whether I should kill you or not." Zero answered bluntly.

Five let out a small chuckle. "What happened to you? I mean, you look slightly older than when I left, but you're different, and I'm pretty sure you didn't have a wedding ring on before." Five said matter-of-factly.

Five made his way to his closet, letting out an annoyed sigh as he realized that the only clothes he had in there were completely identical, the same uniform they had all been forced to wear on a daily basis. "Shit," Five muttered under his breath, causing Zero to let out an amused laugh as he watched his brother's look of distress at what he had to wear.

"Yeah, well, like I said, it's been a while. And for your information, it's not a wedding ring; it's a promise ring. There's a difference." He said, chuckling as he looked down at the simple silver ring on his index finger.

"Whatever you say." Five responded as he grabbed a uniform before heading out to get changed.

☂☂☂☂☂☂☂☂

Later on, Five and Zero found themselves in the living room with the blonde wandering around the room while Five looked at a painting hanging on the wall. "Nice to know dad didn't forget about me." Five said, looking at the picture of himself.

"None of us did." Vanya told him as she stood beside the slightly taller boy. Zero made his way towards his sister, standing beside her and offering her a soft smile which she returned awkwardly.

"I read your book, by the way. Found it in a library that was still standing." Five said; Zero turned his head and looked at his sister.

He knew about the book she wrote, having been one of the first things to pop up when Zero was researching his siblings. He even found time to read his sister's book while waiting for the right time to reintroduce himself. Zero was curious to see what Vanya wrote about them. And if Zero was being honest with himself, he didn't blame her for writing everything she did, but it did make him feel upset with her for outing all their family secrets.

"You mean like what happened to Ben?" Zero asked, looking over at his sister. It must've been the first time Ben was brought up in a long time because Vanya looked away guiltily. "Was it bad?" The blonde boy continued; Vanya only nodded sadly.

At that moment, Diego entered the living room. "It's time." They all headed outside; Zero stood with a black umbrella next to Five as Luther walked out before them.

"Did something happen?" Grace asked, confused as if she had forgotten something that had brought them all together. They all looked over at her sadly.

"Dad died, remember?" Allison asked.