behind the phone number

chapter five: unraveling secrets

Chapter Five: Unraveling Secrets

16:32

As the day passed, Y/N tried her best to focus on studies, but now that the day was over, she needed to sort things out with Steven. However, before she could do that, she felt compelled to delve deeper into the mystery of the "mysterious Hargreeve brother." It was time to get to the bottom of this, but first, she needed to retrieve her keys from the Hargreeves mansion, which she likely forgot there the other night.

Exiting the school gate, the glaring sunlight blinded her, but she didn't mind; it beat getting soaked by rain. Glancing up at the building, she strained her ears to see if the Umbrella Academy had finished their job or if they were still battling criminals. Not hearing any gunshots or "I heard a rumor" whispers, she assumed their job was done, and they were probably back at the academy. This would make it awkward if she bumped into one of the Umbrellas, and she couldn't ask Steven to find the keys for her, especially after what happened that morning.

"I have no other choice than to go grab the keys myself at the mansion," she thought to herself with irritation etched on her face. She wasn't thrilled about returning there, but she was kind of excited at the prospect of bumping into Five.

16:45

Arriving outside the gates marked with the Umbrella insignia, she opened them and ascended the stairs once again. As she raised her hand to knock on the door, she hesitated. Should she knock or ring the doorbell? Standing there in confusion, she decided to knock, her hands starting to sweat nervously. No one answered. Should she knock again? Or would it be rude? But she needed her keys. Nervously, she turned to leave but almost lost her balance, startled by the sudden opening of the old wooden door behind her. Thankfully, she regained her footing and turned around to see Pogo standing there with his little cane in hand.

"Yes?" the monkey calmly questioned as Y/N awkwardly stood there, hands behind her back.

"Oh, hello, sir... Pogo?" she greeted him awkwardly, forcing a smile. Pogo looked at her with confusion, and Y/N wondered if he had seen the video.

"... um, I'm so sorry to intrude, but I was here at the mansion last night, and I think I forgot my keys here," she continued, trying to sound normal.

Pogo took a good look at Y/N and realized, "Ah, yes, you were here with that boy, Steven, I assume his name is, right? The boy who wanders around the house all the time, and you are that beautiful girl with the blue shirt, right?" he asked with a chuckle. Y/N's fake smile slowly faded into a real one as Pogo spoke to her so kindly, even complimenting her appearance. She chuckled softly and answered, "Yes, I'm Y/N. Nice to finally meet you, sir. I was here with Steven yesterday, and I lost my keys, and I believe I forgot them here." "Oh, well, I'm sorry, but after Grace cleaned up yesterday, it doesn't look like you forgot them here, but you can gladly take a look yourself if you want," Pogo replied with a smile. "Oh, yes, I understand. Thank you," Y/N answered with a big smile.

Pogo signaled her to come in and showed her into the hall.

"You can take a look: the kitchen, the living room, the hall, upstairs. Just don't go near Sir Hargreeves' office, and just tell me if any of the Umbrellas are annoying you," he said sweetly. "Of course, and thank you so much, sir—" "You can just call me Pogo," he interrupted her with a smile. "Pogo... thank you," she said gratefully.

She quickly went on her "key-hunt." The living room yielded nothing, so she moved to the kitchen. As soon as she entered the Hargreeves kitchen, she saw a woman standing there. Y/N couldn't see her face, but she wore a beautiful pink skirt and had blonde hair. The woman was cooking and humming to some beautiful melody. Y/N quietly entered the kitchen, trying not to distract her, but it didn't go as planned. As soon as she stepped foot inside the kitchen, the woman's head quickly turned towards her, wearing what Y/N thought was a creepy smile. Shocked, Y/N's face registered disbelief, akin to seeing a ghost, though in reality, it was a robot with very mobile body parts.

As the robot's head turned with a smile, the rest of her body followed suit, with the pan and spatula still in hand. "Well, hello there," she softly greeted Y/N. The shock on Y/N's face persisted, and not a word came out of her mouth.

"Oh, is everything alright, sweetie?" the robot asked with a worried look as she approached Y/N, still holding the pan. "Uh, um... I-I'm looking for my keys," Y/N stuttered, finally managing to speak.

The robot cracked open a big smile while taking a good look at Y/N. "I'm Grace, nice to meet you," she sweetly greeted the confused girl.

Y/N, still in shock, started to calm down as Grace's warm welcome made her feel better.

"Now, little girl, I haven't seen your keys, but feel free to look for them on the second floor if you want. All the extra stuff is put on a little table with blue tulips on, and please stay for dinner. The kids are getting ready," Grace said with a warm smile.

Y/N gave the robot a big smile in return, but her head was spinning with questions: did this robot just invite her for dinner? What if she bumped into one of the Umbrellas? What if they didn't want her at dinner?

17:04

Walking up the wooden stairs, Y/N felt a stone fall into her stomach. One of the Umbrellas was not in their room, and nervousness crept in as her palms started to sweat.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she stopped and looked to her left, where she saw him, leaning against the wall, her keys in hand, looking at the keys with a hand in his blue shorts pocket.

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chapter six is in making and it's getting intense...
keep an eye out for chapter six as it will be released soon. btw, an one shot is in making as one other book that i've just started. the book will be released as a whole.