One random day in November 2001, a new member joined the Academy. She is given the name of Number 8, and there's much more to her than meets the eye.
As soon as Number 8 and Five meet, they hate one another, always trying to beat the other with thei...
As always, the mission was a success, but it wouldn't be an Umbrella Academy mission without any bickering. Klaus was obviously drunk, and Ben was trying to keep him in line. Luther and Diego were arguing about the plan. Allison was trying to keep the peace between the boys. And, well, Five and I were annoyed that we were paired together once again.
My arm had started to heal slightly, but it was still sore, so when someone bumped into it, I had to try not to react. Once we got home and all of us got settled, I decided to watch the world celebrate New Year's. Luckily for me, my room had a good spot of the city's skyline. I made myself comfortable on the fire escape and looked up at the sky. The fireworks would start any minute now, and I wanted to take in the beauty of the stars.
As I got lost in the stars, I started to realise how crazy my life was and how unhappy I was becoming. The training with Dad was beginning to become unbearable; the lengths he would go to to ensure I would be more endurable made me feel more like a weapon than a kid.
I wonder what my life would have been like if I had never been sent here?
"Hmm, I didn't take you as someone who would appreciate the stars." A voice cut through the silence, breaking me away from my thoughts. I turned towards where the voice came from and, to my surprise, saw Five, with his hands in his pockets, staring at me. I couldn't help but jump slightly as I noticed his presence.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Five," I spoke softly and returned my gaze to the stars. I noticed some movement next to me, meaning Five had sat beside me. We sat silently for a few minutes before Five's voice broke the silence again.
"So, you were sick over Christmas?" I couldn't help but furrow my eyebrows and turn to look at him. He was staring up at the sky, unfazed by my slight movement.
"Yeah, I was. Thanks for the reminder." I spoke coldly and stared forward, looking out towards the city. Five chuckled slightly before responding.
"Hmm, well, you missed Secret Santa, you know?"
Oh, shoot! I never gave Klaus his present!
"I am aware. Are you just trying to make me sad or something?" I noticed Five turn his head to look at me.
"Well, I happened to get you, of all people. So, here you go, Merry Christmas, I suppose." Five pulled a box with a red bow around it out of his pocket. I couldn't help but be surprised a little; it seemed like he had put thought into the gift.
"What? You seemed surprised?" He joked, my eyes flickering between him and the box in his hand. I shook my head slightly and gently took the box out of his hand. Upon opening the box, I looked down and tried to hide my puzzled look.
Is that... a keyring?
I picked up the silver keyring from the box and let it dangle in my hand. It wasn't just any keyring; it was a cup of tea with a separate small flag of Great Britain. I didn't want to seem ungrateful as he could have gotten me something from the kitchen or a book from the shelves in the living room.
But why a key ring? I don't even have any keys.
My lack of enthusiasm seemed noticeable to Five as he chuckled slightly beside me.
"What? Don't like your gift? I thought it was very fitting."
I rolled my eyes and turned to face him.
"Not to sound ungrateful, but a key ring? You know I don't have any keys Five." I placed the gift back in its box. "But, I appreciate you getting me something." I tried my best to sound sincere.
Five continued to chuckle before speaking.
"Exactly, that's why I got it for you. What need do you have for it? Your reaction is my gift to myself," he flashed me his cheeky smile, "at least I got you something that speaks to your personality."
I crossed my arms, unable to believe what he had just said.
"You are ridiculous, you know that? When you say personality, do you mean my nationality?"
"I thought it would be a nice gesture to remind you of home! You are so ungrateful." I could tell he was trying to wind me up now.
I sighed.
"No, you're right... at least you got me something that was on the line of personal... so thank you." My comment seemed to fuel Five's cheeky smile.
"What was that? A thank you? From you to me? Maybe having you for Secret Santa wasn't that bad after all!"
I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
"I'm not repeating myself Five." I paused, wondering if he was going to join me in celebrating the New Year. "So, is that the only reason you came out here?"
"Well, originally, I went to your room and saw you weren't there but noticed your window was open, so I put two and two together and realised you would probably watch the fireworks. Maybe I also wanted to watch the fireworks, and you just happen to have the same plan." Five spoke softly, almost as if he was oversharing.
I decided not to draw too much attention to what he had said, appreciating we could have a nice moment for once. In the distance, we could hear the chant of a countdown begin. I turned to look at Five; he seemed deep in thought.
10, 9, 8, 7...
"Well, here's to 2003," Five faced me and gave me a soft smile, which was very rare for him.
6, 5, 4...
"Yeah, here's to another year..." There was something off with his tone. Maybe he knew that nothing would change at the Academy even though it was a new year.
3, 2, 1...
It took the sound of fireworks for us to break eye contact. The once peaceful sky above us was now covered in multiple colours, from white to red, red to purple and purple to blue.
It was beautiful.
"Wow..." I spoke, taking in the beautiful sky. I had almost forgotten that Five was next to me. It seemed like we were both mesmerised. Our eyes made their way back to each other; the lights from the fireworks gave his eyes a little twinkle to them.
"Happy New Year's Charlotte." It was weird to see Five like this; he was being kind. Instead of questioning him, I just smiled softly at him.
"Happy New Year's Five."
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Five Fact: When Five was deep in thought, he was thinking about how time is irrelevant to him, but he was too afraid to speak up about what was on his mind.
A/N: Hello! I hope you all are having a good week! I've had such a chaotic week, but now I have a few days off, so I can finally relax, which also means I have more time to write more chapters. I really do hope you are enjoying the book so far, and I want to thank everyone for reading and supporting this book.
QOTD: What did you think of the gift Five gave Charlotte?
