BONNIE & CLYDE ⌊ five hargreeves ⌉

FIVE

⌊ . girl vs mannequin ⌉

DELORES DIDN'T LIKE Ebony. Mostly because she distracted Five from the important things, like ending the apocalypse. If Delores ever got to face the girl herself, she'd give her a piece of her mind, starting with something along the lines of "stay away from my man!". But alas, Delores was a feeble mannequin, whose words only rang clear in Five's mind. In some odd way, she was the reasonable part of Five's mind, the part that was there to force the boy back on track, and he lost track a lot whenever Ebony was envolved. Or perhaps she was less the reasonable side and more the face of his emotional conflicts. Because Five knew deep down that Ebony was dangerous for him. He was like a recovering drug addict and Ebony, the enticing drug that he always managed to find his way back to. He craved her in ways he shouldn't, especially if he wanted to survive.

One would think that being thrown across time would make the girl less of a threat, but obviously that was a stupid thought. Somehow their very souls were linked and no matter where one went the other was sure to follow.

Delores had had enough of the red haired assassin, but Five? He craved more.

Even when bullets pierced the air all around him, ricocheting off racks and tearing through clothes and mannequins, Five hadn't torn his eyes from the teenager in front of him. His eyes kept scanning her face over and over in disbelief and perhaps a little joy. His whole demeanor had relaxed, as if he hadn't just been fighting her to the death and there weren't bullets firing by him.

In this rare case, Hazel and ChaCha-the two raining hell on the store-were Five's knights in shining armor. If they hadn't been there, Ebony would've recovered quickly and cut him. But for now, said girl was momentarily stunned which gave Delores just the right amount of time to yell in Five's head.

RUN!

✧ ✧ ✧

FIVE HAD only been away from Ebony for barely two days, so why did he crave her touch like a man craved water in the heat of the desert? Was it bad he wanted to kiss her? That he wanted to grab her hands and feel that warmth and finally find peace?

Five was stumbling in dangerous territory. His thoughts were jumbled and confused and he needed to focus.

Focus. On the two new bodies that had come to fight him.

Focus. On finding a way out of this shop when he was too tired to warp.

And focus on her.

Not on the blood that trickled down her lush pink lips and not on her eyes that twinkled in the dim lights but instead on how she was gathering herself and preparing to attack him again.

RUN!

Five didn't like to run away, but he knew when he was outnumbered. Hastily, he shouldered his duffel bag briefly checking inside to see Delores staring back at him. And while her painted face held only a blank expression, Five could hear her angered voice in his head.

You're too reckless around her! Delores snapped.

Five's fingers gripped the bag's handle. With the last of his energy, he managed to teleport to the shadowed edges of the store.

The police had called and red and blue lights casted on the store. Forcing himself to focus, he slipped past the surrounding vehicles. He could barely hear Ebony yelling at her partners.

"You fucking idiots!"

Five let out a soft chuckle.

She almost beat you. Delores reminded him, You can't put you're guard down around her. Ever.

Five frowned. As always, Delores was right. He couldn't shake the fear that had coursed through his body when he realized how relentless she was. She had held no punches and she had managed to cut and bruise him more than those five men at Griddly's could've hoped to ever do.

After all, Ebony was Five's equal, possibly more. If anyone could catch him, it was her. And she almost had. Five hadn't known her when she was young, but he didn't expect her to be that strong. She hadn't responded like she'd known him when he had called her, but there was that delay-those few seconds that passed between them where it felt like she knew. Five was going to hold on to that, although with little hope.

His jaw clenched as another realization hit him. He was up against the Handler's deadliest trio: ChaCha, Hazel, and Ebony. And considering that Ebony had little to no recollection of him whatsoever, she wasn't going to hold back on him, which meant Five would have to do the same. He wasn't sure if he could...

You have to, Delores cautioned. If you hold back, even a little, she'll kill you.

Five ran his fingers across his cheek and observed the blood that coated his fingertips in the faint street light.

"Yeah," Five sighed as he wiped his hand on his pants. "I know."

( . b o n n i e & c l y d e )