𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐌𝐂𝐅𝐋𝐘 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 ━ five hargreeves²

21│TO DIE TOGETHER, SO THAT THEY MAY LIVE TOGETHER

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❛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀʀᴛʏ ᴍᴄғʟʏ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐎𝐍𝐄 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴛᴏ ᴅɪᴇ ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ, sᴏ
ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴍᴀʏ ʟɪᴠᴇ ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ꒱　


❝ YOU'RE MY FAVORITE PERSON ❞

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Black crowded her vision and it sucked out all light. Alexa gasped as she felt fear run rampant through her mind. She had never liked the dark. How was she supposed to sense danger, protect her family if she couldn't see? Their deaths would be on her.

Almost as if she were running but not quite, she tried to find the light. Then, her foot caught on something and she stumbled. Her eyes squeezed shut on instinct in anticipation of the fall.

It never came.

When she opened them again, they widened. She was looking at a memory.

The scene spread out before her in brilliant detail. A young version of her, age six, was standing at an easel set up with a canvas. Taped up next to it was a still picture of a field from some foreign country— a painting request from her father. It was the first one she'd done for their new mother.

Alexa lifted her brush for the first stroke but a knock sounded at the door. Frowning in confusion, she set her equipment down and went to answer it. It was probably Dad or Pogo since her only other visitor ignored doors entirely.

When she opened it, though, she blinked in surprise. "Five? What are you doing?"

The boy shifted uncomfortably on the other side of the threshold. "Well, the robot said you were painting, so I came up here because I— well, I usually watch, but then I realized Dad knows and you don't really need a lookout anymore, so—"

She stared at him, amused by his uncharacteristic rambling. Leaping forward, she seized his wrist and dragged him into the room. "Of course you can still watch, silly! I don't keep you around for being a Dad Spotter, you know."

As he sat on her bed, he gave her a disbelieving look. "Really?"

Alexa rolled her eyes. "Of course not. You're my favorite person. I just like having you around."

Pink colored the tips of his ears and he was glad she had turned back to her painting. "You're my favorite person, too," he offered hesitantly. "I mean, aside from myself, of course." This was said with his usual cockiness, causing her to laugh.

As the girl began to recreate the picture, her mind drifted to ideas of what to talk about before she decided on one. "Fi?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you believe in love?"

He frowned. "The emotion love or what love can accomplish according to some people?"

"Emotion love, I think."

"Then absolutely not," he said firmly.

The blonde twisted around and gave him a curious look. "Why not?"

He shrugged. "I's a chemical makeup in your brain. All emotions are, really. They can be made up and controlled so if one were to ever feel love, you would never know if it was real or not. It's easily explained by science so there's no reason to believe in it."

Alexa turned back to her painting. "Well, I do. I hope I can find someone who loves me even though I'm weird because I do believe that love can conquer all."