Ocean of Lies | Five Hargreeves

A Magical Blaze

"You clearly heard wrong," I reply, composing myself.

"I heard wrong, huh?" His eyes narrow. "Or is it that you're not telling me something? What are you hiding, Cecilia?"

"I'm not hiding anything," I say slowly.

I have to go about this carefully. I can't blow my cover like this. I'm supposed to hand him over to the Handler. I cant ruin everything.

He leans in even closer. I can feel his breath fan against me. "Why don't I believe you?"

"Because you're an unreasonably distrustful dick. That's why." I pull away, intending for this discussion to be over. "It's quite possible I made a mistake on my part when I said what I was doing. Maybe you've fathomed an unnecessary conspiracy against me from this one mistake."

He crosses his arms. "How could someone make a mistake when they describe what they're doing at that exact moment?"

"I don't know, perhaps because a particular person threw that someone against the wall and acted as if that someone was plotting to kill them?" I say dryly. Funny, because I am.

"And I have every reason to," he scoffs, nodding slightly.

"Oh yeah? And what's the reason?"

Five swallows hard and looks away. "I just do."

Here we go. I caught him. "You just do, huh? That's not a good enough reason."

"Well, I wouldn't say it's normal for someone to be looking through your living room window on your fire escape."

"And I wouldn't say it's normal for someone to spacial jump, yet here we are. Look, think what you want. Just acknowledge that it's not valid and you have emotional issues that need to be worked out, yeah?" I shove him out the door, and this time he doesn't fight it. "Don't bother me anymore today, okay?"

"Wasn't planning on."

I roll my eyes at his response and slam the door. I need to think of a way to kidnap him. And fast.

When I know for sure he's gone, I relock the door from the inside and use the fire escape to leave. I wouldn't be caught dead stalking Five for a while now, so my focus will be researching his family for the remainder of the day.

⧖⧖⧖

I find myself back at the academy. I didn't get the full tour last time, hence might as well use my time away from Five to complete it.

I circle around the brick building, searching for the identical bathroom window from my previous visit. I'll know my way around the house from there. When I eventually find the open window, I use the sill to hoist myself up. Immediately, I'm struck with the prominent smell of dove soap.

As I climb inside, my thigh begins to burn slightly and I wince. I look down to see a rusted nail that's caught onto my black jeans. I hastily remove it and my eyes roam around the room for something to aid the wound. I can't have blood dripping everywhere.

Sitting above the toilet is a roll of toilet paper and I unwrap a small amount to wipe the cut.

I peek at my watch and my eyes widen. 4:20 pm. Okay. Now I need to get a move on.

I creep through the halls, on this occasion having more time to appreciate the expensive artwork. Paintings of the moon and fields of flowers fill my gaze, and my mouth hangs open at the captured details.

The living room is what catches my attention. I didn't have the opportunity to go inside before, thanks to Klaus and his monkey butler.

Windows encircle the spacious room, allowing it to have an atmospheric sensation. Soft beams of sunlight shine through the panes, creating a luminous yellow glow within the room. The sun has just dipped below the horizon and there nevertheless remains ambient light. It seems to fill the sky with a magical blaze, and I nearly forget to blink.

My features harden when my focus lands on an obnoxiously large painting of Five above the fireplace. A tawny frame surrounds it and I roll my eyes. He's wearing the same school uniform I saw him in earlier. His solemn expression matches the photograph in the box The Commission gave me.

I perceive there's no one on the first floor and I arrive at the staircase. I take two steps up at a time, my hands in position to grab my knife in case of anything.

I walk through each room, unsure of which one is Five's. The main hallway overlooks the downstairs, making everything seem airy and spacious.

Fleetwood Mac unexpectedly plays from the bedroom at the end of a narrow hallway and I cock my head. I sidestep closer, keeping my eyes locked on the open door. I spot wisps of dark curly hair, the face unattainable because of their excessive spinning.

I wonder which sibling this is.

I spot movement in the corner of my eye and I promptly move to another vacant bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

The muffled song continues to play in the background as I look around the dusty bedroom. It appears as though it's been untouched for quite a long time, maybe longer than the other rooms I've found. The bedsheets are navy blue, matching the curtains and desk chair. Stacks of papers, plenty of books, a pile of chalk, and a sextant sit on a desk.

Behind the chalk is an abacus, and a wooden roman numeral clock sits next to it. 5:52 pm. A basket of broken watches is placed on the nightstand. Some hobby, I suppose. I think back to building my watch, and my face softens.

Several toys are scattered among the furniture. The irony between that and the dartboard hanging next to the door makes my brows furrow. My eyes follow the strip of wallpaper that trim the grey walls. It's a peculiar design. A small child pulling a red wagon with a mannequin.

Why a mannequin?

I shake my head and open the window, climbing on the fire escape. I have a fundamental understanding of the layout of the house, but that's not good enough. The Handler is going to be inquiring me about my progress, and I know absolutely nothing concerning Five and his plans. Nor his family. Sure, I have a superficial-level knowledge of things, but I lack detail. And most importantly, I lack Five.

I wander to Griddy's Donuts, craving a great cup of coffee and someone's blood on my hands.

____

i apologize about the filler chapter. it was difficult writing because it seems a bit redundant. but I wasn't sure how else to move the plot along without a time interval.

hmmm I wonder who's room that is...

school's starting soon and my stomach is hurting by just the thought. also, I didn't make the volleyball team lmfao. but I made a friend from it! im really excited. we're meeting tomorrow for lunch at this cute cafe :D

vote!