CHAPTER SIXTEEN
girls' night in

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IT SHOULD'VE BEEN HARD to believe that the only one with answers was a plastered fifty-eight-year-old in the body of someone who hadn't even hit puberty yet; though, given the streak of misfortune that had hit Nadine Vidal like a truck during this past week, she was hardly surprised. Luther was carrying the ditzy Number Five, and Diego and Nadine walked beside him as darkness slowly began to spread across the city, immersing it into night. The eeriness of it all made Nadine on edge, and she found herself constantly whirling around as if she was going to see shadows in the alleyways jump out at her. Her heart pounded, her palms were soaked with sweat, and she had to take deep breaths to ground herself back in the present, in the situation that was at hand.

"Well, we can't go back to the house," Luther was saying. "It's not secure. Those psychopaths could be back at any moment."

"My place is closer," suggested Diego. "No one will look for him there."

"How close, exactly?" asked Nadine, winding around yet again after she thought she felt the stares of a masked freak piercing into her. X-Ray vision wouldn't even be surprising at this point, given all of the bizarre abilities she'd been introduced to.

"A couple more blocks," said Diego, just as Five, hanging limply in Luther's arms with that mannequin still tucked under his arm like a stuffed animal, began to groan, stirring from his little nap. Nadine's heart sparked with hope at his awakening, but eventually it became clear by the fact that he hadn't yet stabbed Luther for carrying him like a baby that Five was still drunk.

"If you vomit on me..." Luther warned. Five just laughed at that, his head lolling.

"You know what's funny?" he asked. "I'm going through puberty. Huh. Twice. And I..." he let out a chuckle again, "I drank that whole bottle, didn't I? That's what you do when the world you love goes bye-bye. Poof, it's gone." He held out an arm lazily before looking at Diego and Nadine as if he'd just noticed them. "What are you guys talkin' about?"

Luther let out an annoyed sigh. "Two masked intruders attacked the Academy last night."

"They came looking for you," said Diego. "So I need you to focus. What do they want?"

"Hazel and Cha-Cha," Five slurred, repeating the names he'd told Nadine before.

"Who?"

"You know," grumbled Luther, "I hate code names."

"Which was which?" Nadine asked, posing the first relevant question that had been on her mind since the attack. "Which one's Hazel and which one's Cha-Cha?"

Five's eyes flickered to Nadine, and a slow, slightly crooked grin came to his face. "I thought I told you to stay in the house," he murmured. "Oh well. Hazel—he's the big guy. Cha-Cha's the other one. She's such a workaholic, it's funny sometimes—"

"Five," Diego warned, after Luther shot Nadine a questioning look. "Who are these people?"

"Ah, the best of the best," Five answered. "Except for me, of course."

"The best of what?" Luther asked.

Five grabbed at the neck of the broken mannequin. "You know, Delores always said she hated when I drink," he said, his voice abnormally high-pitched and completely unlike his usual arrogant tones. "She said it made me surly." Nadine stared at the mannequin, and realization bolted through her. This was Delores. Five's companion in the apocalypse was a fucking mannequin. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Just when she thought the only lead she had to Hazel and Cha-Cha wasn't completely bonkers, and he added a new maniacal card to the table.

"Hey!" Diego snapped.

"Hm? Yeah?"

"I need you to focus." Diego drew closer to Five, who was still lolling about, completely droopy. He was the complete opposite from the sour, infuriating fifty-eight-year-old Nadine had come to despise, and somehow he still managed to get on her nerves. Typical. "What do this Hazel and Cha-Cha want?"

Nadine shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She knew, but telling Diego and Luther would inevitably lead to an interrogation, which she wasn't prepared for right now. Unfortunately, Five didn't respond, merely smiled loopily at Diego and continued to clutch Delores.

Diego looked like he was about to strangle his brother, but instead, he said, "We just wanna protect you."

"Protect me," Five repeated. "I don't need your protection, Diego. Do you have any idea how many people I've killed? No. I'm the Four frickin' Horsemen." He drew in close. "The apocalypse is coming."

And then, of course, he threw up, nearly missing Luther's shoes and splattering the ground with sick. Nadine stared after it in disgust.

"I'm going to kill this little shit," she murmured, and then, abandoning all morals and rational thought, stepped up to the old-man-turned-boy and seized him by the collar. There were the stains of sickness around his mouth, and he blinked blearily, as if he'd just woken up from a nap. "Five," she hissed. "Didn't you hear what Diego said? They attacked the house. They attacked me." She didn't say what she was really thinking: that they had probably figured out the puzzle by now. Figured out that they'd fucked up on their attempt to kill her.

Five just laughed. "Well, good luck being on their to-kill list, too. You know, maybe we can start a club."

Nadine shook his collar as if she could jolt him into sobriety. When Five didn't snap out of his reverie, a growl tore loose of her lips and she let him go. He flopped back down onto Luther's chest and nestled closer to Delores, leaving Nadine without answers. "We're not going to get anything out of him," she told the others. "He's too drunk."

"Let's just get him back to my place," said Diego, who was looking similarly exasperated.

"Wait." Luther held up a hand. "What did he mean by the to-kill list? Have you met these freaks before?"

"No. Never seen them before," said Nadine, easily, lying through her teeth. "Maybe Five was just referencing the fact that they were trying to kill us back at the Academy."

"But he didn't mention me and Diego—" said Luther, but Nadine cut him off.

"He's drunk. He obviously underestimated what kind of effects the..." her brain momentarily grasped for the word, "the alcohol would have on his thirteen-year-old body. He's not going to make any sense."

She'd thought she'd made a good case, but Luther was still looking suspicious. Fortunately, before he could ask any more questions, Nadine's phone suddenly buzzed in her pocket, giving her an excuse to duck out of the conversation. She slid it out, preparing to delete any texts she may have gotten from Camille, but it wasn't Camille who was texting her. It was Vanya.

Hey, want to come over? Allison's coming. We're having a girls' night.

Nadine was surprised that she'd asked, and even more surprised that Allison was there, as last night, the sisters hadn't exactly parted on good terms. She supposed they'd made up by now.

She looked to Five, who was now rambling about math equations, his eyes half-closed. As much as her desire for answers seemed to writhe in her chest, she knew Five wouldn't make a lick of sense until he was sober, which probably meant he'd have to sleep it off. The thought of spending the night with a drunk Five, Diego, and Luther was quite the unappealing thought, to say the least. Especially since it was likely that Diego and Luther would lapse right back into their fight for dominance.

Which was why she found herself responding, Sure! What's your address?

She looked up from her phone to find Luther and Diego both staring at her, and cleared her throat. "Look," she began, "I have to leave. Five's not going to give us any clear answers tonight, anyway, so there's no use staying around."

"Sure, whatever," said Diego. "Just don't go back to the house, okay? We don't know if those freaks in masks will come back."

Nadine put a hand to her chest. "Aww, it's sweet that you're looking out for me, Diego, but I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

Diego let out a huff of annoyance. "As I recall, I was the one who saved your ass last night."

"Maybe so, but then I almost knocked your teeth out for what you said to Vanya," Nadine replied. She took a step towards him, and her voice got low dangerous. She was a feral animal; fangs dripping with rabies. "Don't think I haven't forgotten that, Number Two. You don't get to talk to her like that. Make her think she's not part of your family. Say whatever you want to me, but if I see you spouting anymore of that bullshit to her again, I'll make you wish those masked freaks killed your stupid ass."

Diego stared back at her stoically, which was a shame. Nadine Vidal liked seeing men afraid. On their knees, fear in their eyes, their swallows coming dry. She'd done that to a boy in her class in third grade—ninth in America. He'd been teasing her about the long skirts she sometimes wore to class, thinking that it made her weak, a pretty little doe-eyed girl without enough brains to fill an eggcup.

After class, she'd cornered him and showed him what real weakness was like. Soon, he was on his knees, his lip split and a bruise forming on his cheek, crawling backwards as Nadine and her bloody knuckles advanced. She'd stopped in front of him, leaning down so she was at his level, and then she sent an array of spiders skittering up his arms. They weren't real—obviously—but the boy's fear was. He'd screamed, and it had been glorious.

Nadine knew what it was like to be scared of spiders. But she'd crushed that weakness beneath her feet. And she would crush any man who thought he was better than her. Because they all had a weakness she could exploit.

So as she stared at Diego with enough rage as she could muster, she thought she might just like to find his.

NADINE ARRIVED AT VANYA'S apartment just in time for their girls' night. Still shocked and a little flattered that she'd even been offered the opportunity to come, she found herself hesitating at the door, shrinking away from it as if it was some kind of poisonous beast. She knew she was being unreasonable, but she'd never been a people-person, preferring to solve disputes with her fists instead of a rational conversation. At parties, she'd find herself on the couch, alone, a drink in hand, and every time she tried to talk to someone, her voice would come out stilted; formal. It was enough to shoo anyone away.

Fuck, Nadine, just knock on the door, she told herself. You almost died last night, and you're worried about this?

Well, she couldn't argue with that. So Nadine raised a hand and knocked on the door to Vanya's apartment, which opened almost immediately. And there she was: Vanya Hargreeves, Number Seven, smiling back at her with enough brightness to restart the sun.

"Hey, Nadine," she said. "Come in. Allison and I just got here."

She opened the door wider, allowing Nadine entrance, and Nadine smiled, even though her chest was, strangely, still pulsing with nerves. Still, as she walked into the apartment, she allowed herself to get momentarily distracted from her strange anxiety by looking around Vanya's place. It was quaint, only slightly bigger than Nadine's hotel room back in France, but richly decorated, with ornate clocks, fluorescent yellow chandeliers, and a set of windows that allowed in the indigo of the night.

"Your apartment is so nice," she murmured, looking around the place in awe. Then she noticed Allison, who was slumped on the couch, and stiffened. Even if Vanya had made up with the actress, Nadine hadn't. So, for a moment, she just stared at the woman, awkwardness flooding through her veins. Then she spoke, her voice tentative. "Hello, Allison."

Allison sat up, chewing on her lip. "Hey. Nadine."

They both paused there for a second, staring at each other, and then Allison said, "Listen, I'm... I'm sorry for what happened last night. I really... I wasn't thinking clearly."

"I'm sorry, too," said Nadine after a moment, shrugging off her jacket. "For what I said, and for snapping at you."

Allison sighed. "No hard feelings, right?"

"No hard feelings," Nadine echoed, just as Vanya decided to speak up.

"I'm just gonna go check on things, make sure everything's in the right place." Then she headed into her room, leaving Allison and Nadine behind, the latter confused.

"In the right place? What did she mean by that?"

Allison sucked in a breath. "Right. You don't know. Well, earlier today, I came here to tell Vanya about what happened to our Mom... you know what happened, don't you?" At Nadine's nod, she continued, "But her door was unlocked, and I found Leonard in here. He told me he just had to use the bathroom, but I found it kind of odd."

"Leonard?" Nadine repeated, sounding like a broken record at this point, or a parrot, constantly echoing things back at her owner. "You mean, Vanya's violin class guy?"

Allison nodded. "Yeah. But everything got cleared up. We're good now." There was a bit of hesitation in her voice that Nadine didn't fail to hear, but she ignored it for now just as Allison stood up, calling to Vanya in her room, "Do you have sweatpants? We are going to need sweatpants." She danced across the room as she said it, reminding Nadine of a girl at her first sleepover.

Allison began to rifle through Vanya's cupboard for something to snack on, and Nadine watched, still slightly uncomfortable. Again, she wasn't really a people-person. What was she supposed to do in a situation like this? Sit on the couch uncomfortably? Start a conversation with Allison? What could she even talk to a movie star about?

After a moment, Allison seemed to find something that she liked in the cupboards, as she let out a gasp. "Chocolate-covered raisins," she grinned. She took up the bowl, popping a few of the treats in her mouth. Then she held it out to Nadine. "You want in?"

"Okay," said Nadine, crossing the room and plucking a few out of the bowl. "I don't think I've ever had chocolate-covered raisins before."

Allison gasped again, this time in mock outrage. "Then you're really missing out. Try one."

Nadine tasted one, and it was indeed good. She rolled it over her tongue, about to give Allison a rating of its excellence when Vanya came back in the room holding a bouquet of roses. "Oh my God."

Allison passed Nadine the bowl and followed Vanya. "Wait, what are those?"

"They're from Leonard," said Vanya, a smile in her voice.

Leonard. So this was why he had been in Vanya's apartment. To plant a bouquet of roses for some grand romantic gesture. How adorable, and a completely reasonable explanation for things.

Though... Nadine still couldn't help but find this whole situation a tad strange. Why couldn't Leonard have just brought Vanya the flowers, instead of leaving them in her apartment, especially when she wasn't home? How did he even get inside?

And... how well did Vanya even know Leonard? Hadn't they just met? If Nadine had found Camille in her apartment only days after they'd first talked, she would've probably called the police.

Allison picked up the card that had been attached to the bouquet and read it aloud. "'I like you, and I'm not sorry.'" Her brow creased in confusion. "I don't get it."

"It's an inside joke," Vanya explained. Nadine's brows rose at this.

"An inside joke? How long have you two known each other?"

Vanya smiled, and it was a lovely thing, pretty as the roses that now lay on the table. "Only a couple of days."

"And he's already giving you flowers?" Nadine inquired, her brow crinkling. Wasn't that a little soon?

Vanya's smile grew wider. "I guess so. I'm going to go call him."

Nadine frowned. Wasn't this supposed to be a girls' night? Why was Vanya doing this now, instead of at least waiting until both Allison and Nadine went home?

I guess even my life can't pass the fucking Bechdel Test, she thought, but kept her mouth shut. She sat down with Allison, sharing the bowl of chocolate-covered raisins, and watched Vanya dial Leonard's number on an old landline.

"Hey," Vanya said into the phone, after a minute. "I—I got the flowers. Thank you so much." A beat, then, "Worried, why?"

Nadine licked her lips and stood up to pour herself a glass of water. "It's fine," Vanya was saying. "She knows it was a misunderstanding. Do you wanna get breakfast tomorrow?" A pause. A smile. "Well, I'll, uh, talk to you in the morning."

Then Vanya hung up, leaving Nadine and Allison to stare at her. Nadine with a grip too tight over her glass of water, Allison with her arms crossed as if she couldn't believe things were processing so quickly. Which was completely valid, given that, again, they'd just met.

After a moment, Nadine spoke. "So... are you two a couple now?"

"I guess," Vanya responded, giddy. "Leonard's just... he's so sweet. I've never felt this sort of connection with anyone before."

For some reason, Nadine's chest clenched tight, like a hand had grabbed hold of her lungs and squeezed. Her hands balled into fists, which she promptly shoved into her pockets, trying to contort her face into a smile. She didn't know why this news felt like a slap to the face, a kick to the stomach, but it did.

And it was ridiculous. She barely knew Vanya. But for some reason, the thought of Vanya dating that man—Leonard—nearly made Nadine throw up.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Allison announced, and made her way out of the room. That just left Vanya, who was still smiling, her eyes lit up like a hundred suns, and Nadine, whose forced smile was making her cheeks twitch.

"Well... congratulations," Nadine said eventually, struggling to form the words in English. "But don't you find this whole situation a little weird? I get love-at-first-sight things, but it feels like you're taking this a little too quickly. I remember there was this girl I liked after only a few days, but she turned out to be the meanest bitch I've ever met, so we never got together. I definitely dodged a... what's the expression? I definitely dodged a bullet there."

Vanya's smile faded slightly. "I thought you'd be happy for me."

"Oh no, I am happy for you," Nadine backtracked. "Really happy. I'm just... I want to make sure you know what you're doing. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Funny." Vanya's voice had gone dry. "That was exactly what Allison was worried about. First she tells me that I need to go make more connections with people, and then she's all concerned when I do. I'm an adult, Nadine. I'm not some lovesick teenager. I think I know what I'm doing. And besides, it's not your place to police me. We barely know each other."

You barely know Leonard, Nadine thought, but didn't say. Fury was rising up in her like steam, but for once, she didn't let it loose. Instead, she said, "You're right. I'm sorry."

Vanya's rigid expression softened. "It's okay. Come on," she added. "Let's have a drink. This is supposed to be a girls' night, so let's make it a fun one."

Nadine nodded, another smile spreading onto her face, but inside, she was still on edge. There was something fishy about Vanya's relationship with Leonard, and although Vanya might not have been able to see it, Nadine did. She just hoped Vanya wouldn't hate her too much for pointing it out. 

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HAVEN: nadine is such a hypocrite 😔 she's really talking about how it's weird for vanya and leonard to get together after only a couple days when she totally wants to do the same thing 🤚 you're not fooling anybody, nadine.

anyway, i hope you'll forgive me for sort of jumping around plots here. i thought it would make more sense for nadine to hop between groups, and also for vanya to invite her over. also, i really wanted to write an allison/nadine/vanya trio :)

next chapter, we're headed back to diego's place, where five decides to be an asshole again (surprise, surprise!). fortunately, we also find out why, exactly, hazel and cha-cha tried to kill her in that alleyway twelve years ago, so be prepared for that :)

thank you for reading <3