❝ I rather like following you around like a lost puppy. ❞

―

KIRAN WRAPPED A LOOSE STRING HANGING FROM HIS SHIRT AROUND HIS INDEX FINGER.

A white and somewhat purplish hue began to color his spread across his finger as he tightly wound the string. There was a dull ache starting to emerge in the center of his finger, but he did not mind. He had experienced far more pain than his circulation being cut off by a tiny string was merely child's play in comparison. In an odd and unexplainable way, there was something that he found strangely satisfying about the slight sensation of pain that he felt as the string coiled tighter and tighter around his finger.

Slowly, Kiran began to unravel the string. He stared down at his finger when he was done, looking at the lines that remained indented into his skin. Kiran lowered his hand and sighed before crossing his arms. He glanced up, focusing his attention on Dr. Moncton for a brief moment before he turned his head.

Kiran thought group therapy was rather pointless, but it provided quite the insight into the ever-so confusing mind that was the man sitting beside him. Diego Hargreeves—the entire reason why Kiran was even sitting in the middle of a psychiatric hospital wearing a patient uniform. The Hargreeves siblings were of a very special interest to Kiran's mother—a woman who went by the name The Handler—and the organization for which they both worked, known as the Temps Commission, alongside Lila, Kiran's twin sister.

The Handler had assigned them both with the important task of getting close to the Hargreeves siblings. Diego was the first one they were able to locate. It hadn't been hard. The man had attempted to kill Lee Harvey Oswald before he had the chance to assassinate President Kennedy. Of course, no one took him seriously, and he was placed in the institution. All they had to do was see him in the newspaper to know that he was the perfect target.

"Thank you, Alan, for bringing that to the group. I think fear is something we can all relate to," Dr. Moncton spoke as he glanced around the group. "Okay, who else would like to share? Anyone?"

Kiran kept his eyes on Diego before looking past him at Lila, who held a carton of cigarettes in her hand. She fiddled with one of the cigarettes between her fingers as she looked around at the other patients. Kiran shifted his gaze back to Diego and crossed his arms.

"Diego," Dr. Moncton singled the man out. "You've been awfully quiet this morning."

"Just taking it all in, Doc," Diego replied. "Letting all the healing shit wash over me."

Kiran cracked a small smile at that, lowering his head so that no one would be able to see.

"Last week you mentioned your father, how your whole. childhood felt like some kind of experiment," Dr. Moncton continued, ignoring Diego's comment.

"It was an experiment," Diego quickly corrected him.

"Hmm," Dr. Moncton hummed in response. "Or did it just feel like an experiment?"

"No," Diego told him, shaking his head. "It was literally an experiment."

Dr. Moncton clicked his pen and began to jot down notes in the joint in his lap. "Let's dig deeper. You say your father is a villain."

"Hell, yeah," Diego agreed with no hesitation.

"So you had to play hero to make Daddy mad," Dr. Moncton continued.

Kiran could not help but let out a small snort, and his hand immediately shot up to his mouth to stifle his laughter. Lila, on the other hand, began to laugh suddenly and uncontrollably, causing the other patients to turn their heads to look at her. Diego looked back and forth between the two of them with an unamused and offended expression on his face.

Kiran held his hand up to his mouth, covering it as he looked at Dr. Moncton. Lila's laughter suddenly came to a halt when she realized that no one else was laughing with her.

"I'm a grown-ass man, Dr. Moncton—"

"Who still defines himself in opposition to his father," Dr. Moncton cut Diego off before he could finish his sentence. "His dead father. That isn't really defining yourself, is it, Diego?"

"Yeah, why don't you tell that to Luke Skywalker?" Diego shot back quickly.

Dr. Moncton and the entire group, with the exception of Kiran and Lila, looked at Diego in confusion. The twins turned their heads to look at him, but rather than staring in confusion, Kiran raised an eyebrow at him while Lila gave him a blank stare.

"I know you don't get it, but that is an excellent reference," Diego followed up his previous statement.

Dr. Moncton took his glasses off his face. "Humor is good; truth is better. Who is the real Diego?"

"I don't know," Diego responded. "I guess I've never known." There was a brief moment of silence. "But I'm ready. I'm ready to find out."

Dr. Moncton cracked a small, pleased smile at him. Lila placed the cigarette she had been holding between her lips and began to clap slowly. Kiran joined her, and soon, the rest of the patients in the circle began to clap with them as Diego began to wipe fake tears from his eyes.

"Thank you, Diego," Dr. Moncton spoke. "Okay, quiet time until lunch."

Dr. Moncton stood up and approached one of the nurses. Kiran crossed his arms and began to lean in closer to Diego until his lips were only a mere inch away from Diego's ear.

"You're so full of shit," Kiran whispered.

"Tears too much?" Diego asked.

"He totally saw right through it," Kiran replied, this time loud enough for Lila to hear.

"No, he totally ate that shit up," Diego argued.

"Bet you three lunch Jell-O's you're wrong," Lila chimed in.

"You're on," Diego accepted the challenge.

"All right," Lila responded.

Diego stood up from his chair to talk to Dr. Moncton. Lila moved seats, sitting in Diego's so that she could sit next to Kiran. Kiran laughed as he watched her start to pull the cigarettes from the carton in her hands out and place them in her nose. She out two on either side of her mouth before saying that she was a walrus. Kiran could not seem to stop laughing.

"They are going to kill him!" Diego shouted, causing Kiran to turn his head. "They're gonna shoot him in the head right here in Dallas. All right? Do you understand?"

When one of the orderlies began to get involved and tried to pull Diego away from Dr. Moncton, Diego stepped back and put his hands in the air.

"I'm okay," Diego said. "I'm okay."

He turned around and walked back over to the group circle, taking a seat next to Lila. Dr. Moncton walked out of the room as Kiran and Lila both stared at Diego. He turned his head to look at them, furrowing his eyebrows at the twins.

Soon, it was time for lunch. Kiran and Lila stood side by side as they made their way through the lunch line. Two people separated them from Diego. Lila leaned in closer to Kiran so that she could talk to him without anyone else hearing.

"Should I try and talk to him this time?" Lila questioned, her voice so soft that even Kiran could barely hear her.

Kiran placed his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "I've got this."

"But you always go talk to him," Lila replied, a slight pout appearing on her face.

Kiran simply shrugged his shoulders in response as he reached the end of the line. He turned on his heels, leaving his sister behind. He had to walk quickly in order to catch up with Diego.

Diego rolled his eyes the second he saw Kiran beside him. "What do you want?"

"Still playing hard to get, huh?" Kiran teased him.

"And you still think I'm ever going to give you the time of day, huh?" Diego responded, taking a seat at one of the tables. "Why don't you just mind your own business and stop following me around like a lost puppy?"

"I rather like following you around like a lost puppy," Kiran told him, taking a seat next to him. "It's entertaining."

Diego furrowed his brows. "Annoying the living daylights out of me is entertaining?"

Kiran nodded. "Very."

"You know, I'm starting to think you and that sister of yours have a crush on me," Diego commented. "You've both done nothing but follow me around for a month. You more than she has."

"You think I have a crush on you?" Kiran asked, arching an eyebrow.

Diego nodded his head. Kiran stared at him for a moment, a blank expression on his face. Diego rolled his eyes at him and stood up from his seat. He tossed his styrofoam tray into the trash can and began to walk out of the cafeteria. Kiran quickly stood up and tossed his tray. He caught up with Diego and grabbed him by the arm before he had the chance to tell one of the orderlies that he wanted to go back to his room. Diego stopped walking and turned to look at him.

A thought entered Kiran's head, and only a second had passed before he acted on it. He reached out and grabbed a fistful of Diego's t-shirt before pulling him behind a wall that shielded them from anyone keeping a watchful eye on them. Diego let out a noise of surprise at the action, followed by a small grunt as Kiran shoved him against the wall. Diego stared at him, wide-eyed, before he tried to shove Kiran off of him.

"What are you doing?" Diego questioned. "Get off of me!"

"What makes you think that I have a crush on you? Do you take me as some kind of schoolgirl?" Kiran asked. "Do you want me to giggle and twirl my hair around my finger?"

Diego shook his head. "What? No."

Their eyes met, and for a moment, they just stared. Kiran could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and part of him wondered if Diego was feeling the same, though there was a voice in the back of his mind that was planting a seed of doubt. And the voice sounded the same as it always did. It sounded like his mother. Like the Handler.

Finally, Kiran let go of his grasp on Diego's shirt. When he let go, the fabric was still wadded up and wrinkled. Diego shook his head at him and placed his hands on Kiran's chest before shoving him back. Kiran stumbled back but was able to catch his footing. He watched as Diego walked away.

Kiran's heart still continued to pound, and now, there was a slight burning feeling from where Diego's fingertips and hands had touched his chest. But the thing about the burning sensation was that it did not hurt. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

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After lunch, Kiran sat at a table in the Arts and Crafts room across from Diego and Lila. They were supposed to be making bracelets, but Kiran was staring up at the ceiling instead. He leaned back in his chair as he rested his feet on the chair next to him.

The sound of beads clattering against the table caught his attention, and he turned his head to see Diego rocking back and forth with his arms crossed.

"This is stupid," Diego pouted. "I can't."

"For you, maybe," Lila responded. "This'll cheer you up."

She propped her foot up on the table with a loud thud and then whipped out a piece of bacon from her shoe. Kiran scrunched his face up in disgust. She held it out in front of Diego.

"Bacon," Diego said with a nod.

"Smuggled it out of the lunchroom," Lila informed him. "Do you want some?"

"Why would anyone want bacon that you pulled out of your sweaty shoe?" Kiran questioned, disgust evident in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with him on this one," Diego said as he nodded his head.

Lila shrugged and then took a bite of the piece of bacon. Kiran continued to look at her with a disgusted look on his face as the sound of crunching began to fill his ears. He shared a glance with Diego, glad to see that the other man was equally as disturbed by it as he was.

"To be honest, I was saving it for the great escape," Lila announced.

"What are you talking about?" Diego asked, leaning slightly closer to her.

Lila shrugged her shoulders. "Just saying, whatever it is you're planning, I can be very resourceful, and so can Kiran."

"Look, even if I was planning something, and I am not, you two would be the last people I would take," Diego whispered, looking back and forth between them.

Kiran pretended to gasp, dramatically placing his hand on his chest. "Diego, how could you say such a thing?"

Diego glared at him, clearly not amused by his display of theatrics. Kiran just laughed.

"It's because of the Jell-O's, right?" Lila asked Diego. "You can have them back."

Diego shook his head. "No, it's not because of the Jell—I'm a lone wolf. I don't run with a pack."

Lila nodded. "Perfect. Because I'm somewhat of a lone wolf myself."

Kiran furrowed his eyebrows at her. Lila picked up the jewelry glue on the table and sniffed it. Kiran rolled his eyes at her. Sometimes, he questioned what went on inside of her head when she said and did some of the things she does.

"Hargreeves, you have a visitor."

"Who?" Diego asked.

"I ain't your secretary."

"Maybe Daddy finally came to say, 'I love you.'" Lila teased him.

"Piss off," Diego replied, mocking her accent.

Diego stood up and walked away from the table. Lila picked up the bracelet that Diego had been working on and extended her arm across the table toward Kiran.

"What?" Kiran asked.

"Take it," Lila said, nudging the bracelet forward.

"Why would I want the bracelet Diego was making?" Kiran questioned.

"For a keepsake," Lila responded. "Now take it."

Kiran sighed and leaned forward to grab the bracelet from her hands. He stared down at it before he slipped it around his wrist. Kiran looked up at his sister.

"Happy?" Kiran asked her.

Lila nodded her head, a smile on her face. It only lasted a few seconds before it disappeared. She stood up and walked around the table. She sat in the chair next to him and started to work on another bracelet.

"So, let's go over the plan one more time," Lila said softly.

"Are we sure we want to do it tonight?" Kiran asked.

Lila nodded her head. "It has to be tonight. We have no other choice, and it was your plan, remember?"

"Okay," Kiran nodded. "So, step one..."

────────────

Kiran waited in his room waiting for the call for lights out. In just a few minutes, the staff would finish doing their last rounds and would be calling it a night. He peered out the small rectangular window on the door, trying to see if there was anyone still lurking in the halls. When he didn't see anyone, Kiran stepped back from the door.

He closed his eyes and pictured the security room in his head, focusing on getting a vivid image. He had only seen it once before in passing and had never once had the chance to step foot inside. But the small glimpse of what it looked like was all he needed to see the room in his mind in real time. He scanned the room, looking around to see if anyone was in sight. There was no one. Perfect.

Kiran opened his eyes and found himself—or rather a replication or a clone of himself—standing inside of the security room. He quickly grabbed the keys that accessed every single patient room. Now, it was up to the clone to not get caught.

A few minutes later, Kiran breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the lock of his door opening. The door slowly swung open, and he stared at his exact mirror image on the other side. His clone handed him the keys. With one touch of the hand, the clone was gone. Kiran stepped out of his room and quietly closed the door behind him.

All he had to do now was free Lila and Diego, which was going to prove to be a much more difficult task than he and Lila had originally planned due to the fact that Diego was now in solitary.

Kiran carefully and quietly walked down the hallways, searching for Lila's room. He turned the corner, and when he found her door, he began to unlock it immediately. Lila was jumping for joy when the door opened.

"Let's go get Diego," Lila whispered. "Where's solitary?"

"This way." Kiran nudged his head to the right of the hall. "Come on."

The twins made their way down the hallway as quietly as possible. So far, they had not heard or seen any of the staff or orderlies. But right as Lila opened her mouth to say something, one of the orderlies began to walk down the hall toward them.

Kiran grabbed her by the arm and yanked her against the wall. They hid until Kiran was certain that the man had passed. Kiran peered his head around the corner, and when he no longer saw him, he turned to Lila and nodded his head. She followed behind her brother in the direction of solitary.

The only problem was that they had to go in the exact same direction that he had gone.

The sanitarium suddenly went dark, and seconds later, the lights on the ceiling above them began to flash. Kiran cursed under his breath. Kiran tried not to panic as he and Lila kept their distance, careful not to get too close to the orderly. The last thing they wanted to do was alert him to the fact that they were following him.

As if the universe hated him, Kiran's shoe squeaked on the floor. He quickly grabbed Lila by the arm and pulled her into the open supply closet before the man had the chance to turn his head and spot them. Lila started to look around the room, grabbing a bedpan off a shelf without Kiran noticing.

Kiran peeked out of the doorway, checking to see if the man was still there. When he didn't see him, he motioned with his hand for Lila to follow him. They kept walking down the hallway, stopping when they saw the orderly they had been following knock Diego to the floor.

"Like to run your mouth, smart-ass? It's gonna be hard after I break your jaw."

Lila walked up to him and raised the bedpan in the air. The sound of metal clanging echoed through the hall as the man's body fell to the floor with a thud. Kiran stared at his sister, wide-eyed, as she dropped the pan to the floor.

"What?" Lila asked.

"Kiran? Lila?" Diego asked groggily.

"You're not the only one who wants out, wolf man!" Lila said as she giggled.

Kiran shook his head at her as he stepped over the orderly's body and helped Diego up.

"Watch my shoulder," Diego told him.

Kiran held onto Diego's arm as they stood in front of each other. Their eyes locked, an intense gaze deepening with every passing second. Kiran was expecting Diego to push him away again, but he never did. He certainly expected him to after what he was about to do.

Kiran continued to distract Diego by maintaining eye contact and slowly leaning in closer to him. He tightened his grip on Diego's arm and then popped his shoulder back into place. Diego screamed in pain. Lila started to howl like a wolf, causing Kiran to laugh.

"Let's go," Kiran said.

Kiran and Lila stood on either side of Diego, helping him walk down the hallway as he stumbled. They reached the end of the corridor, where two double doors awaited them. Three men carrying guns stepped into the doorway, staring back at them. Kiran and Lila shared a look before glancing back at the three men to see them approaching them. Kiran's eyes widened as he turned on his heels, grabbing Diego's arm. Lila quickly followed suit, and the three of them ran down the hallway as the men started firing bullets their way.

"Who are those guys?" Lila asked.

"No idea," Diego answered.

"I don't know," Kiran replied.

Diego stopped and opened the door to one of the nurse's stations.

"What the hell are you stopping for?" Lila questioned.

"We need a distraction," Diego responded, pulling a switch on a control panel.

Diego exited the room and motioned for Kiran and Lila to follow him. As they run, the other patients are released from their room. The trio of men chasing them were hot on their trail, firing more bullets at them. Kiran has to dodge in order to avoid being hit. They run toward the maintenance room and look around, trying to look for a way out. Kiran gets the idea to use the laundry chute, which leads them to a long corridor underneath the sanitarium. They stop at an intersection and glance back and forth.

"Which way?" Diego asked.

"Right," Lila replied.

"Why right?" Diego asked.

Lila shrugged. "Why not?"

The three of them ran in the right direction. They run into two cops, causing them all to fall to the ground. Kiran quickly stands up on his feet and then extends his hand out to Diego, who grabs his hand and allows Kiran to help him up.

"Thank God you're here," Lila said to the cops. "Three men just tried to attack us."

One of the cops pulls out a gun and points it at her. "Put your hands up, now."

Lila gasped and put her hands in the air.

"No, wait, you don't understand," Diego tried to explain. "We're not the bad guys."

"Shut your mouth," the cop told him.

"Listen, sir, you have to believe us," Kiran tried his luck. "There's these men with guns who are after us and—"

"I said shut your mouths!" the cop shouted, pointing his gun at Kiran.

Lila kicked his gun away, knocking it out of his hand, and then kneed him in the abdomen. The cop grunts as Lila punches him in the face. He falls to the ground with a thud. Kiran gives her a proud smile.

"Where'd you learn how to fight like that?" Diego asked.

"My mother," Lila replied simply. "Come on."

She started to run down the corridor. Kiran glanced over at Diego before he grabbed ahold of his hand and began to run after Lila, hauling him along after him.

— EMILIA'S NOTES

finally the first chapter is here!!

kiran is already flirting with diego lol and he's so chaotic already. don't you just love it?

hope you enjoyed the first chapter!