CHAPTER TWO: THE DINER MEETING

"Don't be so quick to believe what you hear, because lies can spread faster than the truth"

---

You were walking down the street to find somewhere you could buy some food or get something to eat. It was late and not many people were on the street.

Then suddenly you got a weird feeling in your body and you stopped up before you looked to the left to see a huge Academy with an umbrella on the front glass doors.

"Hmm. The Umbrella Academy. I wonder what happen to those guys" you said as you kept looking at the building, you got a feel like you have being there before, but you chose to ignore it since you probably believe that the place was famous and everyone knew about it so of course you knew about it.

You then continue down the street but as you walked past the Academy, a black car came driving out of an alleyway, almost hitting you, but you had good reflex, so you reach to stop before jumping back.

The car honk as it drove passed you "ASSHOLE. WATCH WHERE YOU'RE FUCKING DRIVING!" you shouted as you gave the person that was driving the finger. 

You couldn't really see the person behind the wheel, but he was not very big, he almost looked like a teenager.

"Dick" you said before you kept walking.

"I hope I never see that Asshole again" 

--- 

You were five years old and was holding your mom's hand as she walked up to a huge Academy's front doors. You notice that an umbrella was on the glass doors.

"What are we doing here mom?" you asked "It's a place that can help you with your powers" Ella said before she lifted her free hand up and knocked on the door.

After a minute a man with gray hair, a moustache on and a monocle in his eye opened the door.

"Miss Eversun" he greeted "Reginald" Ella greeted back and Reginald looked down to see you holding your mom's hand, he gave you a smile and you hid behind your mom a bit, 'cause you were a little shy.

Reginald then looked back at Ella "I knew that you would come" he said "I'm not here to give her to you" she said "Then why are you here?" he asked "You were right, her powers are growing and they are up to the point where I can't have her near people or other kids until she have learn how to control them" Ella said "So?" he asked "So. I came here to ask you if you don't mind have her staying here. She will not be living here, I just want her to stay here while I'm working. I will come pick her up every evening and then drop her off every morning around 5:30" she said "And what do you want me to do with her?" he asked "Don't play dumb, Reginald. I don't want you to put her on your missions. I just want you to help her in teaching and train her in how to control her powers" she said and Reginald looked down at you again.

"Are you asking me for help?" he asked as he looked back at Ella "Yeah, I'm asking you for help. Please Reggie, Nattie is a sweet, kind, smart and amazing girl and she don't deserve to live her life in fear or close herself out from the world. I beg you. Help her" she said "What do I get if I help her?" he asked "Me keeping my mouth shut" Ella said and Reginald nodded "Okay, I will help her and train her. But I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for her, 'cause it's a shame to waste someone like that girl" he said "Thank you" Ella said before she turned and crouched down so she was in eye level with you.

"Listen Sweetheart, this is the place you will be staying at for now" Ella said "No, mom, I wanna stay with you" you said "It's okay, Honey. Mom is just going to work and in the meantime, you will be staying here. It will be fun and I will bet that there is other kids here and you will be friends with them" Ella said.

"Are you coming back?" you asked "Of course, I will pick you up later in the evening and then drop you off here again. Can you handle that?" Ella asked and you nodded "That's my brave girl. Now behave nice and do what Mr. Hargreeves is saying. I will come and get you later, okay" Ella said and you nodded again "I love you, Sweetheart" she said "I love you too, mommy" you said and Ella kissed you on the forehead.

She then got up before she turned to look at Reginald "Remember she is not part of your team or she is any of your children. She is still mine and she is only here so you can teach her how to control her powers. I don't want you to run test on her or treat her as an experiment or a lab rat like you are doing to the other kids. Understood?" she asked "I promise" he lied and Ella nodded before she turned around and left.

Small tears ran down from your eyes as your mom walked away "Hello little one" Reginald said and you turned around before you looked up at him "My name is Reginald Hargreeves and I'm gonna help you in how to use your powers" he said before he stretched his left arm towards her "You have nothing to be afraid of little one. Your mom will come back but until then, you belong here" he said and you took his hand "Come with me and meet the others" he said as the two of you walked into the Academy before he closed the door behind you.

"Others, there are others like me?" you asked "Of course there is little one. Did you really think you were the only one?" he asked "Yeah. Mom said that I was special" you said "Well, you're special and there are other kids that are special like you. I have seven of them. Of course no one is as special as you, but they are still special. Come meet them" he said.

---

After had walking for a few minutes, you stopped when you reach a place called Griddy's Doughnuts.

"Griddy's Doughnuts and is still open. Perfect place to get something for tomorrow. When I go out and looking for a job" you said as you cross the street to go over to the diner.

As you grabbed the door handle another hand was put on the handle but it was put on your hand instead and you looked at the person to see a 16-year-old boy with short dark brown hair that almost looked black and green eyes. 

He was dress in a school uniform. A dress shirt, tie, and vest underneath a blue blazer with matching schoolboy short, he had blue shorts and black knees length socks on.

You and the boy looked at each other and when you lay your eyes on one another, it was like something just click for the both of you, you felt drawn to each other and as your hands was touching you both felt like an electric feeling ran through both of your bodies at the contact of your skin. It was like static electricity, but in a good way. A way that it made your neck heat up and a blush arrive on your cheeks.

Both of you got a weird feelings in your body, telling that you both knew each other from somewhere, but you both ignored it as you both couldn't remember where.

"I'm Number Five, but you can call me Five"

"Hello, I'm Natalie Eversun" 

"Be a little more focus, kid" the boy said as he pushed the door open with his hand "I'm not a kid and who are you calling a kid, you are the same age as me" you said and he let out a scoff before he enter the diner, not even holding the door for you.

"Okay, not even holding the door" you said as you push the door open before entering "Why would I?" he asked "Have you no manners?" you asked but he didn't answer as he walked over to the counter before sitting down, impatiently hitting on the bell that was in front of him.

"Have your mom not taught you anything?" you asked as you sat down next to him "You could just be more focus" the boy said and you rolled your eyes before the both of you took a quick glanced at each other before looking away.

"You're out late" the boy said "What?" you asked "It's dangerous for a young woman like you walking around on the street this late" he said "I can defend myself" you said and he let out a scoff "Beside it's also dangerous for boys like you to walk around on the street this late, I mean it's not only young girls that gets assault and kidnap" you said "Well, I can handle myself. Beside I'm older than you think" the boy said "So am I" you said and the boy turned his head before his eyes scanned you up and down.

You turned your head to look at him and he quickly look away.

You felt a weird feeling going through your body, it was like you knew him or had met him before, but you chose to ignore it 'cause you are someone that don't forget a face easily beside where could you have met him. Most of your memories from the age of five to 13 was dark and empty and a few of them was fuzzy and blurry.

But he remind you of the guy that you sometimes sees in your dreams.   

The boy had the same feeling going through his body, it was also like he knew the girl that was sitting next to him from somewhere, but he also chose to ignore it cause where could he know you from. Most of his memories from the age of five to 13 was dark and empty, a few of them was fuzzy and blurry.

But you remind him of the girl that he sometimes sees in his dreams.   

You took a deep breath before grabbing a newspaper that was laying in front of you, scanning the headline.

"Have you heard that Reginald Hargreeves is dead?" you asked "We don't need to made small talks" he said "I was just trying to be nice, that's how I was raised" you said "Well, stop that. I don't want to make small talk" he said "Okay. Suit yourself" you said.

"Dickhead" you said inside your head before you turned to the page on the newspaper where all the crosswords was and you grabbed a pencil that was laying next to you before you pulled up your phone and started the time, as you started doing the crosswords.

Once every few seconds you and the boy kept glancing at each other, you just did it while the other was not watching.

Then the door opened and a man entered the diner.

The boy let out a sigh as the man walked over to the counter before taking a seat next to the boy.

The man had a yellow and black plaid shirt on underneath a puffy vest. He wore jeans and boots.

The man exhales deeply before he looked down at the menu he was holding in his hand. The boy looked up and down at the man before he sighed as he looked down at his hands that were clasped together on the counter while you continue doing the crosswords. 

Since you were really smart, it was easy and it didn't take long before you were done.

"And done" you said to yourself as you wrote the last word down before stopping the timeer on your phone.

"Okay" you looked at the time on your phone "That didn't take long. Not my record, but better. My brain are finally slowly beginning to get use to being awake" you said to yourself causing the boy to look at you.

"Who are you talking to, it can't be me 'cause I'm not listening" he said "I'm talking to myself" you said as you put your phone in your pocket before you look at him "It's very rude talking to yourself when there are others around you" the boy said "Well, you just said that you didn't want to make small talk and since you also told me that you wasn't listening, then deal with it" you said before you picked up the pencil again and started drawing on the newspaper while the boy let out a small smile.

After being in a coma for six years and spending six months lock inside your house, recovering, not having anyone to talk to only your mom but that was only when she wasn't working, you started talking to yourself which had became a bad habit. So now when you were out in the real world, you had to get use to not talking to yourself.

The boy was actually a little impress that a young girl like you could finished a crossword for adults in under ten minutes. 

From the corner of the boy's eyes he could see what you were drawing and his eyes widened a bit over how amazing you were at drawing.

He turned his head a little bit towards you to see the drawing better and he could see that you were drawing a landscape with a sun that was setting behind a waterfall. It was actually a really beautiful drawing. It was a masterpiece. 

"That is actually beautiful" the boy mumbled "Hmm. What's did you say?" you looked back at the boy "It's a pretty drawing" he said "Thanks" you said before you looked back down at the drawing.

The sound of dished clattering was heard before the door to the back opened and an older woman in a pink uniform walked out from a room behind the counter before she approached the three

"Natalie" the woman said and you looked up to see that it was Agnes "Hey Agnes" you said with a smile.

Back when you were a kid, you would sometimes came here with your mom. And while recovering from the coma, you and your mom came here everyday and it was Agnes that served you all the time. You came here so often that you didn't even need to tell her what you want, she knew what you like.

"How are you?" Agnes asked as she looked at you with a smile "I'm fine. I'm doing better, my body and mind are still getting use to being awake and outside" you said "Where is your mom?" Agnes asked "She is not here" you said "So you're alone?" Agnes asked "Yeah, but it was time for me to go outside and start living my life. Beside the doctor told me six months and that what have passed now. But don't worry Agnes. I'm a lot better, so you don't need to worry" you said while the boy glanced confused between you and Agnes, wondering what you guys were talking about.

"Okay, that's good. Just be careful" she said "I will" you said.

Agnes then nodded before she looked at the boy and the man.

"Sorry, sink was clogged" she said and chuckled "So, what'll it be?" she asked as she pulled out a pen and a small notepad out of her apron before looking at the man next to the boy.

"Uh, give me a chocolate éclair" the man said "Mm-hmm. Sure" Agnes said and wrote it down before she looked at you "The usual?" she asked and you nodded "Yeah, the usual number five" you said and Agens wrote that down before she looked at the boy.

"Can I get your boyfriend a glass of milk or something?" she asked "Not my boyfriend. I don't even know him" you said "Sorry, I just felt a connection between the two of you" Agnes said which made you and the boy glanced at each other in confusing.

"Sorry about that" Agnes said before she looked at the boy again "Can I get the kid a glass of milk or something?" she asked as she looked back at the man, thinking that it was his kid and the boy scoffs.

"The kid wants coffee. Black" he said and Agnes looked at the boy with widened eyes for a few seconds before she looked back at the man "Cute kid" she said with smile and chuckled before she looked back at the boy who gave her a fake but a little creepy smile.

"Okay" Agnes said sounding a little uncomfortable before she turned away to get the order.

The boy let out a sigh while you looked down at your hands that were clasped together on the counter.

"Don't remember this place being such a shithole" the boy said causing you and the man to look at him "I used to come here as a kid. Used to sneak out with my brothers and sisters and eat doughnuts till we puked" the boy said as he thought back to those moments "Simpler times, huh?" he said "Eh. I suppose" the man said.

You raised a brow, why would he say something like that, talking about something he did when he was a kid. He still is, or maybe he is an adult but something had also happen to him so he was also in his teenage body.

Agnes cleaned her throat "Here you go. It's one the house" she said as she gave you a cup of black coffee and a chocolate glaze doughnut "Thanks" you said.

"Here" Agens said as she gave the boy his cup of coffee "I got his" the man said as Agnes handing him his order "Thanks" the boy said.

You then pulled up your small contain with pills before taking one out, putting the rest in your pocket. 

You put the pill in your mouth before you used the coffee to swallow it.

You then put your mug down before you grabbed the doughnut. 

But when you took a bite of your doughnut, a small part of the fresh chocolate landed on your jacket, right by the chest "Damn it" you said before you got up and it was like you could feel some eyes on you as you walked to the restroom. 

The boy's eyes followed you until you enter the restroom and once you were out of sight, the boy looked at the man's work clothes "You must know your way around the city" he said "I hope so. I've been driving it for 20 years" the man said "Good. I need an address" the boy said.

---

Meanwhile you were in the restroom trying to wipe the chocolate off your jacket "That was so embarrassing, right when I'm sitting next to a cute boy. This happens. Hope he didn't see it" you said to yourself as you continued wiping the chocolate off your jacket.

---

"The ties that bind you together, make you stronger than you are alone" the man said with the monocle said.

You were 12 years old and was sitting on a chair together with six kids, they were sitting in a row of chairs.

You were watching as the six kids was getting a umbrella tattoo on their left wrist. Weirdly all the people's faces in the room was blurry except one and that was the boy who had green eyes and short dark brown hair that almost look black. His face was not so blurry as the rest but you still couldn't see his face clearly.

You looked at the boy with the dark brown hair that was sitting next to you.

Even so he wasn't good with emotions nor showing them, you could see that he was scared and nervous. You knew that the boy has never been a soft person or was a comforting one but he can be when he was around you.

The boy rested his hand on top of yours in comfort. "It's gonna be okay" you said to the boy "You can say that, you're not getting a tattoo" the boy said "'Cause I'm not a member of this team or the family. I don't sleep here, well, sometimes. But is rare, it's only when my mom is on a business trip. My mom picks me up every day. She said that I'm only here so your dad can help me with controlling my powers" you said "Well, you will always be family in my eyes, Nat" he said and you smiled.

"They will make you impervious to the pain and hardship the world will thrust upon you. And believe me when I tell you, life will be hard. It will be painful" the man said as one of the boys was done with his tattoo.

You looked to the right to see one of the boys sitting next to you, he was shaking a bit "It's gonna be okay Ben. It will only hurt a little" you said before you took his hand and he stop shaking a bit.

The boy with the dark brown hair that was sitting on your left glanced at you and Ben, like he was a little jealous. But then you also grabbed his hand causing him to calm down again as he could feel his skin touching yours.

"We can accomplish anything when we accept responsibility together. This is what creates trust. Together, you will stand against the reign of evil" Reginald said before he looked at you who was holding two of the boy's hands.

"Every artist is different and every person is different and I don't think we should fight to copy anyone or to be anything else or to be anything that someone think you should be. I think you should be what you think you should be and what will be different because you're your only person, there isn't anyone else like you in the world"

A/N: Vote or comment