( but no one comes in and yes, you're alone, you don't miss me, i know )

chapter one !

THERE WAS A RIFT IN WHERE DEATH MET EMPTINESS. Death was a mystery, a question mark in the face of the universe. It was a fear that blinked brightly. It was mistaken as synonymous with emptiness. Dread and grief and emptiness.

Vincent knew that emptiness was worse than death.

Emptiness was a scary thing. Emptiness was a void, eons deep and uncontrollable. Emptiness felt like losing someone.

Emptiness was carelessness and carelessness was impulsivity and impulsivity was grief and grief was dread and dread was death. Vincent didn't know where he stood.

Vincent had a friend once who tried to help him understand. Gilbert; the same boy who filed the missing persons report for Vincent Leblanc. Gilbert was a boy that Vincent had never cared enough for, which Gilbert knew and would respond to by reprimanding him for closing himself off to the world. Vincent never knew what to say to that. Most times he'd say, "tell me, why would the world care?" Gilbert only ever smiled. Vincent wished he hadn't been so terrible to him.

Vincent wished a lot of things these days.

It had been two weeks since he'd been spat out into the sixties. The entire time had been spent in Jesse Finch's home, stowed away in a guest room in the far back area of the house.

Vincent had learned a lot about Billie Tate and Jesse Finch in that time.

Billie was the head cheerleader at their local high school, following in her mother's footsteps. Her father had been dead for three years. She liked candles that smelled like the ocean. She didn't want to go to college. She hated cheerleading, despite her previous attempts at seeming enthusiastic.

Jesse was harder to crack, but Vincent had picked up a few things. Jesse flinched when someone raised their hand near him. He was terrified of his father. His father had been on a business trip for two months and would be gone for another four. His father did that a lot. His mother lived all the way in California, though Vincent had no idea why. He was twitchy. He was his high school golden boy and star quarterback. He cried when he slept sometimes, even when he thought Vincent couldn't hear from the other room. The walls in his house were painfully thin.

Billie and Jesse had never talked about how Vincent had found them making out in an alleyway. Vincent didn't think they were even together. He could never know with straight people.

Neither of them knew much about Vincent. He'd lied and said he came from a nearby town after a fight with some kids from school. He fed them fake facts that they believed without a second thought. Sometimes he felt bad about it.

Through them, Vincent was about to meet Adam Graves. Vincent knew nothing about Adam.

"Adam is awesome," Billie whispered to Vincent, her arm hooked around the strap of her flimsy backpack as she dug through it with the other. The backpack was an atrocious yellow, with a huge ironed on patch of Wilma Flinstone front and center. Vincent had not yet figured out the intricacies of Billie Tate. "He doesn't go to our school cuz' he's not allowed to."

Vincent furrowed his brow. "Not allowed to— oh shit," He mumbled, running one exasperated hand through his hair. "I forgot I was in the sixties." He said, much too casually.

"See, you always say weird shit like that. Like you're a time traveler or something," Billie laughed, pulling a keychain from her backpack with a small huff of victory, five or six keys dangling from the chain. "Adam's momma doesn't like that he's got white friends. She thinks we'll do somethin' to him. I don't blame her worry, but Adam's better than any other boy I've met. To hurt him would be like hurtin' a puppy."

Vincent nodded slowly. "So what are the keys for then?"

"We always meet up with Adam at the shed behind his house. I've got the keys for it," She held up the exact one. "His shed is pretty big for a boy so poor."

Vincent couldn't help but let out a laugh at that. He shook his head to himself and looked ahead, frowning at how far up Jesse was, his hands shoved into his pockets and his head hung low.

"What's wrong with Jesse?" Vincent asked lowly, nudging Billie with his elbow.

Billie zipped up her backpack and slung it back over her shoulder carelessly. She smoothed out her ill-fitting skirt before shrugging. "He's always been like that," She said. "He's different when he's with his football pals. Way different. But it's all fake then. He grins around them and says stupid stuff, but once he walks away he looks like he wants to scrub his whole body until he disappears."

Vincent didn't respond. He knew the feeling well. The feeling of being a fake. The feeling of wanting to disappear. Emptiness, Vincent, that's emptiness. You're losing yourself, Vincent wanted to put his thoughts on a spear and throw them into a burning fire.

"He's real quiet. Sometimes I'll put my hand on his arm and he'll pull away and look halfway to a panic attack. I've got this whole speech I have to go through with him to get him to chill out," Billie explained quietly. "He's real nice too, though. Weirdly nice for a boy. Sometimes he'll apologize to me after he panics and I've got to tell him off for it."

Vincent only chuckled. He hadn't talked to Jesse Finch much in his two weeks here, because Jesse had never wanted to speak to him. But Vincent was beginning to think he had more in common with him than he'd thought.

Jesse stopped up ahead in front of a small square shed, a yard or two away from a medium-sized house. Billie stepped forward with a grin and used her key to unlock the door, hauling it open with one hand.

Inside there was a boy, sixteen and dark-skinned, sprawled out on a wool couch, flipping through some run-down comic book with a focused look. He briefly glanced up at the newcomers, but paused a little when he saw Vincent.

Jesse stepped forward, flicking the boy who Vincent assumed was Adam Graves on the forehead. Adam hissed a breath through his teeth, shutting his comic book and sitting up slowly. "What?" The boy groaned.

"This is Vincent. We found him in an alleyway dying." Jesse said, his voice raspy from disuse as he pointed at Vincent, who sent Adam an awkward two finger salute. He hadn't talked at all that day until then.

Adam raised an amused eyebrow, but sent a salute back to Vincent. He looked over at Billie, chuckling at how big her smile was. "Spit it out, Tate."

"Isn't he cute?!" Billie exclaimed so loudly that Jesse winced. She walked over to Vincent, wrapping one arm around his shoulders. Vincent would have stiffened two weeks ago, but he'd gotten so used to Billie being touchy that he simply leaned into it. "We've had him for two weeks."

"You talk about him like he's a dog," Adam pointed out. His gaze slid back over to Vincent. "So Vincent. Are you racist?" He asked as if he were asking about something as worthless as the weather, leaning back.

Vincent spluttered, eyes widening. "What? No! Do I look racist?!" He asked, patting down his hoodie— Jesse's hoodie— frantically, as if that would solve anything.

Adam grinned. "Anyone can look racist, Frenchie," He said. "So did you guys ask him where he came from?" He asked. He seemed to be the only one in the group with common sense, and he knew it very well.

"We did," Jesse muttered, sitting on the wool couch beside Adam. Vincent noted that he made sure they didn't touch. "He said he came from a nearby town"

"What nearby town?" Adam raised his eyebrow.

"Uhhhhh," Vincent winced. "Is it acceptable that I say I don't remember...? Brain damage, you know." Billie nodded enthusiastically in agreement from beside him.

"It is not," Adam smiled, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Why'd you lie, Frenchie?"

"That nickname is so fucking bad, dude. Please," Vincent groaned. "Lying is fun when you're good at it, Adam." He pointed out, grinning awkwardly from his place as the three others stared at him with judgemental expressions.

"What have you lied about?" Billie frowned.

"Everything, probably." At first Vincent thought that came from Adam's mouth, but it was actually his own. Too honest, Vince, Five would say. Even when you lie, you're too honest. It's flustering.

Adam let out a giddy laugh from the couch. Vincent liked him, despite the way he was exposing all of his lies from the last two weeks. "Care to let us interrogate you, Vincent?" He questioned.

"Only if I get to interrogate you all back," Vincent shrugged. "I've got interrogated for real before. I know the ins and outs, baby boomers."

Billie furrowed her eyebrows at the nickname, but pulled away from Vincent to close the doors of the shed before moving to sit in an armchair beside the couch. She gestured for Vincent to sit on the floor.

Vincent's lip curled in disgust. "Honestly, I'd rather stand." He said, leaning against a shelf.

"Where'd you come from?" This question was from Jesse.

"An alien planet," Vincent said, staring at the palm of his own hand. The scars there, shaped as an X and a star and the word soon all overlapped atop one another, from the Commission was darker now, seemingly deeper than ever before. He had no idea why. He swallowed hard and looked up at the others, a coy smirk on his face. "Or the Soviet Union."

Billie giggled from her chair, crossing a leg over her knee. "My grandpa was from the Soviet Union."

"Billie, I don't think that's something to brag about at the moment," Adam winced.

"Why— Oh," Billie slumped in her seat. "Well he wasn't in the war."

Vincent snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm from France," He shrugged. "Good enough?"

"No. Why are you here? France is very far away, Jean Valjean," Adam said.

Vincent grinned, shark-like. He leaned forward. "Now that's a good nickname," He muttered. "I'm from the future. Alternate dimension. Whatever you want to call it."

Billie burst out laughing. "See how funny he is, Adam? He makes jokes like that all the time!"

Adam narrowed his eyes. "Weird joke."

Vincent shrugged. "Weird indeed. What can I say? I'm a natural born comedian."

"When you have nightmares you say the number five under your breath a lot. Why?" Jesse cut in with another question.

This one made Vincent wince.

Vincent didn't like that one. He smirked. "When you have any dream at all you cry. Why?" He retorted, all venom in his voice.

Jesse's face heated up and he swallowed hard, looking down at the ground.

Adam glared at Vincent harshly enough that he sighed.

"Sorry, Finch," Vincent murmured. He was bad at making friends, wasn't he? Too trigger-happy, said the Five burrowed in his head. Calm that temper of yours before you blow up. Again. Save it for someone who deserves it. "What I have nightmares about doesn't concern any of you. You should be glad it doesn't. You'd all be in a psych ward if it did."

"I have nightmares about spiders. And ghosts," Billie said. "There's one where I topple on all the girls in cheerleading and break every bone in my body. That's the fucking worst." She laughed.

"Jesus," Adam sighed under his breath. "Okay. Why did Jesse say you were dying when they found you?"

"Because he was," Jesse answered for him. "He was bleeding everywhere. And then Billie offered up my house because she doesn't know boundaries."

Billie huffed out an offended noise, but didn't argue. She probably knew he was right.

"I wasn't dying," Vincent chuckled. Because he'd already died like literally five minutes before that. "I had gotten my ass kicked a little before I stumbled into the alleyway and found Billie and Jesse making out, which by the way was disgusting. You guys make out so violently."

Jesse dug the heel of his shoe into the ground. He did that a lot.

"Gross. You two are still trying to make that work?" Adam cut in, looking between his two friends.

Billie frowned, twirling a strand of her hair between her fingers.

Neither of them responded.

Adam sighed heavily and looked at Vincent. "They're stubborn," He murmured. "They try to force themselves to like each other. God knows why."

Vincent could guess why.

"Sure," He said. "Anymore questions, O'Captain my Captain?"

"Why do you want to stay with the rejects?" Adam questioned, leaning forward. "Jesse and Billie don't have the reputation, but they're just as much losers as I am."

"Who says I want to stay with you guys?" Vincent snorted. At Adam's knowing look, Vincent grit his teeth. "I root for the underdogs." He mocked.

"Yes?" Adam raised his brow. "You root for a girl who barely knows how to read?" He pointed to Billie, whose face burned hot with shame as she flipped off Adam. "Or a boy who has to pretend to hate me to keep his stupid quarterback title?" He pointed to Jesse then, who let out a small choked off noise. "Or a black cripple?" He asked lastly, pointing to himself with a grin.

Vincent raised his eyebrow in question, watching as Adam pulled up his pant leg, revealing a web of nasty pale scars over his left knee.

"Got run over by a car when I was seven. I walk with a cane. It's kinda embarrassing." Adam explained airily.

Vincent shrugged. "Cute sob stories, but they're meaningless to me," He said. It was something of a lie. He knew there was much more to what Adam had said. It was a gnarly detailed web much like the scar on his knee. "I root for myself. I'm no hero. I'm an asshole. I've done some majorly fucked up shit. You wanna talk rejects? Sure." He stood up straighter. They were all staring at him now, unreadable expressions. "But don't blame yourself for being one. That's not your fault. And it's definitely not your fucking fault," he pointed to Adam. "Being a reject doesn't mean you have to act like one, you goddamn losers."

What the fuck Vincent. You sound like a TED talk. Vincent huffed a breath through his teeth. His hands ached to use his powers again, even in the slightest. There was a new thump of it under his skin now. It had made an appearance after he had been brought back to life. He yearned to use it.

It was silent for a long moment before Billie grinned. "Would you like to elope, Vincent?" She asked.

"Yes." Vincent said, smirking.

Jesse let out a laugh that was as surprising as it was nice to hear. Even Jesse seemed surprised that he'd done that, but the smile on his face stayed, even if it was small. "Can I be your best man, Bill?" He asked.

"Please do," Billie smiled wider, jumping up from her chair. "Adam, what will you be?"

Adam stayed quiet for a moment. Vincent thought he might be irritated, until a smile split his face and Adam said, "I'll be the flower boy."

Billie laughed. "Very good," She said. "My momma will not be attending. She doesn't like boys with black hair." She told Vincent.

Vincent laughed. "Bummer," He muttered. "Why are we eloping exactly?"

Billie smiled wide, reaching a hand up to mess up Vincent's hair. "Because you're so very different, Vincent. My momma always told me to marry a boy different than me."

"But no black hair?" He grinned.

Billie giggled. "No black hair. She likes blond."

Vincent scrunched up his nose. "I'm not going blond for your mother, Billie Tate." He said.

Billie grinned wider. "Then no wedding, unfortunately," She sighed dramatically before turning to Adam and Jesse, both of whom looked extremely amused. "Sorry boys. I've taken back my engagement. I'm a single damsel again. Woe is me."

Vincent laughed from beside her. "I'm already taken by another, darling." He said, grinning at Billie's faux scandalized gasp.

"Who is she?" Billie asked, though she genuinely did look intrigued.

"Her name doesn't matter," Vincent snickered. "Maybe you'll meet her one day." He lied. He would never let Five meet Billie. Too weird of a combination.

"Scandalous," Adam said from the other side of the room. "How is it that you have a girlfriend if you're from an alternate dimension, Vincent?"

Vincent turned to Adam and sent him a grin. "I get bitches in the future, Adam. I'm a hottie."

Billie scrunched up her nose. "Don't call women bitches."

Vincent had to fight his own mouth to not blurt out that it was not women he was calling bitches. He nodded anyway with a gentle "sorry" and elbow nudge to Billie's side.

"Wait," Jesse muttered. "If you're from the future, how old would you be?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Don't ask me that," Vincent groaned. "I'm bad at remembering how old I am. I'll probably look like this for the rest of my life." He gestured to himself.

"Why?" Billie asked.

"Oh, now that's too complicated. Let's talk about something else." Vincent said as he put his hands up.

"Okay. This joke is getting too serious," Adam cut in. "Are you kidding or not?"

Vincent shrugged. "That is yet to be revealed." He said as cryptically as possible. Billie and Jesse both rolled their eyes, very much used to how difficult Vincent was by now. Adam scowled.

"Okay. Whatever," Adam sighed out before leaning over the arm of the couch and digging through a crate beside it. He pulled out a comic book and stared at the cover for a moment. "Do you like Batman, Jean Valjean?" He asked, glancing up at Vincent.

Vincent stifled his chuckle. He wondered where Diego was. He hoped he was somewhere Vincent could easily make fun of him for.

He shrugged. "I guess." He murmured, catching the Batman comic book Adam tossed at him.

Adam followed that up by tossing Billie a book— Pride and Prejudice— that Billie frowned at. Adam gave her a look and Billie sighed and flipped it open, her eyebrows furrowing almost immediately. He then handed Jesse a Wolverine comic book, smiling warmly at him, which Jesse smiled back at shyly before taking the book. They both made sure they didn't touch each other. Vincent didn't understand.

Adam continued with the comic book he was reading when they had first interrupted him. Vincent wasn't sure what it was.

And Vincent was left confused. These kids were too trusting, too kind to him, too familiar. Staring at them, Vincent felt an ache in his chest. He'd leave them soon. He'd have to go back to the real timeline with Five at his side, and shouldn't that alone make him happy?

He shouldn't care anyway. He'd betrayed and abandoned too many people to count on one single hand. He could abandon another three.

Vincent bit his tongue, avoided the urge to grab at his hair and pull at it as Five had always despised, and opened the comic book.

Calm before the storm, Five's voice bristled. Stay calm, Vince.

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A/N; Okay! first chapter. I hope you guys liked it lmao. I know that it's a lot of OC stuff and a lot of getting to know the other characters I've added, but I need to get Vincent some 60's friends so he's not lonely in the meantime before Five arrives :)

next chapter will either be more of this sort of character development-ish stuff or I'll get into something i have planned (or maybe both) BUT idk if what I have planned will fit so early on yet so we'll see lmao.

Five will probably come in somewhere around chapter 4 or 5 (or maybe 3 if I'm feeling extra generous) 😏