When there was a break from training, I found myself walking around the Academy. Even though I enjoyed my own company in my room, I didn't always want to sit there. As I walked through the halls of an eerily quiet building, I couldn't help but hear a soft tune coming from the balcony in the living room. I followed the beautiful melody, knowing exactly who it was coming from.

From afar, I watched Vanya play the delightful tune; her eyes were closed, and she swayed to the music. I shuffled a bit, which put her off. She abruptly stopped playing and looked around, trying to see who was nearby.

Once her eyes laid on me, I made my way closer to her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," I spoke softly as I approached her, "you were just playing so beautifully I just couldn't help but listen." Vanya looked down, clearly a little shy, but she had always been like that around me for some reason.

Come to think about it, over the past few years I've been here, this was the most we've ever interacted, just the two of us. I wanted to make a bit more effort to get to know her.

"So, when did you start playing the violin?" I asked, trying to start a proper conversation. At first, she looked at me curiously.

"Oh, I started playing when I was nine." Her answer was short, but at least it was something.

"Wow, that's impressive! You are really talented. I wish I could play an instrument." She glanced up at me, putting her violin back in her open case.

"Well, it's never too late to learn," she glanced at the violin, "would you like me to teach you a song?" My eyebrows shot up in response.

Well, I was not expecting that!

"Are you sure?" I asked, unable to hide my shocked response. She chuckled at this lightly.

"No one has taken much interest in my music... I would be happy to share my passion with someone." Vanya's face lit up as if she was finally being seen. I smiled at her, happy to see that she was opening up.

Truthfully, I think one of the reasons why I hadn't made much effort with Vanya was because of the bet she and Five made when I first arrived at the Academy. But, I grew tired of keeping that grudge towards her.

At first, I was terrible. I felt awful at the pain I was causing the beautiful instrument, but with Vanya's help and guidance, I managed to learn one song. Vanya was definitely a natural teacher, and I really hope that she continues with music in her adult life.

After I got a little tired of playing, Vanya and I started to talk a little. Surprisingly, she opened up to me about how she felt left out by the others and that no one really included her or tried to take an interest in her life. It was upsetting to hear, and the fact that I was part of the problem, too didn't make me feel good. She did understand though, that it wasn't all our fault and that our lives could be very unpredictable, but she was just desperate to feel like part of the family.

"I'm so sorry Vanya... I'll try my best that we include you more." I did mean what I said. She looked up at me and saw my genuine smile.

Unfortunately, our time together was short as the alarm rang for a mission. I was glad I got to know Vanya better. As I got up to leave, I heard her soft voice call out for me.

"Charlotte?" I turned to look at her, "I'm sorry I never gave you a chance." I gave her a soft smile before running to join the others.

A few days passed, and Allison suggested that we have another sister's night. Upon returning to Allison's room, we passed Vanya's room with a plate of hot cookies made by Mum. She was playing the violin again, but there was something off about her tune; instead of her more delicate pieces, this one was fueled by anger.

Not thinking anything of it, we continued to laugh and joke on the way to Allison's room. That was until the sound of music stopped, and heavy footsteps followed. We turned around to see Vanya standing in the hallway with a look of hurt and anger on her face.

"Really? Are you both serious right now?" Vanya yelled towards us, stamping towards us, so she was only a few steps away. Allison and I both looked at each other, a confused look on our faces.

Vanya noticed our confused looks and this seemed to only fuel the fire.

"Wow, you don't even realise you're doing it! Leaving me out like always! Don't you know how it makes me feel seeing you both being sisterly with each other, having your nights together and forgetting me? Not once have you asked me if I wanted to join!" Tears were filling up in her eyes, but she was still angry. It was scary seeing her like this.

"Do you know what it's like to be constantly left out? Not only am I left out of missions and family gatherings, but also time together with you all! You avoid me like the plague or something just because I don't have stupid powers!"

I looked down at my feet, and I couldn't help but feel guilty. Especially after our talk a few days ago, I should have considered inviting her and including her more. I noticed that Allison looked at her in shock, unable to take in her outburst.

"What's going on here?" Luther's voice came from behind us, joining Allison's side. That's when I noticed the others had come to see what the commotion was about.

Vanya looked around, staring at the others. Diego was standing slightly behind Vanya, leaning against the wall. Five was by the bottom of the stairs, and Ben and Klaus stood just outside Klaus's bedroom door.

"What? Now you're all staring! All noticing me!"

I put my hand out towards Luther, signalling him to stand down. I took a step forward towards Vanya.

"Vanya, I am sorry. We both are-all are even. I should have asked if you wanted to join our sister's night; you are our sister, too! It might be too late, but would you like to join us?" I gave her a genuine smile, hoping my offer would be the start of making amends.

Vanya turned slowly to look at me; I could tell my offer was the wrong move.

"And you... Number 8 are the worst of all of them! Making me think that you actually cared about me, thinking I was finally being seen only for you to ignore me! Are you even interested in music? Or did you use that as an excuse so that you could find ways to hurt me? You came here, and suddenly, I became more forgotten! You messed up the whole dynamic of the family of The Umbrella Academy. Isn't it funny that there are 6 members of The Umbrella Academy, but you are called Number 8? I'm sure that's always a nice question to be asked." I could feel my cheeks grow red as she was calling me out.

"Enough Vanya," Diego spoke sternly, hoping she would listen.

"How come you, a nobody from England, get to be a part of The Umbrella Academy and I don't? What makes you so unique and perfect!" Vanya's hands started to shake, then moved to her whole body.

"Vanya, it's okay; we can talk about this. I understand you're upset and angry, but-" I started before Vanya cut me off.

"No Charlotte, you do not understand me. Stop pretending like you do!" Without another word, she charged towards me, her hands reaching towards my neck.

I braced myself. I didn't want to hurt Vanya, but I wasn't going to let her attack me. In the blink of an eye, I saw a flashing blue light and a tug on my arm, followed by another blue light. I was a little disorientated but quickly realised what had happened. I was now next to Five at the bottom of the stairs.

Did Five blink me out of the way?

I turned to look at Five, who had a nonchalant look on his face and his hands in his pockets.

Of course, he used the opportunity to show off his powers.

In a fit of rage, Vanya turned around and started to charge for me again, only for Luther to hold her back.

"No, Luther let go of me!" Vanya shrieked.

Before anything else could happen, the sound of Dad clearing his throat caught our attention. He stood at the bottom of the hallway, a look of disgust on his face. He approached us as we all stood frozen in our places, Vanya still trying to escape Luther's grip.

"Well?" He started, looking at us all. "What is all the commotion about?"

Diego took the opportunity to speak up about what happened, seeing as Luther was a bit busy.

"Well, Number 3 and Number 8 were having their usual hang out, and Number 7 got a little upset because she wasn't invited. Number 8 then tried to calm her down and offered her to join them, and that's when Number 7 started shouting and attacked Number 8." Dad shot Deigo a look before looking back at Luther and Vanya.

"Is this true, Number 3? Number 8?" I looked towards Number 3, who was staring at me, and we both shook our heads in agreement.

"Hmm," Dad started, clearly thinking, "Well then, Number 1 follow me with Number 7. And the rest of you go back to your rooms. We will have no more childish behaviour tonight or any night. Am I clear?"

We all nodded our heads as Dad, Luther and Vanya walked away.

I wonder what's going to happen to her?

Before I could thank Five for helping me out, he blinked away. I made my way over to Allison, who was still holding the plate of cookies.

"Are you okay?" She asked, offering me a cookie and a smile.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I'm okay... maybe we should have included her though..." I trailed off as I bit into the now cold cookie. Allison sighed and offered a reassuring tap on my arm.

"I know... but after she acted just now? I don't think it's such a good idea... I know that sounds mean, but I think it's for the best." I knew Allison had a point, but a part of me couldn't help but feel bad about continuing to leave Vanya out.

Allison's right.

"Yeah, you're right," I said, taking another cookie. "I think I will skip out on our sister's night tonight. Can we re-arrange? I'm still a bit shocked by Vanya's actions." I hated cancelling, but I knew I needed to be alone after what had just happened.

"Yeah, of course! Let me know if you want to talk about it though."

As I walked away from Allison, a cookie in my hand I noticed Diego waiting at the bottom of the stairs for me.

"Hey, can we talk?" There was a concerned look on his face. I looked towards where Allison and I stood and noticed she was now in her room. In fact, it was just us two in the hallway now.

"Of course," I spoke, leaning against the wall.

"What Vanya said... it wasn't right. It's not your fault you have powers, and she doesn't!" I looked down at my shoes, unsure of what to say.

"She was just frustrated at being left out all the time. I was just the first person she could attack." I looked up into Diego's eyes, unable to read his face.

"Frustrated? She was something much darker than that! I mean, she went to strangle you, Charlotte." He reached out to touch my shoulder, but I moved out of his reach, which he seemed hurt about.

"Diego, I'm fine. I'll be okay, seriously. I just... need to process this alone, okay? Thank you for trying to step in and explaining it all to Dad." I smiled softly at him before making my way up the stairs.

I heard Diego sigh as he moved towards his room. I felt terrible for brushing him off, but I needed time to process everything.

As soon as I approached my door, I saw Klaus leaning against it, a smirk on his face.

Please don't ask me if I'm okay.

"There she is! Our little troublemaker!" I rolled my eyes at his little comment and leaned against the wall just before my door.

"Ha, ha! Very funny!" Klaus' smirk widened at my response.

"No, don't worry, you were more of the peacekeeper." I slapped his arm playfully.

"That's more like it. Anyway, how can I help? I'm not really in the mood to talk about what happened." My smile dropped slowly, my mind reverting to how Vanya looked at me.

"Well..." his voice dropped to a whisper, "how about we do less talking and more drinking?" My smirk slowly returned. I knew it would be a bad idea, but a part of me didn't want to sit in my room with my feelings and replay the event over and over again.

"Alleyway? 9 pm?" I pushed myself off the wall and raised an eyebrow. Klaus did a little clap with his hands.

"Woo, another Klaus and Charlotte adventure!"

We really need to come up with a better name for our meet-ups.

Five Fact: Five blinked Charlotte out of the way, not because he wanted to but because he knew it would be the best and quickest option.

A/N: Well, I bet you didn't see that coming! It was nice to see Charlotte and Vanya get along for a short while, wasn't it? Not going to lie though I did enjoy writing Vanya's outburst, I definitely think she would have had one or two moments like that in the actual show! Speaking of the show... not long left now until I start writing from Season 1!! I'm so excited to get into those chapters, and I hope you all are too!

QOTD: Who's side are you on? Vanya's? Or Charlotte's. Let me know!

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