𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍
—𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚗, 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚝𝚠𝚘—

𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒𝐍'𝐓 refrain from smiling at Mariana Carson, flashing his pearly white teeth as he does so. If Mariana were being honest with herself, she was relieved entirely that Five had, in fact, read the note that she left behind for him. Upon transporting into her room that morning, Five had gotten worried to find that Mariana wasn't in bed — but where would she have gone? Her parents were strict, so he knew that the possibilities of her leaving the house without their supervision were very slim; the only other possibility would be with Spencer, but after the incident at the mall, Five assumed that the two of them weren't on good terms.

But now here he was, and Spencer and Mariana were together once again; facing one another in a booth, and seemingly sharing a tray of puff pastries. And yet Mariana's eyes were filled with tears, and her face was flushed with discontent. Spencer, however, seemed unscathed, except for the hatred that began to lace within his eyes the moment he laid his eyes on Five.

"You're here," Mariana speaks softly, rising to her feet rather quickly as the boy makes his way to her. "I'm so glad you came."

Peter and Anastasia watch from the counter for a short second, before turning and pretending that they didn't notice the Hargreeves boy enter the shop. Peter had promised his daughter privacy — and he would give her just that. "If things get too rough, you need to step in," Anastasia tells her husband, worry clear in her expression. "I'm worried that things might get out of hand if you wait too long."

"Who are you?" Spencer moves from the booth to stand between the two. His voice is filled with something that was foreign to Mariana — pure anger. "And why are you here?"

"Spencer," the Carson girl furrows her eyebrows, tugging at his arm so that Five was in her line of sight. "Calm down, okay? Everything is fine, I invited him."

"You must be the lovely Spencer," Five narrows his eyes at the boy. "Mariana has told me so much about you."

"Well that's funny, considering this is the first time I've heard anything about you," Spencer chuckles a bit, but it's obvious that there is no humor in his tone. Mariana had never heard so much venom roll of the tongue of Spencer, nor did she ever want to hear it again. He was a completely different person now, and it didn't suit him.

"Spencer, stop," Mariana warns, attempting to push his body away from hers. "You're being ridiculous, just let me explain—"

"No, Mariana," Spencer grips her wrist, jerking her forward to catch her gaze. "What's ridiculous is that you were ridiculing me for not telling you about my feelings, but here you are, doing the same exact thing. I can't believe you."

The Carson girl's tears were back, from a mixture of physical pain and emotional damage as she repeatedly tugs against Spencer's harsh hold on her. "Stop it, you're hurting me!"

Peter stands from his seat at the front counter, hesitating to break up the teens — unfortunately, the three of them hadn't noticed his sudden movement. But upon finding the genuine hurt that resides on Mariana's face, Spencer's anger is suddenly washed away, and he hurriedly removes his hand before taking a step back. "Goodness, Mari, I didn't mean—"

But Mariana was no longer listening. Instead, she was finding comfort in the arms of another; someone who Spencer didn't know. The mystery boy that had stolen the heart of the girl he was so deeply in love with — and the thought of how she had looked at him, it made the boy step back once again.

How could he compete with that?

As the girl clutches onto Five's sweater as if the fate of her life depended on it, the Hargreeves boy shoots a deathly glare to Spencer, "I think you should leave. You've caused enough trouble."

And Spencer listened. After removing his coat from the back of the booth and sending one last apologetic and regretting look to Mariana, he leaves the Doughnut Shop. He would have to speak with her on a different occasion — one when Five wasn't around, because he was sure that there would be immediate tension when the other boy was near.

As Five fully embraces Mariana, he releases a deep breath, before placing a chaste kiss on her flushed cheek. With his chin resting on her head, he proceeds to instinctively run his fingers through her hair in an attempt to soothe her. He closes his eyes, before murmuring so gently that only she could hear him, "I'm here now, and I promise that I'm not going anywhere."

She wanted it to be true — she wanted him here, next to her, until the end of the world came. It would be soon, she knew, and the only place she wanted to be was in his arms, lightly pressed against his chest while pretending that there was no one else on the planet. Mariana wanted to forever stay in this moment with him. The truth was that whenever they touched, she forgot about the things in her life that weren't going right. He made her feel as though her boundaries were endless, and somehow she could finally reach the stars.

Anastasia lays her head on her husband's shoulder, watching her daughter from the distance as a light chuckle falls from her lips. "I feel like we're violating your agreement with her by invading her privacy," she pauses, "but I can't help but notice that he looks at her the same way you look at me."

And as Peter's eyes lock with Five's for a short second, he gives the boy a smile, and a simple nod of approval. But what surprised him was when Five, too, smiled. "He does, doesn't he?"

"I always thought Spencer and Mariana would get married one day," Anastasia continues. "It was so natural for me to think of how happy she could be with him. So why is it that there's so much joy radiating off of her now . . . while she's with someone else?"

"Because sometimes love comes when you least expect it," he looks back down to his wife. "You, of all people, should know."

"But you don't think they're actually in love, do you?" The woman is suddenly facing him, her eyebrows furrowed in wonder. "Tell me, Peter. What do you know that I don't?"

With a light chuckle, Peter spins the top of Anastasia's bar stool so that she's once again facing Agnes — who seems to have her gaze focused on Mariana and Five. "There's something more than friendship in his eyes."

Upon turning around, the man finds that Agnes' features show that she's thinking. She normally didn't react in this way, unless she was debating over something important. Peter catches her gaze, raising an eyebrow in question. "What's wring Agnes?"

The woman debated — she wanted to tell Peter the conclusion she had come to; the night of the accident, Mariana hadn't been with Spencer. She had been with the boy who was holding her this very second. "Oh, nothing dear, just curious as to what's wrong with Spencer," Agnes lies, giving the couple a warm smile. "Now, how would you like some more pastries?"

After Mariana was calm, Five managed to sit her back down in the booth, keeping her fingers intertwined with his as he takes Spencer's precious seat. With concern lacing his expression, he tries to look into her eyes to read her emotions. "Are you okay?"

"No," Mariana admits, breathing deeply as she sniffles. "But I'm better now that you're here."

Five could've swore his heart melted in that very moment. And suddenly that feeling was back, and it was coursing through his veins and making his heart warm. It wasn't unusual, though; Mariana managed to make him feel this way anytime she was near. But he still hadn't come to the conclusion . . . what was that feeling, exactly?

"Spencer said something about telling you his feelings earlier. Was he finally talking to you about the girl he was with in the mall?" Five mindlessly begins rubbing his finger down the back of Mariana's hand, satisfied with the softness of her pale skin.

"Quite the opposite, really," the girl sighs. "He was telling me that he doesn't have feelings for her, but carries them for me instead."

And then the warmth in Five's chest was gone.

It was replaced with jealousy — with raging jealousy that made him want to chase after Spencer and demand an explanation. But that was the problem . . . did he really need an explanation? Mariana was an angel, so how could he blame anyone else for wanting her as much as he did? If the boy was being honest with himself, he was beginning to grow worried. Would Mariana choose Spencer? They had known each other their entire lives and Mariana spent every waking second with him. So why would she choose a boy she just met over a boy she had known her entire life?

She wouldn't.

"Is that why you left me the note?" Five's throat grows tight, and he's suddenly not so sure if he can breathe correctly. "To bring me here so you can break the news?"

"Yes," she frowns, running her hands down her face. "I just didn't know how to tell you. I thought that the only way I could let the two of you meet is by getting you in a positive place."

"Don't worry Mariana, I understand." His voice is low, and he allows himself to let go of her hands. He pretends that his heart isn't breaking on the inside, and gives Mariana a fake smile to be assuring and back up his words.

Of course, how could he be so naïve? Mariana would choose Spencer every time. And that's why she had called him here — to tell him that she did, in fact, choose Spencer.

Confused by his sudden mood change, Mariana places her hands back inside of his. "Five, what's wrong?"

"I'm just a bit upset. Could you blame me?" He raises a brow, tugging his hands away once again.

"I can't control the fact that Spencer has feelings for me," the Carson girl says, her face falling when Five refuses to meet her eyes. "But what I can control is how I feel about him."

And suddenly Five meets her gaze. "You mean you didn't bring me here to tell me that you're going to be with Spencer?"

"Of course not. I was going to tell Spencer that I . . . " Mariana trails off, unsure if she should tell him how she feels yet. "That I don't want to be with him. And I told him that I met someone new."

"I guess that secret's out of the bag," Five laughs, looking back to Mariana's parents as he takes her hand. "What do you say we get out of here? Have any hangout spots?"

"Of course I do," Mariana grins.

She wish she could have told him the truth — it was Five she wanted to be with, not Spencer. But the time would come soon enough. And when it did, she was sure she would know; and perhaps Five would feel the same way. From the way he kept her close, she had a good feeling that maybe he, too, felt the love her father talked to her about.

But there were much bigger things coming, other than the truth that simmered between Mariana and Five.

Because the truth about Spencer was that his murderer uncle was back in town, somehow; and his new alias was Herold Jenkins.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

There was a meadow next to Mariana's river; it was filled with wildflowers that glistened in dew under the early morning sun. She and Spencer had strolled through it before, wandering past the boundaries of the usual oak trees — but never had they stayed there while Mariana practiced her bending skills. Spencer had preferred the bank, he had told her one day. Solely because he could be closer to her, just in case she were to fall into the river and he'd have to save her. He would have loved to be her knight in shining armor.

But that was Five Hargreeves' position.

"Woah!" Mariana stumbles, almost falling into the rushing waters ahead of them. Five's hands grip her waist to catch her in time, and he carefully pulls her back to stand in front of him. "Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention."

"No worries," he winks, keeping his hands on her waist as he studies the scenery around them. Mariana blushes as he glances back down to her. "So where are we going, exactly?"

"To the meadow," Mariana replies, pointing to a log that leads across the river and into an open path. "Well, you'll be going first. I've got a surprise for you. Just cross the bridge and keep walking straight, there are a bunch of flowers over there."

Perhaps they had already wilted, but Mariana had high hopes that they hadn't; it would only make her surprise even more beautiful that what it would usually be.

The boy grows curious as he drops his hands from her waist, backing away before moving towards the log. When he released them, Mariana's body had grown cold, and she had already begun to miss his warm touch. As he begins crossing it, he calls out to her, "You know, I've never really been one for surprises!"

Mariana only chuckles, kneeling down on the bank and staring down into the water. When she can no longer hear the brush of Five's footsteps in the distance, she closes her eyes and steadies her breathing. With a gentle touch, she bends forward after opening her eyes to touch the running water. It dampens her fingers and twirls around them as Mariana smiles. Bringing her hands out of the water, she is careful to balance herself on her feet. The liquid lifts with the soft gesture of her hands, following her direction as she, too, starts to cross the log bridge.

"Close your eyes!" Mariana yells to Five, hoping he could hear her from the distance. "And no peaking or I'll leave you here by yourself!"

"That's no fun!"

She giggles at the whine in his voice, all the while concentrating on her footing. Once she reaches the other side, she releases a small breath of relief while continuing into the meadow. And then she sees him.

He's perched on the ground in the middle of the wildflowers, and sure enough, his eyes are closed. The light shines against his flawless skin and outlines his lips — and Mariana almost loses her focus on the streams of water that are practically resting in her grasp.

"Keep them closed," she says, finally standing in front of them.

Raising her hands, the water separates into thousands of tiny rain droplets. And if Five would've saw it, he would have been amazed. But not nearly as amazed as the beautiful sight in front of him as he was finally told that he could open his eyes.

Mariana grins as she brings her palms together. "Are you ready?"

Without listening for his response, she slides her hands past one another, and hurriedly sits down in front of Five. The boy's lips part as he looks up into the sky, where tiny snowflakes were beginning to fall from the clouds.

Glancing back to Mariana, he gestures to the snowflakes that gal onto his sweater. "How did you . . . ?"

"I was up really late last night," Mariana shrugs. "I took a bath, and I was bending the water . . . and suddenly it was snowing outside. I thought it was just a coincidence, so I wasn't sure if this would actually work or not."

"It's amazing," he replies swiftly, taking her hands on instinct. "You're amazing."

With flushed cheeks, Mariana looks around at the snow that begins to stick to the ground. She had done this. She was changing the weather on her own accord. So could she make it rain too? The possibilities of her powers were endless — she truly needed to take up Klaus' offer for lessons on how to control herself.

"I was really hoping you didn't have feelings for Spencer," Five admits, catching Mariana off guard.

"Why?" She questions, her heartbeat speeding up. Was it time already? Was this the right moment.

"Because I want you to choose me instead." The boy gages her reaction, hoping that she would feel the same and would show it through her expression. "I've always wanted you to choose me. There's always been something about you that no one else in the world has. I lived after the apocalypse for forty years, and I thrived every single day. But I'm sure that if I were to go back, I wouldn't be able to do it again."

With flushed cheeks, Mariana asks softly, "why is that?"

"Because I'm positive that I can't live without you."

Mariana studies his features as he pauses, searching for any sign of hesitance or false pretenses. But she almost embraces him when she finds that there is nothing but certainty.

"And I know that it's so crazy how we only met days ago, but I feel like I've known you my entire life. You're everything I want — no, what I need. You make me a better person Mariana. You're the girl that I've been searching for."

"And I'm in love with you." Her voice is gentle as snowflakes land on her cheeks, melting quickly as they touch the warmth of her skin. "Maybe I'm crazy, Five. Maybe we both are, and we're in this crazy world together making crazy decisions that we shouldn't make. But if I make one crazy decision that I know I won't regret in the future, it's me telling you that I've fallen in love with you."

Five had never spoken that word before in his life — and falling off of Mariana's lips made him feel as though it wasn't foreign anymore.

Because he loved her too.

He's careful as he tugs on Mariana's jacket, pulling her closer to him. He places his hands on either side of her face, before closing his eyes and placing his lips on hers.

To say that Mariana was surprised would be an understatement. Nonetheless, she winds her fingers within his hair, before kissing him back.  The Hargreeves boy didn't have to tell her. He didn't have to admit that he, too, felt the same way because this was enough. This was enough to tell Mariana that he loved her too.

There was no one else on the earth now; only Mariana and Five here, in this moment, their lips touching for the first time, and their hearts filled with the utmost of happiness. And Mariana had been wrong earlier when she thought she wanted to stay in that single moment forever.

Because this moment was so much better.

❝ it's literally 2 in the morning and
this chapter is so short but so cuteeee!
give me some feedback, hopefully
you liked the five and mariana
bonding time ;) ❞