Five POV

'I can't believe I'm here with a guy I just met ten minutes ago.'

I smirked back at her, pulling out a chair and setting her coffee down on the table, along with mine. She'd ordered it black, just as I had. Smart girl.

'Honestly though. I've never met someone more straight forward in my life.'

I took a seat beside her at the bar and turned my chair to face her.

'Why waste time with small talk when you already know what you want?', I answered smoothly.

Her eyes widened and just a hint of color came over her cheeks as she stared down into her coffee mug and gripped it with both hands.

'I guess that's some pretty sound logic you've got there, um, what's your name again?'

You idiot. Didn't even tell her your name.

'Five. My parents weren't too creative.'

She laughed lightly. Smiling, she raised an eyebrow at me. 'Why Five? What's wrong with Four or Six? Three also sounds like it could work.'

Witty. I smiled.

'Those were already taken, unfortunately.' , I answered her, shrugging. Her eyebrows raised as she took a sip from her steaming mug of coffee. It fogged up her glasses, which was just a little bit endearing.

'Oh, so you have siblings? How many? What's it like?', she spouted off, asking her questions in rapid fire. She noticed how fast she was talking and blushed slightly again. 'Sorry. Got a little too excited there. I was an only child. No experience in that arena.'

'Six of them. Four brothers, two sisters.'

'Are they all named after numbers too?'

'Well, yes and no. We all have 'numbers'. Our dad was crap at names and honestly couldn't care less. So he left the naming to our mom. She gave the rest of my siblings names but apparently couldn't bother to give me one. Even then, our dad still called us by our numbers our entire lives.'

'Man. Crappy dad. And your poor mom. Seven kids. Did she start having you guys young or something?'

I couldn't help but laugh to myself. It was weird talking to someone who knew absolutely nothing about the antics of my screwed up family. And in some ways, almost refreshing.

'Well, actually, we're all adopted. My mom couldn't really ... have kids.'

She frowned when she heard that. Compassionate.

'Oh, man. I'm sorry. You know, my aunt is infertile too. Her and my uncle tried for years to have kids and it just never happened for them.'

It's a bit different than that. But that's a story for another time. If we ever get that far into the details. I couldn't just spill all the family details before I'd even known the girl for 24 hours.

Inodded and frowned slightly, not quite sure how to respond to a detail like that.

She took another sip of her coffee, fogging up her glasses once more. She swallowed and tapped the bell on the bar, signalling the server to come out from the back room. After a few seconds, there came Agnes, still fit as a fiddle and going strong.*

'How can I help ya'?', she asked in her signature sweet tone. Dolores pointed an energetic finger towards the donut rack.

'Can I try a jelly filled?'

'Sure thing.'

Good. The girl knows what she wants. I like that. She wasn't afraid to get something to eat even when I wasn't. The majority of girls would be nervous to do that for some reason. Girls seemed to be strange like that.

Agnes set down a plate and a donut, and Dolores smiled back at her.

'Thanks.'

'SO,' , she asking through a bite of her donut, dripping a drop of red jelly down her chin. 'Are you the oldest? Youngest? One of the middle kids?'

I grabbed a napkin off the bar, slowly lifting my hand to wipe the sticky sweet jelly off her chin. We locked eyes, my green focusing on her brown, for what felt like an eternity, but was in reality only two or three seconds. She blushed. Was I making her uncomfortable, or did she like that?

I remembered her question? How exactly was I supposed to answer her without alerting her that something was off in my family?

Screw it. If things go according to plan, she'll know all the details soon enough anyway.

'Actually, we're all the same age.' , I answered her. I took a gulp from my coffee and glanced to the clock mounted on the wall. 'Pretty much exactly the same age.'

She looked so strangely delighted by this tidbit. Her nose scrunched up, and it was cute. Her high cheek bones made her smile look so nice. She had cheekbones like the other Dolores.

'How neat!', she said, taking another bite of her donut. 'How's that work? I mean, what are the chances?'

I tilted my head slightly, pondering exactly how I should word my response. Might as well just go for the jugular.

'Funny story. Have you ever heard of something called the Umbrella Academy?'

She looked so very confused.

'I mean, I've heard my parents make comments before. I've seen some old lunch boxes, maybe a couple comics. But I don't follow.'

We said we were going for the jugular, Five.

'Well, you're in luck, because that's my family.'

Jugular indeed. Smooth. Real smooth.

She closed her eyes, tilting her head to the side. She shook her head a bit, flopping a curl onto the front of her face.

'What? I mean? You're real? I mean I knew it was based on some real freak show family, but seriously? You're telling me I've gone out on a coffee date with a member of the Umbrella Academy?'

Jugular. Jugular. Stab it right in the jugular.

'How much do you trust me?', I said, taking her hand in mine. She flinched away slightly, then eased up.

'Considering the fact that we just met ... a whole crap ton more than I ought to.'

I nodded and rummaged through my pocket, finding my wallet. I slapped a five dollar bill on the table.

'Good.'

And then, I blinked outside to the parking lot, taking her with me. She fell to the ground, her knees going weak upon landing, and her shut tight. I lifted her up, dusting off her coat.

Her face was hilarious. Pure shock.

'Considering I've just revealed the biggest secret in my life to you, would you like to go meet my family?'

She breathed out a hot breath and swallowed.

'Of course I would.'