Settling

It almost felt like there was no time in the Academy, that the world behind the wrought iron gate adorned with the metal umbrellas existed in an entirely different world and time from the real would outside. Willa came to think of it as being kind of like the Doctor's TARDIS from Doctor Who, her mum had basically raised her on old reruns and recordings of that show, and to young Willa's mind it had formed the bases of Willa's interpenetration on the world. Much like the Doctor's time machine, time in the Academy seemed disconnected, rather ironically, perhaps, but that was besides the point. So, it came as something of a shock to Willa when she got the first chance to stop and breathe, only to discover that nearly two weeks had passed since she had left Wales for her new home.

Not that one called really call the Umbrella Academy home.

Even the other kids didn't call it home.

The days just tended to meld into one another, the lack of free time meant that Willa really didn't have much of a chance to stop and think, and she was secretly relieved about that, because thinking always brought her back to her Ma and Meg, wondering what they were doing, if they missed her, and that always brought a stab of pain in her little heart and a lump to her throat. Training and studies took up her time, each time largely following the same pattern, but even two weeks in, Willa could see herself growing more comfortable, settling, if you could say, into the house and the kid's dynamics. She was still the slowest and quickest to tiring when it came to running laps, they did fighting drills three times a week and she could barely remembered how to hold her stance properly, and she still usually ended up leaving the training room with crusted blood on her face and a pounding head after Hargreeves Senor had forced her to practice using her powers to copy random words or phrases from the blackboard, now with the added strain of getting her to track down random objects that had been hidden around the room, while timed. But she was getting better.

She made up for her lack of physical skill by managing to keep up decently in her more academic pursuits, though languages still were tricky, she was starting to grasp the basic grammar rules and spelling, while she found that she actually had kind of a talent for biology and physics that she didn't even know existed, though it had earned her some rather cold glares from Five, who had previously been the self appointed resident science king, apparently, but Klaus seemed to find it weirdly hilarious.

"Finally," he had giggled gleefully one afternoon, when they had been dismissed from class, rubbing his hands together, like a cheap super-villain, before throwing an arm around Five's shoulders, "Someone in this place might actually manage to wipe the floor with Fivey. How's the ego feeling?" he pulled him in tighter, "Bruised? Want an ice pack?"

Five had shoved him off, hard, glaring at him darkly, "If you don't stop talking, you're the one who's gonna need the ice pack around here," he hissed, throwing Willa a look full of venom, before disappearing in a flash of light.

"Dad says no powers in the house..." Luther had called, slightly pointlessly.

"Piss-off!"

Willa was a little disappointed that her own success in academics had seemingly alienated her from the only other person in the house who seemed to like science as much as her, since Vanya and Klaus really couldn't stomach any of it, let alone follow it, but you win some, you lose some. It just was how it was, she supposed.

Time ticked on and on her second Saturday in the house, Willa was given a whole other new surprise for her to deal with. Hargreeves had remembered that Willa was supposed to get braces, but more then just that, somehow Grace, since Willa couldn't think of anyone else in the house but Grace, had convinced him to also allow Willa to decorate her bedroom, make it more personable. The announcement had come over breakfast and judging by the weighty silence of the room, and the eyes of the other kids, this was something that had never happened before. Not once. Vanya would later inform Willa that no kid had been allowed to miss out on classes for the day without them basically dying in bed.

It was the biggest relief on the planet to also find out that Grace would be taking her out, not Hargreeves, who would be remaining behind to teach the other kids. He made it clear that Willa would be given the day's work as homework and expected to complete it all, on top of their already excessive amount of normal homework, by Tuesday, but to Willa that was an acceptable compromise if it meant she got a chance to escape the house. She still hadn't even been able to even see the country she now lived in, which seemed like a crime when New York was one of the most famous cities in the world, but that was her life.

"Button up you coat, honey," Grace told her with an affectionate, sweet smile. She was wearing another big puffy skirt today, this one a deep crimson red with a white bow on the V-neck line, while she wore a matching red coat over the top and a white scarf around her neck, a small, old fashion pill-box hat in red perched on her head. She looked beautiful, like something out of a fifties movie, "It's cold out there".

Willa blinked slightly, surprised by that news, disappointed that she hadn't realised before now, but then again, it had been pretty icy last night when they had been doing their laps in the courtyard. She wondered if they would change to working-out indoors in the winter or even in the summer, and the realisation that she would still be at the Academy in summer and winter, instantly made her heart fall. She silently pulled on the winter coat that Grace gave her on, the fabric the same dark navy as the uniform she wore, while she wrapped a dark grey scarf around her neck.

They took the Rolls Royce into the city streets, Grace seemed happy to merely sit and let Willa stare outside of the windows, taking in the alien world with wide eyed, fascinated eyes. It was so different during the day light, busy and even noisier, but still, somehow, so bright. It was almost overwhelming how big everything felt, Willa felt truly sheltered and a part of her wondered why her mum had chosen to stay in the tiny village she had grown up in all these years when the world was so big, but she guessed it came back to money, it always came back to money.

The orthodontist that Willa was taken to was a scrawny older man that reminded her of a crow, all beardy eyes and thin fingers, but the moment he started poking around her mouth she become deeply relieved for how small his hands were, and once her teeth were deemed healthy and free of any cavities, and a set of X-rays had been taken, her teeth had been cleaned and then the braces had been fitted. It took a long time, but it didn't hurt, more uncomfortable than anything, but Grace still held her hand through the whole thing, and for a brief moment, lying there with the bright lights glaring at her through the dark lenses of the sunglasses they had given her, Willa was able to imagine it was Ma holding her hand. All about, it took two hours before Willa left the clinic, cheeks aching and tongue snagging on the unfamiliar metal now adorning her teeth. They had given her wax to place over the metal pieces to stop her mouth from getting sore, and she would have to go back in a few weeks for an adjustment, but the dentist had patted her hand before she had left and assured her that she'd come to almost forget about the braces after a few days, and that it would all be worth it when she had lovely straight teeth.

"How about a little treat?" Grace gave her a tender smile, reaching out to us her thumb to swipe the corner of Willa's mouth, while they stood in the waiting room of the office, "You were such a courageous girl, you deserve something special".

"Would Mr Hargreeves agree with that?" Willa couldn't help asking, slightly tongue-in-cheek, knowing well enough that there was no such thing as a 'Special treat' in her guardian's eyes, except for perhaps more training.

She gave her a light smile, "We're not expected back until two o'clock," she said simply.

Willa did smile at that, even though it hurt her cheeks, and her lips caught on the metal slightly. She almost laughed, because it sounded like something she might have said. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall of the waiting room, finding it to read only ten o'clock. She looked back to Grace, feeling a burst of warmth for the lady.

"Okay".

...

Grace ended up taking her to a diner a few streets away from where Willa recognised as the general area that the Umbrella Academy was housed in. The diner smelt of black coffee and sugar and warm cinnamon, and breathing in the air instantly made Willa crave sugar like a madwoman, having given her last lollypop to Vanya on her first morning at the Academy. The diner itself felt authentic, not like it was trying to seem like an original fifties diner, but a real, proper one that simply hadn't change in the decades that had passed, and it felt oddly suitable for Grace to have brought her to a place like this when she looked like the very stereotypical in-body meant of a nineteen fifties movie star.

A sign over the door called the place 'Griddy's Doughnuts,' while writing on the window of the doors gave the opening and closing hours as being twenty-four hours, which kind of made sense when Willa glanced around the diner from the window table in the corner of the diner, getting the first chance she had in two weeks to observe normal people. She loved it even more then the strawberry milkshake Grace bought her, though not quite as much as the strawberry glazed doughnut that she basically inhaled, licking her fingers clean from the sticky coating, not willing to waste even a little bit of the sugar, because she had no idea when she might get the chance again to have something that sweet.

Grace watched her with an indulgent smile from across the chipped and scratched table, seemingly not having the heart to remind her about 'Manners' and being a proper young lady when they weren't within the walls of the Academy. If Willa hadn't known that Grace was a robot, which had come as a staggering shock to her when Vanya had let it slip casually, Willa would have felt horribly guilty for eating in front of her. As it was, she did feel badly, once she had finished her doughnut and was partway through her milkshake, at the thought of the other kids missing out on this treat.

"I don't suppose we can bring the others some doughnuts, too?" she looked hopefully to Grace; licking her lips, while twirling the pink and white paper straw in her glass slightly guilty.

Grace's expression fell very slightly, "I don't believe Mr Hargreeves would like that very much," she said sadly, before smiling brightly, "But it's very sweet of you to suggest it, Willa".

Willa frowned slightly, not feeling very 'Sweet' right now, "Couldn't I...sneak it to them?" she tried, looking slightly pleadingly at Grace, "Please, Grace. It's not fair if I get to enjoy this, but they don't, especially when they've grown-up like this their whole lives and I've had plenty of chances to enjoy doughnuts and sweets. I just...I just want to do something nice for them".

Her expression melted into one of gentle tenderness and the smile she gave Willa was truly beautiful, lighting up her whole face, and even though Willa knew that she was only a robot and programmed to mimic feelings, she forget in that moment, because the look on Grace's face was just so human.

"Perhaps..." she said slowly, hesitantly, but still smiling warmly, "...if you are very sneaky, Willa. Mr Hargreeves would be very displeased..."

"I'll take the blame, I swear. I'll tell him I bought it with money I had from home, he won't know".

"Oh, honey, you have the sweetest heart".

Willa smiled widely, not caring, again, if she was showing off the ugly metal on her teeth. She knew she had won her over. She felt like cheering.

...

They arrived back at the Academy at one o'clock and Grace kindly whipped up a quick ham and cheese sandwich for Willa as her lunch, which was basically inhaled as she hastily tried to make it to her afternoon class, knowing that Hargreeves wouldn't be pleased to hear that she hadn't attended if she had returned earlier than expected. She ended up arriving ten minutes late...the second she opened the door and stepped inside, and Hargreeves Senor and all the other kids had whirled around in their chairs to stare at her, instantly made her dearly regret having lunch at all. Cheeks burning red and a mumbled 'Sorry, sir,' on her tongue, she had hastily dropped into the furthest seat at the back of the classroom and sunk down low in it to avoid the annoyed glare Hargreeves wore, never one to be interrupted mid-lecture. Klaus had grinned at her, looking far to amused, while Vanya, sitting at the back of the class, too, had given her a sympathetic look and kindly whispered to her what page they were on.

It was a Saturday, for God's sake; couldn't they have one single day to relax? Going out and getting metal attached to your teeth and a milkshake didn't count, and thirty minutes of free time to do whatever you want, which was Hargreeves's idea of a weekend, didn't count. Like, at all, but here they were, still attending class, the only difference was that at least on Saturday and Sunday classes only lasted from nine until three thirty. Training, however, took up an extra two hours, seemingly making up for those thirty minutes of free-time. Willa had actually laughed aloud when Vanya had told her about their weekly schedule, laughter trailing off awkwardly and melting into flat-out horror when the other girl had given her a strained smile and told her she wasn't kidding.

And so, once three thirty had hit, Willa had found herself undergoing the same trudge upstairs to grab her horrid tracksuit, glaring at Five when he randomly popped out of a flash of light at the top of the stairs without even bothering to pretend to climb them, hands in his pockets and a haughty smirk on his lips, as if he knew she was fantasying about him tripping face-first up the stairs or blinking into a wall, even though he hadn't even glanced her way once. Was that a little mean? Hmm, maybe, he had been a jerk about her name being 'Boring,' though, so whatever.

Training ended up being more brutal then normal and to make matters worse, Willa found herself paired up to try and fight Diego, of all people. If that couldn't be worse, they had to do it in front of everyone, one-on-one, powers allowed and basically nothing baring killing one another off the table. Did she mention that she sucked at fighting?

"You're not going to use your knives, are you?" Willa eyed the boy warily, mouth dry and heart already pounding in her chest, gaze pinned uneasily to where Diego had one of his throwing knifes twirling and twisting in his hand, the bright, harsh lighting of the training room causing the sharp edge to glint dangerously...she swallowed, hard.

"We're allowed to use powers," Diego shrugged, eyes focused and fixed on her, and she could practically feel him already plotting exactly how to take her out.

She adjusted her weight on the thick mat they stood on, causing the vinyl to squeak slightly. She didn't have any weapons, because her power didn't require her to hold one, but nor did her power give her a weapon, either, like Allison, who could just make people do whatever she wanted or Luther, with his strength, even sensitive Ben could make a monster pop out of his stomach...all she could do was pass out and do some stupid parlour trick, nothing that was going to save her from Diego and his ability to make flying objects do whatever he willed them to do. She licked her lips, tasting sweat on her skin still from the warmup excises they had done running laps outside.

"But..." she frowned anxiously, "You can't kill me, yeah? I mean, you don't even need your powers to fight me, you literally just need to kick my legs out and you've won..."

"You've got this, Will!" Klaus called brightly from the side, sounding cheery.

Willa glanced at him and struggled to try and smile, though she thought it probably came off as looking more terrified, then anything else.

"Who are you kidding, Klaus?" Five scoffed, loudly, not bothering to keep his voice down, "She couldn't fight herself out of a paper-bag".

"She might surprise us," Ben suggested lightly, his tone implying rather differently, however, grimacing very slightly in concern as he peered between Willa and Diego.

"Nice cheer squad you've got there," Diego levelled Willa with a pointed look, looking rather smug and challenging. He twirled his blade up in the air and caught it between two fingers, utterly unconcerned about getting cut. He raised his dark eyebrows at her, mockingly.

"Yeah, well..." Willa cringed slightly, frowning at him with her best attempt to look confident and ready, but in reality she simply looked slightly sickly, "At least I've got some support out there..."

"Hey, Benny," Klaus whispered loudly, then, seemingly not realising just how great the training rooms acoustics were, having been designed to specifically carry music about the room in the days when it was a ball room, "Wanna bet that Diego wins in ten seconds flat? I win; you've got to clean my room".

"I'm not touching that bet," Ben hissed back, slightly more discreetly, but no less audible to all, "She's dead".

Willa sighed heavily, briefly closing her eyes, and when she opened then again, she turned to throw Klaus and Ben a slightly withering glare, trying hard to ignore the smug smirk on Diego's gloating face, or the eye roll Five was giving as he shook his head. Allison looked physically pained by the stupidity of her brothers, while Luther seemed unsure about just who's side he should be on right now.

"Worst cheer squad ever," she huffed flatly, feeling rather offended that they couldn't at least pretend to cheer her on for a few seconds, just to humour her, just a tiny bit. She knew she was dead, okay? No need to remind her before she tasted the floor, thanks. She took a deep breath and looked back to Diego, her expression morphing into one of resignation, "Alright. Let's get this over with already, I'm sure you've got gloating you're eager to get on with or whatever".

He pretended to consider it, "You're not wrong," he said lightly, and casually flicked the knife directly at her.

Willa squealed the loudest she ever had before in her life, seeing her life flashing before her eyes on the edge on the blade. She heard, as time seemed to slow down in the split second, gasps and 'Ooh's!" from the other kids, and she did the one stupid thing she probably could have tried to do, aside from reaching up to try and catch the knife. She dove forward, directly at Diego, ducking low...she felt the blade go straight over her back and her head, and fell right into Diego, who didn't even have a chance to do more than widen his eyes in disbelief before she barrelled right into his chest, sending them both flying. They landed on the crash mat with a hard thump, Willa instinctively rolled to the side and grabbing the back of her head, half-expecting blood.

"What the actual fuck...!"

"You guys are seeing this, too, right? Right, guys?"

"No way!"

"What the hell!"

"Well done, Number Seven," Hargreeves Senior's voice rang out through the room, and the sound of his actual praise was enough to make Willa instantly still in shock, still desperately trying to make sure she hadn't lost any hair, his words registering to her ears, before the cries of amazement and disbelief of the other kids finally hit her.

There was no way she had done something to actually warrant Reginald Hargreeves's praise, sure, she might have managed to knock Diego off his feet by throwing herself at the kid, but that was hardly impressive, one might argue it was verging on suicidal to throw yourself into the path of a flying blade. She blinked and sat up, only for her mouth to fall open...oh. Okay. Now, that made sense...but also totally didn't, at the same time. Diego was floating above his body that still lay crumpled on the mat, semi-transparent in the glare of the training room, a look of horror and fear written across his youthful features as he stared at his hands, before he seemed to catch sight of his crumpled body on the floor and he yelped in disbelief.

"W-w-what did you d-do to m-m-me?" he asked shakily, his stutter worse than Willa had ever heard it, seemingly so stricken by terror.

Willa stared at him from the floor, hands bracing her on the mat, eyes wide, "I...I didn't know I could do that," she breathed, stunned, horrified, amazed with herself...she brought her own hands up and looked at her clean, if sweaty palms, almost startled to find that they looked like they always did, no weird writing or anything, no glowing energy, just her hands.

"What does it feel like, Number Two?" Hargreeves demanded, intently peering at the semi-corporal boy, his grey eyes more alight than Willa had seen them since she had arrived at the Academy. He almost looked excited; he certainly didn't seem very concerned.

"P-put me back!" Diego demanded, stabbing a furious, desperate finger back to his body, turning to look angrily at Willa, "D-do it!"

"I don't know how!" Willa gasped, flinching as guilt washed over her like a bucket of water, sick to her stomach at the sight of Diego's near panic stricken face. She felt tears in her eyes and she tried to blink them back, "I've never done this before! I'm sorry!"

"Number Two!" Hargreeves barked, and the boy flinched and looked around to his 'Father,' who simply glared at him sternly, still hardly seeming to be worried about the boy's condition, "How are you feeling presently? Do you feel connected to your body? Are you still on this plain, or are you viewing us from somewhere else?"

Diego simply took a shuddering gasp, seemingly unable to answer, and Willa felt as if she was the worst person on the entire planet. The other kids were talking loudly, all of them scared and shocked, but Willa couldn't hear them over the pounding of her own guilt riddled heart. She didn't know what made her do it, maybe she was trying to find some way to try and comfort Diego, but she reached out and grasped his limp hand where it lay on the mat...Diego's eyes widened, then.

"That's so..." his physical body suddenly sat bolt upright with a loud gasp, and Willa jumped and whipped her hand back from him, scooting backwards from him as he chocked and coughed, as if he had just popped out of a swimming pool. He panted slightly for a moment, the room falling silent as they all stared at him, waiting, and slowly he reached up to wipe a hand down his face...Willa thought she caught the glimpse of tears in his eyes, before he shook his head and ducked his head, "C-can I b-be e-e-excused, F-father?"

Hargreeves seemed to regard him intently over the top of his book, the whole room utterly silent, before he gave a short, irritated sigh.

"Very well, Number Two".

"Diego..." Willa tried, eyes wide with guilt and apology.

He didn't look at her, moving almost as fast as one of his knives as he scrambled clumsily to his feet...Luther and Klaus approached him, worry and alarm written across their faces as they reached out to try and help him. He shook them off and took off running, literally running, out of the room. Willa stared after him, they all did, until the door slammed shut behind him, echoing off the walls, and only then did she dare to risk glancing at the other kids. They were all looking at her, Luther was frowning slightly, Ben looked oddly sympathetic, Allison shocked, Five calculating, and Klaus tried to give her a weak smile. Willa miserably lowered her eyes to the laces of her trainers.

...

"I didn't know I could do it," Willa said quietly as she sat on the floor of her bedroom, her new white, fluffy rug soft beneath where her pyjama pants had ridden up her calf's, feet bare, staring blankly at the window across from her.

"Everyone knows that," Vanya told her gently, sitting on the rug beside her, legs curled up against her chest, hugging her knees as she leant back against the side of the bed. She glanced at Willa, giving her a reassuring look, "No one's saying you did it on purpose to hurt Diego, we all saw how upset you were. Besides, it's not the first time something like that has happened during training, they've all gotten hurt or embarrassed somehow during training, at one point or another. Last year Allison and Klaus were paired up for three months straight and Allison had him rumoured into thinking he was every animal you can think of every training session," she shrugged slightly, "And then there's the time Ben accidently destroyed half the ceiling, or the time Five blinked himself on top of Luther..."

That mental image managed to make Willa smile faintly, though just. She sighed and uncrossed her legs from beneath herself, moving to copy Vanya's own pose, curling her legs up against her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. She dropped her chin on top of her knees, gazing grimly ahead of herself.

"I guess...there probably has been a fair few accidents that have happened," she murmured quietly, not quite willing to give up her guilt yet, "But...you saw him, Vanya, he was so panicked, has he ever asked to leave training early before?"

"Well...not really".

She nodded, already having guessed as much, sighing heavily. She had been in the Academy two weeks and she already knew that Diego and Luther had a odd competiveness between them, a constant push-and-pull between them, always seemingly trying to one up the other in training, and if one did one thing, the other was sure to do it nearly immediately after. She also knew that some boys just didn't handle losing to a girl, she knew from her old school that some boys would get huffy if a girl did better at sport or a game than them, and she sensed that Diego had that streak in him, especially when she had already proven to everyone that she was such a pathetic fighter. But more than just that, more than just beating him in a fight or in front of everyone, including his dad, who she suspected Diego and Luther both secretly desperately craved to impress, Willa had earned that exact approval that Diego desired from dear old daddy-dearest. Diego's Daddy, not hers, because that was never happening, but that was beside the point.

"He's really going to hate me now".

"Diego doesn't hate anyone," Vanya shook her head, frowning slightly, "He's...complicated, and I can't pretend like I even know him that well, honestly, since he doesn't really bother with me that much, but...he's actually really sensitive. He's like Ben, but he hides it, tries to seem tougher than he is".

"Why doesn't he bother with you?" she instantly screwed up her face in confusion, looking sharply around to Vanya.

She gave her a wary, tiny little smile, "Because I'm ordinary," she said lightly, stating it as simply fact, like there was nothing more to it, even though the hurt was clear in her dark brown eyes.

"No, you're not. You're, like, one of the best people I've ever met; way better then pretty much everyone back home, Vanya, same with your siblings. And who cares about ordinary, anyways? My best friend, Meg, she can't see ghosts, like Klaus, or...or rumour people into doing whatever she wants, but she's still a nice, good person. Powers haven't got anything to do with it".

The sad, resigned little smile that Vanya gave her was one of the most heartbreaking things Willa, still at just the tender age of nine and a half, had seen. It reminded her so horribly like the first time she had noticed Meg's bruises, the first time even her little mind had grasped at how weird it was for a little girl to have a wrist completely encircled by giant dark blue and purple bruising. Vanya was just like Meg, only she wasn't bruised, her marks were less visible but no less impactful than Meg's, and it utterly broke Willa's heart for the other girl, even though she didn't fully understand it in the moment. When she was older, the full reality of the toxic and clinical environment that was the Umbrella Academy would hit home, now supposedly her so called 'Home,' and it only made total sense to Willa how the other kids had turned out like they had. It only made her all the more grateful for the fact that she had grown up knowing what being a real kid was like, what it was like to be loved by a parent. She would suppose it was what saved her...not that she wasn't scarred, because God, was she, but she got off easy.

"Not to my dad," Vanya said grimly, resignedly.

"Forget about him, Vanya!" she didn't mean to shout it, but she had in her anger that had filled her veins, raging deep inside her chest until it burned her and scolded her tongue, almost spitting the words from her. She turned herself around on the floor and dropped her arms from her knees, pinning her with an intent, steeling look...if she wasn't so used to Meg, who would flinch away from someone reaching for her like a scared animal, she would have grabbed Vanya by the shoulders and shaken her a little, but she somehow kept her hands to herself, balled into tight fists at her side, "No one cares about powers in the real world, and this isn't forever! We're all gonna get out of this dusty school and, hey, you can come live with me and my Ma, if you want. We might have to share a bedroom, but that'll be okay, because my Ma's super nice and smart, and she's really good at baking..." she gave her a wide grin, "You'll see, Vanya. One day, we'll both get out of here and never look back".

It was then that Willa realised, with a small degree of horror, that Vanya's eyes were shining with tears, a hopeful, if rather horribly hauntingly sad expression on her face, a tiny lift to her lips. She didn't look like a little girl, she looked like a grown-up in a child's body, her eyes were just too sorrowful for that of a child to endure. Later, Vanya would admit to her that she had just been humouring her, scared that denying anything would make Willa even more hot-headed and liable to get herself in trouble from Hargreaves Senor, but that hadn't made the sentiment any less truly touching to Vanya.

"That's..." she paused and took a slightly shaky breath, voice soft and as timid as a baby rabbit, peering at Willa from beneath her heavy fringe, "Will...I'd really, really like that. That's...no one's ever been that nice to me before".

She shrugged, her anger lessoning slightly, "Your sibling's can come, too," she added, giving her a tiny nudge with her knee, smiling warmly at the other girl who she was still kind of terrified might burst into tears on her any second.

"Even Five?"

"I mean...I guess?"

Vanya laughed quietly and ducked her head slightly, and Willa grinned widely. If there was one good thing to come out of being forced to live at the Umbrella Academy, she supposed she could count making Vanya a friend as one of the best and brightest aspects.

Tiny bit of a filler chapter…kind of. I'm neither overly excited about it, nor overly proud, but it's a required chapter to set up the story, so here we are. Tell me what you thought, please review/comment :)

Willa continues training and decorates her bedroom

Five and Willa talk over a sandwich.

Willa starts writing her journal.