1.05: worried sick

                                    

                                          


                          


                          
By the time the pair got to Meritech, Aurora was wide awake and ready to find the owner of the fake eye Five's been carrying around his entire life. The teens were standing in the lobby, waiting for a doctor to come around. Aurora absentmindedly slipped her hand into Five's, tapping her foot impatiently. She looked around the room she was in, her mind wandering back and forth from Maya to the apocalypse. She was snapped out of her daze as a doctor approached them.
                          
"Uh, can I help you?" He asked with a frown.
                          
"We need to know who this belongs to," Five answered, holding up the eye.
                          
"Where did you get that?"
                          
"What do you care?" Aurora retorted. The doctor's frown deepened, which made Five sigh.
                          
"We found it, at a playground, actually. Must have just... popped out."
                          
"We just want to return it to its rightful owner."
                          
The receptionist near them smiled. "Aw, what thoughtful young siblings."
                          
"Uh-huh. Look up the name for me, will ya?" Aurora smiled back sardonically.
                          
The doctor spoke again, turning the pair's attention back on him. "I'm sorry, but patient records are strictly confidential. That means I can't--"
                          
Five interrupted with a scoff. "Yeah, we know what it means."
                          
"But," The man added. "I'll tell you what I can do. I will take the eye off your hands and return it to the owner. I'm sure he or she will be grateful, so if I can just--"
                          
"You're not touching this eye," Five cut him off again.
                          
"Now you listen here, young man--" The boy let go of Aurora's hand and yanked on the doctor's coat. 
                          
"No. You listen to me, asshole. We've come a long way for this, through some shit your pee brain couldn't even comprehend. So just give me the information I need, and we'll be on our merry way," Five sneered. "And if you call me 'young man' one more time, she's going to throw you out of that window." He gestured towards Aurora, who smiled innocently and waved her hand that was covered in chaos magic.
                          
"Oh dear," The receptionist muttered.
                          
The man glanced at her. "Call security."
                          
The woman nodded and dialed the number, but before she could say anything, Aurora snatched the phone out of her hand and held it up to her ear. She transformed her voice to make it sound like the woman's.
                          
"Hello, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to call, I'm sorry for wasting your time." Slamming the phone back down, the teenage girl turned away and grabbed Five's hand. She pulled him towards the elevator and pressed the button. As soon as the doors opened, Aurora yanked the boy inside and pressed the button for the first floor.
                          
"That was a waste of time," The boy grumbled, crossing his arms in annoyance.
                          
"Tell me about it."
                          
-time skip-
                          
Aurora laid on Five's bed while he stared out the window. The girl sat up and turned to him, which made him face her in response.
                          
"You know that Vanya's going to be flipping out looking for us, right?" Aurora informed the boy. He shrugged and walked over to his bed and sat next to her.
                          
"She'll find us eventually." And as if on queue, the teens hear Vanya calling for them. They look at each other in a knowing way, before turning towards the door as the woman walked in.
                          
"Oh, thank god. I was worried sick about you two," Vanya sighed.
                          
Five stood up and stepped towards her. "Sorry, we left without saying goodbye."
                          
"Look, I'm the one that should be sorry. I was dismissive," She explained. "And I guess I didn't know how to process what you were saying. I still can't, to be honest."
                          
"Maybe you were right to be dismissive," Five started, looking at Aurora and silently asking her to back him up. "Maybe it wasn't real after all."
                          
Instantly getting the message, Aurora added to what he said. "It felt real, though. But maybe when we came back, the time-traveling messed with our minds."
                          
"Then maybe I'm not the right person for you to be talking to," Vanya replied. "I used to see someone. A therapist, I could give you her information."
                          
"Thanks," Five started. "But I think we're just gonna get some rest. It's been a while since I've had a good sleep, Aurora too."
                          
"Okay." Vanya left the room and went down the stairs, and the room was silent until someone came barging out of Five's closet.
                          
"What the hell--"
                          
Klaus cut Aurora off, items clattering behind him as he walked. "That's so... touching. All that stuff about family and Dad and time. Wow!"
                          
"Will you shut up, she'll hear you!" The boy hissed.
                          
"I'm moist."
                          
Aurora interjected. "How long has he been in there?"
                          
"I don't even know," The man laughed.
                          
"I thought I told you to put on something professional," Five gestured towards his brother's outfit.
                          
"What? This is my nicest outfit."
                          
"We'll raid the old man's closet." The boy grabbed Aurora's hand and pulled her out of the room.
                          
"Whatever," Klaus replied. "As long as I get paid."
                          
"When the job is done," The curly-haired girl called out.
                          
"Okay, but just so we're clear on the finer details, I just gotta go into this place and be your dear old dad... correct?"
                          
"Yeah, something like that."
                          
"What's our cover story?"
                          
"And this is where I take my leave," Aurora announced, pulling her hand out of Five's and walking down the stairs. "Let me know when you idiots are done." 
                          
She walked around the house, exploring the different places she's never seen before. The girl ended up finding the front door by herself and stood next to it, waiting for the boys to finish. She stood there for a couple of minutes until they finally came down.
                          
"You beauty queens done already? I thought you'd take longer," The brunette asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. 
                          
Five rolled his eyes and opened the door. "Ladies first." Aurora rolled her eyes as well, walking through the door but not before saying, "He means you too, Klaus."
                          
The boy snorted at her comment, Klaus following after her and Five right behind them.