Chapter Text
Yesterday, I met a man named Hazel.
Yesterday, the world blew up.
“Now,” Hazel put a hand on my shoulder, “find the Umbrella Academy. Don’t trust anyone but them, okay?”
I shook my head, “I don’t understand. Did yesterday really happen? You're fucking with me, right?”
He only stared down at me. When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter than it had been before. Sympathetic. “I know, kid.”
I cleared my throat roughly. “Is that it then? Am I the only one left? I watched the fucking city explode in front of me and that's it?” I waved a hand out in front of me.
Hazel nodded solemnly.
“So, my family...” I looked up to meet his eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Millie.”
I felt that familiar sensation burning in my throat, the one that often accompanied tears. “How do you even know who I am? You know my name. How? Why me?”
He tilted his head, scratching at his beard. “I know everything. It's hard to explain.”
When I remained silent, he put a gentle hand on my shoulder and turned me towards the other side of the street. “That hairdresser right there? See it?” I nodded. “Good. Walk in there. Find Allison.”
He gave me a small push. Slightly disoriented, my feet stepped forward onto the road. From behind me, I heard Hazel’s voice yelling something I couldn't decipher.
My heartbeat thudded loudly in my ears as I approached the shop door. Through the sheer yellow curtains inside, I could see women laughing and chatting, their hair being twisted into all sorts of different styles. Vintage, that’s the word I would've use to describe them.
I blinked at my reflection in the window, how out of place I looked. I glanced to a poster on the next window, advertising a free wash and trim on the 22nd of November. I stepped closer, my mouth almost hanging open. The 22nd of November, 1963.
I was standing in Dallas, in 1963. My breathing shook my body, while I tried to shake the tears that were beginning to gather in my eyes.
“Hey,” a feminine voice spoke. I pulled my attention away from the window to face her. A woman stood in the doorway, a frown pulling at her eyebrows. I could nearly feel the way her eyes rolled down my body, my outfit. “Are you quite alright?”
I stepped closer, trying to ignore the way the woman flinched at the movement. I stared past her, into the building. Clenching my shaky hands behind my back, I cleared my throat. “Can I come in by any chance?”
She seemed to think over my request, and at last, held the door open for me. I thanked her with a nod, and walked into the shop.
The staff and patrons inside had a similar reaction to the first woman. Cold, wary gazes roamed over me. I met their stares, trying to control the trembling that was running through my fingers.
The only person who didn’t shy away from me, was a woman standing at the chair furthest away from the door. She was dressed just like the rest of the women here, all floral dresses and dainty shoes. It was pretty. There was something in her eyes though, something that shone of wisdom.
Then it clicked. This had to be Allison. Hazel didn’t mention that his Allison was famous actress, Allison Hargreeves. But then again, maybe I was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t her, seeing as she wasn't to be born for another 25 or so years.
Her eyes raked over me differently than the others, but even she lingered on my clothes and my boots. She promptly set down the scissors she was holding, and stepped towards me. The woman grabbed my hand, and pulled me into the back of the shop.
She crossed her arms, frowning at me. “Who are you?”
“Uh,” I paused, my mind all over the place. “Millie. My name’s Millie.”
The woman shook her head, eyebrows raised.
“Are you Allison?” I said softly, leaning closer to her in case the women in the other room could hear us.
Her frown smoothed out, confusion taking over her face. Even fear, maybe. “How do you know that? Who are you?”
I held my palms up to her, “I promise, I’m not here to hurt you.”
She scoffed, “did you follow me here?”
“I don’t-“ I blew out a breath. “I don't know how you got here. Look, a man named Hazel grabbed me yesterday.”
“Hazel? As in Hazel and Cha Cha? You know Hazel?” She interrupted.
“I don’t know, it was just some guy with a beard and a briefcase.” I shrugged.
Allison’s gaze fell to the floor. “Huh. Beard is new.” Then her eyes snapped up to mine again. “Yesterday? You said you got here yesterday?”
I frowned, “ten minutes ago, actually.”
She shook her head, blinking at me for a moment. “Okay. Okay. Later, this is a conversation for later. I’m going to take you home, and we’ll talk this out.”
"Home?"
"My house." How long had she been in this timeline to own a house? Or was this her original time? Or, was I just going mad?
She seemed rather frazzled by my arrival, a reaction which didn’t surprise me. I’m still frazzled by it myself. Allison’s fingers circled my wrist, and she walked us back through the shop. She stopped briefly to whisper something to another lady, of which I couldn’t hear.
Then, we were driving. A car in 1963 felt different to a car in 2019. It was slower, rougher, and definitely had less seatbelts. I had thought a truck was a weird choice, didn't really seem to fit the woman driving it. Not in this timeline, anyway. I gawked at all the old shop fronts lining the streets. It was straight out of an old movie, one my Dad would’ve watched. Now, I’m in the movie, I suppose.
Allison pulled up in front of a quaint little house, with little flowerbeds sitting prettily beside the door. I followed her in, gently shutting the flimsy screen. I supposed crime rates were higher in 2019 than they are here.
“Ray!” She called into the house.
“Allison? I wasn’t expecting you home until later.” A man descended the staircase, looking every bit Allison’s match. He wound an arm around her waist, and gave her a peck on the cheek.
Then, his eyes landed on me, alarm flaring in his expression. “Who’s this?”
"I'm harmless, promise." I tried, palms up, though he didn't seem convinced. Just like Allison.
Allison placed a hand on his chest, toying with his tie. “Millie, this is my husband, Ray. Ray, this is Millie.”
“Hello, nice to meet you.” He nodded at me politely, then took his wife’s hand and lead her into the kitchen.
I awkwardly spun around in the lounge room, slowly sitting down on the couch. The yellow wallpaper on the walls made me uncomfortable. I nervously tapped my fingers against my bare knees. I was suddenly thankful I’d worn a t-shirt over the top of my dress that morning. I doubted the little white spaghetti straps would have helped my case in this year.
My Dr Martens squeaked against the linoleum floor. I probably looked more like a soldier to these people than I did a teenage girl.
“I don’t know, Ray. She just walked into the shop,” Allison’s voice sailed through the walls. I couldn’t hear her husbands reply.
She spoke again, voice softer, “she looks like a kid. We can’t just leave her.”
Again, only a muffled reply made it through the walls.
So, I just sat, and waited. And waited.
I racked my memories to find any reason why Hazel would know my name, let alone bring me here. I was sure I'd never met him before. I briefly recalled that old group he’d mentioned. The Umbrella Academy. I was only young when they’d disbanded, but I remembered.
I remember it being on the news when one of them died. A tragedy, they'd called it. It was no wonder they all left merely a few years later. They were on the news again when the famous academy members all turned 17 and began to move away. It all seemed rather sad to me. A horrible place to grow up.
I sat up straighter as Allison and Ray stepped back into the room, both smiling mildly.
“Let me set you up.” Allison held an arm out, and I followed her upstairs. She opened a door to a small bedroom, fit with a neatly made single bed. Luckily, the yellow wallpaper from downstairs had not been continued up here.
I walked in, she shut the door behind us both, and sat on the end of the bed. I stood there awkwardly before she motioned at me to join her.
“Okay, spill. Don't bullshit me,” she warned.
“Well,” I laced my fingers in my lap. “I was walking my dog yesterday, and this man showed up. It was almost like he'd just appeared out of thin air. He told me his name, and that he’s sorry, and when he touched my elbow, I was here.” I shrugged, “I'd never even said a word to him until I was here. He only told me to find you, and the Umbrella Academy.”
“Why?” Her eyes narrowed.
“He didn’t say. Only that I’m not to trust anyone but them, you.”
She stared into nothing. Her voice was quiet, sad. “So, they’re all here too?”
I hesitated, wondering if maybe she was just thinking out loud. “Who?”
She blinked a few times before meeting my eye, “my siblings.”
Oh. I’d forgotten. “I forgot about that.”
She smiled at me, “sometimes I forget too, that part of my life seems so far away.”
I was silent, and Allison took that as a sign to continue speaking.
“I just hope that whatever your arrival here means, it’s better than the last time someone dropped from the sky.”
I frowned at her. She spoke as if this was a common occurrence, for people to fall out of magic blue portals.
“My brother. He disappeared when we were kids. Came back spinning all these stories of apocalypses and us all dying.” She laughed bitterly. “We all thought he’d gone crazy. But he was right….what am I saying? Of course you know that.”
“Yeah.” I bit the inside of my cheek. "I was...I saw it sweep over the city. All I could do was stand there, waiting for it to hit me." I looked at her, "Is this supposed to be mercy? Being alive when everyone I love is dead? Or, at the end of the day, is it just another way the world fucking sucks?"
"You remind me of my brother, when he first came back." She smiled sadly.
"Yeah?" My voice was merely a whisper. We looked at each other. Sad eyes staring into sad eyes.
She brushed off the rather heavy topic by straightening her dress. “We’ll work it out. It’ll be just fine, I’m sure.” She stood up and walked to the doorway. “Oh, and don’t tell Ray about any of this...this time travel, apocalypse stuff. If that’s okay. He doesn’t really know who I was, I'd like to keep it that way, even just for a little while longer.” She cringed a little as she spoke.
I nodded faintly. “Yeah, okay.”