𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀

~ Chapter Seventeen ~

The moment Klaus went into the bathroom, Dusk got up from the bed and walked towards the staircase. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Grace sitting near the wall of paintings. Pogo was also there, and he seemed to be assisting her. "Is Mom okay?" the raven asked, concerned about their caretaker. "Yes, Miss Dusk. Grace needs some repairs, but she'll be up and running in no time," Pogo assured her before she went downstairs.

As she went to grab herself a drink from the bar, the sound of footsteps came from behind her, making her turn around to see it was Diego and Klaus who were about to walk out the door. "Where are you two going?" She asked, getting their attention. "Out," Diego replied bluntly, not bothering to even glance at her. "Well, can I come with you?" Diego let out a sigh, throwing his head back before looking at Dusk. "Fine. If you want to come, you can,"

The three Hargreeves got into Diego's car and quickly sped out of the driveway. The whole time they were driving, Dusk noticed that Klaus was unusually silent, staring out the fogged passenger window. "Are you okay, Klaus?" She asked, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. Klaus said nothing but continued to stare out, sipping on a bottle of alcohol. "Wow, this is a first. He's silent," Diego commented. The raven glared at him, her eyes slightly turning red as she warned him not to say anything stupid.

"Last time you were this quiet, we were 12. You ran down the stairs wearing Grace's heels, tripped over, and broke your jaw. How long was it wired shut again?" Diego asked, keeping his eyes on the road. "Eight weeks," Klaus answered somberly. When they turned the corner, the junkie immediately sat up in his seat, telling Diego and Dusk to drop him off at a random building. Diego complied and pulled into a parking spot, and Klaus immediately rushed inside.

"Somethings not right here. He's never acted like this before," Dusk sighed, feeling that knot form in her stomach again. "We should go check in on him, see if he's okay," Diego slowly nodded, and the two got out of the car. To Dusk, the building appeared to be a bar of some sort, but when she noticed that most of the occupants were older and wore army badges, she realized it was for veterans. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Klaus standing near a few framed pictures. And from the way he hung his head, she knew he was upset.

"Just go away, please," He begged, blinking away a few tears. "Not until you talk to us," Diego said softly. Klaus wiped his eyes and looked up at the picture in front of him. "Is that a threat? You threatening me?" he sniffled. "No, Klausy. I know it's hard to talk about-" Before Dusk could finish her sentence, an older man with a white beard walked up to the three of them. "Guys, this bar is for vets only," He informed them.

"I am a vet," Klaus replied, still looking at the photos. "Really? Where did you serve?" The veteran scoffed. "None of your business," "You know, you've got real balls to come in here and pretend you're one of us," This pushed Klaus to the edge, and he slowly turned around and glared at the man. "Oh, I have every right to be here, just like you, asshole!" he said flatly.

The veteran began walking towards them, looking like he was going to slug Klaus. But Dusk and Diego tried to calm the whole situation. "Let's just call it a day and go our own way," Diego said calmly. The veteran let out a small sigh before agreeing, as long as they apologized. "Okay. We're all sorry. So, are we good?" Dusk asked, hoping the apology was to his satisfaction. "I want to hear him say it," He clarified.

"He's right," Klaus said, turning around on his heel to face the man who he believed to be harassing them. "I'd like to apologize. That you are depriving some village of their idiot!" Klaus growled. The veteran swung at him, but Klaus quickly ducked, and Diego got in on the brawl. One by one, the veterans walked towards them and tried to fight them over Klaus's smartass comment. Dusk had tried to stay out of the fight, not wanting to expose her power to everyone.

But when a veteran punched Klaus's cheek, her anger peaked inside her and she stormed over as he was about to hit him again. She grabbed his arm, starting to burn his flesh. "AAUGH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He yelled. Dusk let go of his arm, and he looked down to see the giant red handprint, embers and pieces of skin were falling from the wound, and he stared at her with eyes as wide as saucers.

"You're a witch!" he shouted. "Phoenix is more like it," she snarled before grabbing Klaus and Diego's arms, leading them out of the bar and quickly getting inside and driving until they were nearby Griddy's. "You got a big mouth. You know that?" Dusk sighed. "Oh, wow. What a truly shocking revelation, songbird," Klaus sighed as he took a few tiny bags from his jacket before Diego reached over and grabbed them.

"Why are you putting this shit in your body?" Diego asked. Klaus only gave a raspberry as an answer. "You see this? My body's a temple. All that shit you do, it's just weakness," "He's right, Klaus. You can't be putting this stuff inside your body. All it does is slowly kill you," Dusk nodded in agreement. "Well, Dusky, weakness feels good," Klaus sighed, reaching into his jacket again to try to take more pills. Diego smacked them out of his hand again and hit him in the head.

"What's going on with you? Huh?" Diego shouted. "Don't hit me, asshole!" Klaus shouted back. "Don't tell us everything is alright, because we saw you in there. You were crying like a baby!" Dusk joined in. "IT'S BECAUSE I LOST SOMEONE!" Klaus screamed, making them go silent. "I lost someone. The only, the only person I've ever truly loved more than myself," Klaus explained.

The moment he said that, Dusk felt her heart drop into her stomach. I thought you loved me. I guess that love we had years ago is gone now.