Something In Common

Something In Common Pt. 1

It was a stormy night, the rain falling so heavily that nothing else could be heard. The large house in front of me was dark, the greenery climbing the walls. Abandoned for some time, the hope that brought me here was slowly fading. The floorboards creaked walking up the stairs and, taking a breath to calm myself, I made my way over to the window. Wiping away the dust I tried to peer inside but the darkness made it difficult to make out what was inside. I could vaguely see covered furniture and large paintings. The long drive exhausted me and I knew I had two options: sleeping in my car in the middle of nowhere or trying to get inside the creepy abandoned house. Feeling my rain-soaked clothes, staying indoors seemed like the better option. It might be haunted but at least I could use one of those sheets to warm myself. Walking back to the front entrance I tried the door, it was unlocked but took some shoving to finally open. Shivering, I slowly made my way inside. The house was quiet besides the now soft patterning of rain. "Hello?" I yelled "If someone is here please don't shoot me. I'm not robbing you, I promise." Right, I cringed, like that would convince someone I'm not a criminal. When I was met with silence, I made my way over to the covered couch.
Klaus was in a dark concrete mosalum, he was covering his ears but the screams broke through. All of the tortured souls surrounding him were angry that he was alive and they were not. His dad would be back in just a few more hours. Just a little bit longer to endure and he would be taken back home. Just a few more hours. "Klaus" they yelled and he could feel their unnatural coldness surrounding him "KLAUS". At that, he bolted up in his bed gasping for air. Taking a moment to adjust, he realized it was a ghost yelling his name, but not from inside a crypt. "Alright alright I'm awake. You know," Klaus yawned, "Just because you don't sleep, doesn't mean you get to wake me when you're bored." Ben stood with his arms crossed, obviously annoyed by the man who was now curling back up in his blanket. "Someone's here" Ben finally said. Klaus opened up his eyes again, "Yeah and he's a pain in my ass who won't let me sleep". "No, Klaus, someone else is in the house" At this, Klaus rolled off the bed and started to search for his robe. Ben stood by the door, "I told you the cult would find you, you never listen to me." Tying his robe Klaus dramatically turned to the door, "Yes well with how much you talk it feels like having the radio on constantly, I can hear it but I'm not listening" Ben glared, watching Klaus make his way over to the living room but not following.
Wrapping myself in the sheet, I began to look at the room. Just like the outside, the furniture had not been touched in some time. It was a beautiful home and just needed some care to return to its former state. The paintings were interesting, whoever bought them loved nature. One, however, was different from the others. It was a large oil painting of a man, the same as the flier I was given. "If you're searching for the rest of destiny's children, they're not here" I practically jumped at the voice, turning to see where it came from. A tall slender man was making his way over to the couch. He sat down looking up at the painting with an exhausted expression. "I'm not here to join, uh, whatever it is you lead," I said "I'm here looking for Klaus Hargreeves". "Yes yes, well I don't do the whole" he waved his hands around his face "leading thing anymore so you're not looking for me. You should try looking in San Francisco, they might have moved on to a new city by now but you can at least enjoy the food there while you search. There is this small hole in the wall bar that-" "I'm not looking for your cult Klaus, I'm trying to find your brother" At this he paused to look at me, confusion taking over his face. "Well you'll need to be more specific, I have a lot of brothers" he said, looking to the other side of the room. I'm beginning to think this guy isn't listening to me. Growing frustrated, I quickly made my way over to him. Grabbing his hand and pulling up his sleeve, I found what I was looking for, a small tattoo of an umbrella. I felt a soft buzzing feeling in my head, not painful but unnatural. I felt him remove his hand from my grip and realized I had been closing my eyes, wincing. "You alright there?" Klaus said tentatively. I quickly pulled myself together, "Your brother Five, where is he?" For a moment we stared at each other. "Oh well you know he's a busy guy, saving the world and all that. Dropped us here a year ago and never came back." He got up walking over to the fireplace. "Might be back but... well the last time he decided to play around with time he was gone for 16 years." He sighed, starting to toss wood inside. I couldn't move, the reality of what he was saying sinking in. He was abandoned just like Five had abandoned me. "Klaus come on focus, this girl could be dangerous". I nearly screamed turning around to the owner of the voice. I didn't hear the other boy enter the room, he was now staring at me with a confused look. "I'm not dangerous" I said, offended. He looked like a deer in headlights, looking between Klaus and me. The energy in the room had shifted, and I felt all of the attention on me. The boy in the leather jacket turned to Klaus, "Are you summoning me?" Klaus held up his palms, "Nope, can't, since I'm so tired from someone waking me up in the middle of the night." I'm tired too and losing patience with these two. I turn back to Klaus, who is trying to light the fire. "Please, is there any way you can find Five, he sent me here and he needs to take me back." Klaus gleefully clapped as the fire finally started, getting up and giving me his full attention. "What do you mean 'sent you here'?" I walked over to the side table where I had set my bag. I started digging inside, finally pulling out a newspaper. "This is from the day I met five, the same day he used his power to send me back in time." I handed Klaus the paper, and the other boy stood next to him reading the headline 'The Umbrella Academy celebrates 12 years of service'. Klaus hands the paper back to me and starts to walk away, "Sorry, you found the only brother they wouldn't even realize was missing". That's it? Are you kidding me? Scoffing, I turned back to the other boy "Is he always like this?" His annoyed expression turned back into the shock I saw earlier, and he walked towards me with a finger pointed. "You CAN see me" he said. "Yeah I can see you, I'm not blind" I pulled the sheet tighter around me, the warmth of the fire barely heating the large room. Klaus had paused his exit, staring back at me. Standing in the dark room, lit only by firelight, he looked like a painting. Not like the one hanging on the wall, but a Renaissance painting. No canvas could capture how beautiful his eyes are, I thought, every hue of green and gold shines even in the dark. Klaus shuffled closer again, pointing between us, "You can see the dead?" That was the last thing I expected him to say. "Uh, no I definitely can't" At this he gave an amused laugh "Well you are now".
"Okay look," I walked over to my bag, picking it up and shoving the newspaper back inside "It's been a long night. I'm exhausted and whatever ploy you're using to recruit me into your cult isn't going to work. If he's not here then I don't need anything else from you." Every emotion I felt from the moment I was handed the flier threatened to spill over. It was foolish to let myself hope. Before they could see the tears starting to form, I started making my way to the door. I didn't even make it two steps before the boy in the jacket jumped in front of me. "No wait please, he's not lying for once. I'm dead, I can prove it" We stood facing each other, it was clear he didn't plan on how he would 'prove it'. Then, he took a step forward. Then another. Finally, when he was just inches from me he took a final large step, right through me. My already cold body was hit with an unnatural chill. When I turned around, I could still see him but something was different. I could see through him, and his body had a very soft glow. I turned to Klaus to see his reaction, but rather than my own shock, he just looked tired. "How can you see him?" Klaus started to make his way over to us, stretching his arms above his head. "Oh well, I was always Ben's favorite brother, so when he died he decided to just follow me around." At this Ben scoffed, "Actually, this" he turned to Klaus "ASS decided to summon me and now I'm stuck watching him destroy his life." As they argued, I thought back to the academy. "Number six" I muttered. Ben turned his attention back to me "I was, and Klaus was number 4. Not that it matters anymore, the academy doesn't exist." Klaus walked over to the fire "Yeah well, I'd say it hasn't existed in a long time." I wasn't expecting that, the academy seemed untouchable. All of them being real-life superheroes, loved by the world. I walked over towards the fire, but before I could ask what he meant Klaus turned to me. With furrowed brows he pointed at me "You said Five sent you here" Ben sat on the couch, staring at me. Klaus glanced at Ben, then continued "But, he can't just toss someone back in time." Confused by the change in topic, I replied "He did it to you." This time it was Ben who spoke up "No, we had to be connected to him to jump." I turned around "Oh yeah, then why isn't he here?" Klaus joined Ben on the couch with a loud sigh, "Oh well, isn't that that big mystery? That old man messed up the jump and now I'm probably the only one left." Ben glared. "Sorry, we're probably the only ones left. Point being, time travel is messy and he would've needed to be with you to take the leap." I turned back to the fire, staring at the dancing flames. None of this makes sense, if he didn't do it then how did I get here? Klaus stood, "Look, we're not going to solve all of life's mysteries in the middle of the night." He motioned for me to follow, so cautiously I did with Ben close behind. As we made our way through the house, I took note of where everything was. A kitchen, another large empty room with covered paintings with a strange hanging chair, a giant bathroom with beautiful tile, and finally we stopped in front of a door. He shoved the door, only opening after he used his whole weight to ram it. Inside was a spacious bedroom with a large king-size bed. The walls were covered in dusty books and two large windows facing the backyard. Connected to the bedroom was, I assumed, a bathroom. "I'm going back to bed," Klaus motioned to the room "You can sleep here. Feel free to use whatever you want. The owner isn't currently using it because, well, she's dead." He turned to walk out of the room and shut the door with a final "goooood night". Leaving just Ben and I looking at each other. He finally spoke awkwardly "If you need anything, just yell. Or if you just need someone to talk to, uh, also yell I guess" With that, he turned and walked straight through the closed door. I was left alone, the only sound being the soft rain. With a shiver, I decided to settle in. It's strange staying in someone else's home, but I guess it's better to have permission rather than what I was originally going to do. Opening the other door I found I was correct assuming it was a bathroom. The walls were a bright pink, and the tile was an assortment of blue and white. Looking at myself in the large mirror, I cringed. My hair had been soaked and now dried into messy knots. My clothes were also still wet, even under my raincoat. Searching through the woman's wardrobe, I pulled out a pajama set. With a silent thanks to her, I managed to dry myself and get into the new clothes. My soaked clothes hung to hopefully dry through the night. As I lay in the large bed, I found myself unable to fall asleep. Exhausted as I was, I couldn't stop thinking about the day I was sent back in time. As I drifted off my mind kept replaying the moment I met Five.

Klaus made his way back to his room, Ben eventually catching up to him. "She can see me Klaus" He jumped on his bed immediately curling into his blanket. "Oh yeah, I didn't notice" As Klaus started to close his eyes Ben excitedly moved closer, "KLAUS she can SEE me, do you know what that means?" With this Klaus opened one eye "What? That you can spend your time bothering someone else for once?" If Ben was still speaking, Klaus didn't hear it. His mind was already drifting back to sleep, his last thought being the girl across the hall.