Under The Influence: A Klaus Hargreeves Fanfic | Umbrella Academy AU |

Blast From The Past

| This next chapter will take place approximately twelve years ago, when the characters are all about eighteen |

The winter that embraced the city in a cuckhold was especially nasty that day, with high winds and below freezing temperatures in the sunlight. That would be if the sunlight were able to break through the thick cashmere clouds.

Klaus Hargreeves, just barely a legal adult and totally unsure of what to do with his first taste of freedom since the Academy had broken up, found himself in an alley. It was not an unusual place for him to be; he liked walking through the narrow passageways, hands running against the brick walls and the sound of his shoes scraping against the cement. It was cold, however, much too cold for him to be out and about in the light coat that he'd taken from the Salvation Army.

He shuffled his way around, a joint lit in between his lips to help warm his insides, trying to find a place to stay. Mostly, he would just stay awake, walking around and taking the train to unknown destinations. The nightmares didn't allow for much sleep anyways, so he might as well get to see as much of the city as he could.

Off the last stop before heading out of town was the developing area, where they had turned an old warehouse into an art school. The Séance thought briefly about attending, always having a passion for dramatics, but had no money and no drive to pursue anything of value.

The college was attached to a mechanics school; Klaus could recognize the scent of oil that paired perfectly with the sounds of grinding metal. An odd combination, he thought to himself, but that didn't matter as much as the fact that either of those buildings would be increasingly warmer than the outside air.

He searched for an entrance, walking around until he found someone, most likely a student, lurking outside of a door with a cigarette between her hands. The girl was wearing a long tan coat; she was of average height and a thin build, with dyed blue ends to her hair and bangs cut in frays across her forehead. Her skin was pale and her lips were small, pink like cotton candy, and her nose was pierced at the septum.

At the very least, she looked the part of an art student. Hopefully she would be gracious enough to let Klaus into the building; he was tired and cold and the weed was making him more sluggish than usual. The voices in his head were finally calmed, and he felt like he could sleep.

"Got a short?" Klaus removed the joint from his lips as he approached the girl. She turned her head up towards him and her eyes were an earthy brown, warm and kind. He found himself comforted by the roundness of her cheeks, which contrasted the sharpness of the rest of her thin body.

"Have a hit?" The girl gestures to his joint and raised her eyebrows. Klaus was pleasantly surprised to see her reaction as he held the rolled paper out in front of him to pass it to her slowly.

She took the funky cigarette between her teeth and dug her hand into her pocket, pulling out a black package and flicking him a whole cigarette. The affair was going better than he had thought.

"Thanks." Klaus have a nod as he took the plain stick of nicotine. She brought out a small box of matches and, after a few attempts ruined by the wind, lit his cigarette for him.

"Thank you." The girl with bits of blue in her hair gave a tiny nod back, taking a long drag and exhaling a large puff of smoke that vaporized like their breath into the sky. "I never thought I'd find good weed in this town here."

"Where are you from?" Klaus ask with knit brows.

"A long ways away." She shrugged. Her voice was saturated with a sweetness like honey that only the south could conjure. "My name is Willow Jean."