would you mind? | no. 5

1.14: the interrogation

Maya brought the man home, temporarily becoming his babysitter for the time being. She sat next to the bathtub Klaus was in, in case he needed something. All the man did was stare off into space and sob quietly to himself, as if he was reliving something he didn't want to remember. Maya jumped back in surprise as he gasped loudly and shot up. She looked down as he exited the bathtub and out of the room. She followed his bloody footsteps and sat on his bed.

"Thanks," Klaus suddenly spoke, sliding his pants on. "For taking care of me."

Maya shook her head. "You don't have to thank me, Klaus. I'm just returning the favor I owe you." The teen shuddered at the thought of the mental breakdown she had back in 2018. "Are you ready to talk about it?"

The man shook his head, tears forming in his eyes. "No." The girl nodded, pulling him onto his bed and into a hug.

"It's okay, you can tell me when you're ready." She was about to say something else when she heard two pairs of footsteps approaching Klaus' room. She pulled away from the hug slightly to see who it was, and smiled.

Five and Aurora emerged. "You guys okay?"

Klaus pulled away from the hug and went to put on a shirt, muttering a 'hey'. He pulled the shirt on and went to sit back down next to Maya.

"Long night," The man muttered, shifting to lay in the girl's lap. She started playing with his hair as he got comfortable.

"More than one, from the looks of it." Five chuckled. Klaus nodded. "Don't remember the dog tags."

"Yeah, they belonged to a friend."

"How about that new tattoo?" Aurora spoke up.

"You know, I don't totally remember even getting it. Like I said, it was a long night." Klaus replied, moving away from Maya to stand up.

"You did it," Five muttered. "Didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

Maya agreed. "We can recognize the symptoms, Klaus."

"Symptoms of what?" He challenged her.

"The jet lag," Aurora started.

"Full body itch," Maya added.

Five finished the list, "The headache that feels like someone shoved a box of cotton up into your nose and through your brain. You gonna tell us about it?"

"Your pals, when they broke into the house and they couldn't find you," Klaus explained. "They took me hostage instead."

Aurora said, "And in return, you stole their briefcase."

"Yeah. I thought there was money in it, or I could pawn it... you know, whatever. And then I opened it."

"And the next thing you knew, you were... where? Or should I say when?" Five trailed off, looking up as if the answer was written on the ceiling.

Klaus scoffed at his brother. "What difference does it make?"

Maya interrupted the conversation. "Can you guys stop pestering him?" Her request was dismissed.

"What diff-? Okay, how long were you gone?" The boy asked, started to pace around.

"Almost a year."

"A year," The boy breathed. "Do you know what this means?"

"Yeah," Klaus laughed a bit. "I'm ten months older now."

"This isn't any sort of joke, Klaus. Hazel and Cha Cha will do whatever they can to get the briefcase. Where is it now?"

"He destroyed it," Maya answered. Aurora frowned, walking over to the girl and sitting beside her. The brunette shifted uncomfortably, which made her best friend frown even more.

"Maya," She whispered. The girl turned her head to face her, tuning out the boys. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing."

"Are you sure? Because all I did was sit next to you and--"

"I am fine," Maya replied, raising her voice slightly and gaining the attention of Klaus and Five. "I'm just here to comfort my grieving friend, okay?" Aurora fell silent, and Klaus got up to leave. Maya followed, dodging the hands of both of her best friends trying to pull her back.

"Where are you going?" Five called after them.

"Interrogation's over," Klaus retorted. "Just leave."

"Maya!"

The girl whirled around. "What?"

The boy sighed. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," The brunette replied sarcastically, standing still as Klaus continued to walk off. "This better be quick, I have to get home."

"What happened to you?" Aurora asked.

"I got stuck here for a year. Branched off into 2018."

"We can tell," Five remarked. "You've changed."

"Yeah, no shit. I had to do something while I was stuck waiting for you," Maya retorted.

"Well, we're here now."

"That doesn't make a difference anymore."

"And why not?" Aurora challenged.

"Because I have a life here," Maya raised her voice. "A great one, at that. I have a great job, a great boyfriend, a great friend that kept me connected to you two in case you showed up early."

"Em, we--"

"No, Five. I don't need your bullshit. I have waited 16 months for you to show up, don't you dare say you tried to find me," The girl snapped, her eyes wide in fury. She stepped towards the only people she had put faith in for the last 40 years. "I even stayed here, looking for anything to help stop the apocalypse."

"You avoided us the moment we saw each other," Aurora spat back. "Why are you putting the blame on us?" Maya fell silent for a second, her anger fading slightly.

"I wasn't ready to jump back into action," She sighed and paused for a long moment. "Do you guys really need me, or am I about to become soft for nothing?"

Aurora nodded and answered, "We need you, Em."

"Well, I'm leaving."

Five narrowed his eyes. "And going where?"

"Home, to my boyfriend. So I can say goodbye to him. You think I'm just going to forget about him and follow you two lovebirds around? No thank you."

Both teens stood confused as their best friend walked away. "Lovebirds?"

"Oh, please don't tell me you guys haven't figured it out."

The tan skinned girl raised an eyebrow. "Figured what out?"

"Wow," Maya snorted. "You guys really are that oblivious. Look at yourselves! You can't even stay two feet away from each other!"

The pair took a couple steps away from each other, both turning pink in embarrassment. The girl before them laughed loudly, walking over and bringing them into a hug.

"I've missed you idiots."

"Hey," Aurora protested. "Five's the only idiot in this group."

Five scoffed. "Oh yeah? Well this idiot taught you how to use your powers properly. Without me, you'd be dead by now."

"See," Maya laughed, pulling away from the hug. "Lovebirds." They shoved her away as she laughed even harder, taking out a slip of paper and placing it in Five's hand.

Grabbing onto Aurora and tugging her along, the brunette said, "I'm taking Aura to meet Judah. That's the address if you need us."

"What about me?"

"We both know what she's saying, Five. You're not a people person."

"Screw you," Five yelled back, walking back into Klaus' room, stuffing the piece of paper into his pocket.