Everything changed when they turned back the clock. Well… obviously, their bodies did first off. Being a gangly crew of awkward, pubescent 13-year-olds was kind of amusing and awful all at once. They could run around like careless kids again, even with their 30-year-old brains. The downside was a big one though- Dad… Dear ol' Daddy Reggie.

They had to pretend like the time change had never happened; like they belonged in this time period. If they didn't, Five said the repercussions would be great. He tried to explain it to his siblings, but everyone shrugged him off once he started throwing around terms like "quantum relationships" and "sequential, exponential decay and destruction".

Anyway, there were other changes too- More important changes when it came down to it. Changes in their family dynamic; their sibling dynamic. It only took the damn apocalypse for everyone to get their shit together and realize that they had to stop constantly resisting one another and work as a team again… as a family. And this time, without feeding into Dad's screwy bullshit that wedged them all apart and held them back from being truly functioning human beings.

It was really an "if I knew then what I knew now" kind of situation.

There was such an enthusiasm; such a drive to fix everything. There was stress too. It felt like everyone had some hidden edge inside that warned them not to make the wrong move and somehow trigger a domino effect of events that would ultimately lead to the destruction of the world again in seventeen years.

The main objectives were assimilating Vanya and letting her get everything off her chest and reversing the actions leading to Ben's death.

Speaking of which, everyone was thrilled about Ben. Why wouldn't they be? His death was really the thing that drove them apart in the end. He was the subtle family rock; Ben with his quiet but supportive, reasonable ways and caring persona. He may not be as in-your-face as his siblings and he may not be the typical leader, but he was the unsaid glue that allowed this shit-storm of a family to hold together.

And now they had him back. They should be unstoppable, right?

Naturally, this elation over Ben and the 17-years' worth of catching up kind of pushed Klaus to the side even more than usual. He didn't mind. He understood. He was just so damn happy for his little Benny-Boy.

The first night, in particular, was strange for Number Six- Klaus knew it. How could it not be? Almost two decades being dead and then unexpectedly yanked back into the living?

It was strange for Klaus too. Without Ben's spirit constantly close by, it felt like he lost part of himself. Even if Ben didn't show himself 24/7 or was off doing other ghost-things, Klaus could always feel his brother with him, like a part of his soul was bonded to the lost soul of Number Six… Like due to his powers, they were biologically woven together. It left an inexplicable feeling of emptiness within him without it, even if he was elated for his brother.

Teenage-Klaus lay in his unusually large bed, curled away from the door and facing the wall that was not yet completely covered in scribbles like his wall in 17 years was. He was just only entering his more… angsty of phases if he remembered correctly. Oh, the joys of puberty.

Once the commotion of the day died down- turning into kids, traveling back in time, consoling a panicking Vanya, reconnecting with an alive Ben… There was just an odd quiet, stillness.

Klaus didn't like quiet or stillness. It's why he always filled his with ear-splitting music, hot bodies, flashing lights, and plenty of drugs. Klaus didn't have any of those things right now though. He was trying to be better after all, and what better time to do so than now?

The one thing he did feel like he couldn't quite deal without though, was the other pea to his pod; his other bird of a feather; his carbon copy; the other half to his broken whole…

When Number Four heard small footsteps push through his slightly-open door, making their way to his bed where a small-framed body timidly climbed into the empty space behind him, Klaus knew that his brother felt the very same way. Of course, he did. Even if they were separated in the literal sense, they still operated on the same wavelength.

Without a word, Klaus took the second pillow he was lying on and pushed it over to Ben's side of the bed, earning a shy, grateful smile from the kid. They didn't make a big deal out of this- it just felt right.

Falling back onto his pillow, Klaus curled towards Ben, bunching up his blankets in his hands and pulling it tightly over his shoulder, bundling himself up, finally comfortable with the presence he had been missing.

Ben did the same, and both boys fell asleep almost instantly. No other words were needed.

Klaus doubted that they'd ever be able to be apart. Sharing your living soul with someone for that long… it was a lot. Neither of them minded. It was just a fact that they were joined at the hip at this point.

After that first night though, things got a little hectic. They realized that there were only six days left until Ben's original death. Five and Ben were tirelessly working together to trace his actions and study the incident, trying to piece together a plan that would indefinitely reverse that awful moment.

Klaus wasn't invited. He followed them around at first, but he was more of a distraction than a helping hand. He got them kicked out of the library for scaling down the tower of balconies with his newly-restored, nimble body. He got bored and tied Five's shoes together for laughs. He spun around so fast in a spinny chair that he threw up the host of junk food he had just eaten (his teenage body was constantly craving everything in sight).

Anyway… Apparently, Five didn't like people having fun and rudely suggested that Klaus stay home and help the other siblings or do whatever it is that "Klaus's do".

"And that doesn't mean hard drugs and narcotics." Five added before Klaus could even suggest it.

He didn't have much luck with Allison, Luther, Diego, and Vanya either. They were all training with their powers, and Klaus didn't exactly have a "trainable" power. He just got in the way there too.

"Klaus, why don't you go help Ben and Five?"

"I tried. They don't want me." Klaus pouted to Allison who was slowly going crazy from his little game of trying to fling rubber bands at Luther's head as he taught Vanya how to mix in her powers with hand-to-hand combat with the help of Numbers 2 and 3.

"Then… I don't know. Go help Mom with something." Diego cut in, easily dodging one of Vanya's blows.

"What? No… We're supposed to be doing big things! Saving the future world and whatnot. I wanna help."

"I know you do. Just… Give us some space to do our thing right now, 'kay? We'll sneak out of the house later and get some donuts." Allison stung him sweetly.

Is that all he was to them? The annoying, rambunctious puppy that they had to keep dangling treats in front of just to keep busy and out of the way?

Donuts did sound really good…

But Klaus didn't want to be that anymore. Everyone else was changing- trying to be better- why couldn't he? The sober thing was just the start of it, but even that was hard as hell still. Every single waking moment was spent shaking with a constant craving buzz. He had to constantly be fiddling with something- biting his nails, tapping his fingers, squeezing something squeezable… Anything to distract him from that intense sensation of pure need.

That was partially the reason he was trying so hard to be around his siblings. He needed people. He needed his family. He couldn't do this alone. The first step was admitting that to himself. It was hard, but he finally got there.

Step two was admitting it to them. That part was equally difficult. Instead of healthy conversation, Klaus's approach was to annoy the shit out of them until they pushed him away. Old habits die hard, he supposed.

Even worse, with sobriety brought the incessant badgering from the dead. It was the worse it's ever been too- He had the strength that he recently attained; the strength that made the voices louder and the spirits tangible. But the control… Maybe it was something with puberty or his pre-mature vessel, but he felt like he had no control over his power anymore, even if he barely had any before.

So, it was stronger, wilder, and untamed. Klaus was struggling. He was really struggling. It was so torturous just knowing that he could end the background torment with one single prick of the needle or pop of the pill. He could only imagine how disappointed they all would be in him though. He'd be disappointed in himself.

Ben being alive, Vanya being included, the apocalypse being reversed… There were just too many important things to do for Klaus to be drawing attention to himself. His siblings were busy and that was okay.

…they were always busy.

Even when Ben and Five returned from a day chasing around a set timeline and studying ways to change it effectively, they were exhausted. Klaus waited for Number 6 to get back every day, waiting to tell him everything and anything that had happened in the mere hours they spent apart.

"That's great to hear that you were able to beat your record of tallest Pringles stacks, Klaus, but I'm kind of exhausted from running around with Five all day. We'll talk tomorrow, yeah?" Ben would say, returning to his room and leaving Klaus alone again. "Alone" but with unwanted visitors. As soon as his brother would go, the voices swarmed into his head again, begging for his help and blaming him for their woes.

It was nights like those that Klaus felt lonelier than he had ever felt…

That was until he came.

Father. Dad.

Reginald knew nothing about the time travel, so he went along, business as usual. The kids were less afraid of him- spoke their mind more, made sure Vanya was no longer shoved aside. But otherwise, he was still the awful, sadistic asshole they've always known.

And with that, came the training, or rather, experimentation. For Klaus, that meant the hell that still haunted him for decades to come.

"Number Four." His father's voice came from his bedroom threshold on their third night back in 2002. Klaus glanced up from where he was mindlessly ripping apart his stuffed animals and sewing their parts back together, mix-matching limbs and pieces.

"Hello, Pappy." Klaus mocked, returning to his work.

"Come with me."

"Why?"

"Training, of course."

Klaus was actually dumb enough to assume he meant some type of training with his other siblings. He even got excited at the thought of doing something as part of the team- to finally be included and feel like he was doing something other than burdening the more important numbers.

That's not how events panned out.

As soon as Reginald had him climb into the car, unaccompanied, he started to get flashbacks to their previous soirées. When his siblings didn't join them, he knew what was happening.

"No, no- Dad I don't want to go."

"We've talked about this Number Four." The monster in the driver's seat said curtly. "It doesn't matter what you want if you can't learn to control your hardships."

Klaus tried everything. He tried to jump out of the car (the back doors were locked from the outside), he tried to cuss out his Dad (to his father's horror), he tried to physically fight back when Reggie pulled him from the car and towards the mausoleum… He was only a wiry 13-year-old though. With one swift shove, Reginald threw him in the tomb he never truly left.

At first, he tried to stay positive. He had seventeen extra years of experience under his belt- that could help, right?

No. A very big no on that one.

They were louder. They were closer. They were more aggressive. And they could touch him.

It started with a tickle on his back- a light billowing of his shirt.

Then it got worse.

They gripped his arms hard, bruising his skin. They scratched at his back and chest, leaving long red marks and light trails of blood. They pulled at him, shoved at him, grabbed at him…

"Dad!" He screamed out, banging on the doors. "DAD!"

…

He spent the whole night there. The only reason he wasn't torn to shreds was because of the little control he could maintain to keep them away. It required so much damn effort though, and he was already sleep deprived. By the time those big, gated doors opened, Klaus was truly exhausted.

"Number Four," That patronizing growl broke Klaus from his terrified trance. He was pushed up into the same corner of the tomb as he was when he was younger- truly younger. His hands were pressed stiffly over his ears, his body curled up as if he was trying to disappear, away from the demons that tried to hurt him. "Number Four, approach."

"Fuck you."

After getting over the very crass answer for a 13-year-old boy, Dad realized Klaus wasn't physically okay (because apparently, he was fine with emotional damage but physical is where he drew the line). He grabbed Klaus by the shoulders and turned him around, noting the gashes and bruises all over his body. He didn't say anything because God forbid his father admit a mistake or apologize.

Instead, Reginald wore a disturbed frown the whole way home, occasionally glancing into the rearview mirror at the boy huddled and trembling in the backseat with quick, terrified breaths racking his body.

When Klaus got back, nothing could've been worse than what he saw-

Bliss. Blissful ignorance.

After changing his tattered clothes and sneaking some coffee (the kids weren't allowed to have caffeine), Klaus found his siblings gathered in rec room next to the kitchen, discussing logistics of Five's master plan but also messing around and laughing. From the doorway where he stood before anyone realized he was there, Klaus swore he never saw them look more like a family.

Everyone was mutually operating a team. There was no struggle for dominance over the conversation- not even from Diego and Luther.

It was past noon at this point, and no one gave Klaus a second glance as he stiffly entered the room, sore from the night of all sorts of pain. This was a new pain though- a pain that sat deep in the cavern of his chest.

They hadn't even noticed. Maybe they were even relieved to not have to entertain him for a while.

He shouldn't be surprised. They didn't notice when he had been kidnapped for nearly two days either. It was just a little bit of a harder pill to swallow now though, with the family reconnecting and rebuilding. He was happy that they had everything they had needed for so long… he just kind of wished he was part of it.

Klaus took a seat on the couch, pulling up his knees and leaning away from the commotion. His head was still spinning, filled with the echoes of screams and accusations. He could still feel the sting on his back and chest- the throbbing all over his arms and legs.

"Hey!" Fingers snapped in front of him. Klaus jerked his head back in surprise, blinking at Five who scowled at him. In fact, everyone stared at him. "The least you could do is pay attention if you're not going to add anything to the conversation."

Klaus scoffed. That's rich. Every time he tried to "add something to the conversation", he was immediately shot down or ignored.

Usually, it wouldn't bother him like this. He was used to being the disappointment. It worked for him because he didn't have any expectations to live up to, and Klaus liked to live like that. He used to like to live like that.

"You have something to say, Klaus?" Luther asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Everyone waited patiently. This certainly was not the setting to release all of his hardships and whatnot. Instead, Klaus pushed down the sickening feeling that still sat in his stomach from the night and put up his façade.

"Can we go back soon? To the future I mean." He asked, trying to hide the pleading in his voice. He couldn't stay here. He wouldn't. Not with his powers having more strength over him than he did over it.

"If you're so quick to complain, why don't you do something?" Five pushed. Klaus shot him a look. What a prick. He expected nothing less though.

"Just- That's what we're trying to discuss. Keep up. We can't be dragging you through all of this." Luther said, continuing into a long elaborate plan on changing the timeline events and the perfect moment where Five would transport them back (tomorrow, actually). Klaus didn't pay attention. He never did, but this time was for another reason other than his usual highs or ADHD tendencies. He didn't want to listen just to spite them for being assholes.

Not that it mattered or that they cared in the end. Klaus knew he was just being ornery too. He hadn't gotten any sleep and hours of mental torment could make a person cranky.

When the family disbanded, he stayed in place, staring forward completely zoned out.

KLAUS. KLAUS.

Screaming ensued. He could still hear them- the dead in his mind. His siblings didn't spare him a second glance while walking out-

Well, that wasn't true. Ben did. His brother slid into the couch, right up next to him. Little-Ben gave Little-Klaus a gentle shove with his shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

"Just tired."

Ben gave him a look.

"Really, dude. What's wrong?"

And Klaus couldn't hide anything from Ben, so he told him everything about his Dad coming in the night, stealing him away and forcing him into that damn mausoleum. He did leave out the part about them being able to touch him and it didn't come up because of the long sleeves and pants he resorted to wearing to hide his marks.

Mostly, he didn't tell Ben because his brother already felt terrible for not noticing. Klaus didn't want that though. It wasn't his brother's fault that their dad was a fucking menace.

"We'll get out of here soon. Tomorrow- 'kay?" Ben comforted, reiterating the plan for them to carry out their final arrangements in the next twenty-four hours. Klaus nodded. He let his flamboyant enthusiasm seep back into his consciousness.

"Thanks, Benny." He coddled, squeezing Number Six's cute, little barely-teen cheeks. Ben chuckled and shoved him away hard enough to send Klaus to the ground. He bounced back up in time to chase Ben out of the room, mind set on getting in the last shove while finally distracting him from the voices.

Later that night, 13-year-old Klaus moseyed back into his bedroom after a day of trying to keep up with Diego who was tracking the guy who had an instrumental part in Ben's death. Five said that "through his calculations", the man needed to die and Diego jumped up right away for the job. He wasn't expecting Four to follow him throughout the whole process, but Klaus needed a big distraction from his night of horrors and chasing after this guy's every move sounded promising. Plus, if he wasn't allowed to hang out with Five and Ben, Diego was his next favorite.

He hadn't done much to help- in fact, he certainly slowed Diego down, but it tired him out for sure and that was part of the plan as well. Klaus was worried about sleeping alone with the ghosties there to get him. He felt like a helpless little kid again, and not just in the he's-literally-in-a-kid-body sense.

Four collapsed on his bed, bunching up his pillow and burying his head in it. Maybe if he had to, he could go crawl into bed with Ben. Or maybe Ben would come back to his room… he hadn't done so in a while, but maybe he missed Klaus as much as Klaus missed him.

Yeah. He'd go get Ben.

Klaus padded down the hallway towards Ben's door. It was strange- he hadn't had a reason to go to Ben's room for what felt like ages. He remembered when he first died, how bitterly painful it was to pass every time he had to go downstairs. Klaus had felt sick to his stomach every time he merely looked at the door.

Four pushed through that very same door but to an empty, dark room. Oh. Ben must be out late with Five.

That's okay.

Klaus did have to find some distraction though because soon, he could feel their presence. It was like a diffusion of energy closing in on him, a buzz rising in his head. The buzz turned to coherent voices and soon, the back of his shirt moved without his permission. Klaus jumped up and scurried to the corner of his bad wedged against the corner of the wall. He pulled up his knees to his chest.

"Shit…" He muttered, gripping his knees tightly. He hated this. He hated this. Why was he the one stuck with these stupid powers? Why, as soon as he was starting to think they actually might be kinda cool, did they come to kick him in the ass again?

No wonder he started drugs. He knew that at this time in his lifespan, he was just experimenting with weed. It took Ben dying and the introduction to the wrong (or right, depending on where you stood on the matter) people to get into the hard stuff that would rule his life for the years to come.

Even weed would be splendid right about now.

That's when Klaus saw it- the small bottle of pills on his desk beside his bed. That was definitely not there earlier.

Moving to read the note placed next to the bottle, Klaus whispered the message out loud:

Number 4: To keep the dead at bay. If it persists to become a problem, come and see me.

–Dad

Wow. This was different. Before, Reggie never would've given Klaus anything to help him control the spirits. He was all, "tough through it" and "become the master of your own life, Number Four". The implications of physical harm must've scared him. He couldn't have one of his most enticing experiments die, of course. Then who could he torture?

The pills stared at Klaus. He didn't know what they were or how they'd affect him, but just the sight of them was enough- he didn't care. He needed something, and he needed it now.

Klaus popped open the bottle and poured out three little white pills. Three is probably fine, right?

Okay. Maybe four. He is "number four" after all.

"Heh. Magic number." He mumbled to himself, throwing his head back.

Klaus dumped the pills into his mouth and swallowed, groaning in relief as he felt the little capsules slide down his throat. Just in time too- he was starting to feel fingertips roughly gripping his arms. Within minutes though, that feeling started to fade away. Everything started to fade away- and it felt so damn good.

To keep things short, Klaus overdosed that night. Ben was the one who found him, coming back from a late-night coffee with Number Five and heading to Klaus's room to say a quick goodnight. He found his brother sprawled on the ground, his chest seizing and his eyes rolled up into his head.

Whoops.

The next thing he knew, he was up on the medical table with Mom and all six of his siblings standing over him. An IV stuck out of his arm and his chest felt like an elephant had tap-danced all over him.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" Young-Ben demanded, getting very close and personal in Klaus's already fragile space.

"Benjamin! Language!" Mom scolded before putting a hand on Klaus's forehead and then walking out of the room. The siblings all looked at him with any mix from disgust to worry to anger to irritation. Klaus sighed and fell back against the table.

"You can't just pop pills like you could when you were thirty, dumbass. Your body has zero tolerance! You're just a thirteen-year-old kid!" Five yelled, obviously turning his concern into anger per usual.

Klaus wanted to explain the situation, but it was so much to go through the whole mausoleum, ghostie-touchie, Dad-drugs thing and his head was pounding.

"Where's Dad?" Was all he managed to croak out.

"As soon as he knew you were alive, he went and dumped all your pills."

His pills, technically. Klaus wanted to say, but he knew he'd get confused backlash.

"And I thought you were done with drugs, Klaus. You promised us." Allison added, hurt clear in her voice.

Okay… Yes, Klaus shouldn't have taken any pills, especially not that many. They didn't understand though. They didn't care to understand.

"You don't get it." Klaus muttered, rolling onto his side and curling into himself just a bit. He was freezing.

"What? That you have a very clear problem? Yeah. We get it, Klaus." Diego said. Ouch. Diego was supposed to be his protector in situations like this. He couldn't blame them really. They just saw him dead a moment ago.

"You scared us shitless. You scared me shitless, or don't you care?" Ben asked, arms crossed.

"I know how it looks-"

"Klaus." Ben stopped him. "I know you're dealing with stuff, but what happened tonight? Not okay, dude."

And with that, they all left. They left him there as Mom came back into the room to take care of him. She didn't say much- Klaus wasn't sure she was even programmed to deal with situations like this. He liked the attention though, even if it was just his robot-Mom making sure he got food and liquids into his body while making sure he didn't puke unless it was in a bucket.

Fun times.

They did end up traveling back to present 2019 the next day- a couple months forward, actually (slight miscalculations).

Diego, Ben, and Five did everything they needed to in order to reverse Ben's death. Luther, Allison, and Vanya made sure everything was in place to prevent the apocalypse. Klaus bopped back and forth and helped where he could.

Things were still a little touchy after his overdose though. He understood that he scared them out of their minds. He wouldn't be happy either. He just wished that they'd care to see what was behind the incident though, rather than the incident itself.

"I missed this lil' guy." Klaus admired his Sky Soldiers tattoo in the mirror, along with "Hello, Goodbye" ones. Being himself felt good again… for the most part.

The overdose should've scared him into cutting the drugs out again but that's not how these things tend to work. Ever since then, it's been the only thing on his mind. He stayed strong for his siblings' sake though- for Ben's sake. He couldn't bear to see those disappointed expressions again.

Weeks went by and it didn't get any easier though. Everyone got busy again- busy, but happy… functional. The team was finally like a well-oiled machine… just not with Klaus. It was like they were never meant to operate with seven people- with Vanya and Ben assimilated, there just wasn't enough room for his burden. And could he really be mad that they were just better suited for his family/hero stuff? He was starting to realize that maybe they only tolerated Klaus for this long because they didn't have any other options. With Six and Seven though… who need Four?

Sometimes these thoughts would seep into Klaus's mind and accompanied with the screaming and touching and craving…it was all too much to handle on his own without something to help.

And so, that summer that they returned to after reversing the apocalypse and Ben's death, Klaus did the only thing he really knew how to. He numbed and pushed down all the bad feelings like they didn't exist with any drug he could get his hands on.

He barely remembered stumbling into the family meeting, high as all hell for the first time in a while. He didn't even regret it. The ghosts hadn't touched him that night, he didn't care that he was slowly being pushed out of his family, and every shaky feeling had disappeared into pure bliss.

"You're kidding." Diego said first, noticing Klaus's mannerisms. Everyone turned.

"Please don't tell me you're high." Ben said, standing to approach Klaus and look him in the eyes. Klaus just giggled at his concerned, angry brother. He hadn't seen Ben in what felt like forever at that point, even if it had just been about a day. Five was always inviting to teach him about quantum space and time equations, or Diego would take him on a "ride-along", or Allison and Vanya would take him to coffee. Everyone wanted a part of Ben.

"Fine. I won't then."

"After all this time, Klaus? Why?" Allison demanded, shaking her head.

"Great question, Sis. Should I give my answers alphabetically or listed in order of importance?"

"Just sit down and shut up. We've got a potential mission." Luther dismissed.

And just like that, Klaus was right back to where he started- both with his addiction and with his place as the family disappointment. He lost all credibility that night with them, even though he continued to fight for sobriety repeatedly after that. He knew they looked at him like a lost cause. It was just shrugged off after that, just like always.

Now, a week after that first intentional high with many more that followed, here they sat around the dining table, discussing how to take down the city's biggest mobster boss that's been tearing down the civilized public as of late. Dozens of police recently died in a shootout with this guy and his men, and Diego was specifically pissed. They all knew that this was the point where they felt they needed to step in.

"Hey, I could talk to my deal- my old dealer about setting up a stakeout in-"

"We're not getting in cahoots with your dealer, Klaus." Luther denied immediately when Klaus tried to offer something useful. So typical.

"You said it yourself, we need somewhere near 41st and Prospect. It's perfect."

"Do you really care about our stakeout or are you just in need of more dope?" Diego asked, not exactly accusingly but not nicely either. Klaus shot him a look.

"No, that's not- I do care! I've been sober for three days. Goin' strong… kind of. Still feel like shit." He announced. His record was five days over the past few weeks, but he really felt like this might be the time it stuck.

"We'll see how that goes." Five muttered. Klaus threw a plastic cup at his head.

"Hey…"

"Alright! Klaus, enough."

"What!? Me?"

"Yeah- I- Everyone, just- Klaus, if you're not feeling well, why don't you just sit this one out, 'kay? We got this."

Klaus looked at Luther, dumbfounded. Was he being kicked out of the mission right now? For helping?

"What'd I do?"

"What? Nothing, nothing… It's just- If you're feeling the sober side effects and want to go lie down or something-"

"I'm fine!"

"Okay, okay. I'm just saying- we've got this one though, so it's not a big deal. We don't really-" Luther stopped harshly, mid-sentence. Klaus narrowed his eyes at Number One, his throat tightening but he'd never show it.

"What?"

"What?" Luther repeated, looking to the rest of the table for help. No one cared to interject for either party.

"We don't really 'need you'? That what you were going to say?"

"No! Klaus, I didn't say that."

Klaus locked his teeth together tightly, just staring blankly at Luther. He didn't need to say it.

Wow… He always had the suspicion that they all realized Klaus was more of a liability than an addition to the team, but he never thought they'd have to balls to voice it.

"Just… Okay, we don't have time for this. Klaus- stay, come with us, get high, don't get high… do whatever you want. Alright, so if we proceed from the southbound area of-"

"What I want? Funny." Klaus interrupted Luther again, pulling all the attention back his way. He was done staying quiet and being stepped on. This was just pushing it past the line.

"What now, Klaus?" Luther threw his hands up.

"Dude, we've gotta figure this out first. Lives are at stake- don't be selfish." Diego added. His mind had been laser-focused ever since those cops died. Klaus knew he wouldn't get any support out of Number 2 with him so dead-set on the mission.

"We don't have time for your whining." Five added. Klaus threw yet another cup at his head. The little assassin ducked and jumped out of his seat, ready to do who-knows-what. Luther put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

Klaus took a look around the table. Allison, who wouldn't say anything mean to Klaus but sat there shaking her head, disapprovingly. Diego who frowned at him like he was committing some awful crime. Luther who just looked tired from Klaus's "BS". Vanya who looked disinterested in all the fighting. Five who looked ready to fight him with those bony, little fists.

And finally, Ben. Ben who was not accusatory; who was not angry; who was not disappointed…

But who also did absolutely nothing to help. He knew how much it took Klaus to speak his mind. He knew how it's always been problematic for him to contribute to the family without being stepped on. He knew how hard it was for him to stay sober and why he turned to drugs in the first place.

And yet, he just sat there, not even making eye contact with Klaus. Instead, he looked through case files of their targets, staying out of the mess Klaus had just created.

And in that moment, something clicked within Klaus. The hurt in his chest dropped to nothing. The angry tremble in his hands stilled. Rationality took over and suddenly there were just the facts, or what Klaus believed to be the facts.

"You're right, Diego." He said plainly. "I have been being selfish."

I've been being selfish for sticking around so long in hopes that I actually have a place here when really, I've just been burdening myself and everyone around me. He said in his head. He didn't need them to hear it though- he was done trying to get them to understand. At some point, he just had to accept that if they didn't want to, they wouldn't. He wasn't angry. He wasn't sad. He was just done.

The table was still, waiting for someone to come back with some response or for Klaus to elaborate, but neither of those things happened. Instead, Luther awkwardly went back into the plan and everything moved on like Klaus's small outburst never happened.

Exactly his point. They so easily functioned without him- it just made sense. He wasn't needed here. It sucked, yeah, but he couldn't help the truth.

With a blank expression, Klaus stood from his chair at the end of the table and turned and left. No one so much as glanced back.

He went to his room on autopilot and let his body mindlessly pack stuff up as his brain focused on a whole racing plethora of thoughts.

Where does he go from here? If he wasn't part of the Academy and he wasn't a druggie anymore, he had to figure something else out.

Toothbrush, Clothes, what little money he had saved… oh yeah, eyeliner… He didn't really have anything else to take with him.

Through his door, Klaus could hear his siblings packing up and leaving for the mission. No one came to get him. He figured as much. That was okay- it made this easier.

Once they left and the house settled into silence, Klaus sighed and took one last look at his room.

It's been real. I tried. He thought, almost as if he was saying goodbye to his room. There was no one else to say goodbye to, after all. He didn't feel much- maybe a faint, dull ache if anything, but there was something freeing about finally realizing that he needed to just give up and move on.

And then Klaus left. He left with no plans of returning. He left for good.

Welcome back to any of my returning Klaus-readers and welcome to any new ones! I'm thinking one more long chapter for this story. Let me know what you guys think!

Also- Anyone who's a Marvel fan and needs to talk about their heartbreak after this weekend, I'm here haha. Thank GOD for the Umbrella Academy coming just at the right time.