{I'm not afraid of the dark, perhaps that's part of the problem

[ghostphone]

Options in the comments. Not looking for much thread-jacking on this one, because they're going to be heavy-handed and in need of narrower focus.
CWs: drug abuse, overdose, anxiety/depression descriptions, potential suicidal ideation

For all of everything that stays completely unpredictable in Klaus Hargreeves' life, the one thing he can count on like clockwork is that he will always have some curveball or another thrown at him. Anything like a steady state of affairs and he might get concerned because that would mean the other shoe is about to drop.

And it did, a week ago, when one of his older doppelgangers told him that Ben is dead, has been, for years, and that it was probably happening any time if-when he ever got sent back to the right place. It happened again about five days ago, when Dad showed up. When one of the Vanyas explained something about an Apocalypse that was coming in his future. One that was caused and created by his own family.

For a week, he's kept largely to himself. Quiet, reserved, a harsh snap of a callback to those moments when he was younger and less accustomed to being locked in a crypt. How much he always isolated himself when his training was front-and-center in Dad's schedule. He hasn't left his room for much except an occasional trip downstairs for food, preferring to stay locked away, hiding-- under blankets, on the floor between the bed and the wall with a marker tucked between his teeth as he scribbles something new along with the faded ink from years past, wherever feels the most appropriate in the moment.

But tonight... he can't take the pressure of these walls caging him in any more. Staying one more minute in the bones of this house is too much to ask. He can't breathe here, and he needs to find somewhere with new air.

Once he's dressed--easy and casual, t-shirt, black jeans, converse sneakers-- he slips out of the house with an expert sort of ease, with no doubt no one saw him or would even notice he'd disappeared.

-----

Things may not be exactly identical in the city as the year Klaus had come from, but the truth is, as much that had changed had also stayed the same, and Klaus finds his way into a club with relative ease. Once inside, he wastes no time in flirting his way into a few drinks, and the night will only get more wild from there.

He finds friends everywhere he goes, and more importantly, they're the kind of friends that party and they're the kind that like to share whatever they're partying with. These three college kids that Klaus has followed back to a hotel room are so his kind of people. Chatty and touchy and the blonde boy keeps kissing him and Klaus really can't hate anything about this night.

Drinks continue being poured, blunts passed around in illogical rotations as they spread out across the room, lines of coke are inhaled from tabletops and mirrors. Klaus has nearly forgotten about everything that he's learned this week and his head is fuzzy and his vision is spinny, so he collapses against the bed in the hotel room next to Blondie, grin wide and sloppy on his lips. "Hi, Pretty." he mumbles, digging his fingers into the older boy's hair with one hand while gripping a fist full of his shirt with the other, to give himself the leverage to roll on top of him as Klaus kisses him.

Comments

[ghostphone]

Luckily, with his head tucked against his chest, Klaus doesn't notice the older man seeming to debate something before insisting he should just get some sleep. Klaus nods a little, that is probably really the best idea at this point. "'Kay. But you have'ta stay." A beat passes before he adds, "Not just in the room, like-- here." He vaguely waves one hand to indicate the bed. Yeah, it was kind of small, but honestly so were both of them. Maybe it's weird to basically be demanding his older twin lay with him while he sleeps, but Klaus doesn't care. He knows the solid feeling of not being alone will help him sleep. He doesn't wait for the other man to answer before he shifts to lay back against the pillows. Once they're both settled in whatever is the most comfortable possible position for both of them, it won't take him long to fade into sleep-- he's exhausted.

[channellings]

Wait, what? Without his coffee? Klaus peers toward both cups from the corner of his eye, bites his lower lip between his teeth and turns back to his counterpart, letting out an exasperated but accepting sigh. "Alright, fine," he grumbles, playfully nudging the teen with a warmhearted grin. "Gonna be a little cramped, but we'll make it work."

To most people, snuggling up to a younger version of oneself would be completely and utterly weird; it feels no different than letting one of his other siblings lay in bed with him though, except it's... himself? Meaning he should understand exactly why he's being asked to stay.

He, on the other hand, does wait until his teenage self is comfortable before nestling in beside him, one arm stretched above their heads while the other wraps around Klaus's middle. His fingers trace small circles along his spine, hoping it'll lull him into sleep faster, although once he peeks down and sees he's already out, it's hard to be surprised.

When he remembers his nifty telekinesis trick – that he stopped a car with, holy shit – Klaus floats a coffee over, removes the lid to add creamer and sugar, silently sips, pacified by the steady in and out of the resting body beside him, even with his racing thoughts. At some point (he doesn't remember when) after the caffeine is downed, he'd flicked the television on, scrolled a few minutes then decided on a shitty reality show, getting all settled in-- and promptly dozing off about ten minutes later.

Kind of a long night for everyone, honestly, and he can't recall the last time he'd been able to fall asleep without seeing any ghosts.