you were everything

I 46 I

☂ I'd rather chew off my own foot ☂ 

'I love you too,' Five stumbles over the first word, shifting his weight slightly. 'And uh, I'm sorry, again. It was unforgivable and-' 

I lean in, kissing him lightly on the lips. 'Don't get too good at apologizing.' 

'Never,' Five says, smirking. 'You know, I like to be in charge.' 

'Okay, shut up,' I smile, pushing my hair back. 'Are you going to tell me what we're doing at this bowling alley?' 

'The others,' His eyes widen. 'Shit.' 

We find them inside, sitting on one of the benches. Klaus is sipping a slurpee and Alison has her note pad out. 

Look, I hate to be the one to say this,
but everyone needs to prepare.

Everyone glances up as Five and I sit on the bench. 

'What the hell is she doing here?' Luther glares at me, standing up. 'Where's Vanya?' 

'Calm the hell down Luther,' Five says, standing in front of me. 'Vanya's not here, got it?' 

'I saw her,' Luther's glares. 'She killed Pogo.' 

'I didn't,' I protest. 'It's hard to explain, but when Vanya and I converged our powers, it's like I wasn't in control anymore. And neither was she.' 

'You really think I'm going to believe that?' Luther scoffs. 'Vanya did what she meant to do.' 

'You know, you're really starting to act like Dad.' Klaus says loudly. 'First you lock them both up, and now you're blaming the consequences of what happened, on the two of them.' 

Luther goes speechless. 

'I think Klaus is right,' Diego points a finger at Luther. 'You shouldn't have kept them in there.' 

'Let's not go blaming people,' Five sighs. 'Yes, Luther shouldn't have done that, but there's a lot of things we all shouldn't have done. We've all made mistakes, but the important thing to do now, is to stop the apocalypse.' 

Klaus claps his hands. 'Damn straight.' 

'You're straight?' I say with a tiny gasp. 

Klaus thinks for a second. 'Damn- not straight!' 

Diego rolls his eyes. 'How do we stop the apocalypse now?' 

'Whatever we decide, we need to find Vanya.' Luther says, standing up. 'And fast, okay? She could be anywhere.' 

'Or... here.' Klaus holds up his newspaper. 'Look at this.' 

'That's right. Her concert is tonight.' Diego says. 

'Hello.' An annoying voice interrupts. 'I hate to intrude, but my manager says if you're not gonna bowl, you gotta leave.' 

'Whose turn is it?' Diego asks. 

'Oh, for...' Luther scoffs, tossing a bowling ball across the lanes. 'We're the only ones capable of stopping this.' He mutters. 'We have a responsibility to Dad.'

'To Dad?' Diego groans. 'No, I've heard enough about...'

'He sacrificed everything to bring us back together.' Luther trails off. 

'There are billions of lives at stake.' Five says, tapping the table. 'We can't...we can't let Vanya destroy the world.' 

'So we can just kill her?' I raise my eyebrows, nodding at Alison, who's holding up her notebook that says 'she's our sister.' 

'We're past trying to save just one.' Luther says. 

'Hey, you know, guys, uh... maybe I could help.' Klaus says. 

'Now is not the time.' Luther says. 

'No, let him finish.' Diego cuts in. 'He saved my life today.'

'Really?' Luther frowns. 'Is that true?' 

'Yeah, yeah, I did...take credit for it.' Klaus gestures to the air beside him. 'In fact, the real hero...was Ben.' 

'Today... Listen. Today, he punched me in the face. And earlier at the house,
he was the one who saved Diego's life, not me.' Klaus says. 

'You are unbelievable, Klaus.' Luther rolls his eyes. 

'You want proof, is that it?' Klaus says. 'All right. I... I'll give you proof. All right, it's showtime, baby. Catch!' 

The ball bounces away, crashing on the floor. 

'Is there any way to silence that voice in your head that screams out to be the center of attention?' Luther says loudly. 

'You know, I liked you a lot better before you got laid.' Klaus says. My eyes widen, as Luther looks at Alison. 'Which was a complete... It... It wasn't his fault, 'cause he was ridiculously high, right?' Klaus stutters. 'And... And the girl, she thought he was a furry...' 

'Stop!' Luther grumbles, as Alison walks away.  'Allison, wait.'

'Excuse me!' A high-pitched voice asks. 'Excuse me, it's my son Kenny's birthday today, and... Uh... wouldn't your son and his girlfriend be happier playing with kids his own age? Assuming it's okay with your two dads.' 

I look over to see a woman and her son smiling at us. 

Klaus and Diego stare at each other. 

'I would rather chew off my own foot.' Five snaps. 

'I'll play,' I say, glaring at Five. 'Get a heart, dingus.' I hiss under my breath. 

'If I was going to date a man, you'd be the last man I would date.' I hear Diego tell Klaus as I walk away. 

'You'd be lucky to get me...'