Glimpse of Us | Ben Hargreeves

ix. the funeral

C H A P T E R N I N E

Ben woke up with a groan, then sighed. "My head—"

"Not so loud."

"Klaus? Klaus?" Ben muttered at the voice, sitting up from the Billiards table. "Klaus, where are you?"

"I'm here, I'm here." Klaus replied, eyes still closed and halfway under the table. "Don't panic. Nobody should panic."

Ben exhaled sharply as he got off the table. "Do you—" He started, pointing at Klaus.

Klaus stood up as well, laughing. "No. Not a thing."

"Same."

"Yeah, that was some night." Both chuckled, and Klaus did a little happy dance.

"It was." Ben laughed, holding up a shoe with a ball inside of it. "It really was."

"See?" Klaus snapped his fingers. "I knew you had a little of the ol' Ben in ya. Now you can stop with all the sulking and the brooding."

"I don't brood."

"Ben-er-ino."

Ben's smile quickly washed away. "Don't call me that."

"We were making so much progress." Klaus whined.

"With what?"

"With your Mr. Tough Guy routine. Last night! I remember!" Klaus clapped his hands. "You opened your kimono to me, remember? And you showed me who you really are inside. All those bottled-up emotions."

"I was drunk." Ben said firmly.

"You're a good person, Ben," Klaus continued, despite Ben's objections. "But you're trying really, really hard to be a bad one."

"I hate you." Ben seethed.

"No, you don't."

Ben furiously put on his shoes. "I do. I do. I really do!"

"No, no! Ah, classic defense mechanism. Pushing away the people who care about you the most. Just like Dad." Klaus put emphasis on the last three words. "You know, it wouldn't hurt to try to get to know him just a little bit better. You'd be surprised how much love he has to give. And also, he's got this whole plan to save the universe. Done! One and done! Come on! Ben-eri—" Klaus cut himself off as Ben walked away and flipped him off. However, Ben tripped over a body and fell over it with a grunt.

"Fuck you." Celeste mumbled in pain. "Get off." Celeste groggily pushed him off roughly. He sat up with a grunt, still on the floor.

Celeste rubbed her head as she looked around the room. Bottles, fish crackers, and almost every piece trash known to Earth were scattered everywhere, and she had somehow changed into a weird all-black outfit — as if the Grim Reaper were to attend a Met Gala. "Please tell me you remember what happened last night." She pleaded, finally turning to Ben and realising that he was not wearing a shirt.

Ben frowned, quite oblivious to the fact that she was staring. He stood up with a roll of his eyes. "If you're going to torment me on the opening of my kimono—"