bad idea ; klaus hargreeves

𝘰𝘯𝘦.

author's note: before we start i just want to mention this fic will mention substance/drug abuse so just a forewarning.

It had been two months since Klaus Hargreeves decided to become sober. It was hard, he'd relied on substances to drown out the voices in his mind and to keep the ghosts at bay for years. Yet, with the apocalypse that the members of the umbrella academy managed to stop, he realised he'd been wasting his life by spending the majority of it wasted. Despite the family not getting along for a long time, they finally drifted back together again, and with that came support for their brother. Although it was mainly Diego who took it upon himself to keep his brother sober, the others were supportive nonetheless.

The academy that the Hargreeves called home remained intact after they travelled back to the past and changed the future, unaware of the consequences that would appear in the months to come.

Vanya had given Klaus the book that contained all of their Father's notes on each of the siblings to help him explore the powers his Father thought he could be capable of if he practised them. However, the withdrawals Klaus was suffering from were almost too much to handle. Especially when he attempted to use his powers, the spirits that had been suppressed for so long were hard for him to control and thus he barely attempted to 'explore' his powers.

Nights were the worst, when the academy was drenched in darkness and everyone was asleep, Klaus would lay awake, unable to silence the spirits. One in particular cried every night, a young boy who was taken way too young. Klaus felt for him, he truly did, but in his current state he found it a chore to converse with the ghosts.

Burying his head in his pillow he tried to drown out the cries, at moments like this he wondered if it would be easier to take something to suppress his powers. His siblings didn't understand how hard it was living with the dead twenty-four hours a day. They could choose when to use their powers, yet Klaus was stuck with a constant reminder.

Tossing and turning in his bed, he decided to get up and head downstairs. His stomach was grumbling, and he craved something he couldn't have. Sighing, he stood in front of the fridge and took out a day old pizza box, two slices remained. It wasn't exactly enjoyable but it filled the emptiness inside of him. As he propped his head up on his elbows on the table, he heard a soft voice behind him.

"I would never have thought superheroes ate day old pizza, don't you guys eat salad or something?"

"Will you ever leave me alone?" Klaus groaned, as he looked up to the owner of the voice, he noticed a red haired girl sat cross-legged on top of the other end of the table with strikingly pretty features, "Oh, maybe not you."

The girl smirked, "it's taken you long enough."

"What do you mean?" He asked with a raise of one of his bushy eye-brows.

"I've always been here... you just haven't been sober enough to see me."

"Right, of course," Klaus rolled his eyes, "well, what do you want? Spirits don't usually make themselves known unless they want something."

"I don't want anything, I've been stuck here for years waiting for someone like yourself to be able to see me." The girl said, twirling her hair around her fingers aimlessly.

"How many years are we talking...?" Klaus asked, his interest in the girl peaked.

"Eight." She replied.

"And that would make you..." he trailed off, trying to figure out her age.

"26." The girl stared at him, intrigued.

"So you died when you were 18?" Klaus let out a sympathetic sigh, "that must've been tough. I'm sorry."

"Yes, it's all very sad." She didn't seem phased, being stuck in this house must've had some kind of effect on her Klaus thought.