#0.08 : The Mimic //COMPLETE//

0.9 - The Day That Never Was

Claudia gripped the backs of the front seats as Diego sped to keep pace with the man's car. They finally pulled in to the motel's lot and Claudia let out an exhale. The speed of Diego's driving was not the kind of anxiety she needed in her life right now.

"Jesus christ, Diego," she scolded, "are you trying to kill me?"

"He probably is, but only so you can haunt me forever," Klaus winked. She punched him in the shoulder and watched out the passenger window.

The pair of intruders entered a room on the top floor. Diego watched them too, carefully. Claudia was getting uncomfortable. The waiting game was never her forte, and she started to bounce her knee. Klaus turned around and extended a cigarette to her. There was no need for words to be exchanged. He knew.

They watched as a hotel attendant approached the door. The room's door opened hesitantly, and the woman grabbed what looked like a slip of paper from him.

"Alright," Diego said, laying his hand on the car's door handle, "I'm going in. Claudia, with me. Klaus... wait in the car."

Klaus scoffed as the two made their way up to the motel stairs. He couldn't let the two of them go in alone. Not after what those two had done to him. He exited the car too, following them closely.

Claudia turned on her heel at the first landing of the stairs. "Klaus!" She scolded, pushing him back down. "It's not safe, go back to the car."

"I can handle myself, Claudia," he mumbled, starting back down the stairs. Claudia made it the rest of the way up and started to reach her hand toward the doorknob. Just as her hand made contact with the cool metal, someone grabbed her wrist and dragged her back to the cover of the stairs. Gunshots rang out and bullets ricocheted around Diego and Claudia.

"Aren't you glad I didn't listen to you this time?" Klaus stuck his tongue out at her. She glared at him, standing on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. The three of them ran back to the car.

The tires were shot out on the driver's side. The hood was smoking too. Diego frowned, slamming his fist onto the hood of the car. "God. Damn. It," he swore.

Claudia looked over to the ice cream truck they were parked behind. It was still intact, she noticed. "Anyone know how to hotwire a truck?"

Diego's eyes lit up as they all piled into the vehicle. Ben appeared between Claudia and Klaus. She tried to nudge him, but her elbow went right through his ribcage. She frowned. It worked before, why not now?

The music was on the speakers above the truck as they sped after the vehicle. Klaus had somehow ended up behind the wheel, making Claudia immensely uncomfortable. She had only let him drive her car once, and only because she was drunk. Even that ride made her fear for her life.

When they pulled up to the scene, Five and Luther were already there. They were across the road from the two intruders, and it looked like they were talking about something. Klaus pushed the pedal toward the floor, and they wheeled closer to the sedan the other two had been driving. Once they slammed into the back of the car, it was all Claudia could do to prevent herself from slamming her already injured head onto the dashboard.

"God damn it, Klaus!" She yelled, "I already have one concussion, I don't need another one."

"Sorry," he apologized meekly, helping her out of the vehicle. Claudia and her two brothers ran toward Luther. They all piled in the car, Claudia in the back seat with Klaus. Klaus turned and flipped the two off as they sped away from the smashed vehicles.

Claudia was exhausted. The drive back to the academy was long, and she leaned over to lay her head on Klaus's shoulder. His hand reached over and started to tangle in her hair. Just the feeling of him playing with her hair relaxed her. Her eyes started to get heavy, and a yawn escaped her lips.