dead upon arrival || ben hargreeves

//8: i heard a rumor //

Prom Night, 2006

Ben sighed as he watched his brothers, Luther and Diego, fighting about something that had no real meaning. "Can they go at least one night without trying to rip each other's throats out?" Ben asked, crossing his arms as Pandora leaned her back against a wall.

"It's Luther and Diego, what did you expect? They can't even stop, not for prom night and not for anything else. Quite frankly I think your dad made Diego number two because he knew there was going to be tension between them," Pandora replied.

"Well, I don't know about that," Ben said as Allison intervened between Luther and Diego.

"I heard a rumor...."

"God, I hate it when she uses her powers," Pandora subtly shook her head, murmuring, "feel gross after just watching it happen."

The two sat there in silence, watching Luther and Diego become calm, their eyes quickly becoming cloudy as they walk away from one another. Allison stood there for a moment watching them before a boy came up and offered his hand to her, not much else seemed to be intriguing. "Do you want to get out of here?" Ben asked, "Marin and Vanya left 45 minutes ago."

"After what just happened? Yeah I will," Pandora said, pushing herself off the wall, "Let's go before anything else disastrous happens."

Pandora walked the edge of the room, Ben following right behind her as they slipped out through the front door. The cool night air hit then instantly, cooling them down in just a matter of seconds. "Where do you think Marin and Vanya went?" Pandora questioned as they traveled down the side streets, one of her hands engulfed in Ben's and the other holding up her dress to keep it from touching the grimy streets. The sidewalk glistened from the lamp posts above, a blanket of dark blue coating the sky as the moon shone down on them. People passed by them, often paying them no attention as they walked.

"Have we ever figured that out?" Ben asked back.

"True, I guess we've never really had to keep a tab on them," Pandora said, "I would almost say they're lucky."

"Why say that?"

"Because they don't have to deal with any of this Academy bullshit. I mean like, Marin and I aren't technically twins, I'm just her slightly younger sister, and somehow I got powers. This is the only night that we get to be teenagers cause your dad is using us as his own personal police force... I mean like, does your father even think of anything else besides our powers and how we can improve and better use them kind of bullshit?"

"I don't think Dad even views us as kids," Ben commented, pressing the walk button on the traffic light pole. The two stood next to each other and watched all the cars passing by, the headlights further illuminating their figures. Pandora rubbed Ben's thumb with her own, getting more nervous by the second while she contemplated asking her next question.

"Ben," Pandora started, her eyes still fixated on the moving cars, "Once we're eighteen, do you want to drop this superhero bullshit and just... get out of here?"

They both turned to look at one another at the same time, the answer written across their expressions, "You don't have to ask that Pandora, you already know the answer," Ben said "Of course I will."

...

Present

"Oh Panndoraaa!" Klaus called in a sing songy tone, followed by what sounded like a cowbell ringing loudly in the living room. Pandora sucked in a deep breath and rubbed her eyes, the feeling of stained tears on her cheeks and chin. "It's morning! No need to go back to your apartment, though I already broke in and got you your clothes. I locked the door behind me don't worry."