FOURTEEN; THE SÉANCE AND THE REVERIE

Sabrina sat in the back of a city taxi, money tucked in her bra and a bored expression on her face. She was headed to the closest convenience store before she went to her shift at the police station. She probably wasn't in the best shape to be going back to work, but she was just so fed up of spending day after day at home. Besides, she could walk now; whatever Grace had done was a miracle.

"Thanks, pal," Sabrina muttered, handing the cab driver the money owed, before she clambered out and limped into the corner store. Chocolate. She wanted chocolate. The woman slowly shuffled through the isles in the artificial lighting, her vision struggling to focus on anything. Each time she moved there was the familiar ache, though it hadn't seemed as intense the last few days. She had taken that as a sign to get back out into the world.

Yawning and tucking her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, she tried to figure out where in the hell she was going. Currently, she was staring at cereal; as much as she liked it, it wasn't what she wanted. She continued walking, and her ears perked as she heard rustling and swearing an isle over. Following the source of the noise, she found herself face to face with a scrawny man around her age, stuffing packs of instant noodles in his pants.

"Hi," she rubbed tiredly at her eyes, drawing his attention. At first he stiffened a little at the concept of being caught, but when Sabrina merely just stood opposite him appearing exhausted yet inquisitive, the man looked over and beamed at her. He didn't look like a million bucks; he was wearing ugly leather pants that were stitched up at the sides, as well as a tank top that might have come from an opshop of some sort. Nonetheless, she was more than happy to introduce herself. "I'm Brie. What's your name?"

"Klaus. Pleasure to make your acquaintance," the man slurred a little, leaning forward and holding his hand out, which Sabrina shook. It was cold and surprisingly soft, and she noticed that written in his palm was the word 'HELLO'. Hmph, cool.

"Do you want me to buy those for you?" Sabrina offered, nodding to his trouser food. Her mother always told her, be nice to strangers. Well, this was the strangest stranger she'd ever met. Klaus looked down and hummed, before shaking his head mischievously. Sabrina smiled at his honesty, before crossing her arms and trying to avoid the sharp pain in her lower half. Then, a cursed idea sparked in her head. "Do you want me to cover for you?"

"Is this what love at first sight feels like?" Klaus' eyes widened a little in surprise, and he grinned so broadly his teeth were on show. He had a nice smile, but his eyes appeared to be...sad. Well, he was also incredibly high, that was obvious. But there appeared to be something behind the bloodshot sclera. 

Sabrina nodded enthusiastically, as if the concept of her working at a police station had been pushed to the back of her mind. Oh, the joys of being a dumbass -- she'd missed it. Any chance she had, she was going to take it. Did that make her a bad guy? The thought hadn't crossed her.

Klaus was watching her eagerly as she walked over to the drinks fridge, where she pulled out an energy drink (Alicia wasn't around to tell her not to have it). She then skipped back to the man and watched him with bright eyes. She nodded towards the direction of the front till.

"Put your arm around me," she instructed, and Klaus didn't hesitate in complying. He hid the instant noodle packets poking out under his tank top, and the pair walked towards the cashier. The entire time, Sabrina's heart was racing with adrenaline. Perhaps this wasn't a great idea; she had literally just met this complete stranger, and they both seemed to have very similar chaotic energy. There was a ninety-eight percent chance this wouldn't go over well. 

Sabrina picked up a jumbo sized box of Nerds and a bag of M&Ms on the way, and slid them over to the employee. 

It was a teenager who appeared to be pretty tired and not that worried about what was going on. He stared across the counter at what appeared to be an antsy duo, smiling widely as if they had nothing to hide. It wasn't entirely convincing, but the kid didn't care. He pulled out a bag from under the counter, but Sabrina shook her head.

"It's okay, I can carry them," she piped up, and Klaus hummed, as if agreeing with her. He straightened his back and cleared his throat, before he began to speak with an accent that reminded Sabrina of Reginald Hargreeves. 

"Save the turtles, am I right?" he chuckled, speaking like the rich prick would. He then cackled joyfully, picking up the food once Sabrina paid for them. The two then marched out of the store, quite triumphant in their little victory.

Once back on the street and out of sight, Klaus giggled and removed the numerous cases of noodles from his pants, relishing in the stolen food. He tossed Sabrina the candy she had bought, before opening one of his packets and tipping the dried pasta into his mouth. Sabrina chuckled softly, beginning to walk down the sidewalk with him. 

"So, Klaus. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship," she opened her Nerds and tipped some into her hand. Klaus made an undecipherable sound of agreement. She glanced over at him and caught sight of his arm, where a tattoo of an umbrella resided. She nearly choked on the candy, stopping in her tracks. "Holy shit."

"Should I have put the flavour sachet on the noodles before I ate them?" Klaus mumbled, though it appeared he wasn't talking to Sabrina. He wasn't even looking in her direction. He then sighed softly and opening the chicken flavoured powder, tipping in his mouth. He pulled a face once the taste hit him, and he reached for Sabrina's energy drink, taking a long gulp. "Oh, boy. Great idea, Ben."

Sabrina didn't bother asking who Ben was. "Are you...Diego's brother?"

"Oh, mi hermano!" Klaus turned to her and threw his hands up in the air, spilling half of the drink on the pavement. Sabrina hardly noticed. "Ugh, I love that guy. How's he doing these days?"

Sabrina grinned at the new discovery. So, this was the stoner brother Diego had spoken about. Immediately, she though back to how he was first introduced -- it was clear he had a soft spot for Klaus. "He's great! How long has it been since you last saw him?"

"Oh, pft," Klaus leaned forward a little. "A couple months. I don't really remember. I've been staying with Alfalfa for the past few weeks. He's great, you should meet him. You know he's a paramedic?"

"You mean Alfie?" Sabrina reached for Klaus' arm and stopped him in his tracks. He inhaled a little as he came to the same conclusion as her. "Wow! He's my sister's next door neighbour!"

"We were meant to be!" Klaus exclaimed, pulling her into a tight embrace. Sabrina laughed happily, jumping up and down before yelping in pain. Klaus stopped and stared at her in concern. "Did I do something?"

"No, I got shot the other day," Sabrina brushed it off like it didn't matter, despite the agony she was feeling. "No biggie. On another note, do you like hot cocoa? I know a great place."

Klaus rubbed his hands together and threw the remains of his half eaten block of pasta into an alleyway. "This was destiny and I feel that I'm obliged to say I love you."

Sabrina grinned. It was apparent that the shift she had in twenty minutes had been forgotten about, but she wasn't too fussed. It could wait, Sisco would understand. Maybe she could call in and say she still couldn't walk. She had a new friend to talk to, and she wasn't about to give that up. "Then I'm obliged to say I love you too."

★☆

hmm

hmmmm

hmmmmm

not proud of this one

idk

sorry if it's not great i ended up rewriting it three times

but, on a happier note

i made some crackship gifs of briego!! hell yeah!!!!!