SONG: We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off - Ella Eyre

I switched the lights on in my flat, just have my back pressed against the wall as Klaus kissed me passionately, his hands resting on my waist. I kissed him back, completely engulfed in the moment, but as soon as we pulled away to make it to the bedroom I stopped, my thoughts getting the better of me--especially after what he talked about earlier and how he only stayed with his ex because it gave him a place to sleep. I stared at the floor while I thought before he grabbed my arms and looked into my eyes with a look of concern I'd never seen on him.

"Hey, everything okay in there?" he asked, gently knocking on my head as a joke. I looked up at him.

"Don't you think we should maybe... Slow down?" I questioned.

"What are you talking about?" He asked with a breathy chuckle.

"I mean, we literally just met yesterday and we've already slept together twice," I said, my anxiety creeping up my neck. I wasn't complaining, it's not like he had been bad to me in any way, but I was... Well, scared.

"I hate to burst your bubble, but lots of people sleep together with people they just met," he said, backing up a step away from me.

"I—I know that! I just-" I sighed, "I like you, Klaus, I think that's obvious. I don't know what this," I gestured between us, "Is, if it's anything, but I don't want it to just be sex and I definitely don't want to be somebody you're with for three weeks because you can't find anywhere else to go," I finished, scratching my upper arms through my jumper, a nervous habit.

"That's what this is about?" Klaus laughed, "Luce, I have a place to sleep. They haven't kicked me out of the mansion. I come here because I want to be with you-"

"But do you only want to be with me for the sex?" I cut him off, shutting my eyes as I tried to take deep breaths as to not let my emotions get the better of me. I was terrible at keeping my emotions under control, even with almost fifteen years of practice. I was just too... Hot headed. I didn't want to screw up now.

"No!" he raised his voice in a defensive way, "Of course not!"

"Then what do you want to be with me for?" I questioned, raising my voice slightly.

"I want to be with you because you're different!" he shouted, causing me to jump as my eyes opened and I looked at him. My attention was immediately drawn behind him, where a lamp was constantly getting duller and brighter, "You aren't like anyone else I've met. You like me when I'm high, but you want me to not be for whatever reason. You get me, like, you're on the same wavelength or some shit like that. I can be an idiot in front of you and it makes you laugh, but when I'm serious, you listen, and nobody else does!" he explained, making various arm movements before sighing and sitting on my sofa, "The sex is just a plus."

"We've only known each other for two days," I said softly.

"I know," he groaned, leaning his head back, "But it doesn't feel like it. Not to me," he looked at me again, "Does it feel like it to you?"

I wanted to instantly say "no" and tell him about how close I feel to him. That it feels like he's been with me forever, but I couldn't. I just stood there, looking him in the eyes with my mouth open like a fish out of water, trying to come up with the correct response.

"I just don't want to cock-up this time," I finally breathed out.

"Do you think being with me--in any way, by the way-- would be a cock-up?" he questioned.

"I don't know," I answered truthfully, "I don't want to think so, but I know it could be," I said, looking down at my hands that were now completely relieved of any nail polish I'd painted a week ago due to my constant chipping.

"Well," he stood up, making his way over to me, "When you figure that out--if you figure that out, you know where to find me," he said, walking past me to the door.

"At the academy?" I questioned.

"In some back alley getting high off my ass," he responded, and the next thing I heard was the door close. I closed my eyes, finally letting all my emotion combust as I jumped into my sofa. I threw my face into a pillow as I let out an ear piercing scream, cursing myself for even being so emotional while all I could hear around me was the buzzing of lights before it all went silent, myself included. When I looked up, everything around me was dark. I sighed, sitting up as I looked a the pillow, which was charred with an imprint of my face, as were the sofa cushions now, only an imprint of my entire body. I groaned, standing and flipping them all over, along with the pillow, so that the burnt part was unnoticeable. I'd eventually have to replace the pillow, knowing something like that couldn't be hidden forever.

I then made my way to the phone, grabbing a pen on my way and scribbling out the number of my old job on the taped piece of paper--something I would have done earlier if I wasn't busy with Klaus and making biscuits. I looked down at the other two numbers I had written down, the Landlord's and Vanya's. I lifted the pen to Vanya's number, but paused, lowering it after a second. I picked up the receiver, dialling her number and waited as it rang. She picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?" I heard her voice through the phone.

"Hey, Vanya. It's me," I said softly through the phone, leaning my forehead against the wall. I was half expecting her to hang up.

"Luce? Oh, that's great, actually. I was just about to call you," my eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"You were? Why?" I questioned.

"I wanted to apologize... For how I treated you earlier-"

"Vanya, you don't have to apologize. I was the one being a knob," I said with a half-hearted chuckle.

"No, Luce. I should apologize. I... I did have feelings for you, and I was letting them get the better of my judgment. If you genuinely like Klaus... I think you should go for it," she said, causing my jaw to drop. That was almost the last thing I expected to hear from her.

"R-Really? You're not taking the piss, are you?" I questioned, and heard her actually huff a soft chuckle through the phone.

"No, Luce. I mean it. You're my best friend. I want you to do what makes you happy," she said. I hummed and nodded to myself.

"Okay, Vanya. What God did you see that gave you this piece of mind?" I questioned.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she responded, just making a grin grow on my face.

"What? Did you meet someone?" I asked, being my usual nosy self.

"Not like that... But yeah," she replied and my heart let out a happy squeal. That was good news for Vanya. She deserved a nice girl to keep her happy--In that aspect. I was the nice girl to keep her happy in all others and they can stay in their lane.

"So, you gonna tell me about her?" I asked.

"No, because it's late and I have violin practice group in the morning. But I will tell you about him tomorrow if you wanted to... Maybe meet up for some coffee?" she offered. I grinned and nodded, though I knew she couldn't see me.

"Yeah. Yes, Vanya. That would be brilliant," I answered.

"The usual spot?"

"You bet."

☂☂☂

The next morning, I took a cab to the Academy Mansion. I decided to begin my search for Klaus there. After my talk with Vanya the previous night, I'd laid awake in bed for hours into the night thinking about what I wanted with Klaus. After all, there were only six days left until the end of the world. I might as well make the most of it. Once I was dropped off, I began to walk to the door before pausing. I looked around and made my way to the side of the house.

"Well, when you figure that out--if you figure that out, you know where to find me. In some back alley getting high off my ass."

I looked in the side alley to the left first, finding nothing before making the long trip to the other side, where I saw somebody throwing bags out of the rubbish and smoke drifting up before finally, Klaus' head popped up, fag in between his lips. He seemed pissed about something as I began walking up to the bin before turning on my heel.

Nope. Nope. This was a bad idea and this is a bad time.

"Hey!" I heard from behind me and looked over my shoulder to see Klaus pointing at me, "What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"I, uh, was looking for Vanya," I lied through my teeth-horribly might I add.

"Bullshit! Come on back," he waved me over and I sighed, once again making my way up to him.

"I'm sorry. If it's a bad time, I can come back," I proposed, to which he shook his head while continuing to dig through the rubbish.

"No, no, no, no, no. You're fine. I'm just trying to find something that I, uh, lost," he popped back up and smiled at me. I nodded and curiosity got the best of me.

"What'd you lose?" I questioned.

"So, what are you here for again?" he asked, changing the subject away from him.

"I-uh-well, I figured it out," I replied, standing on the balls of my feet before dropping back down onto my heels. This caught his attention as he stopped searching and instead leaned over onto the side of the bin, looking down at me with some intense expression. He pulled the fag out of his lips and rested it in between two fingers as he blew smoke out to the side.

"And? I'm listening," he announced. I took a deep breath in and then out.

"No. If I ever want anything from life, I need to take it for myself. I can't just sit around and wait for it to happen."

Without a second thought, I stood up on my tippy toes, reaching up and grabbing his face and slamming my lips onto his, clearly taking him by surprise as his chest hit against the side of the bin. His breath was horrid and his lips tasted of smoke. We both almost immediately pulled away and I instantly looked down in embarrassment, glancing up at him. I watched as he looked down at himself with wide eyes and adjusted his jacket.

"Well, that was unexpected. And painful; ow," he said, rubbing his chest.

"Yeah, remind me never to kiss you while you're smoking again," I coughed and stuck out my tongue that still tasted of his fag breath before I shook it off, "Look, the point is," I looked up at him, "Life is short and you are hot," I quoted Doctor Who, "And if we only have six days left on this Earth, I would like to spend them with you," I finished. He placed a hand over his chest.

"Are... Are you proposing to me, Lucy?" he asked, extremely dramatically. I rolled my eyes.

"No, you nutter. I'm trying to tell you that I want to be with you... In any way; I don't care how," I rephrased, watching as a shit-eating, smug smirk tugged at his lips, "Stop looking at me like that!" I shouted, which only made him laugh and a smile form across my own face.

"You are so cute when you're flustered," he chuckled, "I'll tell you what, I'll think about marrying you, how about that?" he winked.

"Oh, my God. Just forget it," I said, but laughed.

"Shut up!" he shouted, looking up at the fire escape, where I was pretty sure Ben was. I grinned, though saw somebody else up there and climbing down.

"I'd ask what you two are up to, but then it occured to me," Five said as he climbed down the ladder, looking back at the two of us, "I don't care."

"Hey!" Klaus laughed, obviously not expecting Five to be there, "You know, there are easier ways out of the house, buddy?" he asked as Five jumped off the fire escape and beside me.

"This one involved the least amount of talking. Or so I thought," the man-boy answered before beginning to walk past us.

"Hey, hey, hey, so...," Klaus threw the fag somewhere off to the side and pulled out a flask instead, "You need anymore company today? I could, uh, clear my schedule. I'm sure Luce could come with," he said, taking a swig of whatever alcoholic beverage he had hidden in that flask.

"Actually, I'm busy. Just wanted to drop in," I responded before Five could and watched Klaus make a pouty face at me.

"And it looks like you've got your hands full," Five observed, looking beyond over this conversation already.

"Oh, this? No, no. I can do this whenever. I'm just-" he started to move, but fell instead, causing my eyes to widen as I jumped up onto my tippy toes to try and see him, but me being short failed me once more in life as I could hardly see in, much less him, "I just misplaced something. That's all," he said and I fell back down onto my feet. He sounded fine and like he was once again rummaging through the rubbish, "Oh!" he exclaimed, "Found it! Thank God!" he added, popping back up with what looked like an almost moldy, half-eaten bagel in his hand. I grimaced at the sight of it, and even more when he slowly placed it in his mouth to take a bite.

"I'm not quite sure that's sanitary," I squished my nose up in disgust as he chewed it slightly with a terribly sad look on his face, and swallowed a bit of it.

"What are you talking about? It's delicious," he moaned.

"I'm done funding your drug habit," Five changed the subject, turning to leave.

"Come on! You don't-- Maybe I just wanna hang out with my brother!" Klaus called after him, leaning against the edge of the bin once more before looking to his right, "Not you," he then looked back at five, "¡Mi hermano!" he continued shouting as Five made his way to a black van, "I love you! Even if you can't love yourself!" he finished as Five got in the van and started the engine.

"Yeah, that's disgusting. I'm gonna go," I patted his bagel hand as he looked down at me.

"What? You don't want another kiss?" he teased, moldy, half-eaten bagel still in his mouth.

"Nope! See you later, Klaus," I laughed and left the alleyway, hearing him spit out the bagel behind me.

Overall, today had been pretty successful so far. I hailed a taxi and was on my way to the coffee spot Vanya and I were to meet in. When I got there, I figured I was already a bit early as I made my way to a seat. About half an hour later, I heard the ding of the bell over the shop door and looked up to see an almost rushed-looking Vanya. Oh, who was I kidding, Vanya almost always looked rushed. She was still carrying her violin as she made her way to where I was sitting.

"Sorry I'm late," she instantly apologized, as she typically does. I smiled at her while she laid the violin case on the floor by us.

"It's not a problem. I was early anyways," I shrugged and she nodded.

"You order already?" she asked.

"Nope, waited on you."

We ended up ordering our usual, mine being a cinnamon cappuccino and hers being an espresso. As we drank in a comfortable silence, I looked at her. She glanced over at me and our eyes locked before I let my curiosity get the better of me.

"So, who's the guy?"

"I knew you were going to ask," she laughed softly, making me grin. She shrugged, "He's just a student. We met last night, but I think... I mean, I'm pretty sure he likes me."

"How can he not like you, Vanya?" I laughed, "You're the best," she smiled over at me, "Do you like him?" she shrugged once again.

"I don't know yet... I might," she answered, "I think, maybe..."

"Awe!" I drew out, wrapping my arm around her shoulders and shaking her about happily before abruptly stopping and looking into her eyes, "And when do I get to meet the lucky man?"

"He's got a woodworking shop some place pretty close to here. We could go check it out, I mean, if you wanted to," she offered and I thought about it.

"You know, I actually got to go buy some light bulbs today, but-"

"Light bulbs? Like multiple? Why?" she asked, which I was really hoping she wouldn't have. I stared at her blankly for a moment before a believable enough answer came to my mind.

"Some weird, freak accident happened last night, or something. The whole building's lights went out, but we have to replace the ones for our own apartments and they only focus on the hallways," I lied through my teeth. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Huh. That's weird. Did they tell you why?" she questioned, to which I shook my head.

"I think it was something with the fuse box. I don't know," I shrugged and she nodded.

"Well, that should be fun," she replied sarcastically, making me huff a half-hearted laugh.

"Tell me about it."

Soon enough, we were finished with our coffees and were parting ways, though not without a hug goodbye. I had missed her hugs and just her in general. It felt great that things were finally going my way for once.

☂☂☂

I walked through the threshold to my flat, bags of light bulbs in my hands. Luckily there was still light through the windows so I could see enough to make my way through without stubbing a toe. Once I set the lights down, I determined I'd get someone to install them for me, seeing as I didn't know bugger all about how to install lights. I made my way to my room instead, grabbing up the clothes that littered my floor.

I furrowed my brows when I felt something crinkle in my pants pocket, dropping everything but them onto my bed. I reached into my pocket, pulling out the piece of paper that had been stuffed inside.

"Wonder what I forgot about this time," I muttered to myself, though grew even more confused and concerned as I read the paper.

I know who you are.