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it was just a little while after they had landed in their new reality. everything seemed the same as before; the neon glare of the familiar diner almost hurt his eyes. naturally, he spent the first few hours celebrating his survival with a generous dose of whatever cheap liquor the diner had to offer. he didn't have to drink that much. it had been made clear that they'd lost their powers, and without the constant moaning of the undead abusing his ears, getting intoxicated was not necessary. the radio that played the same stupid song over and over in every universe he found himself in started to hurt his ears. klaus threw a handful of crumpled bills, receipts and lint upon the table and lunged for the door. he was probably short. he also felt bile rise violently up his throat.
he aimed for the closest alley, desperate to get away from the glaring city lights. it smelled of fresh garbage and week-old throwup. klaus closed his eyes, willing the world to stop spinning, his head to stop throbbing, his eyes to stop burning and the ghosts, the ghosts... oh. oh. the air surrounding him, suffocating him, was deathly silent. he held his breath to catch the whimper of a poor russian child, or the huff of an old man who's been dead for decades, but nothing. the silence remained unbroken and in his haze the density of his situation filled his gut. for over two decades he's lived with the constant haunting of dead souls, unwilling to be forgotten. now, he's lost his powers. he would never see ghosts again, the world would stay silent and he wasn't immortal anymore; he could die. he would die.
oh god.
worry pooled his feet and klaus could feel the panic begin to set in. it was a physical blow, a rock against his head, a tightness in his chest. he stumbled to the ground, knees scraping against the rough stone floor. people die every single day. on special days when he managed to get a glance at a stray page of the paper, he often read about the brutal thefts of lives, by stabs to the chest, car crashes, infections of wounds...
god, what if the alcohol got to him and he died of poisoning? what if he took pain medications and accidentally overdosed? hell, what if he slipped and hit his head brutally?
the threats of mortality flooded his mind, each one more absurd than the previous, yet they squeezed his heart with a fist of stone. klaus stumbled over his feet, and he soon found himself hyperventilating over allison's front door. allison had always seemed to be the more reliable one amongst his siblings; she was helpful and independant. klaus' mind vaguely drifted to back when they were still children. once, klaus had sneaked out past midnight and found himself sneaking back in with what looked to be a broken nose. it hadn't really been broken, but the pain was overwhelming and in his tears, klaus knocked silently against his sister's door. allison had patched him up and promised not to tell their father. this soon became a routine.
klaus pressed his fist against allison's front door, before sucking in a harsh breath and knocking twice. he didn't speak; his throat felt raw and hot, from the alcohol or his sheer panic though, he wasn't sure. a second passed, then a minute, then two. the shame that warmed klaus' face was torching. when was the last time he had felt so embarrassed, so afraid that he would be let down and seen as a joke? klaus wasn't sure how long he had been standing there, his breath already steadying and his legs aching, when the door finally opened in the dead of the night, a soft light peeking out from the crack.
"hello?" allisons's voice echoed as her eyes met klaus'. the stench of alcohol hit her immediately, and she frowned. "klaus? what are you doing here? are you high?"
klaus almost let his knees turn to jelly from the relief. "help me," he whispered, his voice so small allison's face scrunched up in worry. without another question, allison pushed open the door and moved to let klaus in. he looked a mess, it had only been a few hours since they parted, and he already looked like he had spent the night in some dumpster. "can i stay here?" klaus bit his bottom lip, "if you have the space, that is. i don't have an apartment and i- i don't want to be outside right now." allison raised an eyebrow, why?
for as long as allison could remember, klaus loved the outside world. he hated being stuck in the dusty old house, and every single night he would sneak out, sometimes spending the night at a stranger's place. he was a creature of the night, drinking till the sun rose and getting high on any substance he could possibly find. allison knew how badly the ghosts bothered him, and that doing these was a way of relief and escapism. she had watched his powers eat him up from the raw age of 13. his energy and childlike vibrancy depleted into depression. klaus once talked about how the drugs and alcohol supressed his powers, but the abuse was destructive nonetheless. allison's worry never really faded, and with klaus showing up on her door step at five in the morning, she could only dread the worst.
klaus pushed his way into the house, quickly taking a look around. he hadn't been in allison's home before; she never said it but he knew she didn't want a junkie being the uncle of her daughter. he paused, what if i really do hurt claire? klaus turned to face allison, "should.. should i leave? i don't want to be here if you feel it'll be difficult on you and claire. i'll go look for diego or viktor." that was a lie, diego had done so much for him already, and with lila on his hands, klaus did not want to add to his plate. things with viktor had been quite tense, klaus would rather stay out than bother him. the others weren't options either; luther was frustrated with the loss of sloane, and the situation with five was complicated, he was still in his underaged body, would he even have a place to stay?
"klaus, hey. it's alright, sit down and we'll talk, okay? what's going on?" allison motioned towards the couch, and rushed to the kitchen to fetch klaus a glass of water. he seemed a lot more jittery than usual. klaus carefully sat on the couch, the cushions swallowing his slim figure. watching allison in the comfort of her own home felt so... weird. it was foreign, klaus hadn't been in a normal, loving home since, well, forever. dave felt like home, but they were at war, afterall.
klaus eyed the glass as allison passed it over to him, and the thought of a shard piercing into him flashed into his mind. he quickly put it down. "i- i lost it. i lost my powers," he whispered, lump still in his throat. allison frowned, nodding softly, "yeah, i know. we all lost our powers, klaus. isn't that a good thing? we can be normal now." klaus pressed his lips together. she was right, for years he had dreamed of the day he'd be normal. he dreaded the voices, and his immortality. he couldn't count the number of times he hadn't avoided getting killed, just so he could play at the chances he'd be brought back. part of him hoped he wouldn't. but now, everything seemed so much. "... i don't know what to do. i don't hear or see the ghosts anymore. it's so quiet. allison," he pleaded, "i'm mortal now, if something happens, if i make a mistake i could die. forever this time, i won't come back."
allison could barely understand; afterall, she's been mortal her whole life. she knows how death works. she understands the feeling of vulnerability and change though; getting claire taken away from her had been a nightmare, one that allison would never wish upon even her greatest enemies. allison cautiously pats her brother on the back. "hey. hey, it's okay. nothing's going to happen to you, klaus, okay? you're not going to die. not before me." klaus tried to agree. he tried to believe it but who could promise his future? "what if i slip and fall in the shower, or on the way to the trash can? oh god, i'd die in seconds. i'd hit my head and bleed out," he looked down at his hands, breathing shakily.
allison sighed and shook her head, not knowing how else to convince him, "you can stay here, okay? you'll be safe, no one is going to get you here, the floors are well-done, you won't slip. you can spend time with your niece too, while i'm at work. how's that sound?" pursing his lips, klaus could only nod his head in silence. allison stayed for a few more minutes, before she yawned and headed back upstairs for a few more moments of rest, "i'm upstairs if you need me, okay? there's a guest bedroom to your left. stay here for as long as you need." klaus watched as allison went upstairs, whispering a soft thank you, allison, thank you.
her words had helped klaus calm down. klaus gripped the covers tightly, shutting his eyes, the fatigue settling in. he was still vulnerable, confused, and mortal, but for now, he could try to cut off the alcohol and drugs. he had allison, and for now, maybe that'll be enough.