THE TV WAS DISPLAYING SOME SORT OF CARTOON, although it was no more than white noise to the teenage girl sitting on a chair in the middle of her flat.

     Carla Jenkins had been waiting all day, so when night had finally rolled around, she was growing impatient, her knee bouncing with barely contained anxiety and excitement.

    Her hands were clasped in her lap, covered by bright pink washing up gloves that almost reached her elbow. Her fiery hair hung about her face in slightly wavy strands, and her turquoise eyes were fixated on a spot on the floor, although she wasn't really seeing it.

     The flat she was sat in was moderately clean, and very bare, with little furniture, only the basics. Her chair was old, stuffing leaking out from one of the seams, and springs digging into her thighs.

     She should have gone to get coffee from the place on the corner of the street, but she also didn't want to risk missing a long-awaited knock on her door. She supposed the added caffeine wouldn't have been great for her already jittery form, either.

     Knock, knock!

     "Honeeey," a familiar voice sung from outside, "I'm home! "

     "Speak of the Devil himself," Carla muttered as she leapt to her feet, unable to hide the joy from her voice, and she practically threw open the door, beaming widely at the figure in front of her, "Klaus!"

     "Carla!" The lanky figure Carla had grown to admire and appreciate wrapped the younger girl in a bone-crushing hug, "How's my favourite teenage dirtbag?"

     "I'm mentally the same age as you-" Carla inhaled deeply, before pulling away with a frown, nose wrinkling in distaste at the scent of weed and other illegal substances clinging to his clothes, "Already? Really? You were released from rehab today."

     "Can you blame me? It's been weeks since I got fully shitfaced," Klaus pouted, walking into the flat, and looking around, "Wow, you cleaned this tip up. Fun story: I was actually in an ambulance."

     "An ambul-?" Carla frowned, gently shutting the door and following him into their flat.

     However, she was cut off by Klaus, who gasped, whirling around to face her, as if suddenly remembering something, "Which reminds me: my dad's died and I want you to come with me to visit my childhood home of horrors."

     "I- what?" Carla spluttered, beyond confused. This was not how she had expected his coming home to pan out, "Klaus, what the fuck are you talking about?"

     "Look, I really have to leave soon. My dad - you know, Sir Reginald Hargreeves - he's died. So I'm going to go back home, much alike my siblings I assume, and I want you, my little firecracker, to come with me."

     Carla took a defensive step backwards, concern instantly twisting her features, and Klaus spoke again, "Look, I know you're scared about meeting them, but they'll like you, I swear. You're like us, remember?"

     "I don't know if that's a good idea, Klaus," Carla began, gloved hands clasping nervously as she tried to calm herself, "It's probably a personal deal, and you'll all be mourning the death of your dad. I don't want to intrude."

     "Oh, please," Klaus shook his head, waving his hand dismissively, "No-one's going to be mourning - our dad was a piece of shit. You should know this about me by now."

     "Klaus," she sighed, "I doubt your family will be accepting of you bringing a random teen to your dads funeral."

     "No, no, no!" He insisted, stepping towards her, "You're like us. It's interesting, what you can do - you're interesting. Plus, as you said, you're mentally the same age as me."

     "Yeah, but physically I'm fifteen!" she snapped, barely finding the irony in wanting to go from being considered an adult to a child again when it best suited her.

     "That would be concerning to anyone," she continued, "I bet your siblings don't have that issue, you know, of being stuck as a teenager."

     "Valid point, but that's what makes you all the more intriguing," Klaus grinned toothily at her.

     Carla paused, lips pursing as she took in the man in front of her, all earnest eyes and pouting lips, and God it had been too long since she'd seen him. She let out a sigh of defeat, "Fine. I'll come with you."

     Klaus cheered, picking up the girl and spinning her around, before clumsily setting her back on the floor again, "Okay, this is great, isn't this great?"

     He turned to the empty space next to him, before turning back to Carla, "Ben thinks it's great."

     She laughed, "Nice to know. Shall I pack a bag?"

     "It shoukd be fine," he waved her off casually, "You can always borrow some of my clothes if we need to stay a while."

     Carla gave him a side-eye, "Are we going to stay a while?"

     "No, I don't think so," Klaus fell into an armchair, legs sprawled out in front of him like a rag-doll, taking out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, "I just want to... get some stuff, say hi, say bye, then leave."

     Half an hour later, the pair were sat on a trundling bus, Carla resting her head against the cool glass, and watching the scenery pass by.

     Streetlights would consistently slice through the velvet darkness of night, and the occasional square of light from a house window would catch her attention, but it seemed as though the majority of the world was asleep. The bus was empty, aside from a man sitting right at the back, and the driver.

     "And finally there's Vanya, who's the normal one, very quiet, reserved, but she did write that book talking shit about us all. Oh, and there's Pogo, who's a chimp, and Mom, who's a robot," Klaus added, as though it were a perfectly normal thing.

     "Holy shit," Carla muttered, a mix of awed and nervous, "Y'know, I'm not sure I should have come with you. This was a mistake-"

     "Shhhh!" Klaus said teasingly, poking her in the cheek and effectively cutting her off, "Don't be a coward."

     "I'm not being a coward ! I just think it was a bad idea!" she snapped, playfully swatting his hand away and glaring at him, "Look, I'm just not used to people knowing who I am, what I can do. It's fucking scary!"

     "Yeah, yeah," he said, grinning slightly, before taking in her features and continuing, "If you want you can have a nap. I'll keep watch, tell you when we arrive."

     "I- are you sure?" Carla asked, and Klaus nodded, "Okay, fine. But make sure you stay awake."

     "Will do, Miss Jenkins," Klaus gave a mock-salute, and Carla playfully rolled her eyes before resting her head on his shoulder. His coat mildly felt like roadkill against her skin, but at that point Carla didn't mind, instead shutting her eyes and drifting off into a light sleep.

---[]---

     "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey," Klaus cooed in a sing-song voice, causing Carla's eyes to snap open. She was disorientated for a few seconds, before everything came crashing back, and she dragged a hand over her face.

     "Is this it?" she asked, sitting upright and lifting her bag from where it was tucked beneath her chair, placing it on her lap, and looking out the window.

     "Yep," Klaus got to his feet, Carla following him off the bus as they walked down the street. She must have slept for longer than she thought, because it seemed that the sun was on the brink of appearing on the horizon, and the sky had gone from almost black to a dark ocean.

     Carla's eyes squinted as she looked at the large set of gates a few feet ahead of where they were. Her black combat boots scuffed the paving, and she drew in a deep breath, anxiously fiddling with the strap of her black backpack. The pair stopped outside the gates, momentarily pausing and staring up at the intimidating building in front of them.

     It was all stone and brick, with large windows, and Carla couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. Her eyes glanced up to one of the top windows, and she thought she saw a corner of a curtain twitch ever-so-slightly.

     A shiver ran down her spine, and she exhaled shakily, before looking over at Klaus, who was wincing slightly as he took in the house before him. They then shared a look, before walking up the stairs and knocking on the door.