Chapter Four

Andy sat at the table. Cleo was stood atop it chewing on some shredded chicken that Andy had given her. She tenderly pet the cat while she ate. When she was done, Andy would have to give Cleo her medication and that was never an easy task. No matter how sweet a cat may be, giving a feline a pill was about as easy as trying to put a dress on a rampaging bull. "Best" part was, Cleo had to take medication twice a day with a total of four pills. It'd been the norm for almost a year, and yet, each time it was a chore. To make things even more complicated, Cleo had grown incredibly aware of the fact and knew to hide when she heard pill bottles.

If Andy could avoid it, she would, but she had no choice. She would have been more than happy to save both she and Cleo the hassle, but just shy of a year ago the vet had found a brain tumor. Andy had a scare and took her cat to the vet. After multiple x-rays, the doctor found a tumor, in-operable, but said it could be managed with pills. Fine, fine. That simply meant Andy would spoil Cleo even more than she already did, until the "time-bomb" inevitably went off.

Every time she thought about it, her throat began to itch. It was her precursor to crying. Andy pushed the feeling down, crossed her arms on the table, and rested her head on them.

It didn't matter. The thought was always there and always crept back into her mind no matter what.

Andy picked up a piece of shredded chicken and held it out while she continued to lay on her crossed arms. Cleo spotted it and began to nom happily on the poultry. As she laid there, Andy spotted movement and glanced up. Vanya had paused in the doorway to the kitchen. Her brows rose. She seemed surprised to not only see Andy, but to see a cat on the table.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hi," Andy's voice was muffled by her arm.

"Who's this?" Vanya approached the table and took a seat across from Andy. Cleo stepped forward and sniffed her. She let Vanya touch her and pet her for a minute before she returned to her snack.

"Cleo."

Vanya smiled softly, but the smile faded rather quickly. When it had, she shifted. It wasn't entirely out of character.

"Can I ask you something?" Vanya asked after a moment of silence. Andy nodded. "Are you angry that I wrote the book?"

Andy took a deep breath as she sat up and thought honestly about Vanya's question. Like most everyone, she'd read it when the book was released and had been surprised by a lot of what she saw. The first three or four chapters took place before she'd even arrived, but Andy had been in the following twelve.

"No," Andy finally said. "I mean, it wasn't very flattering, but," she shrugged a single shoulder. "It wasn't as though it was all a lie."

"So," Vanya picked lazily at the uneven surface of the raw-wood table. As before, she refused to meet Andy's gaze. "You're not mad about the stuff I said about you?"

Andy thought back to a few choice paragraphs that stuck out to her.

"No one ever talks about the smell of blood. They always reference the brilliant color of it, or how it seems impossible to clean. They even talk about the sheer volume of it, but no one talks about the smell.

"When there's enough of it, it smells like wet pennies.

"I remember finding Andy sitting on the floor of the bathroom she shared with Klaus now that Ben was gone. He'd died just a couple of weeks prior. The pain of it was still so new that I don't think I registered what I was seeing. She was leaning against the bathtub. Her legs were splayed out, her head had slumped to the point her chin touched her chest, and she was surrounded by red. A pool of blood larger than anything I'd thought possible had spread from the wounds in her left arm.

"I think I screamed, which brought Pogo and Mom. They acted quickly and somehow managed to save Andy. Mom sewed her arm shut –four small slices across her tattoo and one that reached from wrist to elbow- and placed her in her water tank. Water was the only thing that helped her heal, so she stayed locked inside it for nearly a week.

"Andy moved out shortly after and aside from the sporadic birthday card, I haven't spoken to her since the incident, but I can still smell the pennies.

"I'll always smell the pennies."

In truth, it annoyed Andy a bit that Vanya included her suicide, and that she poetically twisted it to be about her, but at the same time, she understood. The book belonged to Vanya and (until she'd read it) Andy had no idea that Vanya had been the one to find her. It's inclusion into her biography made sense.

"No," She eventually replied. "Honestly, nothing you said was really that bad. It might have been personal, and sure, a lot of it I'd rather not have hundreds of thousands of people know, but it happened. It's how you felt."

"Well, yeah, but the others-"

Andy sighed obnoxiously, to the point that Vanya had stopped speaking. She stared at Andorra with wide eyes, seemingly worried about what she'd said.

"The only ones angry about your book, still, years later, are the ones who weren't painted in the best light." Andy told her. "You shouldn't care what they think."

"But they're my family."

"Pft," Andorra scoffed. "Look, you have nothing to worry about, alright? It was how you felt."

Vanya nodded unsurely.

The two spoke for a little while longer before Vanya left. Shortly after, Cleo had finished her dinner and together, she and Andy headed upstairs.

As she made her way up the main staircase, she passed Five and Klaus. Klaus had dressed in one of the Old Man's grey pinstripe suits. Five didn't bother with a second glance, which she expected, but her eyes managed to lock with Klaus's, albeit briefly.

It lasted seconds, but it had been the longest he'd looked at her since she'd arrived.

Even though he tore his gaze from hers as he and Five left the house, Andy continued to watch him. She felt unimaginably awkward around Klaus now. Part of her wanted to grab him, force him to look her in the eye and make him forgive her. Another part thought giving him space would be the best option. Unfortunately, giving him space broke her heart more than she even thought was possible.

Thirteen Years Ago:

Andy was asleep in her bed. The house was primarily silent save the sounds on the street and the constant creak of the old foundation. The unfamiliarity of them used to keep her awake. Four years after arriving and they helped lull her to sleep. A sharp rustle of her bed, however, would always wake her.

Groggy and instantly angry, Andy opened her bleary eyes to see a thin, long-limbed figure crawling awkwardly over her body and to the portion of her bed pushed against the wall.

"The fu-" She mumbled.

"Don't mind me." Klaus's familiar voice met her ears. "Just getting comfy."

Andy groaned and scowled as she smashed her face back into her pillow. Meanwhile, behind her Klaus struggled to pull her comforter out from under his body so he could crawl beneath it. The bed, still made from stiff springs, jerked and rocked back and forth with the slightest of motions. Under Klaus's movements, it shook like it had experienced an earthquake.

"My God, Klaus," She groaned. "Would you just stop moving?"

"Almost got it." He replied.

A moment later, the intense shaking finally ended and she felt him press against her back. He slid his hand over her waist. She threaded her fingers through his and held it tenderly in place.

"You haven't any shoes on, do you?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he began to kick beneath the blanket. A moment later, she heard the clomp of two shoes landing on the wood floor.

"Nope," He replied.

Years ago, within her first week at the academy, Andy had gone to Klaus's side when he had a nightmare. She fell asleep in his bed that night, staying with him for so long that she and him passed out together. Since then, whenever he woke from a nightmare, Klaus would crawl into Andy's bed for the rest of the night. He said he slept better with her, that she kept all the "spooks" away. Andy didn't mind. She kind of liked it.

As a result, it wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Sometimes, he'd crawl into her bed just because he could, and tonight seemed to be one such night.

"Oh my God," He muttered as he squeezed himself as close to her as possible. Andy felt every inch of him pressed to her, from his chin on her shoulder, to his legs tangled with hers. "You're so warm."

"And you're freezing." She replied in the same soft tone. "Where've you been?"

"A rave." He chuckled a little. "It was uh-maze-ing."

"So, you're high?"

He giggled that oddly psychotic giggle she'd heard a thousand times before. "Oh, yeah." He said. "Come here,"

Andy fell easily to his guidance as he rolled her toward him and onto her back. Like a child clinging to their mother, Klaus rested his head on her chest and curled to her side. He'd done it before more times than she could count, so with little adjusting, they were comfortable again.

Klaus slid his free hand beneath the hem of Andy's shirt and rested in on her stomach. She flinched at his icy touch, but didn't stop him.

"Your skin is so soft." He said as he nuzzled into her neck, just below her chin. "You must moisturize."

Klaus giggled like a little kid. Andy couldn't help but smile at his stupid joke, too. She spent hours a day submerged in water. "Moisturize" wasn't a big enough word for it.

He took in a long, deep breath as he relaxed against her. Andy rested her cheek on the top of his head and held him close. It was familiar, comfortable, and she liked about the heat of his body, about the smell of his shampoo, all of it, comforted her. She loved it, in fact, so she welcomed him whenever he came to sleep with her.

At some point, Klaus had begun to trace his blunt fingernails across her stomach in small circles. Andy doubted he was aware of the fact, but she liked the way it felt, and had no intentions of telling him to stop.

Minutes passed and Andy had just about fallen asleep again. She straddled the line, more than willing to tumble into oblivion, but Klaus moved once more, jostling her back into the moment. He pressed his face fully into the slope of her neck, from his nose to chin. Her eyes were still closed, but she couldn't help but grimace. It tickled.

"What are you doing?" She grumbled.

"You smell good, too." He said against her skin. His breath had been so hot that it gave her goose bumps and made her shudder.

"What are you on?" More than once, he'd said something about her was "good", from her scent to the way her skin felt. She had her suspicions, but she wanted to know for sure to prepare herself for whatever weirdness might happen.

Klaus giggled. "Ecstasy."

Andorra let out a groan-laced sigh. Of course he was. He was always so touchy-feely when he was on X. It made her doubt she'd get a full night's sleep because he'd be too busy "experiencing" everything.

Klaus remained close to her with his face buried in her neck, breathing deep as he did. It bugged her to the point that she drew back. Andy put space between them and rolled her head toward him, facing Klaus. She hoped the new position would keep him from burrowing into her neck again.

"Go to sleep." She mumbled.

He adjusted again, inching closer until his forehead rested against hers. For a moment, it seemed as thought he would go to bed, until she felt his lips form around hers. Still half asleep, she complied. The kiss had begun timidly, but quickly deepened. The hand on her waist pulled her close, she let out a soft sigh and as the moment threatened to sweep her away, reality struck.

Andy shot back. Her eyes were wide in shock. Klaus had kissed her and to complicate things further, she'd kissed him back. It wasn't chaste, either. There'd been tongue. And yet, the man himself seemed entirely unaware anything had happened, too busy burying his face into the pillow to notice her horrified stare.

"Did you just kiss me?" She already knew the answer, but the question left her regardless.

"M-hm," Klaus mumbled before he yawned obnoxiously. He finally seemed to be falling asleep. "Had to see if you tasted good, too."

Andy continued to stare at him for what felt like an eternity before she too relaxed. Klaus had drifted off, but stayed close with his hand on her waist. Andy curled to his side as best she could and fell asleep, doing everything in her power to forget what he'd done. He wouldn't remember, so why should she dwell? It didn't mean anything, right?

Now:

Andorra laid in her bed staring at the ceiling with Cleo lying on her chest. She never forgot about the kiss even though Klaus had the moment he fell asleep. He never mentioned it, never brought it up again, but that stupid kiss changed everything for her.

It was in that stupid little nothing moment that Andy realized she cared about Klaus more than she should. She'd never seen him as a brother, but hadn't thought anything of it. She didn't feel that way about anyone, except Ben. Andy only knew she had strong feelings for him, but she hadn't been certain what they were, until he kissed her. That shined a bright, unwanted light on the truth.

Leaving the academy didn't bother her. It had been leaving Klaus without saying goodbye in person that broke her heart. The subsequent hatred reflected in his eyes every time he looked at her pulverized the rest.

What were you supposed to do when you were in love with someone who never saw you as more than a friend? What were you supposed to do when that person hated you because you abandoned them?

Andy pushed the thoughts away. It didn't matter. It never mattered. She'd be gone soon, anyway. The day after tomorrow, she'd fly home and pretend like she hadn't made the trip down memory lane.

The following morning when Andy woke, she had been a little surprised to find that Cleo wasn't lying in bed with her. There was hardly a time through the years when the cat wasn't somewhere on the bed, if not laying right on top of Andy while she slept. With a furrowed brow, she looked around the room until she spotted her kitty curled up on the floor, sleeping in a swatch of daylight that had come through the window.

Andy rose and called for Cleo to follow her, but Cleo didn't move. A sinking feeling gathered in Andy's gut. She called Cleo again, and again she remained still.

The tears that gathered in Andy's eyes were instant. There was no lead up to it. One moment her vision had been clear, and the next she couldn't see. With her body on autopilot, she approached. Ever since the diagnosis, Andy had a few scares, so she prayed this would be the same, but when she knelt down and touched her, Andy knew otherwise. There was no heartbeat. Cleo wasn't breathing. Instead, she'd gone painfully still.

Andorra immediately began to cry.

Andorra was a bit lost. She'd cried her first wave of tears and had been in a haze as she decided to bury her long-time friend in the garden. Since pushing the earth back over the wrapped bundle, she'd gone numb.

Time passed before Andy finally stood. She didn't want to be at the academy anymore. She wanted to go home. Returning was a bad idea, anyway. What was the point? No one wanted her there. They'd all been vocal about it, in fact, and now she'd lost the only thing she had left that she cared about, and who cared about her.

The academy was a black hole. It took everything.

As she stood over the small plot, Andy stared at the collar in her hand. It was simple, nothing more than a pink band with a fish-shaped name tag, and a little bell. It was all she had, now. Andy wrapped it around her left wrist and affixed it into place, an easy task given it was actually quite small.

With a new bracelet and nothing else left to do or give, Andy returned to the manor. The moment she walked through the doors and into the library, she'd stepped into the middle of something important. The room had been filled with the Hargreeves children, all of them surrounding one another, and deep in conversation (or argument) which stopped the second she appeared. They hadn't been there when she went outside, so it briefly made her wonder just how long she'd spent on the burial.

Everyone had gone silent. She could tell by the way they stared at her that they hadn't expected her, either.

"The hell are you doing here?"

Diego's sharp words caused her gaze to shoot to him. A flash of anger swept through her in an instant, but, somehow, Andy did her best to push it down.

"I was just leaving." She replied in a voice that was undeniably thick with emotion.

"Good," He said snidely as she headed for the foyer. "You don't belong here anyway, Twist."

And there it was, the snap. Hearing her old nickname, the thing Diego, Allison and Luther used to call her, and rife with a torrent of emotion, Andy had snapped.

"What's your issue, hm?" She asked with a tight edge. "What have I ever done to you?"

Diego didn't back down and instead seemed glad to finally have the chance to tell Andy exactly why he didn't like her.

"You just showed up one day, and immediately pushed yourself into this family, trying to take Five's place." He said with a cold, tight voice. He approached her with stilted steps, but remained a few feet away, as though he couldn't stand to be much closer than that. Diego pointed a finger at her. "You will never be my sister, you hear me? The Old Man might've given you the Hargreeves name, but you're not one of us. You never will be."

"I never wanted to be a part of your family!" She yelled. It was a statement she'd been repeating for the better part of her life and one Diego, and a few others, never seemed to remember. "I didn't want to be anyone's sister." Her voice began to quiver and tears she'd thought she already spilled gathered in her eyes. "I wanted friends. I just wanted to be around people like me, but the second I got here, you people treated me like a leper. Vanya was the only one who bothered to learn my name the first day and I wasn't even allowed to talk to her because of your freak father's rules. I was stuck with you people. Jesus, the three of you," She motioned at Diego, Luther, and Allison, the latter two seeming surprised by their inclusion, "Are horrible . You're so self-involved and you had it by far the easiest."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Allison said angrily, finally contributing to the conversation.

"No?" Andy was on a tangent and far beyond caring. It seemed as though she'd finally been given the chance to unload everything that had bothered her for years. "What'd you have to do, hm? Did you have to jump through space until your body gave out and you couldn't move anymore? Maybe you had to keep the portal under your skin open longer and longer to see what kind of horrible creatures were living there? Or know what, I bet you were locked into a mausoleum for days with a dozen angry ghosts constantly screaming at you. Actually, I bet you were forced to kill-" Andy instantly slammed her mouth shut. Her head dropped as she silenced herself. She took in one long breath after another to steady herself before she looked up at Diego again. "I might not have been here since the beginning, but you don't have the monopoly on shit childhoods."

She could see the rage she brought out in him, the anger and how many buttons she'd pushed during her rant. Apparently, he didn't like her downplaying the things he'd gone through, but as far as she was concerned, it was all true.

"Nobody ever wanted you here." Diego growled hatefully. "You're just some orphan that Sir Reginald picked up off the-"

Snap

Before he could finish his bitter rant, Andy thrust her open palm in his direction. Diego sailed through the air and landed against one of the many columns, hard. He let out a loud grunt of pain when he hit and slid to the floor. The room had been stunned into silence. Somehow, from more than ten feet away, Andorra had managed to fling Diego as though he were nothing.

Each of the siblings turned gawking expressions to the young woman who was still vibrating with rage. She shook. Stuck in some kind of trance, it wasn't until Diego pushed himself to his feet that Andy remembered there was a world around her. When she looked up and saw their collective horror, she realized what she'd done.

The anger and rage fled her features in an instant, replaced with shame and fear. She looked at her trembling hands and back at Diego as though events were only just beginning to connect. Glassy eyes danced around the Hargreeves children, and when she blinked, a single tear rolled down each cheek.

Before anyone could speak, Andy raced from the room. She all but ran downstairs and out of everyone's line of sight.

"The hell just happened?" Diego grumbled. He cradled his chest as he approached the others. Despite his cold exterior, he couldn't hide the fear lingering in his eyes.

"Andy just Force-Punched you across the room." Klaus mumbled in shock. His fuzzy brain still had trouble accepting what he'd clearly seen.

"I thought her thing was water?" Luther asked the room.

Five's face twisted as he looked at his brother. "You're kidding, right?" Luther shrugged and shook his head which caused Five to openly sigh and roll his eyes. "What do you think the human body is made out of?"