Last Breath - Ben Hargreeves

8 || eating old bagels out of a dumpster

"Hey," Allison says, causing Maggie to jump. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. What are you watching?" She moves in to see Maggie crying softly with her hand on the screen touching Ben's face. She interrupted a private moment.

Maggie removes her hand and sniffles. "It's nothing. Is dinner ready?"

"Uh, yeah. Mom wanted me to come get you."

Maggie nods, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'll be down in a moment." Allison leaves, seeing as there is nothing left to say. Maggie turns back to the screen and whispers, "I love you, Ben."

As she leaves, Ben sadly whispers from where he was sat next to her, "I love you too, Maggie."

—|☂️|—

Maggie walks outside the mansion to find Klaus obsessively digging through the mansion's trash. She clears her throat and he jumps.

"Oh, hi, Lia," he says while trying - and failing - to act natural, "What's up?"

"Why are you in the trash?"

"I'm trying to find whatever...priceless crap was in that priceless box so that Pogo will get off my ass," Klaus roars.

"You seem busy. Maybe I should go..," she says while backing up slowly.

"I'd ask what you're up to, Klaus," Five says while climbing down the fire escape, "but then it occurred to me...I don't care."

Maggie turns to Five with a, "Be nice!"

Klaus lets out a laugh. "You know there are easier ways out of the house, buddy?"

Five lands on the ground and turns to Klaus and Maggie. "This one involved the least amount of talking. Or so I thought."

"Wow. Love you too," Maggie says sarcastically.

Klaus calls after Five, "Hey, hey, hey, so...you need any more company today? I could, uh...clear my schedule."

Five looks down at the trash Klaus is standing in and replies, "Looks like you've got your hands full."

"Oh, this? No, no. I can do this whenever. I'm just-" Klaus falls backward into the trashcan.

Maggie lets out a snicker before yelling out, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! I just misplaced something. That's all. Oh! Found it! Thank God!" Klaus emerges from the trash with a half-eaten bagel. He takes a bite from it, and Maggie groans in disgust. "Delicious."

"I'm done funding your drug habit," Five says as he walks away.

Klaus calls after him, "Come on! You don't- Maybe I just wanna hang out with my brother." He turns his head to the side of the trashcan where Ben is sitting and says, "Not you." He calls after Five, "Mi hermano. I love you. Even if you can't love yourself!" Klaus dramatically spits out the bite of bagel in his mouth.

"You seem to have forgotten that I am a girl," Maggie tells Klaus.

"What?"

"When you said you wanted to hang out with your brother, you said 'not you'. So, therefore, I must inform you that I am - in fact - your sister." Klaus opens his mouth to say something, but Maggie cuts him off, "That is unless you weren't talking to me. So, who the hell do you keep talking to?"

Klaus gives her a dumbfounded look. "You? We're having a conversation?"

"Don't bullshit me, Klaus!" She takes a deep breath. "I'm worried about you. You're always talking to people when there's nobody there. Just talk to me. What's going on with you?"

He turns to Ben and asks, "Should we tell her?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Maggie exclaims.

"I think she could handle it," Klaus tells Ben.

Ben shakes his head. "Not right now. She spent all of last night crying."

Klaus nods. "You're right. We should wait."

Maggie walks back inside in a huff. "I cannot believe you right now!"

A/N: Double update! Woo-hoo!