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✧*̥˚ CHAPTER NINETEEN *̥˚✧
"I'm out of here, weirdos.
You guys just giving me more headaches."
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Ben woke up with a groan, then sighed. He was sleeping on the Billiards table. "My head-"
"Not so loud." Klaus groaned.
"Klaus? Klaus?" Ben muttered at the voice. "Klaus, where are you?"
"I'm here, I'm here." Klaus replied, eyes still closed and halfway under the table. "Don't panic. Nobody should panic."
Ben was about to get up but stop when he noticed a blonde girl sleeping beside him. He couldn't help but stared at her. She seemed really calm. He couldn't barely remember how long he been staring at her.
Iris groaned while holding her head. Once she move, Ben immediately stop staring at her but still stay beside her. "My head hurt." She whined before opening her eyes.
First, her sight was blurry. But once she managed to see, she was shocked at how close she and Ben were and back away, which was a bad idea.
She fall from the Billiards table and hit her back on the floor hard. She groaned in pain. Ben immediately went to check on her. He looked down at her from the Billiards table.
"Iris! Are you okay?" Sounding concerned as he asked.
"I believe you see how I fall. Definitely okay with that." Iris replied sarcastic tone and a bit embarrassed.
"What are you guys doing?" Klaus groaned as he get up.
"Falling and hurting, you?" Iris said.
"Adjusting my vision."
Ben exhaled sharply as he got off the table. "Do you guys..." He started, pointing at Klaus as he get off from the Billiards table and help Iris get up.
Klaus stood up as well, laughing. "No. Not a thing."
"Just a blurry memory." Iris replied while holding her head.
"Same." Ben replied. Then Klaus smirked at Iris.
"What?" Iris asked, feeling a bit annoyed. She noticed that Ben was hiding his smile.
Klaus smirked. "You should looked at your neck."
"What the hell is wrong with my neck?" She asked a bit loud feeling annoyed. She turned to Ben who couldn't help but laughed. She immediately find something that can reflect her. She gasped. "Wow..." The memory of last night slowly floating her brain. She run her hands on the traces of love bite on her neck.
"Yup." Ben smiled as he pointed at his neck.
"Yeah, you guys cannot stop kissing last night." Klaus teased. His smug expression didn't go unnoticed by both.
She sighed. "Well, get fucked up all beyond recognition was a bad idea." She ran her fingers through her hair. She was still wearing the same dress but her boots were gone.
"Well, maybe, maybe not." Ben smirked at her but Iris were too tired to deal with it.
Then she noticed Klaus wearing her boots. "Why are you wearing my boots?"
"Oh, we had a fashion show last night." Klaus said as he spin around.
Iris sighed. "Oh my god. I can't deal with this right now. What a night we have..."
"Yeah, that was some night." Ben and Klaus chuckled, and Klaus did a little happy dance.
"It was." Ben laughed, holding up a shoe with a ball inside of it. "It really was."
"See?" Klaus snapped his fingers. "I knew you had a little of the ol' Ben in ya. Now you can stop with all the sulking and the brooding."
"I don't brood." Ben denied.
"Ben-er-ino." Klaus said.
Ben's smile quickly washed away. "Don't call me that."
"We were making so much progress." Klaus whined.
"With what?"
"With your Mr. Tough Guy routine. Last night! I remember!" Klaus clapped his hands. "You opened your kimono to me, remember? And you showed me who you really are inside. All those bottled-up emotions."
"I was drunk." Ben said firmly.
"You're a good person, Ben," Klaus continued, despite Ben's objections. "But you're trying really, really hard to be a bad one."
Iris rolled her eyes. "I'm out of here, weirdos. You guys just giving me more headaches." She said before walking away.
"I hate you." Ben seethed at Klaus.
"No, you don't." Iris heard them continued arguing. She sighed. The memory of last night slowly coming back to her. Some of them were blurry but she still managed to remember what happened. She didn't know if she liked it or not.
Iris was walking towards her room when she stop after she heard someone's calling her name. "Iris!"
"What is it now?" She groaned. She turned around to see Ben walking towards her still not wearing his shirt.
He paused. "You have anger issue."
She glared at him. "I have headache!" She keep walking.
"Well... about last night..."
"I don't care. Alright. It's fine." She convinced him.
"Really?" He smiled. "Did you... did you like it?" His voice sounded hopeful and... nervous.
"That was some weird bloody question. Um... yeah... I think." She nodded. Ben sighed in relief.
"Cool." He grinned.
"Cool..." Iris repeated. It was awkward for a moment.
They wasn't sure what else to say. They didn't want to sound awkward but neither wanted to start the conversation first. After few seconds Iris broke the awkward silence as she noticed some writing on Ben's back.
"What the-" She pointed at his back.
"What?" Ben turned to look.
"Here." Iris said as she grab his wrist and pull him towards the mirror. He look his back at the mirror and noticed 'asshole' written on his back.
"What the!" Ben exclaimed as he saw the word written on his back.
Iris laughed. "I swear that's not my doing. But I bet it's Klaus." She said amused. "Sure bring a smile tho. Thanks, benny boy." She laughed before patting his shoulder and walk away.
"Don't mention it." He said sarcastically. He watched her leave until she completely disappeared from his field of vision.
...
"That's the sister who loves us so much!" Diego shouted as he laughed. Iris immediately groaned, remembering about what happened last night.
"We love you too, Iris!" Klaus continued.
"Haha funny." Iris rolled her eyes. "Keep mocking me and you will not get to see the end of the world because I will kill you first." She glared at the before sitting beside Klaus.
They laughed at her comments. Diego noticed some marks on Iris' neck. "Wow! You seem to have some fun last night huh?" He keep glancing between Ben and Iris. Ben trying to hide his laughed.
"Seriously, brother. Continue. I will not hesitated to throw you towards the Kugelblitz." Iris threatened him.
"Oh, don't you care about us?" Diego making fake sad face. She blankly turn to him. Her eyes turned black. "Okay! Okay... I was kidding." He laughed nervously. Then Five and Reginald arrived from the entrance of the hotel.
"Woo Five! Yeah!" Klaus cheered along with the others except Ben and Allison remembering Five's speech last night.
"That speech last night wow!" Diego clapped.
"Brought me to tears, you big softy." Lila said, placing her hands on her heart.
Viktor joined in. "I especially liked when you referred to us as a family bound by destiny and love."
"Yes." Luther said. "That was great."
"It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who gonna get the mockings." Iris said as she smile at her brother.
"Okay." Five took a seat, ignoring Lila's outstretched arms for a hug. "Enough. It was the booze talking. In the light of day, you're all still deplorable."
"And your day's about to get worse." Reginald interrupted them.
"Great, things just get better and better." Iris fake smiles.
"The Norse had seven sleepers. The Blackfoot, seven stars. As a boy, I heard the legend of the seven bells. All these stories are the same. The village is under threat by flood, by fire, by a night that never ends. A shaman brings his disciples to a sacred cave."
"He tells them if they can... ring the seven magic bells, the village will be saved..." Iris said, remembering the story.
"and all will be restored just as it was." Reginald continued.
"You knew about it?" Five asked out of curiosity.
"Yeah, our dad tell me once." She said. "When he tried to get me to use my inner demon." Her siblings went speechless.
"Reggie?" Lila was leaning on Diego and raised her hand. "Can we get a little less Brothers Grimm and more 'What the hell does this have to do with us?""
"There is a truth to these myths." Reginald paced a bit. "None of you can deny what's going on around us. All of existence will be gone by the end of the day, but whoever or whatever wove together space and time, they left a way to put things back together if the universe ever faced total annihilation. There is a portal in the universe. I built this hotel around it, and on the other side is the answer." Reginald explained.
No one could tell but Iris suddenly turn pale. The memory keep floating on her mind. She looked down as she plays with her finger. Five the only one who managed to noticed that Iris suddenly acting different.
"And...we're supposed to, what?" Luther frowned. "Just stroll in there, ring some bells, and fix this shit?"
"Sarcasm aside, you are mostly right. Except for the guardian."
"What kind of guardian?" Viktor asked.
"Kinda guardian that does this." Diego gestured to his sliced off fingers. "He had a sword.
"It is a force to be reckoned with." Reginald commented.
"See? Yeah. This is where you lose me." Luther said.
"This is where he loses you?" Lila rolled her eyes. "I checked out at the sacred cave."
"Why would the builders of this 'back door' need to have a guardian?" Viktor asked.
"Ah! To protect it," Sloane said. "From people who want to use it for nefarious means."
"That is correct, Sloane." Reginald said monotonously, nodding. Everyone keep talking but Iris seems to be on her own mind.
"So it's gonna take all of us to defeat the thing protecting the bells." Allison concluded in an authoritative voice.
Five scoffed, seated in the coach across the lobby cart she was sitting on. "You're actually buying his crap?"
"How is a guardian and bells any crazier than time-traveling briefcases and assassins with cartoon masks?" Allison shot back.
"Actually, she's got you there." Luther pointed out.
Ben stood up and walked over beside Reginald. "I'm in." Then was when he started to noticed Iris. Not moving just looking down. It's weird for him because no matter what, Iris always have some sarcastic comment to give but now she seems like having a fight with her own mind.
"Me too." Diego suddenly stood up, and Lila fell back on the couch with a small 'ow.' "But I think some of us should stay back." Diego continued. "Like Lila."
"Uh..." Lila's head tilted as she stood up. "Or you can stay, and I can go."
"No." Allison stood up as well. "This is much bigger than all of us. Nobody can stay back."
"You, my children, are all that stands between us and oblivion." Reginald said, stepping forward. "Are we ready to go?"
"Well, I say we vote." Viktor spread his hands.
"This isn't a democracy." Ben scowled. "Dad's calling the shots." He keep glancing at Iris, trying to hide his worried face.
Five clicked his tongue. "I'm with Viktor. We vote."
"The world is ending, and you want to count hands?" Reginald asked in disbelief.
"You're asking us to risk our lives." Luther emphasised. "I think it's only fair you give us time to discuss it. Privately." Reginald left with a scoff and Ben returned to his seat. "Why don't we meet back here in an hour?" Luther suggested.
"Hey, are you okay?" He asked in a low tone but Iris didn't answered. "Iris? Iris?"
She flinched when he called her the second time. "Yes, I'm fine." She said with no sarcasms and no expression which was weird. Five noticed it, and trying to figure out why. She get up and leave without saying anything. Ben watched her with confusion.