“Heehee!” Mae snickered as she watched Luna slump at the bathroom door.
A couple of minutes passed until the shower head turned off.
“He’s done.” Luna’s head flew up. She sprang to her feet and jogged over to Mae’s side, anticipation lingering.
Creak…
This time, Klaus opened the door gently, shaking his head and tying the towel to his waist. He squeezed the strands of his hair, pulling out excess water and product left in.
“Hey, so what was that weird white stuff?” Klaus asked, continuing to squeeze his hair and peering at the three. Luna glanced at Mae and the woman, hoping they'd speak, but they remained silent, focused on Klaus. Although she didn’t want to do it, she had to.
“W-weird white stuff?” Luna hesitantly replied. “What do you mean ‘weird white stuff’?”
“Like, the stuff in those white bottles.”
Luna raised her brow.
“Hmm. Near the soap or whatever you guys call it. Big white bottles.”
“The shampoo and conditioner?” Luna took a step forward.
“Shampoo…conditioner…?” Klaus muttered, gazing down and scratching his head.
He turned his head back up and said, “Yeah, I guess so.”
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He then added, yawning:
“I just put in my hair. Was I supposed to?”
“Um, yeah. Good jo-”
“I need clothes.” Klaus blurted out.
The woman quickly reached for a pile of clothes and tossed it to him.
“Here.”
“Ah, thank you.” Klaus caught the clothes and moved back to the bathroom, slowly closing the door to change.
After a few seconds, he came out and looked at the woman.
“What’s that?” He asked, pointing at the tube-shaped object.
“This? A cigarette.”
“Cigarette…wazzat?” Klaus said. He waited a few seconds before walking towards the three, passing beside them, and sitting on a couch.
“Ooh! This is good,” he said, seemingly disregarding his earlier inquiry. Klaus caressed the couch, admiring it. As he touched it, he noticed that the couch’s fabric was a worn velvet, both soft and slightly rough. Its faded burgundy color soaked in the warm light, dotted with small indents from years of use. Wide and sturdy, it sat with a quiet confidence, cushions gently sunken.
“Like the couch boy?” The woman asked.
Klaus laid horizontally, his feet on the other end of the couch, before saying, “Ah, yeah. It’s pretty good.” He then closed his eyes, putting his hands behind his head.
“For some reason, you seem familiar.”
“Me?” The woman pointed at her chest.
Klaus peered at her and said, “Yeah, you. You have the same eyes as this old man I met.”
Flinch…
The woman flinched, visibly startled. She took another drag of her cigarette before saying, “Old man you say? Same crimson eyes as me?”
She chuckled and added:
“That’s rare.”
“No, I’m not talking about eye color.” Klaus playfully waved her off.
“Then what?” She inquired, raising the cigarette to her mouth.
“That deadness.”
Klaus peered at the woman momentarily before closing his eyes.
The woman tightened her lips and lowered her cigarette until it reached the counter, creating a light sound.
Klaus softly snickered as he said, “It’s rather unsettling, don’t you think? Feels like you’re gonna die any minute.”
The woman’s body tensed as she raised her arm off the counter and threw her cigarette. The air screamed for help as the heavy energy around her suffocated it. The chandelier above shook rapidly back and forth, begging for her to stop. Her eyes remained locked onto Klaus, each footstep loud and forceful. Luna and Mae trembled, frozen, as the woman approached Klaus. She expelled the last smoke onto his face, raising her hand.