a pathetic child still haunted by their father.

“Good!” Ben whined like a child. “I can’t use my powers, I need you here.”

“Dad locked me in the basement for 20 days, did all this hypnosis and electro-shock therapy, and he’s giving me the same meds that he gave Viktor!” He blurted this out like a kid tattling on someone.

“Are you… okay?”

“How old are you now? I’m 29… I think. It’s complicated.”

“He said I was becoming too unhinged… he tricked me and locked me in the basement…” His eyes were full of unshed tears.

“Well, I died at 17 but when I came back to life my body was about 29. But my consciousness is about 34. Don’t let my brother hear you say time is just a concept, he’ll throw a tantrum.”

“Yeah, when I was 17 but I was resurrected. I’m alive now, I’m surprised Klaus never told you about it.”

“I thought you two had a thing.” Ben also shrugged playing it cool. “I think I blocked out a lot of the trauma, I don’t really remember what happened.”

“Yeah, he thinks he’s cool. He’s a big bully is what he really is.” Ben mumbled this under his breath. “It’s not how I died that bothered me, it’s my experience actually being dead that was more painful.”

“Yeah, and Klaus was the only one I could talk to. Any time I tried to communicate with the others he would shush me or tell them that I wasn’t there…”

“He was drunk or high most of the time, but his power is to see ghosts. He knew that I was real and treated me like that even when he was sober. Called me his ghost bitch once and everything.”

“Yeah, I told him how I felt multiple times but I was brushed off. He’s not great with emotions, none of my family is. Apparently I’m the sensitive one.”

“Diego broke the coffee machine.”

He looked up at him with those big doe eyes. “You really think so…? They’ve given me shit about it since we were kids.”

“But it’s not effortless, I try really hard.” Ben couldn’t believe he just admitted that to Reece, though something about this person made him feel very comfortable.

“It burned him so he punched it.” Ben was lying, he was just upset with Diego.

Silently judging everyone.

He couldn’t sleep, so he’s sketching the clock in the study.