Hearing no response, Elaine chuckled. "To answer your question, instead of us calling this a joke, we'd much rather use the term: 'Social Experiment'."
A gut-wrenching pain washed over Klaus, his eyes searching hers for an answer. With all of his heart, he hoped this was just a sad excuse for a joke, a stupid prank that was taken too far.
But the reality of it set in as he looked deeper into her eyes, his mind suddenly coming to a realization.
This was who Elaine really was.
Not the sweet girl he talked to over the phone, nor the funny girl who made him laugh without trying, but this devil's reincarnate laughing in his face.
"A social experiment, huh?" Klaus muttered.
"Correct! You're not a complete idiot after all," the guy responded, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
Elaine gasped exaggeratedly as she turned towards the driver's seat, "Kevin!"
Laughter
"What? Tell me I'm wrong," he replied smugly. "No way, Mr. Bookkeeper over here actually thought he actually had a chance."
"With his nose up a book 24/7, I'm surprised he actually went on a dating app," he clowned. "Don't get me wrong, though. I truly am thankful. Because of you-" his hands slid down into Elaine's panties, sliding his middle finger inside her. A soft moan escaped her throat as she bit down on her lips, turning them a pinkish white. "-sex has felt ten times better."
His words rang out in Klaus's mind. Adrenaline coursed through his body, supporting him in any action he took. But what could he do?
Drip, drip, drip
Small drops of blood fell to the floor as Klaus's nails dug into his palm. Still at the moment, the only hurt he was feeling was from deeper within.
"Oh shit, he's actually pissed," Elaine said with a mocking smile.
Then her eyes turned cold, yet still smiling, "What are you gonna do, Klaus~"
Elaine and Kevin's laughter rang out once again. Their cruel, psychotic laughter sounded like someone using their thumb and index finger to seal a piece of folded paper.
Slowly but surely, Klaus felt himself losing control, the sound of Elaine's laughter serving only one purpose.
'Feels like a story I read,' he thought with a dry smile. 'Of course it did.'
He took a deep breath and relaxed his grip.
A pained sigh escaped his lips, quivering ever so slightly.
Elaine's face shifted from laughter to mild confusion watching him. 'Is that it?' she frowned.
She watched Klaus's face change through a multitude of emotions: confusion, frustration, pain, and finally, acceptance.
'No begging?' she thought. 'Not even a single tear?'
Kevin, unable to read the room, continued to hurl insults at Klaus, only for them to fall upon deaf ears.
Klaus had already turned his back towards the Jeep, his bloodied palms staining his two black suitcases, dragging behind him.
Elaine stared at his back with confusion.
"Is that seriously all?" She questioned under her breath.
Kevin, hearing this, grinned with obvious ill intentions.
"You want a reaction, Laney?" He asked, grabbing the half-filled water bottle from the cup holder. "I'll get you a reaction."
Water bottle in hand, Kevin stood up, rising through the car's sunroof. His eyes landed on the retreating figure of Klaus with malice.
Before Elaine could say a word, Kevin pulled his arm back and hurled the water bottle at Klaus with solid force.
The water bottle flew through the air, cap first, heading right for Klaus.
Lost in his thought, Klaus was unaware of the danger heading towards him until a high-pitched warning cut through the air.
"HEY! WATCH OUT!!"
Still, he wasn't fast enough because the water bottle smacked him square on the back of his head, drawing blood.
His vision blurred. His ears picked up a pair of footsteps against the pavement running in his direction.
Feeling himself grow a bit dizzy, Klaus released hold of his suitcases before dropping to one knee. His hand shakily moved to the back of his head, feeling through his locs for the wound.
His hand came out slightly more bloodied than before, but he couldn't see a distinctive difference between the blood from his palms and that from his head.
A pair of heels stood in front of him, asking if he was alright, yet to him, it all sounded like gibberish.
Eventually, his body gave in. The exhaustion from the plane, the heartbreak pain, and finally the blood loss—though only minor—all piled up.
Klaus collapsed onto the ground, a single tear falling from his eye.
His head gradually turned in the direction of where the water bottle was thrown. A part of him still hoped to see Elaine running over, all worried. But that last thought was shattered as he watched the black Jeep drive off.
'Seems fate gave me a drama instead of a fairytale.' Those were Klaus's last thoughts before slipping away into the darkness.
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆
Klaus's eyes fluttered open in a white hospital bed. After a brief struggle against his subconscious, he gradually opened his eyes to the soft, white light of the hospital room.
Instantly, the familiar scent of antiseptic wipes and medical supplies overwhelmed his senses.
His gaze fixed on the ceiling, his mind replaying the last moments before he lost consciousness.
"Did I seriously faint from being hit by a water bottle?" He muttered with a frown.
A soft chuckle sounded beside him. "Well, that'd be something." Slightly surprised but not enough to startle, Klaus's eyes shifted toward the source of the voice.
Upon first glance, Klaus's breath got caught in his throat. His eyes lingered on the woman in front of him with disguised awe, but the sped-up beeping of the heart rate machine betrayed him.
"Who the heck are you?" he asked.
The woman in question was absolutely stunning. She was one of, if not the prettiest woman he had ever laid eyes on—of course, excluding his mother.
She had very long, black hair that loosely curled down her back, just below her waist. Her gorgeous coffee brown eyes looked back into Klaus's eyes, evaluating the man lying in front of her.
Klaus's gaze shifted to her perfect button nose and her tempting full lips before assessing her figure. But just before he could get a good look, his eyes snapped back to her face.
"Eyes up here, BoJack," she interrupted, her lips curled up into a teasing smile. "Fortunately, the doctor said it was due to the accumulated shock to your mind and body," she added.
"And to answer your question, my name is Cleo," she smiled.
Klaus's inner book nerd perked up, "Is it-"
"No. It's not short for Cleopatra," she added. "If that's what you were gonna ask."
A dry laugh escaped his throat.
An awkward silence now blanketed the room. Cleo continued to look at Klaus with an assessing gaze while he—on the other hand—did everything in his power to avoid eye contact with her.
beep, beep, beep
"So what happened?" Klaus asked, his gaze fixed back on the ceiling. "After fainting, I mean, I'm assuming they drove off, but how'd I end up here-" his gaze then flickered toward Cleo. "Was it you? The footsteps?"
He stared into her eyes unblinkingly, waiting for an answer.
"You have a lot of questions-" she paused for a moment.
"It's Klaus," he said.
"Klaus," she continued. "But it's only reasonable."
Cleo then explained in detail everything that happened moments leading up to and after he passed out, how she was close enough to notice the blood dripping from his hand, the perpetrator of the thrown water bottle, and the black Jeep speeding off.
After seeing him collapse, she immediately called the ambulance, staying by his side until they arrived. She even went so far as to take a picture of the license plate before they drove off.
Finished with her info dump, Cleo sat in silence while Klaus processed the information in silence.
He sat there for about 5 minutes, lost in thought. Cleo continued to wait, her hands resting patiently on her lap.
Klaus finally processed everything, and his eyes now looked more serene. He tried to sit up in the bed, but his body wouldn't allow him to without a nagging pain in his head.
"Here, let me help you." Without any question, Cleo stood up from the chair, helping him sit up in the bed.
While assisting him, Cleo's breast brushed against his arm, making him pause momentarily.
'Soft,' he thought.
Other than being breastfed as a child. Klaus's experience with women's breasts was close to none. Not only their breasts, but women as a whole.
There was an incident during high school where an old friend of his wanted to try some new 'things', but other than that, he was a complete virgin. He fit the librarian profile like a glove.
Klaus sat in the bed with a reminiscent look on his face and sighed.
"I'm so done with relationships."
"You and me both," Cleo said. "You and me both."
A knock on the door interrupted the somewhat heartfelt moment between the two.
"Come in," Klaus said.
The door slid open, and an elder gentleman walked in. His forehead was creased—likely from years of experience—his salt-and-pepper hair was combed back, while dark circles rimmed his eyes.
"Good to see you up, Mr. Silas," he said with a small smile. "I'm Dr. Smith."
"How are you feeling?"