- Chapter Twenty-Eight -
"Is it the alcohol or is Five at the door?"

Primrose had been searching for Klaus for the rest of the day. As soon as she had bolted out of the diner after punching Brian and probably breaking his nose, she had began searching the streets of Dallas and walked away from the noises of people in Stadtler's heckling such a kind-looking woman for hitting a man, for acting in such a violent disgrace. Her adjustment to 1960's Dallas, as seen previously, had been slower than Allison's, meaning that Primrose was constantly getting herself in trouble with the public.

Of course catcalling and disrespect of women was still a thing in the 2010's, there had been plenty of times when Primrose had been whistled at or when she had been walking hand in hand with Violet before the incident and people had creeped them out to no extent. It hadn't been much that Prim thought about Violet, most of the healing process having happened before she got sucked into the mess but when left alone, everything always came circling back.

The loss of her family had taken a massive toll on her and she had definitely improved, but that was her family. An actual loving family, she had found it extremely upsetting when Klaus opened up about his own family and she couldn't imagine what they had been through, but she guessed that the siblings themselves all became closer in that one stressful week. Primrose knew that she had also become greatly acquainted with them all in the span of a singular week, even kindled a relationship with one, a couple of kisses and then him calling her his girlfriend, telling her that he loved her but she suspected that that was just in the heat of the moment.

The events of that night had been overwhelming and he already had to deal with the loss of Eudora so Primrose had plenty of time to mull over that he was just confused. They had only known each other for a week after all, she wasn't even sure if they really knew each other that well.

And as always, everything circled back to Diego and her uncertainty of it all. She became frustrated with it all the time, she thought she knew her feelings back in 2019 but in the 60's she just feels like she's lost touch of everything. No job, third-wheeling Allison's marriage, no house (not like she could even own one due to the heavy patriarchy) and now she's lost her best friend in the town after a hate crime that she rightfully got revenge for anyway.

She just felt detached, like something was missing.

The sky had grown dark when she was on her way home, there were no stars or clouds, just a vast emptiness of navy blue above her head. Some streetlights splayed light onto the sidewalk, illuminating the concrete below her feet which were getting tired with endless effort of walking in heels. Her steps were slow, lazy and she was in no rush to get back. Yet she was nearly there anyway. Mentally exhausted, she tilted her head up slightly to look up at the empty sky as she continued towards the house.

It was the same as always, walking up the path after a very long day and reaching the porch first, opening the door to reach the front door and dig in her purse for her keys. They slipped through her fingers a couple of times but she managed to stick the key in, turn it and enter the house. The lights were turned off, but there was a faint glow coming from the living room where she presumed Allison was sat. Primrose slipped herself out of her shoes, her feet that were still covered with the clear tights she had put on touched the wooden floor with a touch of relief.

She sighed tiredly and kicked her shoes closer to the wall so no one tripped over them when walking through the hall.

"Allison?" She called, running a hand through her hair that she had not put back up after the fiasco in Stadtlers.

"In here." Allison called back in a small whisper, Prim furrowed her eyebrows and walked through. The woman was sat at the kitchen table, two lamps shining down onto papers and articles that were spread out in front of her. She turned and gave Primrose a small smile before glancing pointedly towards the couch.

Prim looked at the sofa and widened her eyes at the sight of a sleeping Klaus, her body immediately filled with relief that he had not done something stupid like get himself arrested again.

"Showed up just ten minutes ago." Allison told her in a soft whisper, careful not to wake him and still sat at the table. "Drunk as a skunk. Muttering something about don't go chasing waterfalls, stick to the rivers you're used to."

"TLC." Primrose smirked, shaking her head at the song lyrics and moving to adjust the blanket over him. He shifted slightly but continued to sleep peacefully. "I was worried sick. He got into it with someone at Stadtlers. Ran off before I could go after him but I got my revenge."

"What did you do?" Allison asked with a knowing tilt to her voice.

"Punched a guy and might've broken his nose." Prim said shortly, standing from her crouching position and walking over to Allison, putting a hand on her shoulder and rubbing it as she peered down at the papers she was examining. "Any luck with Ray?"

She let out a humourless scoff, shaking her head and Primrose bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows before pulling out the next chair and taking a seat. Her hand made it's way to Allison's back and rubbed softly.

"He's safe." She offered, sighing and putting her head in her hands. "He saw me say something to the officer that nearly beat him to death, now he reckons that I'm working for them. You too. I wanted to tell him but Prim...I just couldn't bring myself to."

"Sh, it's okay." Primrose nodded her head, rubbing circles on her back again. "We'll try again tomorrow, yeah? Right now, you should get some well-deserved sleep." She said and Allison looked up to argue but Prim interrupted her. "Don't argue, we know he's okay and we can't do much at midnight."

She sat still for a couple of moments before looking over at Prim, who raised her eyebrows challengingly at her. Allison sighed and got out of her chair, patting Primrose's head before making her way to the staircase to head upstairs.

The woman left downstairs frowned to herself momentarily then collected the articles into one pile so they were neat for the next day. She checked Klaus one more time and turned the lamps off, making her way upstairs herself.

Primrose sighed once more, her steps up the stairs slower than ever

•*•*•*•*•

"What the hell is going on?"

Primrose had woken up to the sound of delirious laughter, her head had been buried comfortably into her pillow and her bed covers had been keeping her warm but her eyes had been opened to a crash and then a cackle, no doubt from Allison. She had put her dressing gown on quickly and run downstairs to see if everything was okay but only saw Allison and Klaus drinking and laughing together.

"Rosie!" Klaus giggled, seeing her by the stairs, he lunged forward and grabbed her hand. "Come drink with us. We're ridding ourselves of out feelings." He put his hands out to the side and sighed peacefully before  laughing again.

"Klaus..." Primrose drawled, but saw Allison drinking and sighed, knowing that Klaus had talked her into it. She picked up an empty glass and brought it to her nose, inhaling the scent and recoiling. "Is this booze?"

"You actually remember what booze smells like?" Klaus gasped in mocking shock and Primrose tilted her head at him, shaking her head with a small smile tugged at her mouth. "You haven't had it for years, I actually think the first time you'd had alcohol in a decade was when I made you that cocktail by the pool."

"I think so too." Primrose replied distractedly and walked over to the cups to wash them in the sink but a drink was shoved under her nose by Klaus before she could get any further. His eyes are pleading and he has a stupid smile on his face that she can't help but smile at herself.

"Fine. Just one."

She did not have just one. Prim had now joined the ring of laughing and giggling, an empty cup in her hand as Klaus leaned his head lazily on her shoulder and she ran a hand through his long hair fondly. Allison sat on her other side, dizzily giggling. She had been roped into their pity session and at one point had ranted about everything but she wasn't sure she made that much sense through all of her slurring. It had gone quiet now, the three of them just sat drinking.

Then a large knock sounded at the door, Primrose groaned but stood up nonetheless, patting Klaus' head as an apology. She stumbled out of the living room where they were sat, towards the hallway, a soft smile was on her face and her dressing gown was open, showcasing her pyjamas. Her hand grasped the door handle and she pulled it open to see a familiar boy stood behind it.

"Hello, Primrose." The boy said, grinning up at her with his hands in his pockets. Her mouth fell agape with shock and her eyes widened into what looked tremendously like saucers.

"Is it the alcohol or is Five at the door?" She mumbled as though Allison and Klaus could hear her from the living room, but they couldn't. There was only Five that heard her, his smile staying as she blinked wearily at him through her drunken stupor.

"It's not the alcohol." He reassured nonchalantly and watched as she just stood and stared at him like he was a figment of her wild imagination. "I'm real, Prim. It's me."

As it seemed to settle in, her eyes became significantly less cloudy for a moment and she gaped at the boy in front of her. His smile turned slightly awkward as they stood facing each other in silence for a bit too long but just as he was about to say something, she had launched forward and grabbed him into a tight hug. He let out a small noise as he was squeezed in her grip, but he made no move to try and escape.

"Oh my god." She murmured repeatedly, came back to hold his face and check over it before going in for another hug. Five, again, made no move to worm out of it and brought a hand to hover over her back before patting it twice comfortingly.

Five would never tell anyone of this. He pulled back when it had gone on for too long and Prim did too, though her eyes had gone slightly back to their cloudy version. A small laugh came from her and she grabbed his arm, yanking him into the house.

"Come on." She ushered and pulled him into the living room where an equally as drunk Klaus and Allison sat, laughing with each other before they looked up at the new people in the room. "Guys!"

"Oh my." Klaus said, raising a hand to his mouth as Allison smiled widely at her brother.

Five didn't react that much but let a smile tug at his lips anyway before speaking to them.

"Get dressed and grab whatever shit you need for today, we have somewhere to be."

•*•*•*•*•
A/N: reunion next chapter and I'm sO EXCITED. I figured out how to write the Lila thing so be ready !!