Klaus cuts Ben a look at that, because he knows how that conversation must have happened, but the rest of what Ben says makes Klaus run cold. Anxiety sprouts up behind his chest and he swallows hard. This particular situation never occured to him, and the guilt threatens to overwhelm him. The same kind of guilt that made him do what he did in the first place.

"You'll be fine," he says thickly, brow furrowing as he looks out at the water. "Pretty sure they'll all be too busy hating my guts to feel awkward around you."