Chapter Text
Luke didn’t get a chance to talk to Eugene the next day.
“Hey, Eugene!” Luke called out. The boy in question flinched, but responded with a shaky “hello” nonetheless. He backed off after that. In Luke’s experience with stray cats on the street, you have to push through a little at a time. Too much at once is overwhelming. Not that he’s calling Eugene a cat, of course, but the similarities are too strong to be ignored
He had been planning on asking him if the other boy wanted to eat lunch with them, but decided against it after seeing the state Eugene was in. Had he… always looked that tired? Did Luke never notice before because he didn’t pay attention to him? Luke sighed in defeat. It wasn’t his place to ask. He’d try again tomorrow.
Luke was in a fairly good mood the next day. He was excited! Ready to face the day-- and (hopefully) Eugene.
“Hi.” He greeted as he went to take his seat. Eugene jumped, but there not nearly as much as before. Progress!
“Oh- hi, Luke,” The other responded. His other two friends smiled at the interaction.
“You look bright today, Luke,” Oliver noted. Luke nodded happily.
For the most part, he had gotten over the guilt he’d had towards Kitty’s death. He still missed the little guy, and he always would. Still, seeing Hayden interact with Kitty as he had relieved most of his worries- Luke knew that Kitty would be taken care of.
“I got 10 hours of sleep last night and the world looks different today,” he finally responded. “This is why people need to sleep well.”
“R… Right. Sleep is important,” Eugene agreed. Luke grinned. “Right? I told you so.”
He might have imagined it, but for a split second, he thought he saw a ghost of a smile flitter across the smaller boy’s face before it turned to something more… troubled?
Luke didn't get a chance to talk to him for the rest of the day.
Luke almost didn’t get a chance to talk to Eugene the day after that, either. Almost.
He waved at Eugene in class. The boy in question didn’t respond-- which would have been fine and normal, but… it was like he was barely moving at all. (like when he lost Kitty.)
It only got worse throughout the day. He was just... sitting there. Despondent.
Luke was concerned, but as has been proven, he isn't always the best with feelings.
He confided in Joy and Oliver about it later over lunch.
“Isn't it obvious?” Joy asked, taking another bite out of her sandwich. Luke groaned.
“If it was, then I wouldn’t be stressing about it now.”
“No, you definitely would be. I would know because you’re doing it right now.” Joy stated matter-of-factly. He glared at her. She's right, but he doesn't need to hear what he already knows.
“Why don’t you just… talk to him?” Oliver suggested. Luke shook his head.
“It’s not that simple.”
“It is.” Joy said.
“It definitely is.” Oliver agreed.
Is it?
Is it? Luke thought about it some more. He hadn’t tried asking Eugene to talk about his problems because he was afraid he would close himself off more, but…
Eugene isn’t a cat.
Maybe he's been going about it the wrong way? He'd been treating it the same way he would finding a stray cat on the streets (which are, admittedly, not the same as dealing with cat-like people.)
Eugene is his friend. Or at least, Luke wants him to be.
And right now, Luke thinks, what Eugene needs right now is a friend who’s willing to listen.
Luke tracked him down to one of the local playgrounds. He was still sitting there, with the same lost expression on his face. Luke took a deep breath and approached.
“Hey.”
Eugene jumped, visibly shaken. (Not that this wasn’t a common occurrence for the boy, but it was more so than usual.)
“Yup,” Luke nodded. “Can I sit next to you?”
“Okay…”
Luke smiled. “Haha. I just thought you were quiet today," he said, and then: "Are you alright?”
Eugene stared at him for a long moment, before turning to look down at his hands. Luke doesn't think he pushed any boundaries, but the anxiety is still there.
Luke was about to offer to leave when the Eugene finally spoke up.
“Y… you know… um… so this happened to me recently.”
Luke breathed out a quiet sigh of relief. “Yeah?”
“Um… so I owe something to someone… and so I’ve been helping out at his… office as a part-time job.”
“And?”
Eugene gave a small smile. “I really enjoyed working there. It was a bit...dangerous,”
That's... not good? Like, at all?
“...and the work stuff was all new but… they said I did well and complimented me… The people there are fun…”
“That’s good, knowing your personality,” Luke said, and he meant it. “I thought they’d take advantage of you or something.” He’s glad that isn’t the case. Not only would that end up hurting Eugene, but also themselves, when Luke finally got a hold of them.
“...So I went to work yesterday right after school…” Eugene frowned. “...and Boss suddenly got really mad and kicked me out.”
“Kicked you out?”
He nodded. “Yeah, he said that it was my fault, but that he is also r...responsible… and that he would forgive my debt so I should never come back.”
Debt? Never come back?
“Hmm… that Boss person is ridiculous.” Luke finally said.
“I was more mad… than feeling ridiculed.” Eugene’s voice started rising. “I still don’t understand why he did that!” He exclaimed.
Luke startled a little at the sudden outburst. Everyone's got to let it out at some point, right? “That makes… sense?”
“I know!”
They sat in silence for a moment, before Luke decided to speak up. There was something about what Eugene said that had bothered him.
“...Hey, about that, though. You said it was dangerous. How dangerous is it?”
“Um… it 's… um….” Eugene paused for a moment, thinking over his next words. Though the fact that you have to think about it at all is already concerning, Eugene.
“I might have to do this work forever… if I make a wrong move…?”
Ah. There it is.
“What?!” Luke exclaimed. “Isn’t that too dangerous?”
At this point, Luke thinks, it might be better to start looking into alternative ways to help Eugene. Starting with, for example, explaining to him that jobs that threaten one's life aren't really the best jobs to have oh my god Eugene-
“Huh?” Eugene looked back at him, confused. “Yeah, but… it’s been okay because the people there have been protecting me.”
Is... is Eugene in a gang? Like in those fanfics where the shy and quiet kid joins the gang and they end up becoming endeared to them so they protect the kid with their lives? Luke is pretty sure that it still isn't the best situation to be in, though...
(He should really stop letting Joy send him fic recommendations, he thinks. It's clouding his judgment.)
“It still means there’s a chance, though,” Luke told him. “You’re saying it like it’s nothing.”
“I… I did?” Eugene asked. “B..but…” He looked down again. “...a person like me… being useful enough to get complimented… doesn’t happen often.”
Oh.
Oh.
“...So it doesn’t really matter for me.”
There are a lot of things wrong with the combination of words that just came out of his mouth, but it does make sense in a sad, twisted way-- thinking about it from Eugene's point of view, anyway. Luke really wants to hug him, but past experiences with stray cats have taught him otherwise. It usually only worsens the situation.
“...When you went to work early, what did the boss say?” Luke asks.
“He didn’t say much. He just asked why I came so early.” Eugene responds.
“So what did you say?”
“I said… that I wanted to just stay there if I could.”
For some reason, Luke suddenly recalls a moment from a dream he'd had just a few nights ago- the one that first introduced him to Eugene.
- "I... it's Eugene. I s... sit next to you at school."
- "Eugene, you idiot! Why did you answer him? He's gonna ask questions later!
That kid- Hayden? - wasn't wrong. Luke does have questions he wants to ask.
“...Does Hayden work there, too?"
Eugene froze. “H-Huh?!”
They sat in silence for a few moments. Luke was about to tell him not to worry about it, but eventually, Eugene sighed and answered.
"...Yeah."
At the very least, this answered the question of what sort of "job" Eugene had going on. Sort of, anyway- Luke doesn't really know how dream-hopping works.
Luke thinks back to what Eugene told him about this "Boss" person. If he were to give him the benefit of the doubt, then...
“...a person like me… being useful enough to get complimented… doesn’t happen often...So it doesn’t really matter for me.”
He's probably trying to keep Eugene safe, too.
“You know,” Luke began, after some time, “I think I know why your boss said what he said.” He thought some more. “...But I can’t quite put it into words. Gosh.”
“Huh? M… maybe you don’t really understand, either.” Eugene said.
“Um…” No, he definitely understands, but-
Luke groaned. “How the hell do I explain this?” He sighed. “I can tell you that his decision to fire you wasn’t a bad one, though.”
Eugene’s expression darkened a bit, but he didn't say anything. Luke sighed, defeated.
“Ugh, no. I’m sorry, Eugene. But I can tell you this. Your boss said what he said because he was worried about you.”
Eugene remained silent. Damn it. Maybe Luke should have paid attention during all those writing and speaking classes. Maybe then he'd have a better idea of how to put words together in a way that makes sense.
“Anyway...I’m sorry I wasn’t helpful,” Luke said.
Eugene shook his head. “...N...no, thank you for talking with me.:
“And...be careful,” Luke warned, “Really, I’m worried.”
Eugene's eyes widened for a moment. He wasn't expecting that.
“See you tomorrow at school?” He asked.
Eugene nodded. “G...goodbye, Luke.”