Lucas sighed softly as he looked up at the house. "Here we are…" The house was practically falling apart. It was decrepit and the shingles were in disarray. The windows were broken, the door was hanging off its hinges, and there were cracked beer bottles scattered around the yard.
Eugene's smile instantly dropped as he got a better look at things. "Are you sure this is right? It looks basically unlivable. Do you need somewhere to stay? I could probably find somewhere if you want."
"No, no. You've done so much already. Thank you." Lucas smiled weakly, though it was clearly forced. "I'll be alright. Don't worry about me. My father will be furious if I don't return home. Even more furious than he'll be about me being late today…"
"Well… if you're sure. Um, do you want my number?" Eugene asked, turning to Lucas with a small smile to brighten the atmosphere. He honestly hoped the other would agree. He also felt bad about not being able to help out more, so maybe this way he could do that.
"Oh! Um… yeah, that'd be great. Thank you." Lucas smiled weakly to try and reassure Eugene. "Then I can text you about the flowers and stuff… you mentioned wanting to."
Eugene nodded. "Perfect, can I have your phone so I can put in my phone number?" He glanced out the window to look at the sunflower field. It was beautiful. There was always something so… perfect about fields of flowers.
Lucas handed over his cell phone to Eugene. "Yeah, of course." He looked out the window as well after he'd given over his phone.
Quickly, he typed in his number and saved the contact. Eugene handed the phone back to Lucas and smiled. "Just text whenever then I'll have your number as well. See you around?"
"See you around. Thank you again for everything, Eugene." Lucas got out of the car and waved. He headed into the house. Soon after, a dull thud and a crash came from inside.
Eugene nodded and watched as Lucas left the car and went inside. He started his car just after the sound coming from the house. He winced, debating whether he should go inside and see if everything was okay. But he soon decided against it since that was probably a personal matter for Lucas and it wasn't his place to interfere.
Lucas managed to get to his room and curled up on his mattress on the floor. Everything hurt, but he figured that he'd still be able to sleep just fine. He'd still be able to go to school tomorrow, so he'd be alright.
A few minutes later, Eugene pulled into his driveway and silently slipped inside. His sister was still awake, there was light spilling under the door to her room. Gene knocked very lightly to let her know he was home before going to his own room.
(Time skip?)
(Yeah :)
(I'm gonna assume that they go to the same school)
Lucas walked to school the next day, attempting to hide his limp. He had a bruise nearly visible over the collar of his hoodie, but he kept tugging at the fabric to try and keep it concealed.
(Yeah I was thinking the same thing.)
Eugene strode into the school in a surprisingly good mood. His koi fish tattoos on display because of a button-up shirt, the top few buttons undone. Today was the volleyball team's first home game and he was ecstatic.
Lucas noticed Eugene and headed over to him, smiling weakly. "Hey, Eugene. How are you?" He asked, putting his hands in his hoodie pocket. "Got home okay last night?"
"Oh hello!" Eugene said in a sing-song voice. He smiled seeing Lucas and stopped walking to talk. "I sure did, I would ask you the same, but I took you home so nevermind that." He remembered the sounds he heard from Lucas' house, but he quickly thought about something else.
Lucas laughed weakly. "Yeah… um… what classes do you have today? I think we might be in some of the same classes, actually. We just didn't really talk to each other before yesterday."
"Umm, let's see. I have AP English, Drama, World History, Pre Calc, and I'm a TA in the cooking class. And yeah I'm pretty sure we do have a few together. I have to leave World History a bit early since it's my last class and I have to get ready for the boy's volleyball's first home game." Eugene explained with a bright smile all the while.
Lucas nodded, still smiling gently as he listened to Eugene. "Yeah, we've got a couple periods together. And I've got baseball practice after school, so that should hopefully be good…"
"How long does baseball practice last?" Eugene asked, hoping it wouldn't be too late. There were 2 games, junior varsity and varsity. The varsity game was second and that was the one Eugene was part of. He almost wanted Lucas to watch the game, especially with it being the first home game of the season.
"Um… few hours, but it's usually over before seven. Why?" Lucas asked curiously, cocking his head to the side a bit as he did so. "Any particular reason or just wondering?"
"Well, I was kind of wondering if you would come to the volleyball game tonight. Since it's the first home game. I'm on the varsity team so we play after the other team. If you were interested in watching, I bet you'd arrive just in time to watch my game." Eugene explained, smiling brightly.
"Oh! Yeah, that could be fun!" Lucas grinned a bit more brightly as well. "I can try to come, no problem. I've never been to a volleyball game before! Is it fun?"
"Well, I'm not sure how fun it is to watch, but I absolutely love to play it. The feeling when the ball hits my palm is one of the best feelings in the world." Eugene was remembering the feeling of a successful spike, lifting his palm up a little, then clenching it into a fist and dropping it to his side again.
Lucas nodded in understanding, still smiling. "Yeah, I feel the same way with baseball sometimes. It's… satisfying, in a way. And really good for venting your frustrations and stuff. Hitting things in general is apparently good for that… and it distracts me, so that helps too."
"But the worst thing is when you're confident the spike will get through but the blockers block it perfectly and they score for their team. That just brings down everyone's spirits." Eugene spoke as he remembered a few of the times that happened to himself. "If that happens too many times, the whole team is discouraged and we don't play as well."
Lucas nodded again. "Yeah… I don't think I'd do too well with volleyball. I'd probably freak out if the ball ever came my way, especially with how hard people hit it." He laughed weakly.
"I was definitely like that in middle school, but it just looked so cool so I stuck with it and here I am, one of the strongest spikers on the team. I've gotten plenty of bloody noses and bruised arms in the process though. Don't think I've gotten this far unscathed." Eugene laughed a little as well, keeping up his bright smile.