(Totally not)
Lucas stirred a couple hours later and yawned a bit. He noticed the note and picked it up. He recognized Melissa's handwriting, but his blurry vision made it pretty difficult to actually read the note. He assumed she just informed him that she'd gone to school.
He yawned again and stood up unsteadily. He was hungry and he wasn't about to try and make Melissa's dad wait on him, so he decided to go and do it himself. About halfway down the stairs, he tripped and tumbled down the rest of them with a yelp, laying dazed at the bottom once he landed.
After a few seconds, the sound of a door opening and shoes on the wooden floor could be heard from the top of the stairs. At seeing Lucas, Mr. Brennahan froze up and quickly made his way down the stairs. "Lucas? What happened?" He asked, his tone laced with worry as he kneeled down next to him. "Are you alright?"
"Mmmm…" Lucas pushed himself up so he wasn't just laying on the ground, still seeming very disoriented. He glanced over his shoulder and noticed that he was now at the bottom of the stairs instead of the top. "W-Well, that part's kinda fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure I fell." He hummed thoughtfully.
Most of his concerned wavered, as a light laugh came through. "I think that's the most logical explanation." Mr. Brennahan said softly, holding a hand out to Lucas. "Come on, let's get you back on your feet, and then figure out what you were doing."
Lucas accepted Mr. Brennahan's hand and allowed him to help him up. When he was back on his feet, he was still swaying and incredibly unsteady. "Um… I think I was gonna go make food and I didn't wanna bother you… that part is kinda fuzzy too, though."
Once the he was standing, he slowly started to lead him over to the couch. "It would have been no bother. It would have been a bigger bother if you had gotten seriously hurt when you fell. I'd have to deal with Melissa's… mood swings." Mr. Brennahan said with a light chuckle, sitting Lucas down. "I have a feeling she would be upset that I hadn't stopped you."
"Yeah… I'm, uh… kinda accident prone, if you haven't noticed." Lucas laughed weakly, sighing once he was sitting. "I-I really didn't want to bother you, though… I mean, you always look so busy and what you're doing is probably really important and I've really got no right to pester your when you're busy…"
"If that's what you think, then I'm gonna have to give you a pass. You and Melissa are best friends, I'm going to care about you, the same way I care about her. Anything important to her, is important to me. So please, don't worry about bothering me." Mr. Brennahan said softly, sitting down next to him. "I wasn't even that busy, so let me get you something to eat. Do you want something specifically?"
Lucas flushed a bit and seemed to get pretty flustered. "O-Oh, um… you… you really don't have to, s-sir, I… uh… I-I can… I can do it, I don't… I don't wanna inconvenience you or anything, sir, um…" He stammered nervously, staring intently at the floor.
(Meanwhile, Melissa's dad: calm down it's just food)
(That's about it lol)
"Woah, hey. Don't worry about it. I've got a couple minutes. I need to eat something too." Mr. Brennahan said gently, resting a hand on his knee. "Besides, you just fell down the stairs. I don't know if I want you trying to use the stove." He hummed lightly with a smile.
Lucas looked up at Mr. Brennahann nervously, his heart racing. He was clearly not used to being treated kindly, especially by someone that he could consider a father figure. "I-I just… really don't want to cause you any trouble, sir…" He said weakly.
(Okay but he would cause more trouble if he set fire to himself and/or the house by like, passing out on the stove)
His smile dropped some as he started to stand up. "Seriously, it's no trouble kiddo. Like I said, I need to make my own breakfast. If you're alright with toast, then I'll just make extra for you to have." Mr. Brennahan insisted, starting to make his way back into the kitchen. "You need to eat."
(Mmm, that's the truth right there.)
"Y-Yes, sir… thank you, sir." Lucas fidgeted nervously on the couch, trying to figure out whether his lightheadedness was from the concussion, the anxiety, or from falling down the stairs. Quite possibly all three.
Chuckling lightly, he started the toast and came back. Leaning on the frame of the living room entrance, he smiled lightly at Lucas. "Of course, Lucas. Do you need anything else? Medicine, a drink?" He offered, giving him a soft look.
"U-Um… Ibuprofen or something would be nice if it's not too much trouble…" Lucas said softly. "The pain meds are pretty nice, actually… we never had any at my house. Melissa says I needed them."
"I have to agree with her. Though, you wanna be careful how much you take." Mr. Brennahan hummed, starting down the hall. Coming back, he held out his hand with one Ibuprofen pill in his hand. "I'll grab you something to take it with."
"Right… she said you had to wait like, six hours or something. The last time I took any was yesterday when I was in the nurse, so I'm pretty sure it's safe now. Correct me if I'm wrong, though… maybe you have to build up more of a tolerance to it if you're not used to taking it?"
(Honestly, I'm realizing that a lot of things Lucas says would sound sarcastic from anyone else, but he's legitimately confused lol)
"You should be fine. It's almost been twenty four hours, as long as you don't take any more for awhile, you'll be fine." Mr. Brennahan hummed, handing him the pill before walking into the kitchen. After a couple of seconds, he came back in with a glass of water.
"Okay, thank you, sir." Lucas accepted the water and medicine and swallowed the pill. And then he suddenly looked worried. "Wait, I'm not gonna die or anything, right? Melissa said it's bad to take medicine on an empty stomach…" He said nervously.
Mr. Brennahan froze up a bit, turning back to Lucas. "No, no don't worry. It's just not typically a good idea. As long as you eat something, you should be fine." He told him, hearing a slight ding from the toaster. "You're not going to die."
Lucas nodded, seeming a little bit reassured. Mr. Brennahan probably knew what he was talking about, after all. "Okay… if you say so, sir…" He fidgeted a bit and tried not to think too much. It hurt his head, anyway.
(Me, not knowing for sure, even after trying to find actual answers: Yeah. Of course he isn't going to die. Ehheheh…)
Nodding softly, Mr. Brennahan headed into the kitchen. Once he got both their food set, he brought in both plates. "Just butter alright with you?" He asked, coming up and holding out a plate to Lucas. "I can put something on it if you'd prefer. Though I wasn't sure how much your stomach could handle right now."
(He's fiiiine)
"That's fine with me sir, thank you. I'm really not too picky…" Lucas accepted the plate from Mr. Brennahan. He hesitated for several seconds. "You're a lot nicer than my dad. I'm sorry I always act so nervous around you…"
(Ehhhh, we hope… if I'm the reason he dies-)
Mr. Brennahan smiled lightly, sitting down next to him. "It's alright, I understand. It never really bothers me, I know how you grew up. I wouldn't really expect anything else from you." He told him in a soft tone. The way he looked at Lucas, he tried to show he wasn't upset with him. "It's completely reasonable. I just want you to know I'm not going to hurt you."
(Lmao)
Lucas smiled weakly. "And… and I know you'd never hurt me, sir. You've never done anything of the sort, and you don't seem like you will. I'm just being irrational… you're nothing like my dad besides being roughly the same height."
Laughing lightly, he gave a soft smile. "That's good to know. Though don't feel bad about being nervous. Half the time fear is irrational, I myself found that out the hard way." Mr. Brennahan told Lucas, starting to eat his food.
"Yeah…" Lucas took a bite of his toast, tapping his foot on the ground anxiously. He was quiet for a bit. "All I ever really wanted was to make him proud… even after he started being abusive. He always favored my brother. He always compared me to him and he still does." He sighed a bit, staring at the ground. "I don't know why I care about his opinion so much… it's not like he's ever shown much interest in me, so why would he suddenly start now?"
