A/N The main purpose of this chapter is to fill in the back story on Eugene. I've done it mostly through narration, so I do hope you don't mind the lack of dialogue.

As Time Goes By

Chapter 22

Eugene gives his slender legs a good stretch and kicks them out from under the blanket he's been using for the past month or so. He rests his feet on the arm of the couch while his head rests at the other end. At first he didn't mind cramming his long frame into a makeshift bed that really could have been a few inches longer for comfort, but as the weeks went on, the novelty of camping out on Sheena's couch had begun to wear thin.

Over on the coffee table his phone gives a silent rattle, signifying the arrival of a text message. Normally he would wonder who it was that would be messaging him so early in the morning, but with the three hour time difference between New York and Washington, he knows that it is most likely Jeremy.

The man has been keeping tabs on Eugene since the first day of his impromptu need to visit his home town, and has ever since tried, unsuccessfully, to find out when he'll be coming home.

Eugene looks at the illuminated screen, confirming his intuition that the text is from Jeremy, and lets out a heavy sigh. He knows that sooner or later he is going to have to explain his recent odd behavior, but not today. Picking up the phone, he reads Jeremy's message before sending back his usual answer. "Good morning to you, too. I'm doing well. I know next week is Valentine's Day, and I'm sorry that I'm going to miss sharing it with you. I still don't know how much longer I'll be out this way, and I really need you to promise that you'll hold on just a little longer. Oops, I think I hear Sheena calling me, I have to go. I love you, Jeremy, and will talk to you soon."

Of course the bit about Sheena was a lie, and he does his best to rationalize it in his mind. "Sure, I may have just lied to Jeremy, but it was just a small one so that's okay, right?"

Feeling guilty now for lying to the one person that he's ever truly loved, he throws his phone back onto the coffee table and pushes himself up to a sitting position. It's early still, and the morning sun is just starting to peek through the windows of the small apartment. Doing his best to be as quiet as he can, he heads to the bathroom to clean up and get dressed. Once done, he takes the blanket and pillow he's been using and neatly places them into the hall closet. He shoves his phone and keys into the pockets of his jeans and briefly considers leaving a note for Sheena. Not wanting her to worry, he finds a notepad and jots down a quick "Have some business to take care of, I'll see you tonight for dinner, my treat. Eugene."

Once out on the sidewalk, he takes a deep, cleansing breath in, and closes his eyes as he slowly lets it out. He loves Sheena as she has become very much the sister he never had, and Stefan has been great, but he can tell that his extended stay is beginning to wear on the couple. His original plan was to only be in Hillwood for no more than a week, but the longer he stayed, the harder it became to leave the town he called home for so much of his life. He thinks about the man who is so patiently waiting for him back in New York, and he hates himself for putting Jeremy through this.

xxxxx

When he left Hillwood all those years back he was young and naïve enough to think that moving to a place like New York would be a breeze, and that finding his dream job would be a piece of cake. Never in his life would he have guessed at the things he would have to resort to just to put food on the table. It wasn't long before he found himself waiting tables at a not so reputable bar in a pretty shady part of town. The bar's clientele consisted mostly of older men, looking for a sweet little something to take back to the one hour no-tell motel at the other end of the block.

When he took the job Eugene swore to himself that it was temporary, and that under no circumstances would he ever end up like the rest of his work mates, serving the men that came in for more than just drinks. But living in the city is not cheap, and if he wanted to keep a roof over his head and not end up on the streets, he found that he couldn't do it on waiting tables alone.

So went his first year away from Hillwood. His days were spent pounding the pavement, going from one casting call to another, with his nights consisting of clandestine meetings in back alleys and seedy motel rooms. As was the custom, if an offer to meet up was to take place at one of the local motels, the customer would discreetly place his hotel key on the table, underneath Eugene's tip. It would then be left to his discretion to either accept the offer or not. He always started the night telling himself no, but the money was good and hard to pass up. After all, it's not like offers of acting jobs were flooding his inbox, but with each offer he accepted a small piece of his soul would fade away to nothingness.

It was on one of these nights when, unbeknownst to Eugene, his future was to be changed forever. His shift started out like any other, slinging cheap drinks and greasy finger foods when a newcomer entered the bar. He had a way about taking in his surroundings that told Eugene that it was his hope to go unnoticed by the rest of the bar's clientele. He chose a dark booth in Eugene's section, and was quick to busy himself on his phone.

Hoping that the guy would just have a quick beer or two then leave, Eugene put on his best smile and walked up to take his order. He studies the stranger's face, almost certain that he's seen the man somewhere before. He places a cocktail napkin down on the table, getting the man's attention. Their eyes lock, and the intensity in the man's stare causes a shiver to run up Eugene's spine. He finds he must clear his throat in order to speak. "Wh-what'll it be?"

Without breaking the stare, the man gives Eugene his order. "Just give me whatever beer you have on tap, and a bowl of peanuts would be nice."

Eugene gives a slow nod of his head before turning to retrieve the man's beer. It's a busy night so he goes behind the bar to get the beer himself. As he's filling the glass his co-worker, Jack, stands across from him, nodding his head at the newcomer. "Looks like we got a fresh one in tonight, you ever see him in here before?"

Eugene shakes his head while keeping an eye on the stranger. "No, but I swear I've seen his face somewhere before."

"Well, he looks like money to me, I can tell from here that that's at least a $10,000 watch he's wearing. If his objective was to blend in then he's totally missed the mark."

Eugene shifts his eye from the man's face to the glint of light that sparks off of the watch on his wrist, wondering how he missed that tidbit of information. "Curious." He says under his breath.

"What was that?" Jack inquires.

Eugene fills a bowl with peanuts and walks out from behind the bar. "N-nothing, it was nothing. I better get this guy his beer."

He starts to walk away when Jack grabs onto his upper arm, stopping him. "Well, if he makes you any offers you're not interested in, I'll gladly take him off your hands for you."

Eugene looks from his co-worker to his customer and gives a small nod of his head. "Yeah, I'll let you know."

Four beers and two bowls of peanuts later the man readies himself to leave. Grabbing his wallet, he takes out two, crisp hundred dollar bills, placing them on top of a key card that Eugene recognizes as belonging to a particular motel not too far from the bar. His hand hovers over the tip for a brief moment while he decides what to do. The amount surprises him as it is more than twice the amount that he usually receives, and he wonders just what he will need to do to earn it.

As always, his first thought is to decline the offer, but he is hungry and overdue on his rent, and two hundred dollars would go a long way to solving that. So, turning off his conscience and going into survival mode, he nods to the man. "I get off at two." Is all he says before turning and walking away. He doesn't look back, and heads to the bar to finish out his shift.

Later that night he makes sure that the man has fallen asleep before quietly getting out of the bed. He silently gets dressed and slips out of the room thinking that this will be the last he will see of him. He was wrong in his thinking when, a few nights later, the man returns to the bar and sits in the same booth as before. Again Eugene accepts his generous proposal, and so it goes for the next few weeks.

As time went on Eugene found himself becoming more relaxed around the man and he quickly learned his likes and dislikes, and it was around week four when he made Eugene an offer he couldn't refuse.

Over the course of the past four weeks, Eugene discovered why the man was so familiar to him on that first night. As luck would have it, he turned out to be none other than Maxwell Singleton, Broadway's number one agent to the stars. He saw something in Eugene that first night, and he knew that with a little grooming, the young man could go on to be famous. He wanted Eugene, both as a partner and a client, so when the time felt right, he talked him into quitting his job and moving in with him.

He promised Eugene fame and riches, and he was good on his word. When rumor had it that one of the lead actors in the play Rats was on the verge of being kicked from the cast, Max was on top of it, and using his reputation of only representing the best, he easily secured the role for Eugene.

It was at this point that things really started to turn around for Eugene. He played the part to perfection, getting multiple curtain calls every night. He was hailed as Broadways newest rising star, with fan mail from both men and women pouring in to the point that there was no way he could ever read it all. He was on the cover of magazines and gossip rags alike, with only half of the headlines ringing true.

The more famous he became, the more his confidence grew, and it was with this new found confidence that he finally admitted to Max that he was never really happy with their living arrangements, and that he would be moving out by the end of the week.

Max surprised Eugene by understanding his need to be on his own, and let him leave without a fight. After all, he knew that at some point shooting stars have got to break away and soar on their own. He only hoped that Eugene would be careful not to fly too far too fast and risk burning out.

Finally on his own, Eugene quickly took to the lifestyle of the rich and famous. Now, instead of spending his late nights in some seedy motel, satisfying the depraved cravings of one John after another, his nights were filled with parties, and opening night galas where he would rub elbows with the crème de la crème of the entertainment world.

It was at one of these parties that he met Jeremy, a fellow thespian, and a big part of the Broadway scene. The two immediately hit it off, and a month later Jeremy had moved into Eugene's penthouse apartment in the heart of the entertainment district. They were inseparable and after a while you could not bring up one without mentioning the other. They were in love and the world was their oyster.

To look at Eugene from the outside, he seemed like the kind of guy who didn't have a care in the world, and you would never know that it was all just a cover, used to mask not just a lifetime of insecurities, but also a deep guilt over the things he resorted to in the past, all done in an effort to just make ends meet. He was honest with Jeremy, and told him everything the very moment they became a couple, and it only made him love the man even more, when Jeremy accepted his past and insisted that they put it behind them.

It worked for a while, but soon the guilt came creeping back. Like a thief in the night it snuck up on Eugene, causing him to doubt not only himself, but his relationship with Jeremy too. He kept it bottled up inside, not wanting to give voice to the demons that started haunting him. He started becoming distant, and would sometimes go for days with barely saying a word to anyone. If Jeremy would ask him about it he would become irritated and snap at him, then afterwards feel guilty. He began to convince himself that he was undeserving of the life he was living, and that deep down he would never be more than that waiter, exchanging tips for services down some back alleyway or rundown motel.

It finally got to a point where he just needed to get away. Away from the gilt and the glamour of Broadway and back to his roots. Back to the Eugene he once was. He needed to go back home. So he carelessly packed a duffle bag and said his good-byes to Jeremy. He told Jeremy that he was taking time off to clear his head and find himself, and he promised that he would only be gone a week at the most. Jeremy offered to accompany him, but Eugene refused, saying that this was something he needed to do on his own. He didn't have any idea what he would do once he arrived in Hillwood, and didn't even think to tell anyone that he was coming.

xxxxx

He looks up at the Hillwood sky now, taking a second breath in. He starts walking to the corner bus stop, popping in his earbuds while he waits for the 15 bus to the docks to arrive. He's been secretive about where he goes during the day and when asked where he's been he usually will just shrug and say "Oh, I've just spent the day out and about." In reality, though, his day most likely was spent either standing on the pier, staring out at the horizon, or visiting one of the establishments that line the small boardwalk.

Today is a special day, though, and he has an appointment to keep that could, once again, change the course of his future. It's a secret he's been keeping from Jeremy ever since his first visit back to the docks, and he hopes that in time, Jeremy will come to understand what it is that made him come to this decision. It is also his hope that in doing so, he won't lose the man for good.

xxxxx

Arnold sits at a desk in Gerald's classroom, a turkey and cheese sandwich and a Yahoo soda make up his lunch. Gerald sits at his own desk munching on a piece of cafeteria pizza. Gerald questions his friend on his upcoming Valentine's Day plans. "So, were you lucky enough to get a reservation anywhere in Hillwood for Friday night?"

Arnold nods his head and swallows his bite of sandwich. "Yeah, actually I was. It was just luck that I was able to snag the very last reservation at Chez Paris, but unfortunately it's kind of early. For dinner that is. The only time they had left was five o'clock."

Gerald takes a bite of pizza and talks through a full mouth. "Well that's better than nothing. What about the kids? Who'd you get to watch them?"

"I would have called Tonya, but she's still away at college, so I called Helga's mom instead."

Gerald looks at Arnold trying to read the expression on his face. "You don't seem happy about asking her. Is there a problem? She's not drinking again, is she?"

Not meaning to have given Gerald the wrong idea, Arnold is quick to shake his head. "No! No, not at all. She's still clean, and doing really well with it."

"Then why the long face?"

"Well, I'm just not sure if Helga's really comfortable with leaving the kids with a sitter is all. I mean, Joy isn't even two months old yet, and with Helga nursing. I just wonder if it'd be better to bring food in and have a quiet dinner at home."

Gerald looks at Arnold as if he's crazy. "A quiet dinner? With two kids? Not to mention that this is the night that you and she will finally be able to get back to a little belly-bumping."

Arnold lets out a chuckle. "Belly-bumping?"

"Yeah, you know, some burying the weasel, a little dipping the wick, some –"

"Okay, okay!" Arnold says, cutting him off with a smile. "I get it. We're finally going to be able to start having sex again. Still, though, with dinner being so early, I hope Helga doesn't just decide to pick up the kids and bring them home after we eat."

Gerald throws the paper that his pizza was on into the garbage can, takes a swig of his soda and lets out a loud burp. "Come on, Arnold, I know Helga, and I know that she's just as anxious to get back at things as you are. Besides, how can you have wild, passionate sex with two kids in the house?"

Arnold gets a little defensive with his answer. "Well, Helga managed to get pregnant with Joy with Phillip in the house, right?"

"That may be so, but come on, tell the truth. The sex is a lot less wild and crazy when you have a kid to watch out for, right?"

"Well, I – I."

Gerald raises an eyebrow at Arnold. "RIGHT?"

Leaning back in his chair, Arnold gives up the fight. "Yes, you're right. The sex is not quite as wild when you're trying to keep the noise down or not be walked in on."

The smug look on Gerald's face tells Arnold that he's lost the battle. "Exactly." The bell rings, causing both men to check the clock on the wall. "Heh. That was a quick hour. Anyway, you just stop worrying about things and concentrate on rocking Helga's world and everything will be okay."

Arnold gets up just as Gerald's students start streaming into the classroom. He throws his garbage into the trash can and says his good-byes. "Whatever you say, Mr. Johannsen. I'll see ya after school."

Gerald gives him a quick fist bump. "Later, Bro."

Arnold slowly walks back to his office thinking about his conversation with Gerald. He decides that his friend is right, and it will do him and Helga good to have some alone time. With that settled he finally lets himself get lost in all the possibilities a night without kids could bring, and is suddenly very anxious for the 14th to arrive.