Louis had lived in his new building for almost a year, and so far, "Operation: make friends with at least one neighbor" was not proving to be a success. He wasn't sure what he was doing wrong, exactly. He was really trying to be as polite and friendly as he possibly could, but he never got any more than a half-hearted smile as they rushed past. Often not even that. Maybe they were just busy.
Still, he wasn't giving up hope. A new couple had just moved in down the hall, which meant he had another chance for a fresh start. Determined to be the very definition of neighborly, he'd gone over with a casserole in hand and planned to introduce himself.
The door was opened by a rather tall man, which forced him to crane his neck as he stood out in the hallway. He plastered on a bright smile and nearly held out a hand to shake, but remembered at the last second that his hands were full and managed to avoid dropping anything, even if he fumbled it a little.
"Hello there! My name is Louis, and-"
The man looked down at what Louis was holding, scowled, and turned back to call out to the other person in his apartment. "Honey, I thought you said you were ordering pizza for dinner!"
"I did!" A voice from somewhere within the mountains of boxes responded.
"Well that's not what they sent us!"
Louis looked down at the casserole, realized what was going on, and then quickly began trying to explain. "Oh, no, I'm not a deliveryman, I-"
But the man wasn't paying any attention. "Are you sure you called the right place?"
"Yes, I'm sure! I know how to order take-out!"
"M-my name is Louis… I live just down the hall, and…"
"Well, somebody screwed up something! Maybe we oughta call the restaurant and demand a refund."
"Um… Sir, I…"
The man finally turned back to him and let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, alright." After a few moments of fishing in his pocket, he pulled out a crinkled bill and stuffed it into Louis's hands as he grabbed the large container from him. "Keep the change."
"I-I'm sorry, there's been a mistake. I'm really not-"
The door was promptly shut in his face, and the arguing continued on the other side.
"Sir, that's awful nice, but you really don't have to…" He continued trying to explain anyway. "I'm your neighbor…" He wasn't quite sure what to do, and after a few seconds of consideration, he decided to give the money back through the mail slot. "You, uh… you guys can feel free to stop by any time. I've always got mineral water and nutritious snacks around." He didn't get any response from the other side of the door. "Okay, well it was nice meeting you. Just let me know if you'd like any help unpacking."
Still nothing. They were probably too busy for him, too. He supposed he understood. Moving could be a stressful time.
And yet, he couldn't help feeling a little lonelier than usual as he made his way back to his own apartment. Especially when he realized that he was locked out again.
"Help! There's a bear loose in my apartment!"
He dreamt about that night a lot.
It hadn't taken long for his life to go back to normal after everything that happened. The Ghostbusters got a lot of attention, both negative and positive, and Dana had also appeared on TV for an interview every once in awhile. He wasn't really sure if anyone knew that he'd been there. And none of them ever said that he was. But it was alright, maybe they just forgot to mention it. Or maybe it just didn't seem important. And he should also be grateful that his life remained on track. He'd gotten a new apartment after his last one was destroyed, he'd gone back to work, and everything had settled back into place. Maybe he was just the sort of person that wasn't meant to have anything but a normal life.
"There's gotta be a way in…"
And still, the dreams persisted. It never happened exactly the way he remembered the real thing. The strangest thing was that he never actually saw the dog. He always knew it was coming, but he'd always wake up first, or the dream would just stop, and he never saw it. And for some reason, it didn't even scare him. It definitely seemed like the memory of a huge creature with blazing red eyes and giant, sharp teeth ought to keep a person up at night. But although he remembered it clearly while he was awake, it never showed up in his dreams.
"Please! Somebody! Let me in!"
But he always, always saw that giant wall of glass. He'd see the people that turned to look at him and stared right through him, like he was nothing more than an interruption to their meal and didn't deserve a second thought. And there were the people who didn't even look up at all. He might as well not have been there.
That was always the part when he'd wake up in a cold sweat, a feeling of panic nearly crushing his chest. He couldn't begin to explain why the dream terrified him the way it did. He just wished that maybe he had someone to talk to about it. His co-workers were always almost impossibly busy every time he tried to talk to them, and he didn't want to bother them. None of his clients were willing to come by any more, though he couldn't exactly blame them after what happened the last time. And he still wasn't having any luck with his neighbors, either.
He missed Dana, and he missed the times she would be willing to spare a few minutes to talk to him. Unlike anyone at his office, she even knew that his name wasn't Lucas. That definitely made her the closest friend he had. He wished they still lived nearby each other. But at least it was nice to know that she seemed to be doing well. He saw an announcement in the paper that she'd gotten married. And it… it sort of stung a little, to be honest, but he'd tried his best to bury those feelings. Being happy for her was the right thing to do. He hadn't been invited, but he sent them a nice set of kitchen utensils.
Over time, it wasn't even her in particular that he really missed. He just wanted people in his life.
On one of many nights when he'd woken up before two in the morning and found himself unable to fall back asleep, he'd finally decided that he'd had enough. And with no one else to turn to, he placed himself in front of his bathroom mirror to have a serious talk with himself.
"Alright Louis. Something's gotta change, and we both know it." He began. "Everyone knows you're supposed to average eight hours of sleep a night, and these dreams have been pushing you well below that. Now, you've tried warm milk, and you've tried sticking to the same routine every night, and you've tried just about everything else that's supposed to help, and nothing's working."
He paused to let out a tired breath and ran a hand down his face. "And it's more than that. You used to love going to work every day, and now you feel numb whenever you think about it. And I think I know why. Being in that accounting firm was something you felt good at, and you used to think that maybe you were helping people and making a difference. But now you've seen what real heroes look like, and they're the guys who get out there and take the risks no one else is willing to take. And now… now you have to wonder if anyone would even notice if you just didn't show up in your cubicle one day."
He looked up at the tired, frustrated reflection in the mirror, and found that he didn't like what he saw. Experimentally, he tried forcing a smile, and he decided that he liked that much better. "But you know what? I think there's no reason we can't fix things. I know that you've spent a lot of time wondering if change would ever come. But maybe change isn't something that's supposed to come, maybe it's something you're supposed to go find. So you just have to stop being afraid to go find it. And I think maybe we can find something where you really will make a difference. I've even got a few ideas in mind. We'll look into it in the morning."
He nodded at himself, feeling satisfied that his talk had gone well. He still didn't sleep very well, but at least he spent the night with his mind occupied with happier thoughts.