"Louis?"
He was looking for something. He didn't know what, but he was looking for something. There was a whole crowd of people, all of them ignoring him, but he felt he would be okay if he could just spot whatever he was searching for.
"Louis…?"
Whatever it was, he hoped he found it soon. It was dark outside, and something bad was going to happen if he couldn't. He just knew that something terrible was coming. He could hear its growl, feel it looking at him, sense the way it was getting ready to pounce. But he kept staring ahead, and he kept looking. He had to find-
"Louis?"
Something touched his shoulder, and his eyes flew open as he flinched back. His heart pounded, but he gradually became aware of the desk beneath him, and his breathing began to slow as he pulled himself upright in his chair. He was alright. It was morning, and he was in the firehouse. Not… not back there.
"Louis, did you sleep here?"
He looked up, and it was Janine. Oh, right, that was… that… what had he been thinking about again? He was still groggy, and it was hard to say. Well, never mind. He rubbed at his eyes and sent a quick glance around the room, just to be certain, before answering her question. "Huh. Guess I did."
"I thought you'd already left when I closed up last night." She noted. She didn't go over to her own desk, but instead stayed to lean against his. "You really shouldn't let them talk you into working so late. People have a right to sleep, you know."
He started to fidget with his hands as he looked down. He didn't know how to explain that no one had asked him to work late. He just figured that there were forms that had to be… well, they didn't really need the ones he'd been working on, but he might as well… and it never hurt to have copies, and…
He just… he liked work, and he didn't like going home again. Work had things to do, and ways he could help, and most importantly, it was where he spent time with people. Even when no one else was there, he could at least remember the things that happened during the day. Home was just plain old empty. It made him feel exhausted when he had to spend the whole evening with no one to talk to and no one to do anything with. But as far as he knew, no one else seemed to feel the same way about their job, and he didn't know what she'd think of him if he said that sort of thing out loud.
He assumed she would have been wandering off again by then, but he looked up and she was still there.
"Is everything okay?" She questioned him. "You were muttering in your sleep. Something about 'let me in'?"
"Oh, i-it's nothing." He assured her. She didn't look like she quite believed him, so he gave what he was pretty sure was a convincing smile. She held his gaze, and it became a little more genuine. Things already felt better now that he wasn't in the huge empty space by himself. "Everything's great now. Promise."
She considered for a moment, and seemed to decide to believe him, at least for the moment. "I'm gonna go put some coffee on. You want any?"
"Thanks, but I'm alright."
She gave him one last look, and then finally left to wander over to the coffee pot. He was a little surprised to hear that she hadn't made any already. He hadn't been working there long, but he'd already learned that it was almost never a good idea to talk to her before she'd had her first cup in the morning. He hadn't tried it himself, but the looks she gave to some of the guys had been downright murderous.
He usually preferred to stick to his mineral water. Studies showed that most people didn't keep themselves nearly hydrated enough, so he always tried to make sure he got the recommended amount every day. Though he did think all the coffee made it smell nice by Janine's desk. That was the thing about people, as far as he was concerned. They didn't usually live according to the facts and statistics he was used to, and it made them harder to understand. But even if they made things more complicated, they always seemed to make life better when they were around.
"We accept certified cash, check, or money order!"
No matter how many times it happened, Louis couldn't help thinking that there had to be a better way of getting a few words in than frantically chasing the car down as it went screeching out of the building. He wasn't sure what else to do, though. He could never manage to get a word in before they left either.
Everything he'd read about fitting in at work seemed to say that getting ignored was usually caused when you were afraid to talk to people. He didn't think that was his problem, exactly. He liked talking just fine. But somehow, he could never figure out how to get anyone to listen.
As he wandered back into the firehouse to get back to work, Louis was grateful that a lot of his job was something he could do with his eyes shut, because he was finding it hard to concentrate. The whole time he was sorting and gathering papers, he kept hearing that siren echo in his head, and he continued to imagine what the guys must be doing. There were a lot of things he admired about the Ghostbusters. They knew all sorts things he couldn't begin to understand, they had a self-assurance he couldn't imagine possessing, and he knew that they had to be brave to do this sort of job. But more than anything, what made him want to be just like them was the way they were all friends.
He knew that he was never the one they were talking to when they'd say things like, "Get a move on everybody, we've got another job to do." But there were other times when it would be things like, "Come on everybody, let's go get a pizza," or "Car's running again, everybody get in and let's go for a spin." He'd always look up and find himself hoping that maybe they meant him too. So far, they never even seemed to notice him when he tried to ask. They were too busy talking with each other, he supposed. And he understood. They knew each other a lot better than they knew him. He didn't let it bother him. Well, he… he tried not to let it bother him.
Maybe it was just that he'd never really felt like part of an "everybody" before. He really wanted to, though. Maybe he just had to be patient and some sort of opportunity would come along.
As distracted as he was, he was still very used to living his life on a schedule, and he knew exactly when it was time for the best part of the day.
"Janine, lunch!"
But even that wasn't quite enough to cheer him up. They were awful busy, and he might have to work through the whole thing instead of getting to put everything aside to talk to her. This day was really starting to stink. Really, really starting to stink. Geez, that smell was terrible. That wasn't just the day, was it? It seemed like something in the room had to be absolutely rancid. What on earth…?
"Boy, it smells like somebody took a big…"
He finally looked up from the file in his hands, and immediately found his lunch being shoveled into the mouth of some big, slimy, green… thing.
For just a moment, he stood there frozen, mind scrambling and failing to figure out what to do. But then it started to turn towards him, and he knew exactly what to do. In his limited experience with the paranormal, the best thing to do when facing a creature with beady eyes and a huge jaw was to get away as fast as humanly possible.
He didn't make it very far. Stupid couch. Left out where anyone could trip over it.
Well, he supposed it was still better than that wall he'd fallen over when the dog was chasing him. That thing was a lot steeper than it looked from the other side.