Charlie in Underworld

4

TW: passing of major character, blame for character's death, hateful behaviour

Eugene, true to his word showed up at work the next day. That meant for us the possibility to hang out in the main area. We were waiting for him to finish work, so we could go to visit Luke at the station. I told him our plan this morning.
"I wish Eugene would hurry up and finish workkk," pouted Hayden.
"He's not done yet?" Asked Charlie. "When does he finish work?"

"Eugene, you know yesterday..." Eugene's colleague was talking to my brother.
"Oh you mean the lights flickering in the office? You must've been startled haha..." he smiled.
"Why's he explaining? He could just play dumb..." noted Charlie.
"It's Eugene! He's Mr. Busybody and has to take care of every single thing. So he's very busy all the time." Explained Hayden.
"I took care of it. It'll be okay now." Eugene said.
The attendant said something about Eugene sleeping. I didn't really listen.

"Anyhow he should be off once this convo is over." I said.
"Eugeneee! Let's go!!!" Hayden jabbed into Eugene.
"Ugh!" He groaned. Getting jabbed by a ghost when you are in your physical body, isn't exactly a great experience.
"Hayden! You can't do that!" I reminded Hayden.
"Huh, what's up Eugene?" His colleague looked up from his work.
"Oh my side... I think my hair got in my shirt or something, it tickled all of the sudden..." he lied.
"Oh..."
"Hey if you tickle him when everyone is looking, he looks like a weirdo." Charlie said to Hayden.
"Hehe Eugene likes playing like this too!" Hayden giggled.
"That's weird. Well, to each their own." Sighed Charlie.

I stopped listening for a while and just looked outside the window. It was almost dark thanks to the coming winter.

"...Doesn't Charlie know? Cops! Investigations! Sirens! Interrogation rooms!" Hayden squealed. "A hot blooded new recruit and his lazy senior officer eat a doughnut as they patrol meaninglessly when they stumble upon a mysterious case..." he said with a dreamy look on his face.
"And the corrupt capitan secretly interferes?" Asked Charlie with a bored look.
"Oh! You know what you're talking about." Hayden said. "One day the culprit sends in a tape previewing his crime."
I just shook my head.

"Aren't you done yet?" Asked Charlie.
"Of course not! I saw a gazillion cop movies in the hospital."
Charlie looked shocked for a moment and then their expression softened.
"Then were cop movies your favorite?" They asked.
"No, second favorite. Hayden likes musical movies the most!" He said. "Look. A bunch of people are gathered around, chatting loudly. When a piano plays quietly somewhere." He started explaining another musical. "When the hero starts singing quietly from a far corner. And when they slowly walk out to the front the lights shine down on them." He even started demonstrating. "So the hero, standing right in the middle, stares straight at the camera, right? Then everyone watching starts to stand up just like the hero, right? And singing! Singing! Dancing! Singing!" He spun in the air. "Everyone sings and dances together like they were one! It's so so cool!" Smile beamed in his face. "Do you understand how wonderful musicals are now?" He asked Charlie.

"Uh huh. Sounds like a group madness but in a cool way." They said with a deadpan expression.
The two ghosts stared at each other for a minute.

"So... you watched tv all alone in the hospital everyday? What about your parents?" Charlie asked.

I eyed him warily. These topics weren't exactly on the random Monday afternoon conversation topics.

"Huh? Mommy and Daddy? They were always with me! Stray kitty would come visit me, too! I let him be my little brother." He smiled. "He died even before I did." His smile faltered.
"Anyway. Mommy likes coming to the hospital! She said the hospital curtains were like the curtains at the theatre so it felt like she was in a musical!" Hayden laughed. "When we'd pack to go stay at the hospital, we would choose our costumes together."
"Then what about your dad?" Asked Charlie.
"It was nice when daddy came because he would add special effects when he acted. Like he'd fly around and stand on his head. So the best thing was being in the hospital with kitty, mommy and daddy, the 4 of us playing together!"
It was nice knowing that Hayden's days weren't sad despite being in the hospital basically his whole life.