The Pauper's Dream [boyxboy]

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen (Kasper)

I was happy.

At least, until I noticed that Gavin was avoiding me. He didn't talk as much anymore and he always seemed so busy. Or maybe that was just me? Was he upset I was busy with my job instead of paying attention to him? Part of me wanted to quit so I could have more time to spend with Gavin, but I couldn't do that. Not when I worked so hard. We could get used to it, right?

If Gavin could have a job, so could I.

I wanted to talk to someone about it, and there was only one other person in the house who paid attention to me at the moment and that person was currently making a fruit salad for me to take to work in a few hours.

"Luka, what's wrong with Gavin?" I asked as I leaned on the counter beside him, looking at him in confusion. I frowned, noticing the dark circles under Luka's eyes and the way his hair wasn't brushed as nicely as it usually was. Was he sick? I opened my mouth to ask, but Luka smiled, turning to me as he pushed a small plate of fruit salad toward me.

"Just a lot of work. His father's doing this thing again where he's holed up for, well... Whenever the old geezer decides to emerge. Everything will be back to normal soon." He assured. I blinked, taking the plate as he put the rest of it in a container for work later. I frowned, watching as Luka opened the fridge, stooping to put the container in when he suddenly gasped and collapsed to his knees. My eyes widened as I quickly set the plate down, rushing to his side.

"Luka, are you all right?" I asked worriedly. Luka smiled weakly, resting a hand on his knee while the other pressed against his forehead.

"Yea, just... really tired. Sorry to bother you."

"Bother me? Luka, are you sure you're all right? You're not sick, are you?" I asked in concern. Luka paused, studying my face, then looked own to see that he'd spilt the rest of the fruit salad. He winced and cursed under his breath, reaching up to grab a towel off the counter before mopping up the mess.

"I'm fine, really, Kasper." He promised, but I wasn't going to believe it for a second. I frowned and reached out, placing my hand over Luka's to stop him from moving.

"You're not. You look terrible."

"Gee, thanks."

"You know what I mean... Look, take the day off." I stated, taking the towel out of Luka's hands to finish mopping up the mess. Luka's eyes widened before he shook his head quickly, taking the towel back.

"No, I can't," He said calmly, but firmly, swatting my hand away gently when I went to take the towel back again, "This is my job. I can't take a sick day for lacking sleep, which was totally my fault." I frowned, studying Luka's face as he cleaned up the mess. He rose onto his feet, looking like he was having trouble balancing. My eyes flickered as he walked to the sink, dropping the container in it.

"Luka--"

"I said I'm fine," Luka exclaimed, turning to me and making me flinch before he sighed, rubbing his temple and smiling apologetically, "I'll take a nap in a little bit. Right now, I have a lot of work to do with everyone in this house being so busy lately. I'll take you to work in a little while, but don't wake me up. I'll wake up on my own." I looked at him curiously as he stuck the dishes in the dishwasher before making another fruit salad for me to take to work.

I sighed, glancing at him uneasily before drifting upstairs. I went into the room I shared with Gavin, sighing in relief when I spotted him on the balcony, typing quickly on his laptop with a pair of sunglasses sitting on his head. He looked so stern when he was working, despite the fact that half his shirt was undone and his jeans were also unzipped.