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I'M SO SORRY Y'ALL I DIDN'T MEAN TO DISAPPEAR ON YOU!! i had finals tho and i'm working on getting my 50 hours of driving so sis is b u s y,, hopefully this chapter will make up for it tho!! it's a little cheesy tho, so i hope y'all don't hate it. (eugene's video had me cryin' in the club and gave me some inspiration) also, thank you so dam much for getting this fic to #1 in kagene and #10 in shyan!! y'all have all my uwus ♥♥♥

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eugene wakes up to no texts. usually, his phone has at least three (typically misspelled but still endearing texts from his dad or friends checking in), but today, there is no red bubble to command his attention. he sighs, knowing it shouldn't really be bothering him. still, waking up to a message from certain people-he won't allow names to cross his mind-always starts his day with a huge smile.

he says goodbye to his dogs, hoping that maybe there will be someone at work to talk to to take the edge off the morning.

sadly, that hope is in vain.

he enters the office and lets a greeting leave his lips as he adjusts a poster on the door. it's answered with silence and ned clearing his throat uncomfortably. eugene's brows draw together in confusion as he looks at his friends.

"what's going-where's keith?"

"uh, eugene? we kinda need to-" ned starts, before being cut off by zach.

"what he means is that he's a total dick and you're not gonna be happy to hear this," the younger man says.

"look, can you just tell me what's going on? stop acting weird!" eugene says, exasperation high in his words.

"well, i kinda-i, uh-"

"he told keith how you feel about him," zach finishes bluntly.

eugene's head spins. he feels like he's been punched in the gut; a void of shame opens within him and claws at his stomach, burning.

"how could you-how did you even know?" he knows the words aren't fully formed, but he can't get out much more than that. his body is frozen in place, unable to process. keith knows?

"well, it's really obvious," ned says. "you're always so hesitant to open up to people, and you guys have been hanging out all the time. you just let your emotions show all the time around him."

was it really that obvious? eugene thinks, mind still blurry and unbelieving. but ned begins to talk again, interrupting his thoughts.

"it's not like i meant to tell him! we were just talking about our friends and i told him that he meant an awful lot to you since you've been crushing on him forever and-"

"how could you?" eugene's chest rises and falls in jerky motions, and he begins to feel tears sprout, much to his embarrassment. "how could you?" softer this time, sadder.

"i can't begin to tell you how sorry i am," ned says, sounding genuine. but genuine doesn't cut it for eugene. his secret is out. keith knows.

"how'm i gonna be able to face him?" he asks desperately. "i can't!"

"he called off work today, so you won't have to worry about it for now," zach says, trying to be helpful.

eugene backs slowly away. "i'm sorry, you guys. i just can't-" he turns around and walks back through the building quickly. he can faintly hear shouts of surprise and remarks from coworkers, but he ignores them. his focus is on not letting the tears threatening to spill over his cheeks do so. shutting the car door weakly, he slides down into the seat and, somehow, drives numbly home.

when he gets inside, he finally lets loose and sobs on the couch, insusceptible to the concerns of his pets. he feels shameful and embarrassed and immature and so, so stupid. he just walked out of work in the middle of the morning, only to come home and cry on the couch like a teenage girl harboring an unrequited love. he would give anything to be living a week ago, laughing by keith's side and hiding his grins and affectionate glances behind the façade of friendship.

his hitching breaths and dejected sniffling are interrupted by the sound of desperate knocking. eugene doesn't feel like he can get up as of this moment, and so ignores the person at the door. it's likely that someone followed him from work, and he does not want to discuss this any further. another spike of shame spears through him, prompting another flow of tears to come.

the knocking is loud and insistent, though, and after a few moments, eugene knows he has to face whoever it is. he's acting like a kid, anyway.

and yet there's some sort of comfort in that.

he stands up from the couch, wiping his nose on his sleeve and desperately trying to dry off his face. his hand lands on the doorknob and he takes a deep breath before opening it.

"yes, i'm fine. i don't want to talk about it-" he starts.

he barely has a split second to register that keith himself is at his door before the taller man has eugene's face in both of his hands and is kissing him with so much passion that eugene's head spins.