War in Broadway High

11. We Both

Chapter 11: We Both

Evan.

As Evan walked to the bus stop, he realized he was going in the same direction as Connor. Trying to avoid the awkwardness of walking together after they'd already said 'later', he picked up the pace, but Connor already naturally walked faster than him on account of his long legs, so they remained side by side. Evan felt his hands getting clammy, suddenly not knowing what to do with them, what posture would be considered natural.

Connor glanced at him, and noticing his growing distress, tilted his head.

"You good?"

"Yeah!" Evan exclaimed a bit too loudly, so quickly lowered his voice, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm- great." 

"Hm." Now Connor was giving the other a curious look. After a moment, he got in front of him, cutting off his pace, and bluntly asked: "Alright, what is it? Why are you always so jumpy around me? Are you scared of me, Hansen?"

There was a menace to his undertone, a bit ironic for someone questioning how fear-inducing they were.

Evan swallowed, worried he'd done something wrong, like he always did. He scrambled for words for a bit before settling for a simple:

"No."

And it was honest. Connor may have had a terrible reputation that painted him as a psychopath with a short temper, but in truth...Evan could see beyond that. He was alone, and hurting. Like an injured animal that when backed into a corner, would lash out, but only in pain and fear. And he could recognize it, because he was the same. The only difference was that Evan directed all his frustration towards himself, convinced everything was always his fault, while Connor seemed more angry at the world and other people. But in the end, it was the same pain, the struggle of being alone he knew all too well.

"You're..." he continued, though suddenly unsure of the best words, ones that would be taken well. "A nice guy, Connor."

Instead of a glower or a harsh comeback, he heard a cackle. Evan went from avoiding eye contact to raising his gaze to Connor's suddenly amused expression.

"A nice guy?" Connor repeated between laughs. "You must have hit your head too when you broke that arm."

"I mean it," Evan said defensively.

"I'm a probably-future-drop-out and current fuck up stoner who throws printers at teachers and shouts at people."

"That's just the outside. Although...you could apply yourself a little more, with some things," he admitted.

Connor shook his head, looking somewhere between highly amused and genuinely surprised.

"I swear you're a walking bumper sticker, Hansen."

He wasn't sure what to make of that. Soon Connor moved out of his way and they kept walking, until Evan reached the bus stop.

"Are you... taking the bus too?" he asked Connor. He'd never actually seen him on it.

"Nah, my house is farther that way, I'm walking."

"Oh."

"Then again, I don't really want to go home yet. Might go to the park for a bit." He seemed to be thinking out loud.

"Oh, the one nearby, Wickery Park? I love that one! If you're looking for something cool, they have this really old coniferous tree with a whole family of squirrels on it. It's pretty neat."

Although Evan was hoping for amazement at his knowledge, Connor looked at him with more of an entertained expression. But there was something else in his chestnut-colored eyes too, that he couldn't quite decipher.