god thats a lot of flowers

soft chapter for the soul

It had all happened really, really fast.

Barely enough time for Connor to process thinking about it.

It's been a month since the You Will Be Found club has started and the squad has done more than perfectly with it. Answering questions, making videos- They thought of starting a fund raiser to open the orchard again, but despite the support from their fans, Alana decided it was best not to.

There were a few rocky bumps. Like Evan and Jared's relationship. It happened late may and neither of them fully recovered from the fight they'd had, and neither would talk about it. They said there was nothing to talk about.

It felt like there was.

-

"Y-Y'know, Jared, you can't just... Keep doing whatever. Can you try a little more on the project?" Evan said rather loudly as they both raised their voices. They met each other in the hall before school started, and everything was fine until Jared mentioned that "Evan and Alana had everything in control, I guess."

"'Can you try a little more on the project?'," Jared imitated. "Well I've been wanting too but- Oh, what'd you say to me a little bit ago? Hm, that you don't need me anymore?"

"That's not what I said." He began, but was cut off.

"Sure sounded like it."

"Well it's not even that you seem interested! Y-You always talk about how you're going to meet with your 'real friends'! I thought we were your real friends."

"Real friends? You would be if you mmm, tried listening to me once or twice?"

"Yeah- Yeah, cause I'm your family friend who you only hang out with because you want your parents to pay for your car insurance, and it doesn't even matter if you're nice to me because you know I'm too afraid to say that you aren't!" Evan, for once, poured his anger into his words, something he'd been avoiding for so, so long. "Well, y-you can go kiss your car insurance goodbye, I guess, 'cause I'm not going to hang out with someone who doesn't actually even like me!"

"I- I never said I didn't like you. I'm even pretty sure it's quite the opposite here."

The two exchanged heated words until the bell rung, avoiding each other for the rest of the day. Jared was supposed to drive Evan home. Evan left with Connor and Zoe, instead.

And he did the same the next morning. And afternoon. Until it's been implanted into their routine and Evan never had to face Jared again 'till lunch, where he'd look away from Jared and pretend he's not there. Jared did that to him for the last 5 years, why not do it to him for the last school year they had together?

-

"So... we're just not going to talk?" Zoe asked, shoved in a car with the rest of her senior friends. It was awfully tense with the fighting boys in the vehicle, Jared giving glares to the other while Evan slunk down into the shotgun seat, looking up at Connor, who was once again driving, with big, guilty eyes.

"I guess not," Alana mumbled, leaning on the cold window. She was the most disappointed out of the group to hear them fight- Now most of the work was on Alana. Zoe had more band practice than ever during the end of the year, Connor was sent to the hospital again for a few days and even then, he just doesn't do his part, and Evan's too busy worrying about Connor and doing whatever the hell. Then Jared just... Refuses to do it.

Which leaves her.

To do everything alone.

Just like how she usually is.

"Y'know, I wish you two would actually start participating."

Shit. It slipped out.

"You... two?" Zoe asked, sweating a bit anxiously.

"Not... you, I guess." She looked at Jared, who was preparing his own argument immediately.

"Me? Thought you didn't want me to."

"Here we go again..." Evan breathed, almost even rolling his eyes.

"Well you're not innocent, Hansen!" He winced when his last name was used. "You and Murphy number 1 are too busy making out to do anything either!"

"We're not even-" The boy began, but closed his mouth before anything else could be said. He wasn't even turning around to see Jared's face. He just wanted this to stop.

"And Connor hasn't responded to anything in like a fucking week!"

"Connor isn't as stable as some of us appear. He's been in the hospital and he has his own struggles, too!" Alana defended him, aggressively turning to Jared.

"Well what if I have my own struggles? Does that suddenly change anything? 'You're not participating, Jared!' I made the fucking website, for god's sake!"

Zoe came to his rescue. "He has a point, guys. I might not be the best at managing time but you're not giving him the credit he deserves. We can't excuse Connor when he's just been lying in his room most of the time-"

The car swerved to the side of the road, suddenly, and everybody was silenced. The driver's hands were gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white and he whipped his head around.

"Maybe if you want me to do shit, you help me get me back my fucking laptop. Maybe the next time I get hospitalized, you tell mom and dad that, yeah, I do need those fucking meds. Maybe the next time dad shits on me for how I'm 'not being a man' and that I'm 'acting like a five-year-old', you actually stand up for me, because the only reason I'm hanging with Evan so much is because I have nothing else to do!"

The quiet continued.

Until a shift in Connor's expression signalled that he realized what he fucked up and slowly went from Zoe's shocked face to trying his hardest to look at Evan's.

Evan's face was red and he was biting his lip, staring forward and shaking ever so slightly.

'Shit.'

He turned around, back to looking at the road.

"I'll just... Drive you guys home."