Evan's current schedule was avoiding everyone at college, hiding in his room after class, and scrolling through social media on his computer. He was constantly refreshing Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter to see if Jared had posted. "I am not obsessed." He would quietly mumble to himself every now and then. He ignored the countless texts and DM's from Jared day after day, but after a while, they just stopped. Even if he was ignoring them, the thought of Jared being there would make his day. God, that was so stupid. Why did I kiss him? I'm such an idiot. So stupid.
The sound of the doorbell ringing interrupted Evan's thoughts. He got out from underneath his blanket and wrapped it around himself, heading down the stairs. He cracked open the door and peeked through, but no one was there. There wasn't a Fed-Ex truck delivering his anxiety pills either. Confused, Evan opened the door all the way and looked around until his eyes landed on a small basket sitting on the doorstep. "...the hell?" He sighed and picked it up, shutting the door behind him. He set it on the kitchen counter. When he opened it, all that was there was a single pencil and a note. The note said 'Follow the clues'. "...the hell?" He repeated. Evan tossed the note and pencil back into the basket and went upstairs, back to the safety of his laptop and dark bedroom.
It only took five minutes for Evan to revisit the strange basket. "Pencil." He mumbled to himself. "Writing. School?" He grabbed his keys and open the garage door. He stopped and look down at his apparel. Pajamas. "Eh." He headed out the door and into the car.
It only took a few minutes to get to the high school, which was practically abandoned at 7 o' clock at night. The doors were unlocked, still. He pushed them open and headed inside. There were rose petals on the floor, creating a path that he knew he was probably supposed to follow. "What...." the rose petals led to his old locker. Evan could still remember the passcode. 5-27-33. He pulled the handle and, as expected, the door opened wide. Evan gasped out loud. The locker was filled with a bunch of paper hearts with writing on them. Love letters. The letters spilled out of the locker and onto the floor. Evan picked one up and read it aloud quietly. "'You matter more than you really know ~J.' These can't be meant for me..." He flipped the card over. In big, loopy handwriting, was his name. "Oh..." He thought through every J name he knew. Jessica, Jackie, Jamie, Jane? He didn't know any girl with a name that started with J. He stuffed the card in his pocket.
Ready to give up and go back to the safety of his blanket, Evan looked back at the locker one last time. There was something else in there. It was a photograph of a banana split. Extra large. A Lá Mode. Suddenly very intrigued by this who ordeal, Evan raced out the blue doors and sped over to the ice cream parlor. Rose petals. Again. This time, they were sprinkled on the gravel path and lead up to the doors of the parlor. Feeling nervous for some reason, Evan followed the petals and stepped into A Lá Mode. It was empty. "Dead end." He whispered, tears of frustration welling up. He didn't understand why he was so invested in the mystery. He shook his head and turned to leave when he glanced over at a table in the back. There were an extra large banana split and a rocky road ice cream sitting there. Sudden realization washed over his face. Now he knew who the mystery girl was, and it wasn't a girl at all.
Smiling, Evan walked over to the table. Next to the bowls were a bouquet of buttercups. He took a bite of the banana split and grabbed the bouquet. He ran to his car once again and drove to the orchard, following the rose petals into the buttercup field. There, standing ten feet away, was his not-so-secret admirer. "Jared." He whispered. The boy turned around, holding a rose. He was dressed in a tux and a rainbow tie. "You figured it out." He smiled, walking towards him.
"I-it, uh, it took longer than I want to admit. What...what is all this?" He asked, gesturing to the rose petal heart the two were standing in. "The only way to get you back was some big elaborate plan. You're kinda the king of those." He ran a hand through his hair. "Well...you succeeded," Evan said, immediately embarrassed. Jared chuckled. "So...what do you say?"
"What?"
"Come on, Evan. You know what."
"I'm gonna screw this up." He mumbled
"Of course you are. You're Evan Hansen." Evan looked down at his feet. Jared bent down and cupped his cheek. "But I'm gonna screw it up too. So...let's screw this up together." He tilted his chin up. "Look at me." They locked eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here..." He reached into Evan's sweatshirt pocket and showed him the card. "You matter more than you really know."
"Just kiss me, damn it."
