skin || tree bros soulmate au

one

{ evan's pov }

[tw ~ self harm references]

i listened to the light rain falling from the other side of the foggy window. the quiet tapping was soothing. the unbroken silence of "nice" weather was quite the opposite.

my mother was working late night shifts, as usual. that meant i had the entire house to myself, and while most kids my age would sneak out or smoke drugs or something, i sat at my bedroom desk nearly the entire time. i doodled random patterns onto my left hand, the one that wasn't covered by a cast. flowers, spirals, hearts, stars, and squiggles littered the upper side of my arm. the other side had dark red lines of dry blood, contrasting with my otherwise pale wrist.

not all of those lines were from me. about half of them were from a person that i had never met. the only thing i knew about them was that they were apparently sad enough to hurt themselves, and that they liked to write emo song lyrics on their skin.

as if they could read my thoughts, the words i'm not okay appeared on my palm in black ink. i assumed that was a song, probably by my chemical romance. i  finally decided to take advantage of the relatable song quote and write something back.

under their words, i wrote yeah, me neither.

they responded. what's wrong with your/our right arm? it's covered in bruises.

conversations weren't my forte, but i guess this would be a good time to practice. i fell out of a tree and broke it. i'm so so so sorry if it hurts, the doctor said i would be able to get the cast off soon, probably in about two weeks. i'm rambling in writing i'm sorry.

you're adorable. what's your name? a compliment from a complete stranger made my day.

my name is evan. what's yours?

it's connor. who are you?

a freak.

there was a pause. i almost thought he wasn't going to respond.

i barely know you, but i know that you are not a freak.

this led to a very fateful conversation.