Jared raced over to Evan and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. "Are you okay? What happened? Did she say something to you? Evan? Evan?" But Evan couldn't hear him. The blood rushing in his ears drowned out his boyfriend's voice. He blinked back tears and took a breath. Looking up at Jared, he whispered, "Can we go, now?". Jared pressed his lips together and nodded. They walked to Evan's dorm in silence, Evan grasping Jared's hand tightly. When they got back to the door, Evan was trying his hardest not to cry.
"Hey," Jared said softly. "Don't listen to her, okay?" They sat on the couch together quietly, Evan still clutching Jared's hand. "I knew this would be a bad idea." Evan bit his lip. "I know, I'm really sorry. I didn't expect...that...to happen." Jared sighed. "I wouldn't have set this whole thing up, you know that, right?" Evan nodded. Jared let go of his hand and wrapped his arm around Evan, pulling him close. "I would never intentionally hurt you, Evan. I love you too much for that." Evan stiffened.
It took Jared a moment to realize what he had just said. He cursed under his breath. "I-uh-I mean-"
"Y-you love me?" Evan sat up. Jared avoided his gaze. "Um-well, I just-"
"I love you too." Jared breathed out in relief. "Oh, thank god." The two grinned. "Listen, Evan. You can't fix every problem you see. You gotta let Alana and Zoe figure this out together."
"I made it worse, didn't I?" Jared stifled a laugh. "I want to tell you 'no', but..."
"And, I can't let I don't want to let it go. It's my fault, I need to help them." Jared put his hands on Evan's cheeks. "No."
"But-"
"You're focusing so much on other people's problems, that you haven't been focusing on yourself." Evan was silent. "You look exhausted, babe. Let me get you a blanket." He stood up and walked over to Evan's bunk. As he reached over, he knocked Evan's meds onto the mattress. The cap popped off, letting a few pills spill out. "Crap." He said, scooping the meds back into the container. He put the cap back on and noticed something strange. "Uh, babe?"
Evan looked up. "Hm?"
"Have you been taking your meds?" Evan mumbled in response. "Evan?"
"What?"
"Have you been taking your meds?" He repeated a little more sternly.
"I...I don't really need to, not anymore. I'm with you now, I don't need them." Jared shook his head. "This happened last time, during the Connor Project, remember what happened then?" Evan bit his lip. "I'll take them when I need them, Jared." He snapped. Jared was taken aback. "Evan-"
Evan stood up and looked at his phone. "We have class." He grabbed his bag and opened the door, but Jared didn't move. "Aren't you coming?" He asked.
Jared looked away. "I guess I should probably tell you..."
"Tell me what?" Worry flashed across his eyes. "I...switched majors," Jared said.
"Why?" Evan slung his backpack over his shoulder and sat down on the bed. "Well, I realized I wanted to get into psychology because I want to help people like you. I would have told you sooner but I just-"
Evan crossed his arms. "So that's what this is all for?"
"What?"
"I'm just your little experiment, aren't I? I'm your lab rat so you can run tests on me and try to 'fix me'."
"Evan, no, I-" Evan shook his head. "And to think I believed this was real. I'm so stupid."
Tears welled in both Jared and Evan's eyes. "Evan, that's not what this is." He took Evan's hand in his, but Evan pulled away. "Don't touch me." He stood, clenching his fists. "I thought you loved me, but at least now I know the point of this whole ordeal." Sobs escaped Jared's mouth. "Please..." Evan was crying too. He just shook his head again and walked out the door, leaving Jared all alone.
He collapsed on Evan's bed, bawling. He looked at his hand, still holding the pill bottle. He set it down and wiped his eyes. Jared grabbed his phone and called Zoey. He immediately heard her voicemail. She was upset with him, too. That meant Alana wouldn't talk to him, either. He had no one to call.
He had no one.
