Step Into the Sun

18

Sadly, Evan had an earlier class the next day. He woke up to the alarm on his phone, groaning as he tried to telepathically turn it off.

When his attempt worked, he opened his eyes quickly in surprise, only to see Connor setting his phone back onto his desk.

The half-asleep boy rolled back onto his side, sliding his arms around Evan's waist to settle into a comfortable position. Blushing madly, Evan squirmed out of Connor's grip and sat up.

Connor frowned, opening his eyes just enough to squint at him.

"I have class," Evan told him, crossing his arms.

"Five more minutes," Connor muttered, his voice deeper than usual, which sent a chill down Evan's spine and didn't help to get rid of the red on his cheeks.

"You can stay here with Jared," Evan offered, climbing over Connor's legs so he could get ready for school.

"I'm awake." Connor sat up in protest.

Giggling a bit at his enthusiasm, Evan turned to pick out an outfit for the day. Once he was ready, he grabbed his backpack and slid his laptop inside, zipping it up to sling it over his shoulder.

"Are you gonna stay here?" He asked, standing at the foot of his bed to look at Connor, who had laid back down and was now watching him. "I'll be back in like an hour if you do. Maybe an hour and a half. Jared will probably sleep the whole time."

Connor shrugged and nodded.

"Okay. I'll see you soon, then." Evan turned to leave.

"Bye, Evan," Connor called after him, with his voice still rough.

He tried to go back to sleep for a bit, before giving up hope. Digging through his satchel to find his sketchbook, he pulled it out along with a pencil to occupy himself while Jared snoozed away in the next bed over.

The time flew over Connor's head and before he knew it, he had filled two pages with images of Evan. He was a bit embarrassed that he hadn't even noticed that Evan was the only thing on his mind, but he let the feeling slide.

Until the door opened and Evan walked back in.

Connor slammed his book shut, then realised how guilty that made him look and began to blush.

"Hey," Evan greeted, giving him a bit of a weird look. "What'cha got there?"

"Just a sketchbook," Connor answered, watching as Evan unloaded his backpack. "I was drawing."

"Can I see?"

"No," he replied too quickly.

"Okay..." Evan decided to ignore it, as he pulled a paper bag out of his backpack. "I didn't know what kind of bagels you like, so I just got you the same as what I always get."

"Did someone say bagels?" Jared sat up quickly, causing Evan to nearly fall over.

"Ohmygod," he breathed, clutching his chest. "Why would you do that? I could've died."

"But you didn't," Jared pointed out, standing up to steal the bagel bag. "Did you-"

"Yes, I got your usual, you disgusting fiend." Evan rolled his eyes as Jared pulled out his bagel and handed him the bag. "You're probably the only person in the world who would eat that and enjoy it."

"What is it?" Connor asked cautiously, intrigued, yet scared as to what Jared's bagel might contain.

"Cheese bagel with pumpkin spice cream cheese," Evan answered, since Jared's mouth was already full.