Don't Move | A Tree Bros Fanfic

Chpt. 6 - A Month Later

A month had gone by. 

Evan and Connor's friendship had grown throughout the four weeks accompanying the month that had passed on. The two had talked about many things in that time period, such as what they planned to do after high school, and girls they wished would notice them. Evan never discussed his crush on Connor's sister, Zoe... As a matter of fact, he had long sense abandoned the thought of her. It was as if he had never liked her at all.

Zoe Murphy was a long gone memory, and when he would see her at school, the same euphoric feeling he would have never arose in the same way. His feelings were changing, but he didn't mind... But there was one thing that bothered him.

The feelings he had once had for Zoe, he now had for Connor.

At first, he brushed them aside, thinking he only felt that way because Connor was his first real friend, but friends didn't get weak at the knees when they thought of each other. He soon began to realize that he was beginning to love Connor in more of a romantic way. He concealed his feelings to the best of his abilities, but it was becoming harder to do so as his feelings grew stronger.

Evan waited in the computer lab for Connor as he usually did everyday after school.

Connor entered, that same grin he always wore when he would notice Evan. "We're still going to your house afterwards, yeah?" He inquired. Evan nodded. "Well, that's the plan! Unless you'd prefer to go to your house instead?" Evan wanted to take Connor's thoughts and feelings into consideration and Connor liked that about him. 

They both decided they'd be better off going to Evan's house, mostly because Connor wasn't comfortable with Evan meeting his parents just yet. They both left the school at the same time they always did, walking as the sun set over the horizon.

Evan would sneak little sidelong glances at Connor as they walked to Evan's house, trying to remain subtle about it, but failing as Connor noticed. Connor always noticed, but assumed Evan was only doing so because he thought Connor might leave him alone. Connor placed a hand on Evan's shoulder. "You know I'm not gonna ditch you, right?" Evan looked at Connor's hand, attempting to stop a blush from spreading across his cheeks, but he couldn't.

Connor noticed, but pretended not to as they finally made it to Evan's house.

Evan never did answer Connor's question, but he didn't feel as if he really had to. He knew Connor would never stop being his friend, although sometimes he had his doubts as anxiety possessed his thoughts.

He'll leave you eventually, just like Jared did.

Jared... He hadn't heard from him since that day at the park about a month ago and his mother had never asked about him either. Evan assumed Jared's car insurance wasn't being paid for seeing as Jared's end of the bargain wasn't being met. As a matter of fact, the last time he had even seen Jared at school was last week. Evan thought about checking up on him, but wasn't even sure if Jared had blocked his number or not. "Awkward question, but... Have you seen Jared recently?" Evan inquired.

"I saw him getting on the bus this morning, why?"

Evan was flooded with relief. He wasn't exactly sure why he cared. But, they both decided to drop the topic.

They entered Evan's house, instantly greeted by Evan's mother.

"Hi, Connor. It's so nice to see you again!"

Connor loved being welcomed into Evan's house... It was like a second home to him. Connor usually only stayed for dinner before heading home to his family, but he decided to spend the night tonight. He knew as soon as he would get home, his parents would bombard him with questions pertaining to where he had been and whether or not he had been doing drugs, but Connor hadn't smoked pot in a while. The last time he had even touched weed was about two weeks ago, and he hadn't smoked it since then either. He didn't feel as if he needed it anymore because he had Evan whenever he needed a shoulder to cry  on.

He used to rely on the effects of weed to temporarily keep his negative thoughts out of his head, but now he no longer wanted it. He had actually opened up to Evan about his depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts thinking he was going to run him away, but he had done the complete opposite. Evan assured Connor that things would be okay and had even explained to him that he also had anxiety... It was a bit more severe than Connor's but that didn't matter. They were empathetic and sympathetic to each other, that's what matters.

Never in a million years would Evan have thought he'd have someone spending the night at his house, or even have a friend of his own for that matter, but after years of hoping, his prayers had finally been answered. The duo ran to Evan's room, completely skipping over dinner, wanting to feed off of each other's presence instead.

They both made themselves comfortable on Evan's bedroom floor.

Evan discreetly stared at Connor, admiring his long, dark hair and delicately painted nails. Other people thought Connor painting his nails was weird, but Evan liked that about him.

"You should paint my nails... It looks, uh, really cool!" Evan exclaimed, digging his nails into the carpet as his anxiety began to ensue. "Sure. I could do that. Could I see your... Hands?" Connor replied, holding his hand out for Evan to place his in. Connor tried not to make things awkward between the two as he pulled out a bottle of black nail polish. Evan reluctantly put his hand in Connor's, feeling so many emotions at once.

He wished he didn't feel the way he did about Connor, but he couldn't help who he liked... That's the thing about love, it's never a chose. Evan couldn't be so sure he was in love with Connor, but he definitely felt some sort of romantic connection towards him. Connor knew Evan was experiencing some conflicting feelings, but he assumed it was just Evan's pessimistic thoughts plaguing him. He decided to be a good friend and ask.

"Evan, are you okay? You seem oddly off..."

"Just nervous." Evan said. It wasn't the whole truth, only a half-truth... It wasn't exactly a lie, it was more of like keeping a secret, which was only okay in some instances.

"You don't have to be nervous." Connor had finished one of Evan's hands and now had moved onto the other. Evan had long since had his cast removed, much to his happiness.

He still remembered how eager he had been after the doctor had ridden him of it, only slightly upset because that meant Connor's signature was gone. Connor finished up painting Evan's nails, then told him to stay still as they dried. Evan admired the great job Connor had done, telling him how he should work at a nail salon after they graduate.

Connor laughed. "That's a thought, but I don't need anymore of a reason to be called gay."

In truth, Connor was gay. So really the gay rumors weren't really rumors at all, but he tried his best to keep it all a secret. He was afraid one day Evan would find out and abandon him... He wasn't sure how Evan would feel if he ever found out, so he couldn't find out... Ever.

"Well... I think you should do whatever you want without the fear of being, uh, ridiculed..."

Connor smiled. "You know, Evan, I think you're right."

And, he was.

Evan was always right.