If I Could Tell Him

Chapter twenty-seven

CONNOR POV

A week until graduation. It seemed so close, yet so far away. He walked through the halls, seeing the school in a new light. Connor ran his hand through his hair and looked around at all the lockers. Naturally, he was ditching last hour so he had the halls all to himself. He took in a deep breath, smiled, and said softly to the school,

"Goodbye, you motherfucking piece of shit. One week can't come soon enough."

He strolled up and down with his hands in his pockets, whistling. Life was pretty good. Evan was doing well, Zoe and Alana were still going out, his parents hadn't tried to contact him and he was preparing for life outside of high school. He had a job at Hot Topic, which was conveniently placed a block away from the florist where Evan worked. Connor's room was full of pressed, dried and fresh flowers that Evan would save from the scrap pile and make into little bouquets or corsages for him. Connor wandered over to the door of Evan's last class, preparing for the bell to ring. He leaned against a locker and grinned to himself.

When school finally ended, a ton of teenagers came barreling out of the door and poured into the halls. Connor scanned the crowd for Evan and immediately saw a familiar flash of dirty blond hair. He grabbed his boyfriend's wrist and pulled him through the group towards him, holding him to his chest. He felt the vibration of Evan giggling, and felt his face go pink. Evan was just so cute. Like, all the time.

"How was your day?" Connor asked, not wanting to pull away. Evan mumbled something incoherently, so unfortunately Connor had to separate himself from his boyfriend so he could hear him. "What was that?"

"It was f-fine." Instantly, alarm bells went off in Connor's mind. Evan only said "fine" when he was absolutely not fine.

"What happened?" Connor looked around defensively, glaring at everyone who passed by.

"Nothing..." Evan said unconvincingly.

"You only say 'fine' when you're absolutely not fine." Connor pointed out.

"F-fair point..." Evan said.

"So what happened?" Connor asked again, softer this time. Evan said something quietly. "What was that?"

"SOMEONE TOLD ME T-TO KILL MYSELF. OKAY?" Evan yelled out of nowhere.

"What?" Connor put his hands on Evan's shoulders and looked into his eyes. He could tell that Evan was trying hard not to cry.

"Y-yeah. It's fine though." Evan muttered, avoiding Connor's gaze.

"Who was it?" Connor asked. When Evan didn't respond, he asked more firmly. "Baby, who told you that?"

"H-he did..." Evan whispered. Connor raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Well if it isn't my two favorite fags." Came a voice from behind Connor. Evan's eyes widened in fear, triggering Connor's defensive instincts. He whirled around to face, surprise surprise, Thomas.

"What the fuck do you want?" Connor asked through gritted teeth.

"I want your pathetic boyfriend to kill himself. And why don't you join him?" Thomas sneered, reaching past Connor to push Evan, making him stumble backwards. Connor felt himself getting angrier by the second. He couldn't do anything though, one more strike and he'd be expelled, and therefore unable to graduate that year.

"Leave him alone." Connor took a threatening step towards Thomas. Protecting Evan was more important than his future, he decided.

"What are you gonna do, hit me? You can't. You can't do anything to me. You're pathetic." Thomas sneered.

"Ms. Flemming?" Evan piped up, getting the attention of a nearby teacher. Connor looked Thomas dead in the eyes and smiled in what he hoped was a condescending way. He was so proud of his Evan for standing up for himself.

"Yes, dear?" Ms. Flemming asked, crossing over to the three boys.

"Um...um...." Evan turned bright red. Connor noticed the signs and took over.

"Thomas is being a dick." He said bluntly, laying a protective hand on Evan's shoulder. The teacher blinked at the crude word, but turned towards Thomas.

"What exactly did he say?" She asked Connor, looking Thomas up and down with her hands on her hips.

"Well, he told Evan and I to kill ourselves. He also called us offensive slurs." He responded truthfully.

Ms. Flemming narrowed her eyes at Thomas. "To the office. Now." She said firmly.

"But Ms. Flemming..." Thomas whined.

"Now, Mr. Jefferson." She repeated. "I don't care that school is over. This is the umpteenth time you've been reported to have said these kinds of things to people and I will not stand for it." Thomas adjusted his backpack and sulked towards the office. "I'm sorry boys. If it happens again, let me know." The teacher smiled understandingly at the couple before walking away.

"That was awesome." Connor said, kissing the top of Evan's head. "You were so brave. I'm so proud of you." Evan giggled softly, and Connor could tell he was still a bit shaky from the encounter.

"O-one more week." He said, taking a breath.

"One more week." Connor repeated.