Unlikely Lovers

33: Evan

Evan spent most of the afternoon at Connor's place before his mum picked him up.

"Hey honey how was the party? How was Connor?" Evan smiled.

"Yeah he was good, he liked his present." His mum smiled.

"That's nice, what did you get him honey? You never told me." Evan shrugged his shoulder shyly.

"I wrote him a song. And i bought him a tree." His mum beamed.

"Aw aren't you the cutest? You have always been an amazing writer, and singer might i point out." Evan just smiled.

The two of them got home, his mum went to get ready for her night classes while Evan loaded skype. He saw Jared was online. He barely sat down when Jared called him. Evan clicked on answer and watched as Jared's whole face popped up on Evan's screen.

"Hey man you back from the party?" Evan nodded.

"Yeah it was good." Jared nodded as wriggled his eyebrows.

"Did Connor like his... present?" Evan sighed.

"I wrote him a song Jared! And no not a sex song." Jared just blinked.

"Well that is insanely gay and fucking adorable." Evan just shook his head.

"Anyway how are things with you?" Jared shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Evan shrugged back.

"I mean it's just that we don't really talk as much as we used to, and we both seem to have actual lives now." Jared just laughed.

"I always had a life bro, it was you who lived under a rock." Jared sighed, "I mean it's been good, Lanie and i, we- we're good." Jared smiled. True and sincere, not sarcastically which was something Evan rarely ever witnessed. "You know Alana, she isn't as happy as everyone thinks she is you know?" Evan was surprised. Personally he thought Alana was the happiest, most content person he ever knew.

"Really?" Jared just nodded sadly.

"She, she puts so much pressure on herself. To get good grades, to make friends, to fit in. But behind it all she's really struggling, she's had like three breakdowns in this last week. I've had to go over to her house to try and calm her down." Evan could tell Jared was getting upset, but was trying hard to keep it together. Evan pretended not to notice, he knew Jared would appreciate that. "She has anxiety like you Evan. Badly too. You should see her, she has all these timetables and schedules to plan out every single hour of her day, she plans the outfits she wears throughout the week on a Sunday night. She said she feels like she is going to fall apart if her life is planned out detail by detail."

"I never knew that, she just seems so... sure of herself." Jared laughed weakly.

"That's what she wants you to think." He paused, "The worst is the nightmares. She stayed over at my place one night and she woke up screaming, it took me like five minutes to calm her down." He wiped his eyes, "I just felt so helpless you know? She said it was just her anxiety, and that it comes out in her dreams when she's stressed. But just thinking back to it, knowing that shit happens to her pretty much every night just-" Jared's voice broke. Evan could feel his eyes stinging as he thought back to the incident with Connor in the bathroom. The blood on the floor and the pure terror in his eyes. As he held Connor and he screamed- Evan had to block out the thought, even after everything that had happened it still hurt. Jared regained himself. "You know it's so bullshit, i mean she is just the most smart and beautiful person i know and she doesn't see it. She doesn't see just how amazing she is and it's fucked up." Evan sighed. He knew how that felt.

"I feel that way with Connor a lot." Jared nodded.

"The things we do for the people we love huh?" Evan nodded back. "You know Evan, i never really thanked you for being my friend." Evan was surprised.

"Me? I should be thanking you. I mean you're welcome for the car insurance but i mean-" Jared laughed weakly.

"You do realise I've been paying my own car insurance?" Evan raised his eyebrows.

"Wait, what?" Jared nodded as he spun around on his chair.

"I got a new job before this year started and I've been paying my insurance ever since." Evan didn't know what to say, "I know i give you shit Evan, and i act like i don't give a shit about anything but i do. I care a lot actually i just hide it in the sarcasm and the care-free shrugs. But i really did like having you as a friend." Evan frowned.

"Did?" He teased, "Since when did i stop being your friend Kleinman?" Evan laughed but Jared just sighed.

"When you became my brother." Evan felt his heart stop. Jared smiled, and Evan smiled back. He didn't say anything and Jared ended up changing the subject to the new bathbomb flavours he's dying to try, but nothing else needed to be said. From then on they both knew, when it came down to it, they would always have each other's back. Because that's what brothers do.