Just Another Lie, Right? [Kleinsen]

•2•

Evan wanted me to write more emails for him this afternoon.

I really rather be in bed.

But hey, we're doing it for the Murphy's.

I lead him into Workout Heaven in silence. I show Greg, the dude who's always at the desk, my membership card and he let's me in.

The gym is pretty empty, since it's a Thursday afternoon. There's a couple of chicks hanging out around the treadmills, but they're not actually on them. They actually look like they're about to leave. That sucks.

"Ok." I say, sitting down on a bench beside water fountain. "What's it gonna be today? Fields of flowers? Family problems? Summer camp?"

"How about rehab?" He said quietly, looking at his fingers.

I shot him finger guns. "Great idea! We all know Connor was a drug addict. He'd be a perfect addition to those mad scientists. At least he'd blend in."

"You know he actually went to rehab, right?" Evan asked, apparently not sensing the obvious sarcasm in my voice.

I gasped, "Whattt! Noooo" I said even more sarcastically, dragging out my words so Evan was sure to pick up on it.

"Oh... Well he did." Evan said. I sighed. Sometimes this boy is hopeless.

I opened up a new file and named it "connorlikesdrugs.txt" and starting typing.

Dear Evan Hansen,
Rehab's awesome, dude. I fit in perfectly!

"Jared.." Evan growled, and I smirked.

"I really don't see what's wrong with this." I said, pointing to the screen. Evan shot me a look, but I continued adding on to the current email.

Dear Evan Hansen,
Rehab's awesome, dude. I fit in perfectly! All the other maniacs here may be maniacs, but they're my maniacs.

I started bursting out laughing at what I wrote, "That's so gay!" I said in between snorts.

"Jared!" Evan squeaked, as if he was embarrassed by my laughter. "Jared..." He said again, quieter and more disappointingly. It seems that my name is the only thing Evan can say, since he's been saying it the last two minutes.

"Evan." I said, trying to mock his tone.

Without even looking at me, Evan took the computer out of my lap and started his own email.

Dear Evan Ha-

But before he could even get the first line typed out, I grabbed my laptop back and continued typing.

Dear Evan Hansen,
I don't wanna go back to rehab. I don't mind the yoga, and the group meetings are alright.

I looked at Evan for approval and he smiled, nodding. I smirked, thinking of something to write next.

Dear Evan Hansen,
I don't wanna go back to rehab. I don't mind the yoga, and the group meetings are alright. But people share some crazy shit, like about sucking dick for meth.

"Jared!" Evan yelled.

I put my hands up in defence, "It happens, though! I saw it on TV."

"Take it out" he mumbled. I sighed.

Dear Evan Hansen,
I have to find a way to kick this. I don't wanna go back to rehab.

"That's good." Evan said. He kinda sounded like he was proud of me, which was a joke in itself.

I looked at Evan, and I noticed he was squeezing his arm. Interesting. I knew that Evan had lots of nervous quirks, but I've definitely never seen him squeezing his arm before. It's really kinda gross.

"What's up with your arm?"

"I- Oh, I got my cast taken off."

I roll my eyes, "I see that dummy! I mean your arm, why do you keep squeezing it? It's freaking me out!"

He looked down at his arm for a moment before putting his hands behind his back and saying. "I don't know! Whatever. Let's just... emails."

Ah yes, emails. For the Murphy's. For this stupid lie.

I grumble quietly before resuming typing.

Dear Connor Murphy,
I know it sucks. Just like us when we're in dark closets.

"The hell Jared!" Evan whisper-yelled, trying not to disturb the buff guy only a few feet away from our bench.

I shrugged.

"We've been making emails for like... two weeks now! You should know my expectations."

"Oh sorry mom." I said. Sometimes I feel like Evan thinks of himself more as my boss than he does as my friend. Family friend.

Dear Connor Murphy,
I know, and I'm sorry. But your parents must know what's best for you, right?

And we - or should I say I - keep going, making more and more emails. Emails about rehab, family issues, how much Connor needs Zoe... Stuff like that.

The same old story over and over again. Connor has a problem, Evan fixes it. Connor has no other friends. Why would he? He's a freak.

But he's not a freak and he doesn't need any other friends. Evan's there!

Evan's always there.

After about ten or so emails, I decided to spice things up a little, give the story some dramatic twist.

I knew Evan wasn't going to let me fall through with it, but it would be gold to see his reaction.

Dear Evan Hansen,
You know that insanely cool guy frim school? Jared Kleinman? Who am I kidding! Of course you know Jared Kleinman! Everybody does! What do you think about inviting him into our awesome friendship and making this thing a trio? He seems like an insanely cool guy to have around!!

I smirked at Evan, trying to get his attention and see his reaction. Turns out, though, he was looking at the screen the entire time I was typing it.

He shrugged, looking me directly in the eye. "If we lied up to this point, what'll be so bad about adding another lie into the mix?"

I was bamboozled. "What- what are you saying."

He smiled, standing up. He held out his hand and said, "Jared Kleinman, welcome into the Evan-Connor friendship!"

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Published: 5/29/19
Word count: 973