Screen Names.

10

"Class is over," Evan mumbled and nudged me a couple times. I groggily picked my head and rubbed an eye. Damn, that nap was heavy. The type of sleep that made you feel like you're solidified into the ground. If that made any sense.

I yawned and groaned. "Thanks man."

"No problem bud," Evan hummed slightly as he was packing his bag up. He twirled his wrist in small circles and cracked it, shook it out and grabbed his notebook. "Wait, don't go yet, I made you a copy of the notes too. Just in case."

I blinked hard and watched as he slid the paper onto my desk. A couple lines were smeared a tiny bit, his handwriting was a little scrawled but still careful enough to be legible, and in cheap blue ink. He even wrote my name at the top. That was... kind of.. sweet of him. Not sweet as in rad, but sweet as in wow, he's way too nice to be human.

"Sorry, it's not the neatest," he chuckled sheepishly and started to turn a bit blotchy in the cheeks. "Ah, shit, that was probably weird of me to do, I should've just sent you a picture or something. Not that I have your phone number, Id have to ask you and that's equally as awkward. I'm totally talking too much, I'm sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck before he squeezed his forearm. I could tell he was starting to nervously sweat in his hands because the smudged ink of his left hand started to bleed onto his forearm he had a death grip on.

"I think it's kinda nice," I shrugged nonchalantly and yes, my resting tone's always been bitchy and yes, this didn't change it. I slid it into my bag and stretched in my chair slightly before I started to pack my bag.

"So I did good? It was rushed because of a time crunch, so sorry about that."

"Neater than my penmanship," I shrugged with a slightly hard exhale. The substitute of a chuckle. We all do it, come on.

"Really?" Evan raises an eyebrow. "Jared always says I look like I write in runes, I can't imagine how rushed your writing must be."

"It's half cursive, half print, half scribbled excuses for letters." I gave him a small nod as I said it.

"That's three halves?" He chuckled quietly and under his breath as he slung his bag straps onto his shoulders. I pulled on my bag too, and started to walk with him.

"Do I look like I'm good at math?" Fuck, I think Evan just pushed a tiny smile out of me. It's not one that's like wow, the emo kid is smiling! Oh my god! It was basically a small twitch in the corners of my mouth, but I still never really expected to smile while trapped in public school.

"Stem and humanities skills don't mesh well," Evan chuckled quietly and held onto his bag straps like a fucking elementary schooler. "I don't think I've met someone who's really into humanities based courses and also doing intensely well in stem."

Did he imply that I'm good at something? Sounded like bullshit to me usually. "I'm just not into or doing intensely well in anything related to school."

"Hm, doubt." He clicked his tongue. "I was behind you in Literacy last year, I know you aced your tests, you just didn't do any work in class."

I glanced over at him with a humph. "It just comes easier than math and weird chemistry bullshit. I hate science lab classes with a burning passion—I have to retake fucking biology, can you believe that? Those bastards in their swivel chairs are deadass making me do over a whole semester because I failed one competency."

Evan nodded slowly, slightly shrunken back from how my tone must've sounded. "Damn. Alana's really good with lab science, if you ever need someone to help out with work and shit. Shit I'm sorry, you probably know that already, she's vocal about it. It's probably so annoying if I point out the obvious, which I just did, wow I'm digging myself in a ditch here I'm sorry."

I cringed at the thought of Alana trying to help me with biology again. If it went anything like last time, I'd kill myself. But I kinda relaxed my shoulders when I heard Evan scramble for his words. It was nice to have a break in the topic where I didn't have to talk or make effort to avoid a weird silence or have to tough it out and talk through how tense I got. "She was my lab partner last year. Rough time."

Evan nodded slightly and started to bite on his lip and rub his forearm. "What do you have for math course? I know at least, if you really need help to pass or keep up, Jared's really good with math. He can do it in his sleep I bet. He laughs at me whenever I try to do simple shit," he smiled sheepishly and nervously and rolled his shoulders back to adjust his bag.

"Pre calc."

"Hey, I am too. Maybe we could even try to help each other study later on?"

My chest started to itch. Not the skin, the inside. Between my ribs. Under my bones. Everywhere, even going toward my stomach. Ew. Maybe I needed a cigarette? Withdrawal never felt this weird and sort of unsettling. "That sounds... pretty good actually."

"Really?" He perked his head up with a hopeful glaze over his eyes and a smile that started to grow. Damn. He was excited for studying. "I honestly didn't think you'd say yes, nobody really says yes when I try to even hang out near them or offer to help. I thought you'd tell me to beat it or something. We can seriously maybe try to do that soon? You're not joking? You're not like, gonna trip me up and laugh at me for this? Or talk people that I got excited just to be near someone outside of school hours oh shit don't tell anyone that—" I had to cut the poor guy off, he'd talk himself purple if he didn't take a breath.

"I dont have anyone to tell, even if I wanted to man," I barely pushed a breath of a chuckle, "and no offense to this but you're a loser, I don't think anyone outside our grade knows your name, if that."

He got blotchy again and scratched the back of his neck. I just insulted him, fuck, I really needed to think before I say. I didn't think it would come off that way. If I had two brains, one was controlling my mouth and one was judging it. It slipped out and I just repeated it back in my head.

"—and I'm a loser too dude, if I tried to tell anyone, they'd wonder why I'm trying to talk to them," I continued to try to fix some of the insulting I just did. And it was true.

Evan chuckled loosely and under his breath. "I guess we're loser buddies."

I felt a smile twitch again, and my chest felt itchy inside. "I guess we are. See you later, loser."

"You too," he chuckled and waved goodbye to me when we went seperate hallways to get to our classes.

-

Cute?
I think?

I love these boys. Connor's emotionally stunted and hasn't felt affection in a couple years let him try his best

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