Another World | ✔️

Chapter Nineteen

Trigger Warnings
None!

🕸 🕸 🕸

"Notice anything different?"

Another week had passed. Another long, hard week. I'm mentally exhausted from all that's happened, but at least Evan seems a little happier today. He wasn't at school today, which worried me, but he texted me and asked me to meet him at Ellison Park after school, so I did, of course.

We're here now, and he's holding up both arms and waving his hands. "It's not jazz hands," he says, chuckling nervously.

"Oh, you got your cast off!"

He smiles and nods, putting his arms down. "It looks awful right now, but at least I can use it again."

He's right. His arm is pale and skinny. It almost looks dirty, but it's not. I can tell he's tried to clean it up, but it will take awhile for it to look normal again. I remember Zoe broke her leg once when she was little and her cast was off a week before it matched the other properly.

At least now there won't be a constant reminder of what he did. . .

"This was an interesting choice to come to show me," I say quietly, glancing up at the trees. I remember how panicked he had looked when we came here before, and I'm surprised by how calm he seems now. "I figured you would want to stay away from here for awhile."

"It's not all bad memories here," Evan says, smiling at the trees. They're several shades of autumn colors now, some falling to the ground as a breeze rustles them. "Besides, I love trees if you haven't noticed that by now."

"Woah, you do?" I say, sarcastically. "I never would've guessed that Mark Evan Hansen likes trees!"

Evan nudges me and rolls his eyes, but he's still smiling. I can't help but smile back. It's nice to see him smile again. It hasn't happened much this week.

Friday hadn't been the end. The weekend went smooth after he calmed down, but Monday came and we both felt awful. The feelings came and went multiple times; some days were worse than others. Today, however, hasn't been too bad. Sure, I had worried about Evan's absence, but once I knew he was okay my mood lightened. I only hope that this next week is better.

"So what did I miss today?"

Evan's question snaps me back to the present. I turn and blink at him, thinking for a minute. "Uh. . . Oh! Voting results!"

"Did Alana win?" Evan asks excitedly, his leg bouncing slightly. His smile fades as I shake my head. I can see disappoint growing on his face as I speak.

"Parker Mavis won President," I tell him, thinking for a moment. "May Lewis won Vice President. Hudson Palmer won Secretary and Oscar Turner won Treasurer."

Evan shakes his head. "I hate that. She wanted to win so bad. I was hoping she would get it." He pulls out his phone and I guess he's sending her a text.

"Me too, but I'm not really surprised," I say with a sigh. "You know it's always a popularity contest. Of course the preps and the athletes are going to win."

"Yeah, I know," he says. "She's so smart though. That should count for something."

"It should, but it doesn't," I grunt.

He's right. Alana is super smart, probably more than he realizes. I remember last year we were lab partners in chemistry, and I'm sure that's the only reason I passed. She knew exactly what to do and walked me through each step. We, surprisingly, made a good team.

Sure, we had been paired up for an assignment in middle school, but that was English; an assignment on Huckleberry Finn. Little did she know, I had already read the book a year before. It's not my favorite, but I knew enough about it to contribute to the project.

I glance over at Evan for a moment. Does he like to read too? Does he keep a sketchbook in his room to draw when he's bored? Why haven't I asked him these questions yet? I know now that we truly are friends, but I still feel like I know so little about him. We just. . . We just have a connection, it feels like.

Evan looks up from his phone and smiles at me. Of course, I smile back. It's nice to be able to genuinely smile. It's nice to have someone that makes you feel like you're needed. "What?" he chuckles.

"Nothing," I say softly. "I'm just thinking."

"About?"

"About how lucky I am to finally have a true friend. You don't know how much it's helped me."

"It's nothing, really," he says. "I'm just glad to have you as a friend. Especially this week."

"It's been my pleasure," I say, bowing dramatically. I can't help but snicker as he releases a goofy laugh.

Finally we're just two friends, true friends, on a perfect day.