Goin' Viral (Kleinsen)

Chapter 7

(Jared) 

"What did I do?!" 

I heard the voice of little Evan Hansen screaming at someone. Evan never yelled. I was pretty sure I was the only person on the planet he ever yelled at. Surprisingly, he'd only yelled at me a few times. Of course I was being a dick, but when am I not? 

I walked toward the noise, they were talking behind the school. I waited, hiding behind a wall. Yeah okay maybe it was a little creepy but I wanted to make sure Evan was okay. He seriously never yells. Ever. This was cause for great concern. 

"You let that little faggot yell at me. I did nothing wrong, Evan. You just let him do whatever he wanted. I thought maybe you'd defend the person you- you-" 

Okay, woah. Faggot? Really? This coming from Connor Murphy? The guy who clearly has the hots for Evan. 

 "It was so embarrassing, Evan. I thought maybe we could still- you know. Talk and stuff. Maybe this could turn into something. Then I realized there's no way you would leave Jared. No way you would pick me over him. If you couldn't stand up for me, why should I bother standing up for you?"

He was talking about me. That night at Evan's house. They hadn't talked about this yet? I figured they would be dating by now honestly. I'm glad they weren't. Nobody talks to Evan like that. He may not be able to stand up for himself, but I can. 

"Being awfully bold today, aren't we Connor?" I stepped out from behind the wall and walked up to Evan. He was shaking and crying, but I couldn't give him much comfort now. So I simply wrapped an arm around him and smiled cockily at Connor. He glared at me like he wanted nothing more than to kill me in that moment. "I just think it's funny that you call me a faggot and then talk about fucking Evan in the same little sad speech you had goin' there. Don't ya think that's funny? I find it hysterical," I smiled triumphantly. 

Connor gave me another glare and then looked over to Evan. He looked all over, as if looking for something. Maybe something in his eyes, the sign of a choice. Him or me. Clearly, he didn't find what he was looking for. Or maybe he found the thing he didn't want to find. Either way, he huffed in disappointment. 

"Don't speak to me again, Evan. This isn't working," With that he turned on his heel and left. 

Luckily, we were the only three people standing behind the school. Which was weird, but I'd rather not spend time questioning it. I turned to Evan and immediately let all the humor drain away. I could tell he was about to collapse so I hugged him tightly. 

"Are you okay, Ev?" As soon as I asked he let go. He sobbed into my shoulder. "Evy, it's okay. It's okay.. look Connor is not a good person. He isn't good enough for you. You deserve so much better than him.."

Suddenly, he stopped cry. He wiped his face and pulled away from me. He didn't smile, or do anything to show he even knew me. 

"Thank you, Jared." He stuck out his hand, I looked at him confused and shook it. He nodded quickly, kept a straight face and walked away. All business, not personal. 

I stood there shocked with my hand still out in front of me. Evan wouldn't pick Connor over me, right?