Spotlights

Risks Worth Taking

*kicks down the door* YOU GUYS! 

MY AWESOME, AMAZING, SUPER TALENTED BEST FRIEND Sn0wy_The_Guinea_Pig MADE SOME FANART FOR THIS CHAPTER! 

AND I LOVE IT SO VERY MUCH! 

ANYWAY THAT IS ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY! 

Connor could do nothing but stand there, frozen and breathless as Evan pulled back. His heart was racing and his head was spinning. He didn't know what to do. Every part of him was screaming to pull Evan back to him, to do what he'd been longing for since that day so many months ago. 

But he couldn't.  

Because as much as Connor wanted to kiss Evan back, to finally release this crushing weight off his chest, he couldn't get the image of Evan and Zoe out of his mind. Evan had said he hadn't wanted Zoe, and that very well may be true, but Connor had experienced his heart being broken too many times, and he was not about to go through it again. 

Not until he was sure it was worth the risk. 

"I-I have to go." he whispered, voice hoarse from the building emotion of the situation. "Zoe can drive you home and if not I'll call you an Uber, I just need to be alone for a little while." 

Connor ignored the tears trailing down his face, fear mixing with confusion as he turned and practically ran for his car, leaving Evan standing alone in the rain. 

(ARE YOU READY FOR.... YEP, YOU GUESSED IT, ANOTHER GOD DAMN TIME SKIP! THREE WEEKS THIS TIME! ALRIGHT I'LL LEAVE YOU ALONE NOW) 

Connor stared up at the ceiling, closing his eyes as he moved the joint in his hand to his mouth and inhaled. He'd forgotten how much he enjoyed this, the feeling of all his worries washing away, to just feel fucking calm for once. 

His smoking habit had returned over the last few weeks, now worse than before. Connor hadn't felt this relaxed in ages, since Evan had convinced him to lay off on the weed. 

Evan. 

And just like that, the wave of tranquility rolled away, leaving him to crumble under the weight of his own despair. 

It had been weeks since he'd spoken to Evan, he'd been ignoring every worried text or attempt at a conversation. Connor had also begun skipping out on the weekly classes, disregarding his mother's comments on the matter. 

Interwoven in between him smoking pot, destroying his relationship with his family, and ignoring his life problems, there was an underlying sadness that was driving Connor mad. Not like the "oh I'm having a shitty day but it'll eventually wear off" kind of sad. No, this sadness was heavy, debilitating even. There had been days where he'd broken down, unable to move. It was as if a giant weight was pushing down on him at all times, waiting to see how long it would take to crush him into nothing. 

And it wasn't just sadness Connor was feeling, but anger. 

At everything. At his parents for forcing him into this shitty world and forcing him to live this god awful life, at his sister for taking away the one person who mattered to him more than anything, at this cold, unforgiving place where he was trapped like an animal in a cage.  

Connor's mood didn't improve when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Expecting another text from Evan, he pulled out his phone to see what new emotional torture the world would bring him today. 

Instead of a text from Evan, however, he received a text from an unknown number. 

### - ### - #### : We need to talk.