The Biggest Oak Tree

Evan knew everyone judged him for everything he did. He felt their watchful eyes always picking him apart like she did. He couldn't do class presentations, and Jared wouldn't stop bringing up that English presentation from the previous school year.

He remembered the only person who didn't laugh was Connor. The brunette gave him a soft smile with a thumbs up, and that's what drove Evan to not believe Jared with all the terrible comments he made about the depressed kid. Connor seemed to be in the same boat as Evan, but the blonde wasn't going to force his way into anyone's life.

He admired Connor every day of junior year, because the kid sat across from him. Connor didn't seem as angry during that period. He left little notes on Evan's graded homework about where to find cool trees.

That's how Evan ended up coming to the national park, falling in love with every tree he saw. The park was somewhere for his mind to spread out till the thoughts no longer taunted him on repeat.

His mom wanted him to be outgoing, do something to help him think better. So he became a ranger at the park, and he spoke about trees all the time. Sometimes he saw Connor travel into the park, and would randomly ask Evan about a certain tree he was trying sketch.

So Evan did his job, and rambled on about the history of the tree and how the branches look as well as the wood. (He didn't know that Connor only came here to hear the blonde's rambling to calm down from a lash out.)

The forest was there for Evan, and he was there for it. He knew almost every tree in the park, but no one knew that he would walk around as he spoke aloud to allow him to properly think. It was almost as if he had a friendship with the trees. Even if this little gig he had was supposed to help him, it didn't.

Evan found himself wandering the forest all alone, and sometimes his thoughts would all scream at the same time. Ever since his grandmother came to town, he had been out of it.

She was being verbally abusive again, but he knew that it couldn't be helped. He was pathetic, she was rich, and he had to just take the blow. Heidi told him how much he meant to her, but it stopped feeling like that after a while. It finally felt as if he was the stepping stone for his mother to get money, and that she only kept him around for his grandmother to have a punching bag.

He found himself constantly having breakdowns in the forest, curled up next to the trees; his only friends. Jared refused to be there for him, and Evan was finally all alone. He considered Connor a friend, but he wasn't going to ask the other for reassurance.

Evan had been crying all that morning, and now he was wandering through the trees. His mind was cluttered with thoughts of suicide. Sure, it wasn't the only answer, but it was the only way for him to never see his grandmother ever again. Sunlight streamed through the trees, making his arms warm up. Then he wondered what it feel like to be covered in sunlight.

His body started running before his mind could process what he was doing. There was a 50 foot tree that he could climb to make everything fall away. That's when the comments started hitting him.

"No one loves you."
"You're the reason why you're father left your mother."
"Stop crying, you're acting like a little bitch."
"You're disgusting and ugly. Why do you look like him?"
"God, Evan, just shut the hell up. No one wants to hear what you have to say, it's pointless."

Tears were streaming down his face as he ran, and then he saw a familiar brunette. Evan slowed down to see Connor was sitting at the base of the biggest oak tree. He was just drawing, headphones in his ears, and looking beautiful.

His brunette hair appeared to be auburn in the sunlight, and when his eyes looked up at Evan; they were crystal. Connor smiled at the blonde boy, earning a small wave.