Lost In The Inbetween

Lost In The Inbetween (Part II)

"Wait," I call after him. He turns around.

"What do you want, tree boy," he snarls at me.

"N-nothing. Sorry. I'll go now," I say, backing away from him. Connor sighs.

"Wait. You're Evan, right?" he asks.

"Evan..." I whisper.

"Well, I'm Connor, in case you couldn't tell by the, ah," he gestures to his hair, "school shooter chic as your friend so accurately described me," Connor says, dripping with sarcasm.

"He's, he's not my friend. He's only n-nice to me because his m-mom will take away his c-car insurance if he's n-not. I don't have any f-friends," I say, a hint of melancholy in my voice. Connor's gaze softens with sympathy, his blue eyes looking at me with a semblance of kindness. He glances down at my blank white cast.

"How'd you break your arm?" he asks.

"I fell out of a tree," I say.

"Well that is the saddest fucking thing I ever heard," he says. "No one's signed your cast," he says, his brow furrowing.

"No. L-like I said, I d-don't have friends," I laugh.

"Well, I'll sign it. Do you have a sharpie?" he demands more than asks.

"You d-don't have to do this," I say as I hand him the sharpie in my pocket. He grabs my arm a little too fast and I wince. He writes his name in big letters that take up the entire cast. "Oh, wow, thanks," I say dryly.

"Now we can both pretend we have friends," Connor says and smiles sadly. I nod in response.

"I sh-should probably go. I h-have to w-work on a letter to m-myself for my th-therapist. B-because today is a good day!" I say sarcastically. Connor laughs.

"You're funny, Hansen. Do you want to hang out after school? With me?" he asks. My heart begins to flutter nervously. I force it to calm down.

"Um... yeah?" I say.

"Is that a question or a statement?" Connor says, lifting a single eyebrow.

"S-statement," I reply.

"K. I'll meet you by the doors after school," and with that, Connor walks away.

I look down at my chest. You will not get a crush on Connor. He's not interested in you like that. You cannot get a crush on him. No way, José, I think to myself.

"Wait, Evan!" I turn and see Connor running towards me, a sharpie in his hand. "I forgot to return this," he says with a crooked grin.

Well shit there goes my heart

After school, Connor and I met in the parking lot. I guess he wanted to take me on a surprise outing. He told me there would be trees involved, so I happily followed along. We got in his car so he could drive us to the mystery location. Because we're instantly friends after just meeting each other. It's like we were meant to be or something.

"Hey, Ev?" I blush at the nickname. Geez Evan, you can't even handle a nickname? Get over yourself, I think.

"Yeah," I respond.

"Since we're friends and stuff now, I suppose there's something I should tell you about myself. I haven't told anybody because I haven't had anyone close enough to tell, but I should probably tell someone or else something bad might happen. I hope you keep trying to be friends with me, though," Connor says.

Oh no, he's going to tell me that he smokes cocaine or snorts crack or something, I think, expecting the worst. I start to pull my shirt nervously.

"And that is..." I wait for him to continue. Connor takes a deep breath.

"I'm gay," he says. He looks away from the road for a second to look at my face an analyze my reaction. I start to laugh a tittering, unsteady laugh.