One Thousand Emails (Treebros) {#Wattys2018}

03

It was the end of the next day. Connor was waiting outside the school for Evan, playing on his phone while he did so.

Evan was at his locker, grabbing his bag. He was moving with haste, not wanting to making Connor wait because of him. The thought itself made his stomach do a cartwheel. After putting his bag on, he quickly went to the front of the school.

When Evan got out, he saw Connor and quickly went to him. "Uh, h-hey, Connor!"

Connor looked up from his phone and put it in his pocket and waved. "Evan."

"H-hey, so, is it just gonna be us at your place? I-I don't mean to be rude or anything, I-I'm just wondering," Evan asked him.

Connor smiled, noticing how hard Evan was trying not to offend him. "It's just gonna be you and me, and my mom. My sister is hanging out with some chick, Alana, or something," he shrugged.

"O-okay, we should get going," Evan nodded quickly. It relieved him that Zoe wasn't going to be there, he most likely would embarrass himself, but it wouldn't be too bad since his crush wasn't there.

"Alright, let's go to my car then, I guess," Connor started to walk.

Evan quickly followed beside him, "C-car?"

"It was my dad's, but he wanted a new one so he gave the old one to me," Connor explained shortly.

"Ahh okay. T-that makes sense," Evan nodded quickly.

"Anyways, here it is," Connor came to a stop at a dark blue truck. It was a 2016, so it wasn't that old.

Evan nodded and quickly observed the truck. "I-it's nice."

Connor thanked him and unlocked the truck. He climbed into the driver's seat, as Evan shyly got in from the passenger side. They both buckled up and Connor started to drive.

Evan wasn't really too sure on what to say. He just looked out the window and watched as people and other things passed as Connor drove by them.

"Sooo Evan, do you uh, have any hobbies?" Connor asked, breaking the silence.

Evan jolted, a little startled by the question, but he answered it, saying, "Oh I uh, really like nature! I spend a lot of time at the park or wherever else I can find."

"Hmm, I see. You ever been to the old orchard?" Connor kept his eyes glued onto the road.

"Uh, no, actually. There's always a lot of people there..." Evan mumbled the last part.

"Ah, I see. Well, my family always went there, along with this ice cream parlor, dunno if you heard of it or not, but it's called A La Mode," Connor went on.

Evan shook his head no, "I've never been there before. If I'm being honest, my mom is too busy to go places with me.."

Connor raised an eyebrow and glanced at Evan, "What does your mom do for a living?"

"She's a nurse at the local hospital. She has to work long shifts so that we can get by..." Evan sighed.

Connor huffed, before looking back at the road, "And.. Your dad?"

Evan tensed up a bit, before looking down, "Let's.. Not talk about him, okay? It's personal..."

Connor just nodded, not needing to be told twice. He could tell that Evan's father was a sensitive topic not to be tested.

After a few minutes, Connor came to a stop at a large house. It seemed to be two stories at the most. Evan gazed at it, he expected the Murphy household to be big, but he didn't expect it to be that big.

Connor jumped out of the car, and gestured for Evan to do the same. Once his attention was turned back to Connor's, he blushed in embarrassment and got out.

Just one step inside the household proved that the interior of the house was far surperior than the outside. The walls were painted in rich colors like red, white, and a golden yellow, as a scarlet red welcome mat sat at the very door of the entrance. Directly from the entrance was a flat screen tv, with a coffee table and various couches placed at least five inches from the television.

The kitchen was plastered in white and baby blue, tile countertops that held different types of cooking utensils. The oven was placed a few inches from the fridge, which was a white as the rest of the area.

Not too far from the kitchen was the dining area. The colors hadn't had changed drastically, but instead was white with a slightly darker blue. What took up a good majority of the dining room was the table, an oak brown with chairs that had pillows to sit on. Directly above the table was a chandler, made with a good variety of jewels.

Evan took a moment to take everything in, his house wasn't nearly as impressive as this. It was just a normal, messy house. But then again, the Murphy's were loaded with cash.

Connor put a hand on Evan's shoulder, snapping him back into reality, "C'mon, we should head to my room so we can get started."

"Connor! Who's this?" A feminine voice called out.

Connor groaned, "Great, I was hoping to avoid my mom..."

Mrs. Murphy, or Cynthia, approached the two, with a smile on her face. She was clearly excited to see Connor bringing a guest over.

"Hey, mom. This is Evan," Connor gestured to Evan.

"Uh, i-its nice to meet, Mrs. Murphy," Evan held his hand out to Cynthia.

Cynthia took Evan's hand and shook it lightly, "It's nice to see Connor making a new friend! How'd you two meet?"

"Oh uh, through a school project," Evan released his hand from Cynthia's and rubbed the back of his head.

"So Evan, do you have any friends?" Cynthia asked.

Evan hesitated, before saying, "Well, two, but uh, we're not that close..."

"Oh... Well at least you and Connor have each other," she smiled lightly.

"Yeah well, we better go and keep working on our project," Connor gripped Evan's shoulder, realizing he kept it there the whole time.

Evan nodded to him, "Y.. Yeah, we should." He let Connor lead the way to his room.

"Well, just call if you need anything!" Cynthia called to them.

After stepping into Connor's room, Evan shut the door behind him and looked at Connor, before looking at the ground. "You.. Didn't have to do that, you know..."

Connor looked back at him, and raised an eyebrow, "Do what?"

"Say that I'm.. Your friend," Evan sighed, and looked down

"Well, it sure does seem like you need one," Connor told him.

Evan looked up and to Connor, "Are you saying what I think you're saying..?"

Connor nodded and smiled, "I definitely need one too."

Evan smiled, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Ev."