cigarettes and valentines // tree bros

bonus chapter!

"Hey Jared."

After much deliberation, I realized that I needed to talk about my increasing concern over befriending Connor Murphy. The only person available was Jared, since my mom was at work. There was a high chance he wouldn't care, though.

"what do u want"

Jared replied 20 minutes after he saw it. I was considering sending him another message. It was probably for the best that I didn't.

"I talked to Connor Murphy today. Twice."

Sure, it was technically three times – thrice? – but he didn't need to know about Connor's breakdown. He would just mock him and then Connor would hate me and I'd have no friends at all.

"haha u do know i was joking, right"

Jared a way of texting that seemed like he put the least possible effort into it. It made me wonder if he was so laidback in everything he did.

"Yeah. I bumped into him in the hall and then he spoke to me at lunch in the computer lab and signed my cast."

I had originally typed out an entire paragraph detailing everything that happened in every interaction but Jared wouldn't have responded to that. He didn't care enough to read more than one sentence. He told me that frequently.

"he signed ur cast? damn im jealous"

I hadn't asked Jared to sign my cast because I'd assumed he'd say no. I knew he was joking, but maybe I should've offered. Maybe he was genuinely disappointed that he didn't get the chance to draw a dick.

"This is serious, Jared."

My grammar made it seem much more sinister than it was. I was always too anxious about using slang wrong or seeming stupid, so went for perfect (or as near perfect as possible) syntax and punctuation instead. Jared liked to mock me and say I text like a grandmother.

"ik. so ur friends now? u gonna start blazin with him"

It was slightly unusual for Jared to care so much, to actually ask questions. He'd have usually stopped replying by now. He must really hate Connor.

"No! I think he might think we're friends. Maybe we are friends. Would it bad to be friends with him?"

As the thought dawned, my hands began to shake. There was something different about the idea of a friendship with Connor... something tangible, lasting. He didn't seem to be so far above me – he might actually want to be friends. It was terrifying.

"idk evan jesus christ what am i, ur therapist?"

This time, it took him almost an hour to reply. I thought he wasn't going to at all. He does that sometimes. To make sure I know how unimportant I am to him. Or something like that.

"No, I'm sorry for disturbing you."

I shouldn't have messaged Jared. He didn't care. Of course he didn't. Why would he? This wasn't his problem. Nobody else in the entire would care, either. I wasn't even sure Connor gave a shit whether I was friends with him or not.

"too right"

Jared's response was final. I turned my phone off and went to make a cup of tea.

(A/N:  this is a "bonus" due to the fact it doesn't really add to the plot but hey, who's gonna complain at seeing some more of the insanely cool Jared Kleinman? Nobody, that's who.)