The Smoke From His Lips

3

Jared's mind was scattered, each thought only related by one thing: what Connor had said to him. It's been three days since that day he saw him at the park. Since he tried to smoke. He wasn't successful, it just left a nasty taste and a strain in his lungs.

He sat in his room with Evan reading on the floor space in front of his bed. The Great Gatsby is what he read, a classic he was rereading from two years prior, given to the class as an assignment. He enjoyed those books, and Jared never understood his love for details. Granted, Jared was the one who retained every little quirk Connor displayed during their encounter. Every word stayed in his mind and ever single little detail did too. He couldn't help but replay it.

"You're never this quiet," Evan mumbled quietly as he read, finishing the page before gently sticking a sticky note on the edge and closed his book. He looked up at Jared, who was sitting on the bed and blankly staring at the wall.

"Hm?" Jared snapped out of his daydreaming and swirling thoughts, finally.

Evan frowned slightly and tossed his book aside, leaning forward to Jared slightly. "What're you thinking about? You only ever zone out when something's bothering you."

Jared blinked. "I zoned out?" Did he actually? Usually he's aware, oddly, but didn't have the energy to tune back in. Other times, he tried to zone out to ignore something physically happening, but that wasn't the case either. He must've accidentally thought too hard.

"Yeah, you stared at the wall and I was able to finish chapter eight while you did."

"Huh. I didn't even notice, jeez what time is't?"

"Like, 5:31," Evan mumbled with a glance to his phone. "Why?"

"I spaced out for half an hour?"

"Yeah."

"... Were you reading the same chapter for half an hour?"

Evan snorted and covered his smile with his hand as he chuckled, "No, Jesus Jared, I'm not that slow of a reader. I went on my phone."

"Anything good?" Skew the subject aside.

"Not really, a lot of the art blogs I follow are doing a collab though, I know I get notifications but I wanna check to make sure if they updated or not sometimes? It's weird, I know," Evan chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. Jared smiled and chuckled endearingly.

"Nerd."

Evan smiled. "Anyway... back to the question that you distracted me from. What's up in your mind?" Fuck.

Jared shrugged. There wasn't an easy way to phrase it. It hurt his mind trying to think of it. What was he even supposed to say? Hey yeah I tried to smoke with Connor Murphy, choked, burned myself and then watched Connor walk away and then started to think about it nonstop. No. That's not how it works.

"Glue is boneless tape," Jared blurted as a response, unsure what else he could do.

Evan paused. He thought over it, slowly cringing and groaning, "Jareddddd don't do this."

"Haha, fucker," he scoffed and giggled, teasing and endearingly. "Think about it."

"I hate you."

"You love me."
~

Jare and Ev are friends in this because angst? No, no angst between them. I love them. Fuck you.

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Sorry I'm s l o w