Evan blinked a few times, sitting up and taking in his surroundings, still unsure of where he was. He winced as he recalled the events of the previous night, pushing the memories as far back into his brain as he could. What happened, happened. Dwelling on it wouldn't change that.
He decided to start walking. He didn't know where he was, but maybe he'd walk far enough to find his way back to a familiar area of town. He had no idea what time it was, but the sky was still barely illuminated by the still-rising sun and very few cars were on the road for a Saturday.
Aimlessly wandering, his hunger outweighed his anxiety, urging him into a Denny's. He shakily asked for the phone, suddenly very aware of the fact that he must look absolutely terrible, but there was nothing he could do unless he called someone. He couldn't call his mother because she had a class, and he couldn't call Jared because he was still mad. He couldn't call his father because, hell, he was the one who had gotten him into this mess in the first place; but, by God, he was not calling Connor about this. He couldn't let him see him like this, and he knew he would break down if Connor asked him what was wrong. He took a deep breath as he dialed a number, praying that the right person would answer.
"Murphy household," a sleepy, feminine voice spoke into the phone.
"Is this, uh, Zoe?" Evan tapped his foot as he spoke, trying not to convey any distress.
"Yeah, who's this?"
"I'm n-not sure if you remember me... Evan?"
"Hansen?"
"Yeah!"
"Yeah, you're Connor's only friend. I remember you."
"So, you know how you kind of owe me a favor? For picking him up that night?"
"Uh-huh."
"Is it okay if I cash in on that n-now?"
He gave Zoe his location as she promised to be there in ten minutes tops. He waited on a curb outside, watching cars go by until finally, Zoe's car pulled up in front of the Denny's. Evan scrambled to get inside, avoiding eye contact and Zoe cast sympathetic glances his way.
"Are you alright?" she asked carefully, "You look like hell."
"I'm f-fine," Evan spoke barely above a whisper, trying to convince himself that it was true, "Thank you for the ride."
He navigated directions to his house, the ride silent aside from the occasional turn here or it's the next street up from Evan and Zoe's words of acknowledgment and affirmation. They finally pulled up to Evan's house as he patted his pockets, face going ghost white.
"What's wrong?" Zoe asked, seeing his sudden panic.
"My keys..." Evan's breathing hastened, "I must have left them with my dad. Oh, God, I j-just inconvenienced you so much and made you drive all the way out there, and I've wasted your time. I'm so s-sorry, oh, my God-"
"Evan! Evan, calm down, it's okay. You can come back to my house until your mom gets home or something. It's okay."
"I can't do that! I d-don't wanna invade on your family time or anything."
"My parents are away at brunch and Connor won't be awake for another four hours. You'll be fine, I'm not taking no for an answer."
"But I only called your house phone instead of Connor's cell s-so that he didn't see me like this."
"As I said, he'll be asleep until God knows when. I can't leave you stranded outside your house like this."
Reluctantly, Evan agreed to let Zoe take him in. He prayed that she was right about Connor being asleep, but he had an unsure feeling in his gut. He thought up a million possible excuses, just in case they proved to be necessary, but none sounded believable. The ride was comfortably silent, but Evan couldn't bear to think of what happened to him. They pulled up to the Murphys' house, Evan trailing behind Zoe like a scared, lost puppy.
"So, not to be rude..." Zoe began, "... but do you wanna use our shower? You look like you had a rough night."
Evan nodded frantically, desperate to wash off the shame and disgust he felt for himself, along with the inevitability filth of sleeping outside on a bench in an unfamiliar neighborhood.
"I'm sure Connor won't mind if you borrow his clothes if you wanna change out of those ones," she added, already heading towards Connor's bedroom.
"I don't think I'll f-fit..." Evan protested, recalling their size difference.
This proved to be half true after his shower. He didn't fit into Connor's skinny jeans; however, Zoe picked out an oversized sweatshirt. As Evan slipped into his own pants and Connor's sweatshirt, a knock came to the door.
"Zo!" a groggy voice spoke from the other side, "Hurry up, I need to get in there!"
Evan panicked, trying to force words out of his mouth. After a few seconds of no response, he heard Zoe chime in from the other room, "It's not me, jackass!"
Evan didn't know what to do. He considered climbing out the window but he really didn't have much experience with that, so he chose to open the door, making direct eye contact with Connor.
"Evan?" Connor was taken aback, a mixture of feelings swirling through his mind, "What are you doing here?"
"He asked me to pick him up," Zoe responded for Evan, "He didn't have his house keys so I brought him here until his mom gets home."
"You called Zoe?" Connor asked, confused and offended, "Why didn't you call me?"
"I d-didn't think you'd be awake yet. I'm sorry."
"I mean, don't be sorry, but you could have called me. I don't care if I was asleep, you could have called."
