Soft (Kleinsen)

An Old Friend

Evan squinted his eyes after stepping into the brightly lit building. The mall was a place he would never go voluntarily. There were too many people that could probably judge you.

But with Jared, everyone else suddenly didn't matter. Their small glances didn't look so terrifying now. In fact, they didn't even exist to him.

That is until he spotted Zoe sitting at the food court with a guy that had dark brown hair.

He quickly looked away, maybe a bit too fast.

Jared felt the rapid movement and looked at Evan. "Are you okay?" He asked with a slight smile. He looked over at the people sitting until he spotted Zoe. He frowned, now slightly regretting coming here.

What an idiot, he thought. He's still in love with Zoe. Why did I ever think I could make him like me?

Jared sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them again and looked at the boy who was in front of Zoe.

His eyes widened as he realized who it was. He quickly grabbed Evan's hand and pulled them in their direction.

Jared tapped lightly on the boy's shoulder. "Hi Dustin!" He greeted with a smile.

Zoe and Evan seemed to have the same awkward and flustered expression.

"Hey Jare!" The other turned around to reveal the most beautiful features Evan had ever seen. He had almond shaped eyes with an emerald green color. His skin was dark and smooth looking. His dark hair was properly combed into a small ponytail.

"You know him?" Zoe asked Jared with a light glare.

Jared nodded with a wide smile. "Course I do. Dustin Kropp, winner of the state spelling bee, vice president of the student council and my best friend since middle school."

Astounded, Evan shook his head. "Oh wow.. I've never seen you around."

"Yeah, I'm going to be a senior at Broadway High. I just moved here from Two River High School." Dustin flashed Evan a confident smile. It was a bit hard to understand him over his thick accent.

"Isn't that in New Jersey?" Evan asked. He was a bit confused at how Jared could know someone from there when they were in New York!

This time, Jared intervened to answer. "My cousin Jeremy goes there, remember?"

Evan let out a faint, "Oh." He shook his head with a soft chuckle. "Right sorry."

"And who might you be?" Asked Dustin, his body now facing Evan.

"Evan.. Hansen." He mentally slapped himself. How could have he stuttered through his own name?

Dustin nodded and scanned the boy up and down. "I've heard quite a bit from you, Hansen." He looked at Jared with a small smirk painted onto his lips.

"Anyways!" Zoe interrupted, clearly uncomfortable. "We should get going, right Dustin?" She looked at the boy, it was clear that she was attempting to hide her anger.

He looked at her and Evan. Back and fourth repeatedly. It was clear that something lingered between them but he quickly shrugged it off. "Of course, darling."

Zoe's angry expression quickly softened at his words. He reached out for his hand and they walked away.

"How eventful," Jared said with a mocking British accent.

Evan giggled softly at the action. "Come on, we don't have all day."

And like that, the males went to the only suit store that didn't charge millions of dollars. DXL.

Once they entered the store, they were hit with a powerful smell of cologne. There were a few other men and women inside.

Jared lead Evan directly to the classic zone. "Just to give you a heads up, the theme is purple, so we better get you something of that color."

Evan pointed to a traditional black and white suit. "Why can't I just wear that?"

Jared rolled his eyes. "Because it's boring, Ev. Besides, a bunch of old men will be wearing that."

Evan approached a navy blue suit that had a light purple button up shirt underneath and a violet tie. "What about this?"

Jared examined the piece. "It's great but I don't think you would look good in a tie. Maybe a bowtie instead."

"Isn't that for twelve year olds?" Questioned Evan with a raised eyebrow.

Jared shrugged. "Not necessarily, it's used so you look cute. Tie is for handsome."

"You seem to know an awful lot about this stuff," stated Evan.

"Yeah," he sighed. "It's not like my mother works with clothes or anything." It was clear that he was being sarcastic.

Jared picked up the suit and walked over to one of the guys who were supposed to help. He had asked for Evan's size and a bowtie replacement.

After what seemed like decades of waiting, the man came out with the desired suit and gave it to Evan.

"Great, now the only thing left is for you to try it on!" Jared wore a proud smile on his face.

Evan went over to the dressers and put the under shirt on and then his pants. He made sure that it was tucked in nicely before putting on the blazer. Afterwards, he put the tie around his neck but struggled on trying to tie it.

"Jared!" He called. "How do I tie this thing?"

The other quickly stepped inside and sighed. "Are you serious?" He began to carefully tie the garment. "Has no one ever taught you how to tie a bowtie? I mean I learned when I was twelve!"

Evan rolled his eyes as he let Jared finish.

Jared soon finished and held onto the bowtie. "You look ravishing," he complimented in a whisper. His cheeks were red as he admired Evan.

"I.. Thanks," said Evan quietly. He wasn't the best at taking compliments.

There was a silence between them for a while. Not awkward but also not completely comfortable.

Jared slowly began to lean into Evan. His lips being his only goal.

Evan felt a similar rush. He leaned down at the same paste until..

~~~

Hey there heccers-

I tried a cliffhanger >:'DD
I don't know what I'm doing-

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry for the long wait!

Anyways, my name is Eli and I appreciate your existence!