These Broken Parts

Thanks For the Warning

The next month dragged. Evan and Connor had only hung out twice, but Evan felt a connection to Connor that he'd never experienced with anyone else. Life was just a little less lonely with him to talk to.

They exchanged quick looks in the hallway, small nods here and there, but mostly they texted each other. Connor's parents had taken away his phone and computer, but they didn't know about the burner phone Connor had secretly purchased back when he was still in boarding school.

Late at night, when everyone was asleep and there was no risk of his parents or Zoe walking in on him, he'd message Evan to complain about how his day had sucked, or to bitch about something his dad had said or done. He refrained from saying anything bad about Zoe, since Evan liked her – "maybe" – and he didn't want to hurt Evan by shattering the pedestal he had put Zoe on.

Evan would reply back, sympathizing with Connor where school was concerned. School was like torture for Evan, too. Sure, Alana would talk to him sometimes, but usually about school, and always in that weird way of hers she had, where she always seemed to be trying to one-up him. Maybe she didn't realize she was doing it, but Evan always felt like he wasn't succeeding in life because he couldn't match her ambitiousness.

And then there was Jared, his "family friend," who liked to constantly insult him. Having any kind of friend had been enough for Evan before – well, before Connor. He still didn't know if Connor considered him a friend or not, but Evan considered him more of a true friend than Jared. Jared's insults got old after awhile, especially with his crass attitude and language, like nothing mattered and everything was a joke.

One night, about halfway through the Month of Grounding, Evan sat staring at his phone, trying to think of something interesting to tell Connor. Nothing had really happened that day to warrant attention, but Evan wanted to say SOMETHING. He didn't want a whole night to go by without a message back from Connor.

I think I want to try smoking pot with you next time

Evan had no idea what made him say it, since it really wasn't something he wanted to try. He still just couldn't figure out what had prompted Connor to start hanging out with him, and worried Connor would get bored of him after awhile if he didn't do something besides talk about trees.

Connor's response was immediate, a laughing crying emoji.

Evan blushed. He started to type a reply, but stopped when another message came in from Connor.

You can try it, but I don't think you'll like it.

Evan sighed, picking loose threads on his comforter. He was such a loser. He didn't bother replying to Connor, just put his phone down and rolled over, closing his eyes.

~*~*~

Connor couldn't help the smile that broke out when he read the message from Evan. He couldn't even imagine Evan getting high. He was so innocent. Instead of getting upset when Evan didn't reply, Connor just chuckled and put his phone under his pillow. He rolled onto his back and stared up at his ceiling, shaking his head, closing his eyes, and attempting sleep.

~*~*~

At school the next day, Connor couldn't help the smirk he sent Evan's way when they made eye contact in the hall. He shook his head and kept walking, despite his desire to stop and tease Evan.

"Why the fuck is Connor Murphy smiling at you like he wants to throttle you?"

"W-w-what?" Evan stammered, looking away from Connor to Jared.

"That dude is a psychopath. Whatever you did, you better watch your back."

It took everything in him to not snap at Jared, to tell him he didn't know anything about Connor. Jared would definitely ask too many questions if he did.