These Broken Parts

Too Many Questions

The next morning, Connor and Evan met at the park, and walked to school, holding hands until they were within sight of the school building. They reluctantly let each other go, though each felt the absence of the other. They had almost reached the front steps of the school when they encountered Jared.

"Jared, please..." Evan began, his voice trembling a little.

Jared held a hand up. "It's cool, Murphsen. You two make a LOVELY couple." He almost sounded sincere, but his signature douchebag smirk remained. "Your secret is safe with me. What are family friends for?" With that, he walked away.

"Murphsen?" Connor asked, quirking a brow at Evan. Evan shrugged, still worried. He'd known Jared a long time, and he was a jerk, for sure. But he'd never been downright cruel. Maybe he meant what he said. Maybe, like Evan's stuttering and Connor's steely-eyed glare, maybe Jared's sarcasm and douche jokes were just a front for something more. Maybe he really did consider Evan a friend, and wouldn't say anything to anyone.

~*~*~

After everything they had been through recently, Evan felt a stronger pull towards Connor. He was still worried about people finding out about them, but he was more worried about Connor's emotional well being, especially after last night and everything Connor had confided in him.

So, that day at lunch, he sat down across from Connor. Connor startled and looked up. His eyes widened. He slowly lowered his book, a question in his eyes. Evan just nodded at him. Connor smiled, picking his book back up as Evan settled in.

No one really bothered them that first day, or the second, or even the third. But people had noticed that they were talking more in the halls the last few days, and eating lunch together.

Connor ignored the whispering. He was used to people whispering about him, but he was worried about Evan. Evan was used to being invisible, and Connor could tell it was getting to the poor boy.

On the fourth day, Connor told Evan to meet him at his locker at lunch and they could skip the rest of the day, if he felt too overwhelmed. Evan agreed, and the two went their separate ways for classes.

But Evan didn't make it that long. While getting books from his locker in between third and fourth period, things went bad.

"Hey, Hansen, spending a lot of time with school shooter boy, eh?"

Evan cringed, trying to make himself smaller, trying to grab his books faster. He ignored, didn't engage.

"Hey, loser, I'm talkin' to you."

His books were shoved out of his hand, and he was slammed forward. His lip caught the frame of the locker, and a warm flow of blood filled his mouth. Someone spun him around and shoved him again. He winced as his head connected with the cold metal.

"Got yourself a boyfriend, huh? Who would have thought the loser and the drug addict would end up together? Well, how adorable." Sarcasm dripped from the boy's voice - a jock Evan didn't even know, had never spoken to.

Evan tried to speak, tried to beg the boy to leave him alone. But his stutter was so bad, he couldn't even get out one word. He stared hard at the floor, trying to avoid eye contact.

A fist connected with his stomach. He doubled over, gasping for breath, and then found himself on the floor. Then a foot connected with his gut. He yelped, curling into a ball to protect himself. Everyone was laughing. He vaguely heard someone shout for a teacher. A voice screamed his name, another voice yelled that the assistant principal was stalking towards them.

The boys scattered, leaving Evan alone, eyes squeezed shut in fear and pain. He could feel the presence of a lot of people, could hear them whispering, but no one approached him.