#ranging from fear to anger to admiration to “dude she's so hot”

[raintailed]

PLEASE i am CLAWING THE WALLS i gotta talk about regicide oh my god.

My headcanon artificer's story basically has her eventually fight and kill the scav king. The king respawns and Artificer's destroyed karma means she cant leave. She is also burned out on hatred, so to speak; now she is just exhausted.

And the king, who is actually pretty kind, decides that the best long-term solution to having a mass murderer trapped in your city is to pretty much declare a truce.

At first Arti is NOT happy about this arrangemenr but at least she isnt being actively hunted down anymore (this helps massively with her anxiety i'd imagine). She is still very hostile to anyone who gets too close to her den. She also has to duel a lot of scavs so they can basically get even with her for killing them (based on ideas from @its-the-sa).

Uhhh eventually Arti grows to trust the Scav King, which is a HUGE deal for someone like her. She sees herself and the King as equals (in battle, anyway). In turn, the King isn't afraid of what Artificer can do to him, but *is* afraid of what Artificer can and has done to his people.

Imagining it gets to the point where the King is able to like. Go wake up Artificer (any time before noon is early for Arti) to go to some political thing and Arti is just face down in her den going GRRRRRR. But the King knows they are just being grumpy and they won't actually hurt him. Theyre so different and yet they eventually get along so well...

ANYWAYS it is 1 am I should stop rambling for now

[geekys-corner]

Mind listing the OCs/personas and a couple facts about them? (Might help with questions lol)

Sure! I’ve written 16 below lmao *sticks in a read more*

Anthony - Originally my version of Anti, he’s now a sweet bean who really likes plants. In his backstory and the start of his story, he was found in a tiny pocket dimension inside his old apartment while he and the place around him fell into disrepair with the only thing truly alive being his plants. After losing his entire family, he was very fragile and hurt himself quite a bit, but my other characters rescued him and nursed him back to health and stability!

Onyx - My angsty punk dude who I adore. He is on the autistic spectrum and is mostly non-verbal, once going 4 months without speaking before breaking the silence to tell his best friend that Viggo Mortenson broke his toe in that one scene in Lord of the Rings. They have a twin sister who is 13 minutes older and a firm witch while he is a firm nonbeliever. Sometimes he goes to the junkyard with a baseball bat to let out their anger.

Leon - His backstory is very dark so I won’t get into it, but he’s a very shy bean with one arm and a love for sewing. He has the fluffiest light pink hair, and is just the embodiment of pastel.

Kyle - The older brother of the duo! He’s friends with Onyx and also has a punk look with spiked blue hair, but he’s an absolute sweetheart! He’s eight years older than his brother, and ran away with him when he was a newborn to escape their abusive mother. He raised Joey on his own in the streets, escaping care systems that would split them apart and shove them in to foster homes, and grew up to be completely independent, albeit unaware of what it is like to have a loving family besides his brother. He may be quick to resort to fight or flight to protect his brother and grumpy to strangers, but he’s built them a good life!

Joseph - The little brother! Joey is a smart little kid, (ranging from 10 - 14 depending) with very bright ginger hair and freckles. He’s on the far side of the autistic spectrum and is completely nonverbal, but he’s very expressive, spunky, and loving whenever he’s able to. He adores peanut butter and milkshakes, and would very happily have them six times a day. While he can’t speak, he will send Kyle countless facts from astronomy or marine life through text at any time of day or night. He’s always seen in his blue skateboarding frog hoodie, a beetle backpack filled with his supplies, and his headphones and tablet. He loves to draw and he’s great at it, and always draws sharks, especially whale sharks.

Caelan - Another punk, but this time in bird form. He is a griffin, and in some AUs a dude with prosthetic feet. He has messy blond hair covering his eyes and is based around an Egyptian falcon. He’s very quick witted and very annoying to people who don’t know him, but would go to hell and back for his family. 

Marioma - The model of a modern major general- this dude is the only one like him, meaning he has no AU counterparts! He’s different from my other characters since he’s technically self-aware, and acts in my stories if and when I want him to! He’s a grumpy, determined dude who’s trying to quit smoking per request of his boyfriend, Arthur. Before him, he was a sly, hardened, and cunning man who needed someone to rely on who wouldn’t die on him.

Arthur - Foster fails: 5. He owns a bookstore in the universe he inhabits and, just like Mari, he’s one of a kind! He lives the ideal rainy city aesthetic, with an apartment above his store with open windows, plants, cosy blankets and homemade food, handmade clothing, and animals. He’s got curly hair and his scarf is his comfort item, and he takes in animals if and when he can. He and Mari just live a comfortable life :’)

Clyde - A duo with Anthony, he was originally a version of Henrik, but is now completely different. This boy is a classic OC and therefore my teenage angst punching bag. He’s a doctor in his husband Lucas’ mafia, and is very strong-willed and the biggest sweetheart. He has water powers that I always forget about, and could very easily drown someone if he wanted to. Besides that, he does cry a lot over small things, and Lucas has walked in on him crying over their cat in a business-tie.

Levi - If he and Clyde fused, they’d make Henrik. He’s my 55 year old doctor who just the embodiment of grumpy cat and expresso. He’s very lanky and has joint problems after trauma in his late 20s, and sometimes you can hear his bones cracking as he walks. He has, can, and will slap the sense into Clyde when he needs to and hated him to begin with, but warmed up to him. But, he’s completely different to his husband Sage, and in the end, is a very caring guy who won’t take any shit. He’s also therapist, and gives sessions to most of my OCs- (he’s also the doctor at the end of Don’t Leave! Dr Allison!)

Tyrell (Cloak) - So I split the same OC into two halves, essentially from two AUs but in one? They’re not twins, they’re the same guy with separate families but they’re the same. They’re both POC with the same face, hair texture etc. Cloak-Ty is very grumpy, and is called Cloak because of the cloak he wears in his fantasy-based AUs! He wears an eye patch and lost his eye depending on the AU, and went through a lot. You can tell he’s angsty because half of his hair is buzzed off. He tried to push away his now-husband Demitri, but luckily he’s an absolute himbo who doesn’t know when to quit, and eventually melted through the icy layer to a loving, sarcastic, hard-working man.

Tyrell (Ponytail) - Same as above description wise! He’s taller and buff with a ponytail. He went through the same backstory, but was found by Daniel who took him to Lucas’ mafia where they recovered together and eventually fell in love. Half of his face is badly burned and the eye has pin-hole vision, but it doesn’t stop him from being the best sniper on the team. When at home, he loves tea, hanging with his family, and painting. He’s amazing at watercolour and earns money on the side from selling his work! Sometimes he and Dan team up and draw together!

Bloodbranded:

Wayde - He lives in the Winter Forest Region and hunts for his family with his exceptional archery skills. He’s witty and pretty spontaneous, making him good under pressure, but incredibly reckless. He has a bad claw scar across his right eye which cuts into his hair, but he can see just fine! He has beautiful green eyes with central heterochromia, so they turn brown in the centre. While he may be annoying and hot-headed, he cares a whole bunch and grows as a person to fall in love with Milo. He’s a hopeless romantic and protective as all hell, even when Milo can handle himself just fine.

Felicity - She wasn’t born in the WFR like Wayde, she was adopted by her two mothers and is Wayde’s cousin! She’s a POC with beautiful dark skin, and her parents style her hair in unique braids that are decorated by gold rings. She’s a magic user and a very skilled one at that, even when she’d just started out, and wishes to revive the old form of magic that had been taken over by the modern, corrupted magic form that’s based entirely on nepotism. She uses a staff and a book, and is clumsy to start out, but soon becomes a mage to be admired, or feared if you’re an enemy!

Milo - Unlike Felicity and Wayde, he was born in the desert region, and ends up in the WFR by mistake (which is a vast change in temperature for him). Because of the contrast in temperature, he’s always wrapped up in winter clothes, even in places where the others are sleeveless, just because he’s spent his whole life in the heat! When he’s at home, he lives with his Mother and goes out to collect lightning glass after the nightly storms to sell and turn into jewellery or windows etc. Milo was born deaf and uses sign language to communicate. He’s smart, energetic, and excited to see new things, but can handle himself with ease, and knows how to take care of himself through quick thinking and fighting skills from living in the desert. When he and Wayde start dating, he likes coming up behind him and cuddling him or giving him quick kisses!

Prism - Much like their name, they are very colourful. They are a dragon hybrid and live in a kingdom of others like them, but unlike any other dragon, their scales are - like their name - prisms. They gradient between rainbows across their body, but each scale has a rainbow shimmer when they move. Their wings are like stained glass, and their hair (as of now, it might change) is like labradorite! Prism is mute and doesn’t express much, usually communicating through eye rolls. They live as the King’s new heir after he took them in as he believes Prism is the symbol of their kingdom and species’ beauty. Because of this, they are completely untouched by any blade and don’t have a single blemish or scar as to preserve them. Many guards have died to prevent them from obtaining even the slightest scratch. Beyond their anxiety, they join the crew and act as the voice/sign of reason! Even if they are assigned to their kingdom, they soon learn that their friends truly care about them more than their appearance.

That’s most of my OCs, this is already super long so I don’t want to drag it on! If anyone is interested in any OC, feel free to drop an ask, I’d love to write one shots or answer questions! <3 ^^

[igottoomuchwriting]

Sincerely, Me (Chapter 3)

Series: Part 1/Previous Chapter/Next Chapter

Homecoming was just next week, and Connor was not ready. If he could skip a whole week of school with no consequences, this would be the week he does it. Every year since freshman year, he didn’t dress up and without fail, there would be at least one kid from student council who would bash on him for not dressing up with everyone else.

Right now it was lunch time, and Connor and Evan were sitting and watching a girl talking to her boyfriend. Connor could tell that she was a freshman, and he knew the boy as one of the most popular kids in their class. She was showing him texts on her phone and was obviously upset, and the boy just kept looking away and faking care.

Figures.

“I don’t think I will ever understand the hype for homecoming,” Connor mumbled. “Why is everyone excited to sit and watch a game where we will have our asses handed to us, a dance performance where you can’t even hear the music, and go to a dance where at least one fight happens and three couples break up?”

“The drama?” he heard Evan guess. Connor shrugged his shoulders. Evan’s guess was as good as his.

He turned around so he could face Evan all the way, already bored with watching the couple. He saw that Evan had ate a little bit of what the school has given him and he mentally sighed. Sometimes Evan just wouldn’t eat and it always concerned Connor, even if he didn’t eat either. Evan had people who cared if he was suddenly sick and in pain because he didn’t eat lunch.

Besides, he always ate when he was high. That was enough for him.

“Next week is going to be hell,” Connor realized and groaned. Evan shot him a confused look.

“Why?”

“Everyone is going to be dressing up, and I won’t be, and I don’t want to hear the passive aggressive comments about how I don’t have any fucking school spirit.” He folded his arms and laid his head down. “I don’t need to fucking deal with that shit all week.” 

“Well, you won’t be the only one not dressed up,” he heard Evan hum. “I won’t be dressed up either.” 

Connor lifted his head up in consideration. That would be better. He won’t be signaled out if someone notices that he is one of the only kids in his class not dressed up, and if Evan doesn’t dress up, then no one will question why these two friends have obviously very different school spirit. 

“True.” He shot Evan a tired smile, genuinely happy about that turn of events. Evan quickly looked back down at his food, and Connor noticed his face was red.

Was he... blushing?

Connor’s smile dropped off his face. Does Evan know that Connor likes him? Why would he blush if Connor shot him a smile? Maybe he knows that Connor smiles at no one but Evan, and even though Evan is quiet, that doesn’t mean he is an idiot. It’s not hard to put together that the person that the school freak smiles at is who they have a crush on.

“Evan?” Connor warily asked. His head snapped back up at him. “Are you okay? Your face is really fucking red.”

“Um, yeah, um—” He started looking at everything but Connor. Bad sign. “Just--hot. Yeah, I’m hot. That’s it.”

Connor didn’t believe that for a second. The school was always cold, and with it being bad out today, they haven't even turned their heater that they use for the winter on yet. Evan is actually wearing a jacket today as well, so how could he be hot?

Before he could call him out, the bell signaling the end of lunch rang.

“Oh look, I have to go to class. Sorry, bye.” He quickly threw his lunch tray in the trash bin and rushed out of the cafeteria doors.

Connor watched him go. Evan’s answer didn’t help calm him down, so now here he was worried that his only friend has found out that he has a crush on him. If Evan found out, he wouldn’t tell Connor because he wouldn’t want to hurt him and that’s what Connor hates the most. Even if Connor asked him face to face, Evan would stutter and stall, and then most likely lie so that the situation wouldn’t escalate.

Anxious and upset, Connor stormed out of the cafeteria to his next class.

This was something that he’d have to piece together himself.

---

Connor has had a lot of weird things happen to him. He’s woken up from many weird weed dreams, has had both men and women flirt with him, he was even once called a butch lesbian by some random lesbian in the street. Though none of those things, or anything else weird happened during school.

Apparently today was the day that would change.

“Hey Connor!” he heard Jared call. Connor looked up from his locker to see Jared walking down the hallway, acting like he was cool shit.

“What the fuck do you want, Kleinman?” he snapped. Today was not the day that he wanted to put up with his shit.

“Don’t get all snippy,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “I just need to ask you a question.”

“Well make it quick.” 

“Are you gay for Evan?” Connor snapped his head to look at the boy.

“What the fuck—”

“Yes or no, Connor.” Connor couldn’t believe it. This kid who his whole life has bullied and been nothing but a dick to him has the audacity to ask if he is gay for his friend? No, his family friend. The family friend that he never gave a shit about in the first place.

“That’s none of your goddamn business, Kleinman.” He slammed his locker shut and turned his whole body towards Jared. “So stay out of it.”

“Yeah, that’s a no,” Jared hummed. Connor was fuming.

“Excuse me?”

“Usually it wouldn’t be my business, but since it involves Evan, the man I’ve sworn to protect—”

“Which you do a shit job at.”

“—It has become my business.” He completely ignored Connor interrupted him.

“No matter what you think, I’m not telling you shit.” He shoved past Jared, hoping that he would get the very strong hint that the conversation was over.

Of course, Jared has always been a dumbass.

“Look dude, I just want him to be happy!” he called after Connor. 

Connor stopped in his tracks. He turned around to face Jared, who hasn’t moved, with nothing but anger on his face.

“Yeah, because that’s what someone who has done nothing but belittle and boss around their family friend wants.” Jared opened his mouth to say something, but Connor continued. 

“You know, Evan always says that you guys are friends, but you never say the same. You are always correcting him, saying that you are family friends, which is a ‘totally different thing’ as you like to put it. Evan never felt that anyway gave a shit about him—” At this point, Connor was chest to chest with Jared, glaring at him. Jared was watching him with fear and anxiety in his eyes. “—and now you think to ask me personal questions because you care about him? You’ve never cared about him before, so you better get your cocky fucking personality and shit face away from me before I beat you to the point that all the dumbfucks here think you’re a new student.”

“I’m sure Evan would love to hear that you did that.” Jared bravely retorted. Connor continued glaring at him, but said nothing. “He has started believing that you are nice and kind—why, I don’t know—but if he finds out that you beat his friend to a pulp, then he is both going to be afraid and hate you.”

“You don’t fucking know that.”

“Who has known Evan their whole life?” When Connor didn’t say anything, Jared smirked. “Exactly. So, I’ll ask again.”

Connor let him take a few steps back from him, glare never lessening. 

“Do you like Evan romantically?”

That’s a nicer way of putting it. Connor held eye contact with Jared as he went through all of the possibilities that could happen if he told Jared. He could tell Evan, he could tell the whole school, he could get people to beat Connor up, he could do nothing.

“Yeah,” he finally said. He wants to die, so if everyone starts attacking him for this, it will make his death easier. “Yeah, I am.”

“Great!” he cheered. Connor wanted to punch him in the face.

“What, you gonna go tell the whole school now?” he hissed.

“No, I’m going to help you.”

Connor scoffed. “Yeah, alright.” He shoved past Jared, hands in his pockets as he made his way to the library to meet up with Evan.

“Hey hey, wait!”

“You can fuck off, Kleinman.” Jared ran in front of Connor and stood in his way, holding his hands up to stop him. Connor glared at him. “Move.”

“No,” Jared said confidently, but Connor could see fear in his eyes. “I’m serious. I know we don’t get along—”

“Wow, it’s like calling me a school shooter really puts a dent in our relationship.”

“Okay, yes, that was shit of me to do,” he agreed. Connor raised an eyebrow, but said nothing else. “But I swear I want to help. I’ve never seen Evan as relaxed and happy in all the years I’ve known him. It’s like…” he trailed off, as if he was trying to find the best words. “It’s like you bring out the best for him.”

“Alright, I know for sure he is not the happiest with me,” Connor snapped. “No one is described as ‘happy’ when their around me.��

“But that’s the thing! He is! He has loosened up around you, is more comfortable with saying simple things like ‘no’, and he actually smiles a real smile!” Jared looked exasperated. Connor could guess it was a lot of work to try and convince Connor that he is good for Evan. “I mean, come on man, you’ve grown up with Evan as long as me. You can’t deny that there has been some sort of change.”

“We’re all almost adults,” Connor mumbled. “We all have to grow up at some point.”

Jared let out a groan. “You’re not getting it! Evan is a little bit happier and calmer around you!”

“Okay,” Connor finally relented. “But that doesn’t mean he likes me as a romantic partner.”

“I know for a fact that Evan is not completely straight. He liked Thor just a little too much for a guy who admires gods.”

“Weird comparison, but okay.” Connor looked around the hallway, thinking. Everyone had gone to their classes, and as far as he knew, Jared was supposed to be in class right now. No one was around to hear their conversation, to hear Connor confess his crush to a kid who has hated him for as long as Connor can think.

What the fuck is up with his life.

“Alright, Kleinman,” Connor finally relented. He took a step forward, looking down on Jared just to remind him that he was not afraid to hurt him if he decided to fuck with him. “Since you’re such a know-it-all and know what to do, tell me what your brilliant plan is.”

Jared smiled, and Connor couldn’t help but notice how it was genuine.

---

Jared was confident that his plan would work. He knew that Evan wasn’t straight, even if the boy didn’t know it himself, and as soon as he was able to get him to figure it out, he would be able to get him and Connor together.

The only thing he was worried about is if Evan stays evident that he is straight and cuts off Connor, Connor will come for him and then he will have two people who hate him, even if one won’t admit it.

Jared hangs on to every conversation the he and Evan had about male actors, male characters in games. How Evan would say that they were pretty when they were younger, how he would have his male character be with another male character because “I just want to see if the game will let me, Jared”. The signs were harder to notice the older they grew, but Jared was still able to pick out the looks that Evan gave to men, because he gives the same look to women he openly finds attractive.

To Acorn: hey man is it cool if i come over

From Acorn: Sure. I’m not doing anything

To Acorn: i had a feeling ;)

From Acorn: What does that mean?

To Acorn: ya know

Step one was in motion. Get Evan to listen to Jared and see that he is one hundred percent bisexual. If Jared could do this, then maybe it would be a step closer to fixing he and Evan’s relationship. 

As usual, when Jared arrived at Evan’s house, Evan opened the door almost right after Jared knocked on the door. He always worried about leaving house guests out on the doorstep for too long.

“Hey,” Evan welcomed.

“Hey Evan!” Jared patted Evan’s shoulder as he walked past him. 

“What are you doing here? Not saying that I don’t want you here or that it’s a burden that you’re here. Just curious.” Evan anxiously rambled on. Jared just learn to either tune it out or to interrupt him. He remembers them growing up and Evan talking forever because he was worried he had hurt someone’s feelings.

“I have a question for you,” Jared started off. A sly way to begin.

“Huh?”

“What do you think about Connor?” 

“What do you mean, what do I think?” There was not stutter when he asked. When confronted with questions on what Evan thought about people, he would stutter, question if they thought he hated them, assure that he doesn’t hate them. When confronted about Connor, he doesn’t stutter and looks Jared in the eye. He has a daring look, as if challenging Jared to say something about Connor.

This boy has changed so much.

“You like him romantically, right?” That snapped Evan out of it. His eyes widened and he seemed to take a step back, shocked by the question.

“Jared, what?”

“It’s okay if you do, Evan,” Jared tried soothing, though he has a feeling it came off mockingly. “I know you typically like girls, so even if Connor is the first boy you’ve had a crush on, that doesn’t mean you’re a fake!’

“I-I don’t have a crush on Connor!” Quick to deny. Evan was anxious, Jared could tell that much. This was a different type of anxiety though. This wasn’t his reaction when people confronted him with a lie, this was the reaction when people confront him with something he is struggling with.

Growing up with him, Jared had been able to learn the difference. When people confront him with a lie that somehow involved him, Evan would cross his arms, stammer, look away and deny it. Jared picked up on the difference when someone had told Evan that they were sure he and Jared were brothers.

When someone confronts him with something he is struggling with, he goes throw the same motions—stammering, crossed arms, etcetera. Though the difference between the two was that when it was something Evan was struggling with or knew was true, he wouldn’t look away from people, but he would take a step back. It was as if he was trying to convince them and himself, but the step back was him trying to leave the situation. Get out of speaking the truth.

They were slight, and Jared knew that almost nobody knows the difference between their friend’s anxiety. He had committed the actions to memory because he thought it would help him in the future.

So here Evan was, arms crossed, stammering over his words, but staring Jared right in the eye. 

“You don’t think of Murphy in any romantic way?” he pushed. “You don’t think about him holding your hand, picking you up for a date, anything?” 

Evan took a step back. Jackpot.

“No, never,” he spat out. “I mean, him and I are friends. Who thinks that about friends? Friends don’t think about going on dates with other friends, they don’t think about holding hands with friends, they don’t think their friends look cute, they don’t think about kissing them and loving them and wanting to eat dinner with their family or—”

“Evan!” Jared stopped him. Evan stopped talking and he looked more nervous than ever. Jared smiled. “I never said anything about him looking cute or kissing him.”

Evan’s face dropped. Jared knew that he had caught Evan in the act of denying his own thoughts instead of Jared’s words. When he is denying the truth, he forgets what they said and what he thought. That’s where Jared usually catches him.

“I-I don’t,” he stuttered. “There's no way. I like Connor as a friend, nothing more. I’ve never even liked a boy, so how could I—”

“Even if Connor is the only boy you’ve ever had a crush on, that still validates you as bi,” Jared was quick to attempt to soothe. “It just means you’re .01% bi!”

Evan started at him with a look of disbelief. 

It was silent while Evan went over the information. Jared watched as his friend slowly started falling into deeper panic, causing for some major concern. Even though Jared has been around for a lot of Evan’s panic attacks, he never knew what to do. Whenever Evan started crying, started panicking, or feeling any kind of usually negative emotion, Jared froze.

“Uh, Evan?” Evan didn’t say anything but looked back at Jared. “You okay dude?”

“No—No, no no no,” he started mumbling. Jared coughed awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

“Do you uh, want me to leave?” he asked. Evan nodded his head and looked down at the ground. He was scratching at his cast and staring at the ground with such pain, you would think it had killed his mother. “Alright, uh, I’m gonna go.”

When Evan didn’t make a move to respond, Jared let himself out. 

Step one of getting Connor and Evan together complete. Now he just needs to help Connor.

---

Connor was going to lose his mind. 

When Jared told him his plan two days ago, he thought it was stupid. Since everything Kleinman does is stupid, Connor agreed to let him go through with it.

Convince Evan that he was gay for Connor.

At first, Connor ignored the fear in his gut. He still didn’t believe that Evan had any sort of crush on him, so it was easy to push out the fact that this was a horrible plan.

All of that changed when he saw Jared walk into the school with a smug smile, as if he had actually done something with his life.

He made eye contact with Connor while they stood at their lockers. Connor almost gave him a look of desperation, hoping that he had failed, that Evan had just called him a dumbshit and that he and Connor were friends and that they were going to stay that way because there was no way that Connor would be anything good for Evan. He would ruin him, ruin his hope at love, his hope at life, his hope—

Jared had given him a thumbs up and wide smile. It took all of Connor’s power to not bang his head against his locker. Jared motioned towards the bathroom that was down the hall from their lockers and started walking that way. Connor gave it a few minutes so that no one would notice that he and Jared were meeting up in the bathroom like weird gay lovers do before heading out.

“I told you I’d do it man!” Jared cheered when he walked in. Connor anxiously looked around and was grateful to see that there was no one else in the bathroom.

“You’re lying,” Connor snapped. 

“No way! I got him to realize his gay crush for you!”

“You, Jared Kleinman,” Connor started, disbelief clear in his voice. “Convinced Evan Hansen, one of the most anxious and straightest boys in this school, that he had a crush on the biggest junkie in the school?”

“It’s part of my charm.” Connor was going to have an anxiety attack. He knew that Jared was going to talk to him about their conversation today so he didn’t smoke anything, but man did he regret that decision.

“You better not be fucking with me—”

“I’m not!” he snapped. “I swear, I’m not. I value my life too much to lie to you.”

Connor ignored that comment. “How exactly did this conversation go?”

“That is what stays between me and Evan,” he hummed. “All that matters now is that you ask him out to the dance.”

“Neither of us like the dance.”

“Then ask him out in general!” Jared laughed. “You guys are the most awkward people ever, but know each other so well! Just go for it!”

Connor had a lot of emotions running through his head. He didn’t want to believe Jared, wanted to brush off what he said as a lie, but he couldn’t. This is something that he wanted since freshman year, to actually have someone he likes like him back.

“Okay,” Connor relented. He walked away from Jared, ending the conversation.

“Do I get a thank you?” Jared called as he left the bathroom. Connor let the door shut.