A New Start

Chapter 5

"You will not believe the day I had," Quinn said, flopping onto the couch next to her brother and picking up the spare controller to join him in his game.

"Bet I can top it."

"All my chores for the month?"

"You're on."

"Evan was going on and on about Zoe again. He said that he couldn't act on it now because it would ruin his friendship with Connor. For three hours. Your turn."

"So, I was over Connor's, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we were just hanging out when-"

"Wait, did he kiss you or something?" Jared asked, pausing the game and getting up. "'Cause I'll break him."

"Relax, bro. He didn't." Jared flopped back onto the couch. "Well, he just started talking about Evan. Nonstop. Like, okay, i get that you're best friends or whatever, but still. And it just got progressively gayer. He started talking about the smallest things and saying how great he was." Quinn shook her head.

Jared looked at Quinn and sighed. "You win."

"Yes!"

- - -

"So, What play is this again?" Connor asked Evan while he was rehearsing. They were hanging out at Evan's house.

"It-it's a musical, Connor. Plays don't have songs. And it's called Heathers."

(A/N: I know other people have done this but I love the thought of Evan as Veronica)

"M'kay. So, What part do you want to get."

Evan shrugged. "I dunno."

"Liar liar, plants for hire."

"Fine. I-I'm auditioning for the lead."

Connor flipped through the character list. "JD? The psycho boyfriend?"

"Y-yeah. I'm not expecting to get it though. I'll probably get a background character. If I'm lucky."

"Ev, don't doubt yourself."

"Wh-What did you-?"

"Oh! Do nicknames make you uncomfortable? I won't do it again if they do."

"No, no, no! I just wasn't expecting it."

Connor smiled a bit. "Okay then. So, you gonna sing for me or what?"

Evan's ears turned pink and he said, "Right, right. Uh, i have one of-of the girls' songs, though," he looked at the lyric sheet before he started singing.

"Hey, Mr. No-Name kid, so who might you be? And could you fight for me? Hey, could you face the crowd? Could you be seen with me and still act proud? Hey, could you hold my hand and could you carry me through no-man's land? It's fine if you don't agree. But I would fight for you if you would fight for me." Connor sat there, his mouth hanging open. "I-I know. I'm not that good," Evan said, looking at his feet.

"Not that good? Evan, you were fucking amazing!"

"Y-you're only saying that to be nice."

"Ev. I'm not that good of a person. Do I seem like I'd lie to spare someone's feelings?"

Evan shrugged. "I guess that's true." He started playing with the hem of his shirt. "But-but what if I choke up on stage? O-or what if there's someone better and i don't get a part at all? O-o-or-"

"Evan, relax," Connor said, walking over to the shorter boy. He looked him in the eye. "You'll be amazing. If it was physically possible, you'd get all the roles you wanted." He unconsciously laced his fingers with Evan's. "I promise."

Evan looked back at Connor, studying how strands of his hair fell into his face, the way his right eye was half brown, contrasting with the blue. Connor soon realized how close they were and pulled back.

"I, uh, I'm gonna get going. Bye, Ev!" Connor all but ran out of the house. Once he was out of the house, he sprinted down the street towards his house. He fished in his pocket for his house key and jammed it in the lock, praying the house would be empty. He had no such luck.

"What happened to you, asshole?" Zoe asked from her spot on the couch.

"Fuck off, Zoe," Connor replied, panting slightly.

"Wow, using my actual name? Something's bothering you."

"I said, fuck off!" He snapped. He ran up to his room and slammed the door closed before sitting with his back to it. He rested his head on his knee. "What did I do?" He muttered to himself.

- - -

Zoe was lounging on the couch, completely confused. She'd never seen her brother that worked up. Something happened. And she was going to be sneaky and find out via spying.