-Reaching Out-(Treebros)

Epilogue

It was graduation day.

Connor felt immensely happy, because he finally did it. It was finally over, and now he could shove it in his teacher's faces. The only time he'd have to to go back to the school was for Zoe's concerts.

Things were a lot better between the two. Of course, they had a fight here and there, but his therapist assured him that it was normal for siblings to fight, and as long as things were resolved, then it was okay.

Unfortunately, the school required the senior class to wear nice outfits under their robes for final pictures, which was stupid to Connor, but he didn't bother fighting it. He wore black pants and a white shirt, with a blue tie he'd never worn. He adjusted it a bit, before slipping his robe and cap on. He excited his room and was about to go down the stairs, but Cynthia stopped him.

"Wait! That's the perfect picture!" Cynthia smiled, holding up her phone to take a picture of him.

Connor chuckled, "Wouldn't you want one of me outside?"

"Of course I do, but this looks so nice!" Cynthia was happier than ever, mainly because her family didn't fight as often as they used to anymore. "Okay, lets go outside now, since you gave me the bright idea."

Connor rolled his eyes, but walked down, and looked at Zoe. She gave him a quick hug. "You made it."

"Not yet. Still gotta make it through the ceremony," he joked, hugging her back. They stayed like that for a few seconds, before letting go and going out to his truck.

"Do you and Evan have any plans after the ceremony?" Cynthia asked, following him outside after a few pictures were taken.

"We're going to A La Mode. After that, we're hanging out at his house, and Jared's bringing some movies over," Connor said, opening the driver's seat of his truck.

"Sounds like fun," Cynthia hummed happily. "Just stay safe, okay?"

"Got it. I love you, mom."

"I love you two, sweetheart."

~~~

"I-I'm so nervous."

"Don't be. It's just a few seconds where you go across the stage, shake one guy's hand, grab your diploma, and go."

"But, but what if I trip? Or d-drop my diploma? Or-"

"Hey," Connor put his hands on his shoulders. "You can do this. I know you can."

Evan took in a breathe. "No no, you're right. I c-can do this."

"Exactly. If you're able to talk me down for being an asshole, you can easily do this," Jared piped in.

Evan laughed, "Thanks, guys."

Connor scoffed, "Like I'd let you spiral." He leaned down and pecked his lips.

Evan stood on his tip toes and gave one back to him.

"That's gay, and you're making me third wheel," Jared deadpanned, crossing his arms.

"You're gay too Kleinman," Connor retorted, wrapping an arm around Evan. "Just go find a boyfriend."

"It's not as easy as you say it is and you know it!" He pointed a finger at him.

"You're right, I do," Connor hummed. "I'm just lucky my best friend was bi."

Jared sighed, "Sorry Evan, according to Connor, I need a second best friend."

"I'll allow it," Evan said with a smile, shrugging his shoulders.

"I am going out of state," Jared said cockily. "Studying programming. I'm gonna be a hacker."

"Nice," Connor shrugged. "I'm going into Graphic Design. I'm going a few towns over, so I'll be three hours away from home."

"And I'm taking a year off," Evan said. "If I went now, I'd be broke."

"But are you going out of state?" Jared asked.

"Fuck no!" Evan gasped. "I'm not dealing with out of state tuition!"

"Which is smart," Connor leaned down slightly to rest his chin on Evan's head. "On the plus side, we don't have to worry about distance till after college."

Soon, they were called to be in line, alphabetical order by last name. They walked inside the gym, listening to the band play the horrendous Pomp And Circumstance over and over until they were all seated.

The principal droned on about how he always believed in the student's ability to get to graduate, how work ethic impacted it, and how proud he was of them.

Alana Beck went next, reading a poem about life after high school, and talked about how everyone may never be in the same room with the same people ever again. She said to hold onto high school memories, because it truly did go by too fast.

Finally, they handed out the diplomas. Nothing dramatic really happened. A couple of people hooted for their children and friends, but Heidi knew not to do that to Evan. She simply clapped (along with the Murphies) when his name was called. They did the same thing for Connor too.

After a ton of photos were taken, Connor and Evan gave their diplomas to their families to hold onto. They walked out to their cars, and Connor had just a simple thought.

Maybe reaching out wasn't such a bad thing after all.

A/N- That's the end! I'm not writing a sequel so don't ask lmao. Keep an eye out for Collide, because that's a book I've been wanting to start for a while now. Thank you so much for reading this book, the amount of support it gets is really heartwarming. So thank you again!!