Dear Evan Hansen, It's Connor Murphy~

[8]

"Huh? Evan?" Connor whispered through the phone, his voice raspy and tired sounding. 

"Connor, I had an idea and I need to know what you think," I responded excitedly. I wasn't able to stop thinking about what he had said earlier, and from that I had spawned this creation. Plus, I was a lot more appreciative of being able to hear his voice and talk to him now. 

"It's...like....2AM or something, can't it wait?" 

"Not really, I might talk myself out of doing something like this by then." I hated to keep him up, but I'm sure he'd understand why. "I was thinking about earlier, and about how we've both gone through rough times....where we've felt alone....and, well, what if there was a student group dedicated to being there for people who were like us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Um, for showing people that they're not alone, and that they matter. We could make a website, and do fundraising...as well as maybe have a school assembly?" The other end of the phone line went silent, suggesting for a moment that the taller male had either hung up or fell asleep. 

"You know," He eventually said, a sense of excitement lining his weary voice. "That's not a bad idea, Evan. Can we talk about it in the morning, though? I'd love to talk to you, but I was so nervous about taking you to the orchard that I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Alright, I'll see you tommorow."

~

I grabbed my bag, draping it across my body before bounding out the door. I shouted my goodbyes to my Mom, though I wasn't even sure if she was still at home. My excitement to start work on our project had only grown as I shared my idea with Connor, and as a result my sleep was fairly limited.  

The sight of the other male came into sight, his hair tied into a messy bun, leaning against a lamppost. I waved excitedly, bolting to become by his side.

"I've never seen you like this before, Evan," He hummed, chuckling softly after he spoke. 

"Sorry," I shrugged in response, blushing slightly with embarrassment. "I'm just excited about this project, think of all the people we could help with it!" I beamed up at him, before leading the way to sit down somewhere and begin work on the project.

~

I peered over Jared's shoulder, eagerly watching him tidy up with page for our project, which Alana dubbed the "Found" project. I had suggested inviting these two to help out since they may be more skilled with some aspects than us, which Connor reluctantly agreed to, stating that he wished this could be 'our thing', but adding that he doesn't mind if I think it's a good idea. 

"I sent our head master and email, with our plans and a link to the page," Alana chirped after pressing what I presumed was the send button on her phone. "I said everyone who wanted to could say something could in the assembly. What are you going to talk about, Evan?" Her eyes met mine, and I felt my body tense slightly. 

"...You mean in the assembly? In front of everyone?" I managed. "Oh, no no, I can't....well, I mean I don't....um, it'd probably be better for everyone else....if I didn't." 

"This project was your idea, you must have something inspiring you can say," Jared added, closing the laptop lid. I offered a shrug in response. Last time I did public speaking, I merely stood with my note cards repeating "um" over and over again. That was to a class, let alone the entire school. I've become better since I befriended Connor, but not so much as to be able to give a speech to hundreds of students.  

"Evan," Connor hummed, tugging at my sleeve and leaning in close enough so that the others couldn't hear what he had to say. "Don't feel any pressure to do it if you really don't want to. But...I think you'd be able to do it, you somehow make your words seem really poetic, so...you could probably really help someone who's struggling." I nodded, accepting his compliment yet still unsure about whether or not to go through with talking infront of everyone. 

It may not feel comfortable for me to be up there infront of the school, but I know how it feels to seem like you're all alone, with no one there for you, and that feels worse. It would be a small sacrifice to have to speak publicly, but one I had to do in order to perhaps encourage someone, even if it's just one person, to keep going. 

~

Heck

Im v bad at updating lmao. Sorry for the short chapter!