Stopping Time

Chapter twenty-three

Evan walked through the crowded school halls, textbooks and notebooks clutched to his chest. His eyes scanned the crowd, trying to find Connor. He huffed and pushed his way through, throwing out quiet apologizes whenever someone bumped into him.

    Ever since the date, things have been kind of tense between Evan and Connor.

They aren't avoiding each other, but they're not making efforts to hang out outside of school. They talk before and after classes and during lunch, but it's short and awkward.

Evan bumped shoulders with someone as he squeezed through the crowd.

"S-sorry," he mumbled, looking over his shoulder at the person. The person had their hair in a bun.

Evan stopped. He knew that hair.

"Connor!" Evan called out, turning around and charging into the crowd again. "Connor w-wait. Pl-please!"

    It was pretty easy getting to the tall boy, as most students were scared of him and moved out of the way whenever he walked by.

    Connor stopped and turned around. He shoved a hand in his hoodie pocket.

    "What, Hansen?" he asked, casting an annoyed look Evan's way.

    "I-I need t-to talk to you," Evan said. "A-about the, uh the date."

    Connor's expression hardened, his jaw clenching. "What about it?"

    "I-I just. . ." Evan's gaze dropped to his feet and he played with the loose thread on his shirt. "I w-wanted to say-"

    "Just spit it out, Hansen," Connor snapped. Evan flinched and closed his eyes, holding his breath. Connor stared at Evan. "Wait a minute. You regret it, don't you?"

    Evan's eyes snapped open. "N-no that's not-"

    "You didn't want to go on the date, did you?" Connor accused, taking a small step toward the anxious teen. "You probably lied about liking me, huh? This was just a lie, right? Did you plan on telling Kleinman so that he could tell the whole school? So that everyone can see how much of a freak I am?"

    "C-Connor that's-"

    Connor was right in Evan's face, spewing things that weren't true.

    "How could I actually believe that someone liked me," Connor whispered. "How could I actually think that someone wanted to spend time with me. How could I believe that I might actually have a soulmate."

    "Connor. . ."

    Evan reached out, placing a hand on Connor's shoulder. Connor stepped back.

    "Just go," he muttered, holding his arms close to his body. "I just. . . Don't be surprised if I'm not at school for a while."

    Evan's eyes darted to Connor's arms.

    "W-wait!" Evan exclaimed, jogging to catch up with Connor's fast pace.

    "Just leave me alone, Hansen!" Connor yelled. "Go find Kleinman and talk about how much of a freak I am. Just. . . Let me be."

    Evan stopped walking, making people bump into him. He landed on the ground, arms breaking most of his fall.

    He watched Connor, not taking his eyes off of him until his body disappeared.

Evan sat at the lunch table, arms folded on the table and head buried in them.

    Jared leaned over and took a Cheeto from Evan's lunch.