treebros oneshots

Treetops

so I went to this zipliney high ropes course thing the other day and I was inSPIRED

also the park he's at is Ellison state park, which explains why Evan is there.

Connor strolled through the park, taking in the calm of nature. He looked around at children squealing on the playground, a sweet elderly couple holding hands as they walked down the trail, and a family of five, the young energetic children practically dragging their parents toward something. Connor let his eyes follow them, curious as to what they were so excited about. The family went down the trail a ways, and then disappeared around a corner. Connor followed, puzzled. He'd never been to that part of the park before. He turned the corner and followed the path into the forest and was greeted with large wooden structure, elevated about 40 feet in the air. Platforms wrapped around tree trunks were connected by various crossings including zip lines, rope bridges, nets, all which adults and children alike were climbing across, laughing and smiling. Each person was attached to a guard rope by a harness around their waist. He looked to the largest platforms and saw a line of kids waiting for the long zip line that would take them back to the ground.

And a familiar boy caught his eye.

Dressed in khaki shorts and a dark green polo shirt and directing the children was the shy boy from the back of his English class. Evan, he was pretty sure, was his name. His shirt read "Ranger" and he stood on the edge of the platform boosting the little kids up and instructing the adults on how to land properly. He watched them all go down the zip line and applauded when they made it. He comforted and encouraged the nervous children and cheered extra loud when they faced their fears. Once the line of people had all finished, he just hung there, leaning back off of the platform, held safe by the harness around his waist. Connor watched in absolute awe as that anxious kid from school was replaced by this boy who was literally hanging 40 feet in the air. Evan closed his eyes and a smile spread across his face as he listened to the sounds of the forest. Connor smiled too, admiring Evan.

If only Connor wasn't deathly afraid of heights, he would've taken the opportunity to talk to Evan.

Do it.

Connor shuddered at the thought of going all the way up there.

Do it.

Connor took a deep breath.

I'm gonna do it.

This is a terrible idea.

He walked over to a girl wearing the same uniform as Evan, except she seemed much less excited to be there. She helped Connor into a harness and told him how to get up to the zip line.

He followed her instructions, hastily making his way from platform to platform, trying his hardest not to think about how high up he was. Of course, there was a safety rope, but still.

He finally made it to the large platform. The highest platform. Connor unhooked his trolley and walked over to Evan at the top of the zip line. He had a little girl who was a tad too short to reach the zip line boosted up on his knee as he attached her trolley to the line and send her down. She squealed in excitement all the way down, and Evan softly chuckled. When she landed, Evan clapped his hands and called down to her. "Great job!"

Evan turned around to see who was next and saw Connor standing there. "You next?"

Connor nodded and slowly made his way over to Evan, extremely wary about the height, now unattached.

Evan took the rope hanging from Connor's harness and gently clipped it to the zip line.

"Okay," Evan began. "So I'm going to send you down. Just so you don't land wrong and get hurt, start running in the air when you're close to the ground, that way you can- hey, uh, are you listening?" Evan noticed Connor blankly staring at the forest floor.

"I can't do this," Connor whispered, rapidly shaking his head. He felt dizzy, like any movement he made would send him plummeting. "I can't," he repeated urgently.

"I assure you, it's completely safe-"

"Please, I can't- I need to get down."

Evan nodded. "Okay, that's okay, let see...you can go down these stairs right here, let me just unclip this..."

Connor inhaled sharply as Evan unhooked the only thing providing him any security or safety. Evan turned back around. "Alright, just go to the left and-"

Evan stopped seeing the fear in Connor's eyes as he stood, petrified, eyes squeezed shut.

Connor felt a touch and opened his eyes to see Evan gently taking his hand. "Look at me," Evan quietly requested. Connor met his eyes.

"I'm not going to let you fall."

Evan gently pulled Connor along and guided him down the stairs. He repeatedly told Connor to keep his eyes on him, not the ground below. Soon they were standing on the soft earth, and Connor released the breath he had been unknowingly holding.

"Thank you," Connor sighed. "And I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Evan replied with a smile. But then his expression changed. "Hey, why'd you go up there if you knew you were afraid of heights?"

Connor blushed. "Uh, to talk to you..."

Evan smiled and his cheeks reddened to match Connor's. "Well, I'm glad you did, um...maybe you could come back in an hour, I have a break, we could walk around the park or something..."

Connor smiled.

"I'd like that."