Don't Move | A Tree Bros Fanfic

Chpt. 2 - We Keep Meeting

Evan fell to the ground with a thud and whoever had knocked him down stood over him, shadowing his frame. Evan blinked and waited for his eyes to focus on the figure in the doorway. It was Connor. "My bad. I didn't see you there." Connor said, reaching his hand down for Evan to grab. Evan reluctantly grabbed Connor's hand and tried not to fall back down when Connor hoisted him back up to his feet. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to run into you! I was just about to head home and it's just really dark in here! I'm sor-" Evan rapidly began talking, but Connor cut him off. "It's okay. It was my fault anyways. You apologize a lot, don't you?" Connor made himself comfortable in a rolly chair, then eyed Evan's cast suspiciously.

"How come no one's signed your cast?"

Evan didn't know what to say, he just held his arm to his chest, eyeing the empty space of his cast. He figured Alana would at least be kind enough to sign it, but she didn't. That hurt. It proved that he didn't really have any friends. Real ones, at least. Connor walked over to Evan, grabbing his broken arm gently. "Well, if you don't mind, I'll sign it." He pulled a sharpie out of his pocket and began to write his name in big, bold letters on the front of Evan's cast. Evan was too nervous to look and instead stared blankly at the ground until Connor was finished.

"There. That should fill up a lot of the empty space." Connor stuck the sharpie back in his pocket, then left the computer lab without saying another word. Evan followed after him, calling his name, then apologizing profusely afterwards. "I'm sorry for stopping you, but I just wanted to, uh, thank you! For, uhm, signing my... Well, y'know!" Connor smiled, then nodded at Evan as he began to walk on. "We keep meeting so I thought I might as well." Those were his parting words as he left the building, leaving Evan all alone in an empty school.

Evan left the school about thirty minutes after Connor. He began to venture through the woods, admiring all of the scenic beauty around him. He had a thing for trees, always has, and quite possibly always will. He wished his arm wasn't broken, otherwise he would take a trip up the tallest tree and swing on one of the branches like he used to do before his accident over the summer. He remembered that day like the back of his own hand. He had been standing on one of the branches of a tall tree, lost his grip, and landed on the ground... His arm had gone numb and there had been no one around.

No one around to pick him up and take him to safety. He had to rush himself home and explain to his mother what had happened. Poor little Evan, causing problems for his mother like he always did. He grimaced at the memory, then leaned up against one of the trees, looking up at the sky. He liked to imagine himself amongst the clouds, dancing happily in the air... Without a care in the world. He sat down on the grass-filled ground, playing with the dandelions that surrounded him. Evan's mother wouldn't be home until late tonight, so he could enjoy the scenery a bit before having to head home. "Evan?" A girl's voice, Alana, spoke between the group of trees separating the two.

Alana walked into Evan's line of vision accompanied by none other than Zoe Murphy. She looked as beautiful as ever. The sun shined as if she was on a stage and the spotlight was centered on her and only her. Evan grinned, the heat rising to his cheeks as he looked into Zoe's piercing, blue eyes. He couldn't get enough of those eyes... "Oh, h-hi!" Evan exclaimed, hopping up to his feet, rubbing grass and dandelion seeds off of his pants.

Zoe looked at Evan as if he was an alien from another planet. "You must be friends with my brother. Didn't even know he had friends..." Zoe pointed at Evan's cast, then looked off to the side. "Wait! Connor signed your cast, wow!" Alana questioned, then she gripped Zoe by the arm. "Well... See you around, Evan." The two left the woods. Zoe looked back at Evan with a curious expression on her face.

Evan tried to wave at her, but she turned back to Alana, ignoring him. He sighed, then turned towards a tree, latching onto the bark with his right hand. If only he could climb it... Even for just a minute, maybe he would forget all of his distressing thoughts. He wanted to tell Zoe how he felt... He wanted to make friends... And he just wanted to be a normal, high school teenager like he had always thought he'd be. Instead, he was cursed with anxiety.

He walked around the woods a bit more, before heading home. He was later than usual and he knew his mother would be worried sick, but he was already too upset to care. As he opened the front door to the house, there his mother was, arms extended, pained expression on her face. She wrapped her arms around Evan, trying not to cry. "Where were you?" She asked him, the palms of her hands pressed gently against his cheeks. "I was just taking a walk." He said. Evan pulled away from his mother, then headed to his bedroom, ready for this horrific day to be over already. "Evan... Wait. Your cast!" Evan's mother stared at his cast in astonishment, a smile beginning to spread across her tear-dampened face.

"Who's Connor?" She inquired. "I don't know." He mumbled. Evan closed the door to his bedroom, ignoring everything around him. Every noise, every light, every object, every person... Today could've been worse, but today could've gone so much better as well. Seeing Zoe was probably the highlight of today's events... Aside from having someone sign his cast. He didn't know Connor all that much, other than the fact he was Zoe's brother and was probably bullied by Jared on a daily basis.

He felt the need to confront Jared about the whole bullying fiasco, but he wasn't a confrontational person, besides, Jared wouldn't listen to him anyways... He never does.

The only thing Evan could possibly do was apologize to Connor for Jared's behavior and he would do just that first thing tomorrow. He might even make a friend out of it.