Don't Move | A Tree Bros Fanfic

Chpt. 17 - Night Terror

[Author's Note: This is mostly a filler chapter, swaying away from the main story line, because I've lost focus. This whole chapter is just a dream sequence, that's why every bit of it is italicized, except for a few bold words here and there. The bold words are supposed to be emphasize for whatever is said or thought. If something is a thought, I'll just put parenthesis around it.]

It was cold. Freezing. Evan had on a large, blue winter coat with pockets embroidered all around it. In one of the pockets, he had a golden wristwatch still in the box. It was for Connor, of course. He had bought it from a jewelry shop a week previous and Connor was supposed to meet up with him before school today and he was eagerly awaiting his arrival.

He propped himself up against a pine tree, snow surrounded his figure and footprints dug deep into the ground from the place he had walked.

He could see every breath he took in the cold and his lungs were beginning to ache from the change in temperature. "Ev!" A familiar voice yelled and a look of worriment filled the figure's face. Jared Kleinman. Evan wasn't expecting him. He wanted to see Connor, not Jared, so of course he was a thrall to disappointment. He didn't want to appear rude so he faked a kind gesture and waved, the golden wristwatch jangling around in his pocket. "Evan. I'm so sorry..." Jared said, he was frowning and there was a certain unexplained sadness in his eyes.

"Sorry? Why?" Evan grew confused, not knowing why he would be apologizing to him. The last time Jared had done anything to upset the anxiety-riddled boy was months ago, and they had become good friends afterwards. "About Connor. Something's happened." Evan's shoulders drooped and his face fell. (oh, no- no, no, no...) The wheels in Evan's head began to turn, the gears spinning out thought after thought of what Jared could mean by that. Connor? What could've possibly happened to Connor? Evan had only just spoken to him about an hour ago over the phone.

"What happened!? Tell me!" Evan screamed, gripping Jared by both of his shoulders, he clamped down, refusing to let go. Evan had a wild look in his eyes. He was so worried, it was becoming harder for him to hide his anxiety and fear. "You really don't know?" Jared's eyes widened at the harsh movement from Evan. "Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Evan yelled, growing rampant. Whatever had happened to Connor, he needed to be with him through it all. Connor was his rock, his anchor, the only true light in his dim life.

Connor was the only one who truly understood him, he didn't mind Evan's outbursts of anxiety and the panic attacks. Connor loved every bit of Evan, even the bad parts. "Evan... Connor- He's..." Jared began his broken, fragmented sentence. "He's dead. I came here to get you because I had heard from Zoe that Connor tried to commit suicide. But, I got a text from Alana on my way to get you... He's gone. I'm so sorry." Evan reluctantly let go of Jared. He had nothing to say. There were no words to describe the way he was feeling at that moment. It was like his entire world had just crumbled from beneath him and he was falling... Falling into a bottomless void full of nothing but this numb, dull emotion.

His hands shook and his bottom lip quivered.

Connor couldn't really be dead, could he? It just didn't seem right. He had spoken to him only an hour ago... They planned to meet up... Why would he end his life just before meeting up with Evan?

"You're lying..." Evan whimpered. Thick, hot tears were beginning to sting Evan's eyes and leak down his chin, soaking his face. His cheeks and the tip of his nose were bright red from the cold, biting wind that had just blown towards Jared and him. "Connor's not dead. He's not dead!" Evan looked up at the cloudy sky and yelled those words at the top of his lungs, not caring about the strain he was putting on his vocal cords and throat. His chest began to ache with an incomprehensible pain, nothing like he had ever felt before.

He shoved Jared out of his way and began to run. He ran as far as he could until he found it... The treehouse... He climbed up inside of it and cried out as he examined every bit of the interior. Band posters, curtains, sleeping bags. Every bit of it belonged to Connor. Empty chip bags and soda cans littered the ground. He remembered every moment they had shared inside that damned treehouse. He wanted to burn it down. He wanted it to be nothing but a blazing inferno that would soon become ash after the flames died down.

He began to tear down the posters and he tore the curtains into nothing but shreds of fabric. He was hurt. Every fiber of his being screamed for this to all be a dream and nothing could ever make him feel good again. He was doomed to feel this inexplicable pain.

But, then, he woke up.