Tall Insomniacs.- (Connor Murphy X reader)

Chapter 11.

The old people were talking. All the kids sat at the table quietly, as the chatting of the adults became more frequent. I knew my mom had weird thoughts about Connor because she was eyeing him the entire time. From his black nails, to his black wardrobe, to his black everything. He knew he was being studied too, he just sat there awkwardly. She was intimidated by this tall, depressed, man-like-child, in our house.

"Zoe," my mom turned her attention to her. "I've been told your in the jazz band! Isn't that cool? I've been telling Evan to try out forever, now. He just won't budge." Heidi laughed in her soothing, honey-esque, voice. Zoe just played with her star hair clip, and sat there awkwardly.

"Zoe's a star student." The corners of Mrs. Murphy's maw Turned upward, in some crippled up version of a grin.

"I would assume so! Evan's and Y/N both passed with flying colors, Evan just needs a little push, don't ya bud?" My mom looked at Evan who managed to whisper something fainter then the chirping of a single cricket.

"Mhm." He mumbled, staring at his tuna melt. Heidi studied Connor one last time, looking at him, up and down. She opened her mouth and I was ready to hear a small opinion, but no, she just asked a simple question.

"So, Cynthia, does Connor have any interests or talents?" Heidi separated her lips and shoved a piece of terribly, undercooked, tuna melt.

The Murphy's looked at each other a few times. The silence was deafening, it made me want to yell, but I didn't. I didn't make a scene. Didn't yell. I just fed into the tension, let it consume me, for that brief second.

"Connor has... he keeps to himself. But he likes music and he has his own talents..." Cynthia improvised her entire monologue. Sure he liked music, but, was that the only vibe her son had given off? Was that the only thing she knew about her son?

Larry scoffed faintly. "If doing drugs is a talent." He whispered, just loud enough for us all to hear. I thought about what Evan said that day in the parking lot, 'he should smoke drugs.' Connor seethed at his Father.

Mrs. Murphy quickly changed the subject to avoid a family blowout. "He used to love jokes when he was little..." Cynthia reminisced. "He told me one, let's see if I can remember it...; he said 'Mom, why did the chicken cross the road?' He had a thousand different answers," she looked like she was about to cry. "One day he said. 'Why did the duck cross the road?' To prove it wasn't a chicken. There was a phase were he would never take off his ski hat. Yet, he hated skiing... Then there was picnics, oh! He loved those! Sunday's at the zoo he would refuse to see anything but the penguins, and monkeys. Once Halloween rolled around, I never saw him with a bigger smile. Every year he would be the same thing... Spider-Man. My sweet little boy... one day he woke up... something had switched off the light... and it hadn't come back on."

I could feel Connor tense up, his fists clenched into a tight ball. Cynthia wiped her eye, and blinked away her pain. Throughout her speech there had been giggles and laughs, but then everyone went quiet. The entire time no noise came from Connor, just the occasional deep breath.

"Well, thank you all for coming over. It's great to know
Y/N and Zoe are still great friends." My mom plastered on a phony smile and took everyone's plate. I gave Zoe a hug and she wrapped her arms around me.

"Bye, Zo."

"Bye, Hansen."

She laughed and ran out with her Dad. Connor looked at me. He didn't move or anything, just stood there. I got up and made my way to him.

"Bye, Jerk." I whispered in his ear. He gave me a passionate hug, and finally pulled away. There was a solid 5 seconds were he just stared into my E/C eyes.

"Bye, Dork." He left the house, with his head down, hands in pocket, and looking deep in his thoughts. It was now time to say goodbye to Mrs. Murphy. She walked over to me, her nose a deep cherry color, from trying to hide tears.

She engulfed me in a hug and looked me in the eyes.

"Thank you. Thank you, for giving him a little light." She kissed my head and left.

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My mom was in the kitchen washing dishes, but she was awfully silent. She usually droned on about her day, or Mr. Heere.

"You Okay, Mom?"

"Remember when Evan was little." This caught his attention, too. "I got him Ninja turtle lights for protection, he said 'the kept the bad guys away.'" She laughed. "Halloween you were wolverine, cause he was the toughest and strongest." She chuckled. "And that time I surprised you with a comic book collection! Your face! Anything to keep my baby happy."

"And— Y/N! When you were a little girl you would always wear a pink princess dress, but You'd have to wear it with a dragon helmet so you could be 'princess dragon'. When you Were younger you said; 'mommy, when I grow up I'm gonna move right into the city and build a castle. You and Ev, can come too.' Oh... you both would feed the ducks at the park and you named one, 'DeeDee.'" A tear streamed down her face. "You would help Evan climb the trees cause you were 'taller' but you only stood at 4'2."

" 'Member, Ev. When you lost your first tooth? You made me take you to the hospital. My Babies..." She was now full on crying. I made my way over to her and engulfed her in a giant hug. Evan rubbed her back. I stared at his cast, and remember it all to Well. Her trembling body was Helpless. I remembered what Cynthia had said,
One day he had woken up and the light just turned of. No one deserves to fade away. No one deserved to be engulfed in- in-  

Darkness.

Everyone deserves happiness- Light! You just need a little help to turn the lights back on.

Light.

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Hey, guys! Hope you liked this chapter....cause I loved it! I think it was pretty good. Sincerely,

Me.

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