Silence || H2OVanoss

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The next morning was a bright and cheery one. Jonathan woke up later than usual and walked to Evan's apartment next door. He had barely knocked before the door flew open to a grinning Evan, who pulled him into his apartment.

They continued playing games as they had yesterday, Evan looking much better, and eventually moved on to watching random movies on Netflix that looked interesting.

"You did not just skip past Sharknado."

Evan's head snapped around, as though challenging Jonathan to repeat what he had said.

"Sharknado? The greatest film ever?"

Evan's mouth fell open in mock horror and he grabbed a cushion, throwing it at Jonathan who laughed and threw it back.

"Fine, we can skip it only because you're sick."

Jonathan revealed more about himself to Evan over the next two days, from his favourite colour to stories about the multitude of stupid things he'd done as a child as well as recently. As Jonathan and Evan got closer, the distance between them on the couch seemed to decrease too.

On Sunday, Jonathan came over as Evan was lightly strumming a guitar. "You play?" Jonathan called as he returned from the kitchen after grabbing himself and Evan some orange juice. Evan looked up at him, his face deadpanning as if to say 'Nah, I just have this guitar for no reason.' Jonathan couldn't wait for Evan to get his voice back, so he could hear his smart retorts for himself. In place of an actual response, Evan began to play a tune that Jonathan instantly recognised.

"It's the fucking Mario theme!" Jonathan watched in admiration as Evan's fingers flew over the guitar, creating the infamous tune. Evan smirked while playing, never taking his eyes off the guitar as though it was precious and required his full attention. Jonathan watched him as he plucked the strings, taking in his adorable concentration face, until he finished playing and stilled his hands, lifting his gaze to Jonathan's.

"Can I tell you something? It's kind of weird and I don't want you to think I'm a weirdo."

Evan rolled his eyes but showed he was listening by putting his guitar down and facing Jonathan.

"I didn't hear you coughing the other day, I knew something was wrong well before that. I usually wake up and hear you singing in the morning. I can't lie to you, it makes my whole day to hear the sound of your voice and when I didn't, I felt like something was wrong. It was actually my coworker who suggested I come and check on you and I'm really happy that he's a stubborn bastard because I'm glad I got to meet you, properly." He took a deep breath, waiting for Evan to respond in some way.

The response he did get was better than he could have asked for. Evan turned to the desk next to him and scribbled something on some paper before turning around and holding it up to Jonathan.

I knew it, you fucking creep.

When Jonathan read it he looked back to Evan to see him beaming. He threw the notebook down and strode over, hugging Jonathan, who laughed. "You call me a creep and then hug me?" Evan shrugged, still smiling.

His eyes flitted down to a tattoo on Jonathan's collar bone, who noticed his stare and gently tugged his shirt down to show Evan the whole thing. It was a simple tattoo, black stars surrounding the words Don't Stop Believin'.

Evan focused his gaze back to Jonathan, furrowing his eyebrows. Jonathan sighed and sat down on the couch, Evan quick to follow. "It looks like a dumb tattoo, but it actually means something." He took a deep breath and Evan placed a hand gently over his, sensing his inner conflict. "My mom was always a hopeless romantic, and Don't Stop Believin' was her favourite song. She'd play it almost every day and sing along. Some of my best memories of her are of her just singing and dancing, happy, carefree. She wanted to find true love because my fuck-up of a dad sure wasn't the right person. He left when he found out my mom was pregnant with me.

"She got sick a few years ago. Cancer. Never recovered. She died and I've been alone ever since. I got the tattoo to remind myself of her, but to remind myself too that I could find the perfect person for me, even if my mom never did. So yeah." He sniffed gently, not making eye contact with Evan. He continued looking down when he felt Evan get up and after a few seconds, the start of a song started to play from the speakers.

His head shot up and he looked to Evan as the all too familiar notes of Don't Stop Believin' began. Evan shuffled over to Jonathan and grabbed his hands, pulling him up. He started swinging their arms together and Jonathan appreciated what he was trying to do.

Just a small town girl,
Living in a lonely world
She took the midnight train going anywhere

He blinked away his tears and began to feel the music, closing his eyes. He danced slowly, thinking about his mom and how she would be dancing right now if she were still here.  She would be belting out the lyrics and making him dance too, like Evan was. A fresh wave of emotion hit him, but he felt gentle, strong arms around his shoulders and he leant into them. They swayed to the music and Jonathan sighed into Evan's shoulder. He was so glad to have made a friend and he really did have Tyler to thank for that. Evan, despite not being able to converse freely with him, listened to everything he had to say and understood him in a way no one else had in a long time. The only thing that made Jonathan upset about Evan was that he'd been next door for an entire month before Jonathan was able to indulge himself in this friendship.

As the song faded out, Jonathan brought his face away from Evan's shoulder and looked into his bright chocolate eyes. "Thank you," he whispered sincerely, eyes holding Evan's fast. Evan blinked quickly before offering him a smile and sitting them down onto the couch, turning the TV on. Jonathan laid himself flat, his head in Evan's lap. Evan started to play with Jonathan's hair, who found it increasingly difficult to focus on what they were watching. He liked the way Evan's hands felt, the way they caressed his head like he was delicate, special. 

Hours after, Jonathan yawned. "Ev, I should get going. I have work tomorrow." Evan rolled his eyes in disgust at the prospect of work but ushered Jonathan out of his apartment and waved at him until he reached his own down the hallway.