All the progress he had made suddenly seemed to disappear. He had never wanted to skip school as badly as he did now, but he didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble with his parents. And so, he had no choice but to endure another horrible day at school, counting down the days until winter break.
Fortunately, after the break experience, Angie decided not to leave his side and accompanied him to every class they didn't have together. Plus, Evan walked around with his head down all day, not because he was trying to avoid being stared at, but because he was betting on his wolf sense of smell to make sure none of his friends were around.
He didn't have much left. All he had to do was survive the last two classes, and he could finally go home. Then he could curl up in bed and sleep. Being Friday, his plan was simple. He planned to sleep through the weekend and hope that things would look better again on Monday.
"Hey, Angie! Wait!" He couldn't believe that he was once again so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't realize that one of the people he had planned to avoid was approaching.
Angie stopped, making him stop as well, and while she turned and fixed her gaze on their pink-haired friend, Evan was left staring at an indeterminate point, his back to the hallway, from where he heard quick footsteps.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," Lola stated, panting. She had obviously been looking for Angie for a long time, running through the halls until she found her.
"Oh, I-" Angie turned to Evan, looking at him worriedly before turning her head to the girl on her left. Lola looked like she needed something from her, but Evan needed her in general, so she was faced with a dilemma.
It was a small thing, but Evan's mood dropped even more. He didn't know why he took it so seriously, but the fact that his best friend had to choose between friends because of him was killing him.
"I just wanted to tell you about my introduction to Aaron's parents. You too, E. We can go sit in the rest area." Evan raised his head in surprise and finally looked at her. She didn't look at him differently than before he messed everything up, and he was confused.
His little pack hardly ever met in the rest area. They were always in the garden on the benches, regardless of the weather, and when it was too cold, they found an empty classroom or just sat down somewhere against the wall in the hallway.
"You sure?" Evan asked. He was sure she must have heard about the morning's fiasco and was surprised she hadn't commented on it. Maybe she was just waiting for them to be alone and then to chew him out.
She suddenly looked guilty and her whole face changed.
"I know I haven't been the nicest to you these past few days. I'm really sorry, E. It was stupid of me. You and Kieran are both my friends, and I shouldn't have taken sides with either of you. Or rather I should have both of your sides," she blurted out in one breath.
"That's-" Evan suddenly couldn't find the words. He hadn't expected her to say something like that, especially after both she and Aiden had distanced themselves from him.
Fortunately, he didn't have to think long as Lola overtook him: "Seriously, E. I'm really, really sorry. I believe you had your reasons and just because I'm your friend doesn't automatically mean I have to know them."
As soon as she finished, Evan did the only thing that was appropriate at the moment. He pulled her to him and hugged her.
"Thanks," he breathed into her shoulder. She tightened their embrace in response.
"Can I join? Or is it an exclusive hug?" Angie reminded them of her presence with a laugh. Evan and Lola automatically made room for her and pulled her into a group hug.
"Okay, okay," Lola was the first to pull away from them. "Sentiment aside. I still need to talk to you because I feel like I'm going to explode."
"I really hope that means it went well, and you didn't embarrass yourself in front of his parents," Evan chuckled.
"I have pink hair, so what do you think?" Lola replied in a duh tone. They all laughed at that. Evan felt as if the burden he had been carrying on his shoulders was a little lighter. Slowly but surely, he was getting his friends back and although he may never have convinced Kieran and Josh that he was truly sorry for all of this and that he didn't do it on purpose, he was able to have mutual friends with them and that was enough for now.
...
"You look different today," was the first thing Ryan said to him when he got off the bus. As always, he was standing in the same place at the bus stop, waiting for him. The change was that today he was there alone, without his cousin by his side.
"Today was a crazy day," he admitted honestly as he stopped in front of him.
"Should I be worried about you?" Ryan asked. Evan tilted his head, pretending to think about an answer, but his smile betrayed him. Although his day started off terribly, Lola turned it around, and he couldn't contain his joy at it.
Ryan's mouth also stretched into a smile that matched his own and he reached up and playfully shoved Evan away with a punch to his shoulder. He theatrically took three steps back and touched the place where his fist had touched him.
"I like seeing you happy," he commented, and Evan just rolled his eyes at his words. Ryan's honesty was sometimes too much for him, but at the same time, he appreciated it more than anything.
"And I like seeing you chase me," he said, and without waiting for Ryan's reaction, he ran away from the station. The raven-haired boy quickly regained his composure and, according to Evan's words, started chasing him. It was silly and one might say childish, but Evan felt silly today.
Evan had no idea why he thought he could outrun Ryan, especially since only one of them played sports regularly. He quickly learned that running away from him was pointless, but he kept trying anyway, not doubting that Ryan was slowing down on purpose just for him.
"You gonna catch me or what?" he yelled, turning around on his axis for a moment to look at him.
"And I was trying to give you a chance," Ryan sighed, running faster than before. He caught up with Evan in a second and pulled him to the ground by the arm. Evan yelped, not expecting it and thus unable to avoid hitting the ground. Luckily, he ran on the grass and not the pavement or it would have hurt.
"You're crazy!" he laughed despite his words. They both rolled onto their backs and didn't look like they were planning to get up. The ground was uncomfortably cold for them since it was December, but they both obviously had a reason why it was worth the trouble.
"I'm not going to say anything cheesy," was Ryan's reply. Evan had no idea what he meant so he turned his head to look at him and the other boy did the same.
"Like I'm crazy about you," he said, looking into his eyes. Despite his claim that he wasn't going to be cheesy, his tone said otherwise. Although it was supposed to be a joke, it sounded more like a statement.
"Stop acting like we're in a movie." Evan sat up and turned his head in Ryan's direction, not breaking eye contact. The black-haired boy didn't hesitate, and he too sat up. He didn't move closer to him, leaving a reasonable distance between them, and Evan was glad. Although today felt better than before, it didn't mean that it was the right day to get closer to Ryan. Seeing Kieran and talking to him hurt him, especially when he heard his tone, but he still couldn't deny that he still had feelings for him.
On the other hand, the more time he spent with Ryan, the more he realized that he enjoyed his presence. He automatically felt like smiling whenever he saw him and looked forward to seeing him all day long. He knew that the boundary of their friendship was getting thinner and thinner, but he decided to ignore it for now.
"If it was a movie, it would be pretty boring. I mean, we spend most of our time at school, and I don't know if anyone would want to watch it," Ryan stated, snapping him out of his thoughts. Evan had to agree with him. Although his life was a drama in his eyes, it wasn't really that terrible. If he were to make a trailer out of it, he probably wouldn't know what to put in it to make it interesting enough.
"True," he summed up his thoughts out loud.
"Although, I have news." Evan looked at him in surprise, not expecting this confession. He knew that Ryan was going home, and he had no idea what else new he could have.
"Good news?" he asked to be sure.
"The best," the other boy assured him. Judging by his smile, his words were true, and Evan was even more confused.
"Are you going to put it off much longer?" he pretended to be irritated by his delay, but he honestly wasn't sure if he was capable of such emotion in a connection with Ryan.
Ryan laughed at his question, but finally decided to share his news, "Remember that cat we petted together? I was checking to see if it belonged to anyone and guess what!" The answer was clear to Evan from his smile, but he decided to cooperate anyway and uttered a loud What.
"She's officially mine. I named her Marshmallow." He looked proud of his idea, but Evan couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh, come on! It fits her perfectly!" Ryan immediately objected, but that didn't stop Evan's laughter. He pictured a bushy white cat in his head, and he had to admit that the name fit, but it was still the most absurd thing he had ever heard.
"You brought it on yourself." Evan didn't understand his words at first, but when his long fingers dug into his ribs, he immediately stopped laughing. Well, at least for a while, because in a second he was writhing on the ground, tears of laughter in the corner of his eyes.
"I... can't... brea-breath," he blurted out between incessant laughter. His breathing was quickened, and he could feel the tears welling up on his cheeks. That was what he focused on the most as he chose to deliberately ignore Ryan's knee pressing against his thigh.
Of course, Ryan was too soft and couldn't bother him for long. After his feeble request, he finally let go, and Evan could take a deep breath. He sat up, supporting himself on his elbows, exhaling loudly. His back was still chilly from lying on the cold ground, but he ignored it, as he was sure that he couldn't get sick as a wolf.
"Ready to apologize to my cat?" Ryan asked him and moved in front of him, so he wasn't sitting next to him like before but directly in front of him, resting his forearms on his bent knees.
"I think you should apologize to your cat for what you named her," he corrected his statement.
"I have nothing to apologize for. I was deciding between Cloud and Marshmallow and decided that Marshmallow was the better choice since it's so sweet," Ryan explained. Evan just shook his head in amusement. He didn't know what he was expecting, but he probably shouldn't have been surprised by the absurd names Ryan was giving after knowing his favourite dinosaur's name.
"At least you're handsome," Evan concluded. Instead of giving him a smart answer, the black-haired boy decided to repay him for this compliment in a different way. He reached back to Evan's ribs, and he let him, not expecting it. And so, they found themselves on the ground again, Evan under Ryan, laughing at the top of his lungs.