(Okay, sorry about the slow update, but it's here now!😂 I had really bad writer's block and no motivation to get it done. B u t. Major credit to AnxiousMusicalGeek- she helped me out a l o t- and she's also an amazing person, so like...)
~From far across the yellow field I hear him calling follow me~
T.W: Self-deprecating thoughts, cheesy shiz-
Evan woke up the next day instantly panicking. He woke up like that often, but this time it was a more... giddy panic. It's Evan; he's always panicking in some way, so he'll take it.
He was ecstatic for his date, even though he still couldn't believe he had one. Every time he thought about it he couldn't help but blink, then become even more excited.
But while he was excited, he was also freaking out. Of course.
He couldn't figure out what to wear, or what to bring. He definitely couldn't ask his mom after the 'conversation' they had when Michael left yesterday. Just the thought of it made Evan cringe. At first, all he could bring himself to do was go downstairs and eat breakfast. And that, other than thinking, was all he could bring himself to do for the whole morning.
He, at first, was considering asking Jared for help, but after a couple minutes he realized how awful that would turn out.
Evan went up to his room and took a step back, deciding to start with the easiest thing first: getting dressed. He was immediately about to go with his classic random polo and khakis choice, but then he stopped.
It would be cool if he wore what he did when he first met Michael, right? He shrugged, and just went with that.
After tugging on the outfit and pulling out a white pair white high-top Converse, he made his way to the bathroom. Once he walked in, though, he immediately looked away from the mirror.
He did see himself for a second, and that was enough for the thoughts to kick in.
Biting your nails? Really? You're too goddamn anxious, Evan. And those khakis? God, you look like a 12-year-old boy trying to look like a middle-aged man. And your hair is too wavy. Comb it down. What does Michael even see in you-?
Just... breathe. (SIGUE ANDANDO EL CAMINO POR TODA SU VIDA-)
Evan dug through his bathroom cabinet, breathing erratic and pulling out an orange pill bottle. He swallowed a tablet of his Ativan dry, desperate to feel relief and starting to comb his hair back with gel. He didn't like how his bangs would fall in his face freely, so he always combed it back.
He loved it when Michael's curls fell in his face, however. He loved everything about Michael's hair. He loved everything about Michael.
Evan walked back into his room, sighing as he looked down at his khakis.
He should probably change them...
He switched to a pair of light blue jeans instead with a sad huff. He put on his pair of white Converse, grabbing a pink scrunchie off of his desk. His mom had gotten it from some gift exchange they did between the nurses at the hospital. Heidi gave it to him, saying he could do whatever he wanted with it; even throw it away.
She desperately didn't want to keep it, claiming that she 'already looked VSCO enough, seeing how she brings a hydro-flask to work. She doesn't want to add a scrunchie to that.' Evan had a secret love for scrunchies, and was ecstatic to get one of his own. He, of course, would never wear it in public, but now...
He's at least semi-confident with Michael, so he might have enough courage to try something he's been wanting to for a while. He pulled the scrunchie over his left ankle, leaving it just barely above the top ankle of the shoe.
It looked cute, and Evan was officially convinced he should wear it. He reached for his phone, only to remember it was taken away, and buzzed his lips before running downstairs to check the clock in the living room.
"H-holy fern 3:30 already?" he mumbled to himself, trying to think of something he could get Michael.
He felt bad that the other was responsible for the whole date, so he wanted to do something.
And that was when he remembered he had snapdragons and buttercups growing in his backyard. With a smile, he walked over to the back door and walked outside, going over to the patch of growing flowers. He picked a handful of each, placing them down on the coffee table in the living room when he came inside.
With a tired sigh, he started making his way around the house, watering every plant. He saved his favorite plant, a small peony he named 'Lily' ironically- it was Jared's idea- for last, putting it aside. He always took a while taking care of it.
He picked up the buttercups and snapdragons, starting to twist them into a flower crown. About 20 minutes later, he finished and let out a sigh as he placed it to the side.
Singing and cleaning his room have always been Evan's best distractions, so he booked it upstairs. He started singing 'A Cautionary Tale' loudly, extremely thankful that his mom was out working. He jumped into his room, immediately starting to organize it for a distraction.
At about 5:10 was when he really started panicking. His breathing was a little too fast to be normal, and he ran back downstairs. He ended up having a 15 minute dilemma on how his palms were probably sweaty, and then they definitely were sweaty since he kept thinking about it. He ran his hands under cold water, but then aggressively wiped his hands with a towel since that obviously wouldn't work.
His hands were just cold and sweaty, now.
With an exasperated breath, he just gave up and sat down on the couch, placing Lily on his lap. He started watering the flower, stroking its petals while he hummed until he heard a car door slam and his head perked up. He placed Lily to the side, running up to the door and opening it as soon as one knock rang through the door.
Michael was standing at the doorstep, single daisy in his hand and scratching the back of his neck with the other. He was wearing his classic red sweatshirt but instead of his normal white sneakers, Michael was wearing orange high-top Converse. His curly hair was matted and almost looked curlier, and his eyes shone brighter than usual behind his glasses. His eyes widened slightly when the door opened, smiling shyly and cheeks flushed.
"U-uh hey, Ev!"
Evan's cheeks brightened, mumbling a 'hi' and looking down at the daisy. Michael followed his gaze, instantly blushing brighter.
"U-um... I saw this and it made me think of you, so..."
The acorn gasped, smiling brightly and took the daisy before tucking it behind his ear.
"Thanks, Mike! Oh! I-I have something for y-you, too!" he chirped, running over to the coffee table and grabbing the flower crown.
He walked back over to the front door, smiling up at his date.
"H-here," he beamed, placing the crown on top of his head gently.
Michael looked up at the flower crown, touching it gently.
"S-sorry, it was weird of me to m-make that, wasn't it?"
The retro boi instantly shook his head, giggling and smiling brightly.
"No, Evan, I love it! Thank you so much! Are these buttercups and-" he gasped. "Snapdragons?! I love snapdragons!!"
The acorn gleamed with pride, nodding.
"Yeah! They a-are! I'm glad you like 'em! I've just been growing them in my backyard."
Michael chuckled quietly, reaching his hand out for Evan to take nervously.
"You ready to go, then?"
Evan instantly nodded, hair bobbing up and down ever so slightly and he took his hand.
With a grin, Michael led Evan to his car and opened the passenger door for him, letting go of his hand and making his way to the driver's seat. He climbed in, starting the engine and glancing at Evan as he closed the door.
"Hey... isn't that the shirt you wore when we first met?" he asked with heart eyes as he pulled out of the driveway.
"Y-yeah, it is!" Evan giggled slightly.
"And the scrunchie on your ankle... is that a trend I don't know about?" Michael snickered, glancing at him before looking back at the road.
Evan flushed, desperately wanting to tear off the scrunchie at that moment.
U-uh... no," he mumbled. "It's kinda my own t-thing. I like the look of it, but I guess it's really d-dumb."
Michael instantly shook his head, glancing at the acorn again.
"No no no, Evy! I think it looks cute! That's why I asked if it was a trend," he laughed. "It honestly should be."
Evan blushed, smiling like a dork.
"Thanks, Micha."
"Don't mention it."
The tree expert buzzed his lips, looking out the window before instantly looking back at Michael.
"Mikey... where a-are we going, anyways?"
"Um... why don't you look for yourself?" he mumbled, pulling into a parking lot.
Evan looked up fearfully, instantly curling into himself.
"Why... why here?"
Michael frowned, cupping Evan's cheek and holding his hand with his other.
"Just trust me, kay? Deep breaths. I got you," letting go of the tree boi and climbing out of the car.
He walked over to the passenger's side, opening it and helping Evan out while grabbing his hand. The acorn took a deep breath, leaning against Michael as they started walking. His breathing hitched when he saw where they were going, and he stopped.
Where they were walking overlooked the familiar yellow field and the grand oak tree that stood tall in the center of it.
It was just like Evan remembered it, except this time the sun was just beginning to set ever so slightly. The light tints of orange painted across the sky reflected off of the field and almost made it golden; it was enticingly- to Evan, dangerously- magical.
"Michael? I... I can't be here. W-why are we-?"
"Sunflower," Michael cut him off gently. "I need you to trust me, okay?"
Evan flushed brightly at the new nickname, nodding slowly.
"We won't climb i-it, right?" he mumbled.
"Pfft, no. I'm not an idiot. Just... come on," Michael smiled, grabbing Evan's hand.
The acorn blushed brighter, eyes widening slightly and followed Michael across the field.
"Okay," the retro boi sighed as they reached the tree. "This place is gorgeous, I didn't want... past events to ruin it. So maybe new memories would fix it?" he smirked, tugging on his hand and leading him to the other side of the tree that they couldn't see.
Evan gasped at the scene once he laid eyes on it, covering his mouth with his free hand.
There were fairy lights strung up in the branches closest to the ground, which was about the height of Evan. (Michael had to crouch down a bit) There was a branch laid across the grass and a basket on top of it, guitar case on the blanket and leaned against the tree trunk.
Evan reached up, gently running his fingers along the lights strung across the branches.
"Michael... you didn't have to do this," he breathed out, clearly in awe.
"Oh, but I wanted to, sunflower," Michael cooed, pecking his forehead.
Evan let out a small giggle, shaking his head and breathing hitching yet again when he looked up at Michael.
His glasses were glistening in the light of the ones that were hung from the tree, practically glowing smile on his face. The small amount of freckles on his cheeks were prominent thanks to the light hue on his cheeks and bright light from the barely setting sun. The flower crown was still placed on top of his hair, adding an innocence to his appearance that made Evan's heart beat faster.
"Thank you," the smaller whispered.
Michael instantly shook his head, smile brightening.
"I'm just making sure you're treated how any magnificent person like yourself should be. Now come on," be beamed, moving the guitar and sitting on the blanket. "Sit."
Evan looked at the guitar case as he sat, looking back over at Michael.
"Do you... do you play?"
Michael looked over at Evan, nodding with a smile.
"Yeah, actually. I figured I could teach you a couple of chords?"
Evan instantly nodded enthusiastically, smiling brightly.
"Oh, that would be great!"
The retro boi grinned with a nod, grabbing the basket and pulling out several cans of soda.
"I got anxious that I wouldn't bring the right soda so I packed a bunch," he laughed.
Evan giggled, grabbing a Sprite with a smile. Michael reached for a Mountain Dew but paused, blinking and letting out a breath before grabbing a Pepsi. He shook his head, grabbing a silly straw out of the basket and giving it to Evan.
The acorn's eyes lit up, instantly taking it and placing it in the soda can.
"D-do you have one?"
"I mean... yeah. But I mostly brought them for you, and I got the reaction I wanted," he smiled with a snicker, grabbing his straw from the basket and sticking it into the soda.
They both took a sip, Evan's eyes sparkling as he watched the liquid go up the straw.
"So..." Michael started, looking at Evan with a smile. "Why don't you tell me a bit about trees, Ev?"
Evan almost spat out his drink in excitement, eyes lighting up.
"W-well trees didn't exist for the first ninety percent of earth's history. Before trees, t-there were fungi that would grow... twenty-six feet tall. Trees f-form this relationship with fungi and create this underground network. They share water and n-nutrition through them, too. Trees can also talk! L-like, send distress signals."
Michael paid attention to every single word, smiling brightly and nodding.
That just made Evan melt even more.
"Wow Ev... you're just so smart," he muttered in admiration, handing Evan a pack of fruit snacks.
"I-I'm really not, but thank y-you," Evan whispered in response, bright hue spreading across his cheeks as he fiddled with the packet.
"Nope. None of that," Michael frowned.
"W-what?"
"No self-deprecating remarks. I won't allow it."
Evan giggled, glancing at the guitar again.
"You want me to teach you those chords now?" Michael chuckled, reaching for the guitar.
"Y-yeah!" he nodded enthusiastically.
Michael smiled brighter, taking the guitar out of its case.
"Okay, so you hold it like this," Michael instructed, guiding Evan's hands around the instrument and holding around him gently.
Evan looked up at Michael unsurely, awkwardly holding the guitar slightly away from himself.
"L-like this?"
"Heh, sure," Michael chuckled, pulling the guitar closer.
He grabbed Evan's left hand, starting to guide him to form a chord.
"Take your pointer finger on the second string on the second bar, and your middle finger on the third string next to it. That's an E minor."
Evan nodded, doing as instructed and strumming across the strings. He and Michael winced at the bitter sound that came out, Evan sighing.
"Maybe this is more of a you t-thing, Mike. I-I shouldn't-"
"No no, Ev. Don't say that. It's your first time playing guitar. Just don't be so hard on yourself, sunflower. Press on the strings lighter and relax your thumb while you strum."
Evan nodded slowly, following Michael's suggestions and strumming again. This time a relaxing tune filled the air, and Evan smiled.
"That was great, Evy! You learn fast," the retro boi beamed. "You want me to teach you a new chord? Or-"
"N-no, I uh... I want you to play me something," the acorn mumbled, handing Michael the guitar.
Michael's brows furrowed, holding the guitar and scooting slightly away from Evan so the instrument wouldn't poke him.
"Um... are you sure? I don't even know what to play..."
"H-have you written anything?"
"Like... originals?"
"Y-yeah!"
"There's um... there's one that I kinda just started, but it's not that good-"
"Please, Micha?" Evan begged.
"E-Evan it's not even finished-"
"Then s-sing the part that is? Please? I-I wanna hear it."
Michael took a deep breath, nodding and feeling himself start to shake.
"O-okay. Just... keep in mind that I just started writing it and I know it's bad and-"
"M-Mikey, it's okay," Evan softly interrupted his ramble, placing his hand on the other's shoulder. "Just relax. I'm I'll love it. And I doubt it's bad."
Michael nodded, clearing his throat and closing his eyes in ana attempt to calm his nerves. He lightly strummed across the strings, bringing a chord to life and smiling contently at the sound. He started plucking different patterns, bringing the different ideas that he's put together to life.
Normally he would play guitar to calm his anxiety, so playing it right now- doing his best to ignore the fact that Evan was there- was really calming.
Evan, however, was watching Michael intently, smiling as he saw him start to relax.
But then his voice mixed in with the calming serenade of the guitar. It was shaky at first, but then it git richer; more confident. Evan was absorbing it all.
You know,
There's so much I wanted to tell,
To share.
And through those nights of laughs,
And I told you I had your back.
I thought you had mine,
When it was really only a lie.
You're still here with me,
By me.
Just not in the way I wanted.
I just hope you're happy with them,
Maybe they could provide in the way I couldn't.
Since now you aren't around me,
You won't be the loser, geek or whatever I forced you to be.
And oh, why can't you just let go?
Oh, why can't I let you go?
And why can't I...
Just get free?
You're stupid jokes haunt my dreams,
And I miss you being my tease.
And I wish you knew,
I'm nothing without my player two.
And I just can't move on.
But I try to move along.
'Cause you're holding me back,
And I can't get free.
Michael's calm, content feeling quickly diminished when he made the last strum on his guitar, eyes opening and widening.
"U-uh, that's all I have so far, I still need to write another verse and that was so bad, I'm sorry-"
"You... you wrote that?" Evan asked, looking up at him.
Michael gulped and nodded, anxiously putting the guitar away.
"Yeah. Yeah, I did."
"Oh Mike, that was great! W-when did you even write that? A-and- wait. Who w-was it about?"
The gaymer boi shook his head, scooting closer to Evan.
"It was about that... um... ex-friend?" he wasn't sure what to call Jeremy. "It's honestly not that big of a deal, and-"
Evan interrupted Michael by pecking his cheek quickly, holding his hand.
"I l-loved it. Just like I s-said I would."
Michael flushed, shaking his head.
"T-thanks, Ev. You want me tto take you home? Or...?"
"No, I wanna s-stay here. With you. I think... I think I really like it here, now. Thank y-you for that."
"Of course, sunflower. Anything for you."
3279 words
That's like... a thousand more than I usually do-😅