Evan could not help but feel anxious.

Walking beside Connor for the first time in a long while, especially when they still technically are under the status of broken up. What even are they now? Are they even considered boyfriends again? Did Evan need to say it out loud?

He fiddled with the button up, trying to distract himself when he remembered the fidget cube in his other hand. He quickly switched the fidget cube to his right hand, clicking the buttons on it and turning the joystick. Slowly, his mind lifted off of the awkward tension and he could feel his beating heart calm down.

He turned to Connor, admiring his face with a smile. It has been a long while since Evan had seen Connor. He noticed that he seemed to have more energy than before, perhaps from getting more sleep. He also noticed his outfit, which made him look much more friendly than his usual.

He still wore a signature black, but this time it was a vest of sorts. He wore a gray undershirt, just as Evan has. He had a pair of dark blue jeans, almost passing for black, but not quite. His entire appearance made him look very much approachable, although his height was still a tad bit intimidating.

It has been such a long time since Evan could walk beside Connor, happily talking to him about anything that came to their mind.

"Y-You...uh...you wanted to talk, r-right?" Evan asked, gaining the attention of Connor. Connor smiled, absolutely in love with Evan. He felt so ecstatic to finally talk to Evan for so long, to look at him and admire everything about him.

Evan, of course, was doing the same. Both of them were trying to just peek at each other, any chance that they got. Evan would look away, his mind playing tricks on him by thinking that Connor had looked over. Connor would take this chance to gaze at Evan, smiling.

Connor also noticed that the students around them had worried expressions, glancing towards their direction. Some of those worried gazes would change into smiles, some of the worried gazes become sighs. It annoyed Connor to no end, feeling the gazes of everyone around them.

He pretended to cough, which served as a warning for those around them as well as a call for Evan's attention. He saw Evan turn to face him, wearing the bright smile he missed so dearly.

"Uh, yeah. It's been a while, huh? How's..." Connor paused, thinking of a word to explain what he wanted to ask, "how have you been?"

"I-It's been good!" Evan responded, both stopping at his locker. He reached his hands towards his lock, twisting and turning nervously as he felt Connor's stare.

"I've been th-thinking...um...thinking about my own mind, my-my own actions and reflecting on them." Evan continued, hearing the loud creaking from his locker as he swung open the door. He saw all of his textbook sitting in his scarcely decorated locker, reaching in for the subject he had for the period.

He realised that he has yet to apologise to Connor, face to face anyways. He gripped his textbook and brought it to his chest, holding it tightly in his arms. He took a deep breath, calming his heart as it continued beating faster to the rhythm of the suspense his mind manifested.

He shut his locker quietly, turning to Connor. He noticed that Connor had been listening intently the whole time, a smile on his face to encourage a calm atmosphere. Evan felt more at ease, his shoulders relaxing as he turned to see Connor being so very supportive of his feelings.

"C-Connor, I'm sorry," Evan spoke as clearly as possible. He knew that if he wanted to apologise, the most he could do was be as sincere and as clear as he could be. This apology caught Connor off guard. He had not been prepared for his apology at all, despite knowing that an apology from him was bound to happen.

"No, no! Why are you apologising?" Connor asked, his expression softens.

"Because, I've been nothing but horrible to you! I've-I've avoided you to-to deal with my own problems when I should have been asking you for help! I've just been such a horrible person and I'm so sorry I had even left you in the dark for this-"

"Evan, I forgave you already!" Connor interrupted, making Evan stop his long babbling of words. Connor gave him a kind and earnest smile, which warmed Evan's heart.

"Wh-why?" Evan asked, clearly frustrated with Connor's strangely kind words, "you...you know that I am such a-a horrible person, right?"

"Because," Connor firmly interrupted, a little devastated to hear Evan criticise himself, "it doesn't mean that you can't be forgiven, right?"

Connor could not help but feel angry. Of course, he hated Evan for leaving him on his own. Those words cut him deep, when Evan agreed to the mutual separation. He had to take a few days just to comprehend the anger boiling in his heart.

This was partially the reason why Connor did not go to school for the past week. He did not wish to inflict the backlash of his anger onto those around him. As much as he hated everyone in his school, no one needed to see him throw a fit over a break up.

He turned to Evan, noticing that he seemed to be on the verge of tearing up. Connor could immediately recognise the years of abandonment Evan had felt. He could immediately see the years of yearning in his eyes. It was hard to miss, especially when his body language practically gave it away.

Connor smiled, trying his best to give an encouraging atmosphere. He knew what Evan felt clearly. Connor had felt that abandonment for a quite a while. That's what made him start his drug intake and made his bipolar worse. His parents realised that they could not help Connor through his bipolar, so they subconsciously praised Zoe.

Zoe had always been the perfect daughter. She was kind, nice and perfect. She was shining so brightly, even as a child. Her perfection made Connor detest her. That's probably why he started to take his anger out on her. She was everything he was not. A perfect child, a perfect friend, a perfect person.

The fact that he took his anger out on her, affected both of them negatively. Connor felt his mental illness take root even stronger. He had stronger impulses to strike at someone and the short temper did not help him at all. Zoe was abused by her own brother. Of course, she started developing trust issues. She probably would be joyful if Connor had died, instead of becoming friends with Evan.

Evan had suddenly leaned forward, giving Connor a hug. He buried his head onto Connor's chest and clothes, trying to hide his tears. Connor, pleasantly surprised by the sudden hug, decided that he should leave Evan be. He probably needed this hug more than anything.

Evan gave the hug for a few seconds before retreating, flustered.

"S-sorry...for the sudden hug, I mean," Evan quietly muttered, which Connor acknowledged with a smile. They both then started walking towards the direction of their classroom. It was only when they turned towards the classroom did Connor notice that Evan had been furious fidgeting with his Fidget Cube.

He gave this action a thought, and was astonished. Evan had become much braver than he had been previously. He had been able to apologise to Connor. Hell, walking up to him might have taken even more courage. He was starting to realise the severity of his social anxiety even more now, although the intensity was clear enough beforehand.

"So," Connor continues, trying his best to reintroduce the topic of Evan's meditation and taking the burden of letting Evan talk without feeling awkward, "the past week. You were saying?"

"O-oh...uh, yeah! S-so, I had the chance to really just calm myself. S-stuff like my own feelings and how I-how I treat people and what I should do to f-fix that."

Connor listened quietly, unwilling to disturb him. Even if he was telling Connor these things, Connor could tell that he was checking the list of problems mentally and trying to think of more to solve.

"A-and I have a lot of...um...I have a lot of problems to work on," Evan concluded, letting out a chuckle.

"Oh, you actually like meditated and shit? Like the monk stuff?"

"No," Evan smiled, finding Connor's perception of self reflection to be incredibly hilarious, "it's just thinking! I-It isn't like a monk thing!"

Evan started to laugh, uncontrollably so. It has been a while since he had a good laugh, so he howled with laughter when Connor had misunderstood his meaning of meditation. He tried to muffle his laughter by clamping his lips together, but to no avail. The laughter escaped his body, causing him to start tearing up.

Connor walked beside him, joining in on the laughter. He was in the same situation. The past week was torturous, this joke that occurred was the only chance of laughter he has had in a while.

Both were hysterical, laughing on their way to class. Passers-by would be intrigued by their laughter, but continue on their merry way while the two continued their mutual joy.

Afar, the trio watched their progression with a sense of relief. Zoe and Alana had been joyous over Connor and Evan's regained friendship, but Jared was frowning. As Zoe and Alana continued expressing their feelings of relief towards each other, Jared could not help but grumble.

It was the correct respond from him, both as a parental figure and as a friend. Connor had hurt Evan. Albeit unintentionally, it was still painful to see Evan crying and depressed over this subject. Besides, they had broken up. If Jared sees that Connor tried anything, he would not hesitate to interrupt the class just to reprimand Connor on his idiocy.

He glared at Connor, as the two turned the corner, disappearing into the sea of students. He found himself getting lost in his hatred, until he felt an aggressive tap on his shoulders. He turned around to find that Zoe and Alana had been staring at him.

"Jared, you okay?" Zoe asked, noticing the malice in his stare. She turned towards the direction of his stare, quickly enough to notice that Connor had just disappeared behind a corner. She immediately realised that his malice had been directed at Connor, and she sighed, pretending to have missed on that obvious cue.

"Yeah, Jared. You seem out of it!" Alana asked, genuinely curious. Zoe glanced at Alana, noticing that she seem to be smiling. Her façade was difficult to uncover. Zoe could not tell whether Alana had been hiding the fact that she witnessed Jared's malice, or that she genuinely missed it.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm...I'm fine. I'm just still a little-" Jared paused, working his brain to think of something that would make sense to the two of them- "dumbfounded. You guys fucking dragged me by my collar!"

He started to chuckle, reaching to the front of his neck and gently caressing it. Alana apologised, as Zoe scanned Jared's face. Once again, there was a strange façade. It was amazing that both of them have such a strong ability of hiding their real emotions.

"Anyways," Alana concluded, smiling at both Zoe and Jared, "perhaps we should go for class now?"

Jared glanced about, realising that Alana was correct. The students that were in the hallways, filling the quiet and empty space with the loud pattering of footsteps and the orchestra of voices that chattered, was starting to wear thin. They were all starting to scatter, rushing to their classes.

Jared nodded, waving the girls goodbye as he ran to his class.