Towards the end of a grueling first week of school, Dae couldn't help but notice that he'd been seeing less and less of Evan throughout the week. He caught himself wondering on more than one occasion whether or not, it was due to Evan being invisible or something more complex had happened.
Regardless, he decided to seek Evan out today. So with his lunch in hand, Dae scanned the lunchroom thoroughly but saw no signs of the ginger phantom. Sighing to himself he started making his way to an empty table, hoping to at least get some quality alone time in as he ate.
However, as soon as he picked up his sandwich, Anthony all but jumped into the seat across from him. Dae cocked an eyebrow at him before cautiously lowering the food from his mouth. "Can I help you?"
Anthony feigned being hurt, before digging into his food. He didn't bother to swallow before speaking. "You wound me, Dae. I just wanted to spend some time with a good friend."
Dae looked around to see if Leilani was with Anthony before he responded, "Usually, your friendship comes with strings attached."
A flicker of annoyance flitted across Anthony's face before he waved Dae's accusation off with a forced laugh. "Still got that sense of humor, huh? Glad you didn't lose it when you went...away."
Dae sighed, before pushing his tray away from him. Suddenly he'd lost his appetite, but he chose to ignore Anthony's refusal to say rehab. "Yeah, I'm still fucking incredible. But I'd be even better if we cut this short and you just told me what you wanted, Ant."
"Fine," Anthony held up his hands in mock surrender, "I know you're...recovering. But there's a party this weekend, and a few of us were wondering if you still had some contacts to--"
"You're fucking unbelievable." Dae slammed his hands onto the table, causing a couple of heads to shoot in his direction. It took three point two seconds for the whispers to start, Dae's hair standing on end from the attention. "Did you really just try that? Get bent, Ant."
Without waiting for Anthony to reply, Dae stood up and stormed out of the cafeteria with every pair of eyes staring him down. He needed to get a moment to himself, so Dae made his way down the hall and towards the closest bathroom. Once in the hallway, he took his time, dragging his fingertips against the cool walls, to try and calm himself down.
He slipped inside the bathroom, and stepped in front of the mirror, focusing on his breathing; his knuckles white from gripping the edges of the sink. "C'mon, Dae...breathe, dammit!"
"Tough day?" A familiar voice called from the furthest stall, causing Dae to jump. After the initial shock, he felt relief wash over him. He'd finally found Evan...but when he approached the stall, Dae couldn't help but laugh loudly.
"You do know that's gross, right?" Dae crinkled his nose and nodded toward Evan, who was sitting on a toilet with his lunch tray across his lap. "Plus, it's like the cliche new-kid-eating-lunch-alone trope that cheesy teen drama movies try...I thought you were better than that?!"
"Bold words from a kid who's probably never been new in his life." Evan shook his head with a smile, "Besides, I trust the custodians do their jobs. And it's not like I'm slurping up mashed potatoes from the tile, I'm at least a little civilized."
Dae let out another laugh, carefree and open, letting the stress from Anthony's stupid comment melt off of him. "Guess I can't argue with that."
"It's usually pretty hard to argue with me. I've been known to be incredibly stubborn," Evan smiled at him, mischief gleaming in his eyes. "So what brings you to my neck of the woods? It sounded a bit rough."
"Just some idiot..." Dae spoke despite himself and shook his head. He looked away from Evan, "What about you? Why eat here?"
"Just some idiots..." Evan shrugged, and Dae's heart broke a little.
"Is someone messing with you?" Dae asked, leaning against the doorway of the stall, a smirk on his face. "I can talk to them...I've got a bit of a reputation, you know..."
"Oh! I'm well aware." Evan laughed as Dae waggled his eyebrows, "I've heard you're quite the bad boy. But I'll manage. I'm not some damsel in distress, you know."
Dae couldn't help but feign shock, placing a hand on his heart. "I wouldn't dare assume that about you. In fact, I've heard you're quite stubborn!"
Evan huffs out a laugh as Dae winked to back up his point, before reaching over to put his empty tray on the floor on one side of the toilet. Hesitation flickered across Evan's face, and the redhead wet his lips briefly before asking, "So, at the risk of being a total troglodyte...is it just talk? Or is there truth in what I've heard..."
Dae saw on Evan's face that he instantly regretted asking the question, but didn't have time to respond to it. A blaring alarm sounded, and it took Dae a moment to realize that it was the lock-down alarm the school had put into place a few years ago.
Without missing a beat Dae shuts the floor-length door to the stall, closing both boys inside. After locking the door, he turned around in the cramped stall to face Evan. He looked up to see Evan now on his feet, frozen and paler than usual. One of Evan's hands was gripping the opposite shoulder with white knuckles, and his eyes were staring off into the distance.
"Hey!" Dae could hear the worry in his own voice, as he whispered to get the redhead's attention. Evan seemed to break out of his haze at the sound of Dae's voice, but he still stayed rooted in fear, "Listen to me, Evan. You're okay...I promise."