After Dae had tried to get information out of Evan--and fucked up royally--he hadn't seen the redhead around school as often. But today he'd lucked out and caught glimpse of the red curls as they weaved through the crowd to get as far away from him as possible. The sting left by that realization was enough for Dae to see that he may have overstepped; he'd often forgotten that not everyone was as open about their past as he tried to be.
Later, as soon as the last bell rang, Dae caught up with Evan who was standing by his locker and loitering with Ro. As he approached, the redhead's face was fixed in an unreadable expression, and Ro's pointed gaze didn't help Dae feel any less awkward about being so forward. He cleared his throat, suddenly aware of how dry it was, and offered a small wave, "Hey Evan...Ro."
"Hello, Dae." Evan's voice was stern and lacked any of the warmth or affection Dae had sworn was present within it before he'd messed up.
Ro glanced at Evan, no doubt as surprised as Dae was that he'd answered at all, before nodding a quick greeting. Then the silence filled the space between all three of them. It was a heavy, painful silence that made Dae shift uncomfortably on his feet. While struggling to find words, Evan lessened Dae's embarrassment for him with a curt follow-up, "What do you want?"
Ignoring the stabbing pain in his chest from Evan's cold tone, Dae found his voice again--although it came out thick with emotions he'd been trying hard to hide. "...Sorry. I was...I was wondering if you, maybe, wanted to walk home together? And...talk?"
Evan stared back at him with an array of emotions flickering behind his eyes until his expression finally settled on sadness. The redhead hesitated for just a moment before Ro stepped in.
"Sorry, Basilio," they spoke in a measured tone, "but I already promised to take him home. And you know how pissed I'll be if I have to rearrange my schedule again."
Dae's heart broke and despite trying to play it cool he heard his own voice crack when he answered, "Oh. Cool...No worries then."
And before he could embarrass himself further, Dae turned on his heel and quickly walked away. He didn't bother to look back--he didn't want to risk Evan seeing the hurt on his face. And it wasn't like he truly deserved any more attention than what the redhead had already given him.
Shaking his head, he pulled earphones out of his pocket and hastily tried to escape before anyone else could catch him. Dae all but barrelled through the door, his favorite emo kid playlist blaring in his ears as he hurried home.
A little bit of a hike and about a hundred angsty songs later, Dae rounded the final corner onto his block. With his own and Evan's house in sight, Dae shut off his music and quickly took out his earphones, placing them back in his pockets.
Instead of the usually quiet street, Dae was met with the sound of two voices in a heated conversation. Glancing in that direction, Dae noticed Evan--dressed in a rather tight work uniform from the diner in town--face to face with the two assholes that had brought up the damned video in the first place; the two boys speaking in harsh tones while standing outside of Evan's house.
After a moment of taking in the scene, Dae was suddenly aware that Evan seemed to be blocked from exiting his yard, the bullies almost cornering him. Dae felt his fists tighten into the signature white knuckle grip, and before he could stop himself he was charging over with anger boiling in his gut. That anger intensified as he then heard rather clearly what exactly they were harassing Evan about.
"I heard he was caught stalking a straight dude." One of the assholes howled, nudging his friend.
"I heard he forced the dude to let him suck his dick." The other responded.
"That's sick...You know you're--"
Asshole number one never got a chance to finish his thoughts due to Dae's white-knuckled fist connecting with his cheek. The form was a little sloppy, but there was enough force to knock the bully off-balance. With the momentum of the punch getting the best of him, the asshole hits the ground and instantly scrambled backward on his butt before looking up at Dae in terror.
His friend tried to put on an even voice to confront Dae, but he couldn't suppress the fear that leaked through. "What the hell is your problem, dude?!"
Seething, Dae tried to relax long enough to issue a warning. Otherwise, he knew, this wouldn't be pretty. "I don't have a problem, but if you stick around, I'll have two to work out."
The boys freeze in place for the slightest moment, before the one still on his feet scooped up his fallen friend, and the two run away not bothering to feign confidence anymore.
Dae took a step away from Evan, closing his eyes and trying to level his breathing, before turning back to face the redhead. Evan was looking at him with a layered expression--concern, intrigue, and relief were just a few that Dae could decipher.
After a moment, Evan stepped through his gate and started walking towards town. He glanced at Dae as he moved slowly, with no sense of urgency at all. Dae watched every part of the redhead's body move in the form-fitting uniform. He felt himself gulp like he was in some lewd anime, but thankfully Evan pulled Dae's gaze back up to his eyes when he spoke, "So, uh, thank you...But you didn't have to do that, you know."
And then with just a quick--and almost inviting--look over his shoulder, Evan slowly sauntered toward the diner. And Dae knew that, despite whatever had happened between them before, there was no way he could resist; he had to follow.