SERENDIPITY

CHAPTER 1

It was awfully late at night and Connor had honestly just gotten sick of it all. His home life was stressful and how people at his school treated him didn't help either. He made up his mind and he was going to escape. He had packed up all of his stuff already, just in case he had ever decided to go through with running away. He reached a hand into his jacket, pulling out a letter that he had taken from Evan back at school. He glanced over it again, scowling at the usage of his sister’s name but he paused when he read the first lines of the letter. He shoved the note back into his pocket, grabbing his suitcase and started heading towards the door. He stopped for a minute, dropping the letter onto his bed for his parents to find in the morning before continuing on his way. He closed the door behind him, locking it with the key from under the mat and then walked away from the house. He refused to acknowledge any associations between it and him, gripping tightly onto the handle of his suitcase.

He kept walking until he was a decent way away from the house. His feet felt tired while he was exhausted and just wanted to rest for the night at this point. He grabbed one of his button downs to use as a blanket, leaning against a tree that kept the teen pretty well hidden. After getting comfortable in this spot, he slowly drifted off into a somewhat peaceful sleep.

When he awoke the next morning, Connor sat up slowly and looked around. He spotted an awfully familiar teen in a light blue striped polo and cast standing near where he slept. That's when he realised that he had fallen asleep in Evan Hansen’s yard. He was almost a hundred percent sure that he wouldn't mind but he didn't know about his family’s opinion. He quickly realised, after forming a plan to wait for the other to get out of school and provide him with shelter, that it was the weekend so he could just confront him now. He needed somewhere to stay and he figured that he would provide it because he's nice and too scared to deny him it, the Hansen household was essentially his best bet right now for any kind of shelter. He looked back at the boy, debating on how to approach him with the request and possibly have somewhere to stay for a while.

He got up slowly, trying not to be seen by the other. He frowned a bit to himself as he approached him slowly. “Hey,” he greeted plainly as Evan jumped a bit, gripping onto his broken arm which caused him to wince. “Connor!” he said as he gripped onto the hem of his polo, “Wh-what are you doing here? Er, I guess I should ask how you got here?” “Relax, Hansen,” the taller of the two said with a chuckle, “I need somewhere to stay.” “Wha-why? Oh god, that was rude, I'm sorry, of course you can stay, I just-why do you need somewhere to stay if you don't mind me asking,” the sandy hairled boy rambled as Connor grabbed him by his shoulders and stared at him. “Breathe,” he said slowly as the other attempted to steady his breathing while apologising profusely. “It's okay, all right?” he said as he squeezed his shoulders. Evan nodded slowly, “I-I'm really sorry, I probably seem so pathetic right now.” “You don't have to apologise,” the long haired boy said with a sigh, “Besides, I don't think you seem pathetic.”

The two stayed silent for a bit before Evan broke the silence, “D-do you want to come inside?” “Yeah,” the other said, nodding as he grabbed the handle of suitcase and pulled it along. They went inside and Connor tossed his stuff to the side, sighing. He looked over at the visibly anxious boy who was wringing his hands. “Are you okay?” he asked him, raising a brow. “I-yeah, I'm f-fine,” he heard the other mutter. “So, what's up with the letter?” he asked plainly, staring blankly over at him. “Oh, uhm, my-my therapist has me write these letters to myself b-because of my anxiety, they're these little pep talk things, that are supposed to be like, ‘Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a good day and here's why’ but I, uh, I kind of wrote that one while not having a great day I guess, I'm sorry, I probably sound so pathetic,” the other explained in a ramble all in one breath. He stared at him for a moment, “Huh.”

“I-sorry,” Evan mumbled, “I should probably go.” “No, it's fine, you can stay, I'm just going to get unpacked,” the long haired boy said as he grabbed his stuff and headed upstairs. He looked around for a guest room, grumbling as he couldn't find one. Connor looked over at the stairs and saw a familiar head of sandy hair.

“Hey, do you guys have a guest room or..?” he asked, appearing disinterested and the other shook his head in response. “Huh, guess I'm rooming with you,” he said with a slight smirk which made the shorter boy’s face go a bright scarlet. “Relax, I can just sleep on the floor-” he said before Evan cut him off, “-No, no, no, I-I don't mind sharing a bed with you. Besides, it feels rude to make you sleep on the floor. Sorry for cutting you off, I just-I don't think sleeping on the floor would be very comfortable and you're the guest...” “All right, you made your point, Hansen,” Connor said plainly, “We'll share a bed.” This nonchalant comment only made the sandy haired boy’s face grow hotter.

“You okay?” the other asked, raising a brow. “I, uhm, yeah. I'm fine, I just-nothing, it's nothing,” he said, blushing terribly and sighing, “We should probably just get you all situated.” “Yeah,” the taller teen said, sounding a bit distant and bored. Evan continued to blush deeply as he led him into his room to unpack his suitcase. Connor, after unpacking all of his clothes and books, lied on the other boy's bed and stared at the ceiling. This was it, this was his chance to start anew and he was grateful for it.

CHAPTER 2

The weekend had passed and Connor found that sharing a bed with another person felt a lot more intimate than he had expected it to be. He also felt oddly lonely now that he wasn't going to school and as far as they knew or cared, he was dead. He looked over at the empty space beside him, it felt familiar but he wasn't pleased with this. He turned onto his side, grabbing his phone from off of the night stand and began texting the other to distract himself.

To Evan: hey

From Evan: Ah, Connor, I'm in class. Is there something you need?

To Evan: no, just felt like bugging you lol

From Evan: Oh, okay, well, I should get back to work before they catch me on my phone

To Evan: all right

He was felt incredibly bored now; it would be hours until Evan got back from school and provided any sort of stimulus that he needed. He proceeded to stare at the wall, debating on possibly running some errands while everyone else was out of the house so he didn't go crazy. He went over to Evan’s closet, figuring that if he wore something with more colour and with his hair up, then he could hopefully look almost like a different person. He looked through the closet and was greeted by an overwhelming amount of blue clothing. He looked through the row of clothes before finding a light blue flannel. He hummed to himself as he grabbed the flannel and grabbed one of a pair of jeans from his own stack of clothing nearby. He got changed pretty quickly, noting how the sleeves of the flannel were a tad shorter on his long arms than what was probably intended. He checked around the doorknob for a hair tie and sighed with relief when he found one. He grabbed a handful of his hair, tying it up into a loose bun with a soft hum.

He looked over at himself in the mirror and stared at himself for a while. It felt strange seeing his face not being covered by his hair but it wasn't bad, just foreign. He shook his head in order to put himself back on track. He was bored and all alone so he was going to walk all the way to 7-Eleven to get a slurpee; that was his plan. He grabbed the extra house key that Evan had hidden in a houseplant. He chuckled to himself as he shoved the key into his jean pocket, smiling a bit at the location. He sent the other a quick text.

To Evan: seriously? you have your spare key in a plant?

To Evan: that's honestly pretty cute

He hummed as he put his phone away, smiling softly to himself. He brushed some dirt off of the flannel he was wearing and unlocked the front door, locking it behind him as he left the Hansen house. He sighed to himself as he began his walk to the nearest 7-Eleven. He picked at his already chipped polish, frowning as he tried to remember if he brought the bottle with his so he could fix it later.

His mind then wandered to when he met Heidi, who arrived back at home late the day he showed up. He was still up, eating some instant oatmeal when she saw him. After a while of uncomfortable silence, he awkwardly introduced himself to her as Evan’s friend which she seemed to be relieved with idea of her son having friends. They shook hands after that which he was sure was probably not something usually do when meeting the parents of their friends. He then remembered about how embarrassed he was during that. There he was, a strange and edgy teenager, eating a bowl of instant apple and cinnamon oatmeal, late at night, in her kitchen. She gave him this weird look and it didn’t sit well with him then and it still didn’t sit well with him now.

He grumbled a bit as he torn himself away from his thoughts, staring at the convenience store that was now before him. He brushed his hair out of his face and walked inside the store, avoiding all eye contact. He walked along the aisles before stopping before the slurpee dispenser, grabbing a cup and filling it as quickly as he could before snapping the lid on. He brought his concoction of sweet, syrupy Coca-Cola and cherry flavoured ice to the counter, paying the cashier the minute he saw his total appear. He went to grab a straw when he caught the attention of a darker skinned teenage boy in an old, red hoodie that was covered in patches and a pair of headphones, who simply waved at him with a slight smile. He watched the boy as he filled two cups with cherry and blue raspberry slush before he eventually left. He stared down at the straw that he picked up, realising that it had broke from him unknowingly squeezing it too tight.

He looked down at his slurpee as he left the store, leaning against the outside wall of the building. He sighed as he swirled around the slush, drowning out all of his surrounding sounds with a blank expression. He looked back up from his more interesting drink, glancing around at his surroundings. He stared over in the direction of a teen clad in a black trenchcoat, rubbing at his temples with the oddest of expressions.

Connor shook his head and pushed himself off of the wall, making his way back to the Hansen household. He searched his pockets with a slight scowl as he walked to the door and set down his slushie, sighing for what felt like the hundredth time that day and pulled a house key out from one of jean pockets. He unlocked the door and walked in with a triumphant smirk, putting the key back into its place in the plant before lacing his fingers together and popping his knuckles. He moved his slurpee to a nearby table and locked the door, picking up the drink and going back up the stairs to Evan’s room.

He sat on the bed and drank his sweet beverage as a certain sandy haired boy shakily stumbled his up the stairs. He stared at him as he noticed the other’s red, puffy eyes and the white crescent marks in his uninjured arm, immediately being pulled into a hug as the shorter boy choked out some broken sobs. He awkwardly rubbed his back with one hand while holding the cherry coke slurpee with his other, tensing up a bit. He stared at Evan as he pulled away from their embrace, the distraught teen mumbling an apology. “What the fuck happened? You look like hell,” Connor commented plainly while the other stayed quiet. “Y-your parents came a-and they asked about my letter,” he finally mumbled which stirred a silence in the longer haired boy.

CHAPTER 3

Connor stared at Evan for a while longer while the shorter boy fidgeted with the hem of his shirt uncomfortably. Evan nervously chewed at his lip as he tried to find the words to explain what exactly happened. “Look, I left your letter on my bed before I bailed, simple as that,” the taller boy spat out, rolling his eyes. “I-I’m pretty sure they think you killed yourself,” the other stammered, staring at him with unease. “So? Better than having to deal with their bullshit,” he retorted which caused his sandy haired counterpart to fall silent once again. They both stayed silent, exchanging awkward looks at each other.

They stayed this way until Connor broke the silence with a heavy sigh, “So what did you say to them?” “Pardon?” his anxiety-ridden roommate questioned, digging his nails into his uninjured arm. “What did you tell my parents?” he repeated, visibly annoyed about having to repeat himself. Evan bit down on his lip, causing it to bleed slightly before speaking, “I-I told them that we were close friends a-and that was why you addressed me in your letter. I also told them that we wrote emails, o-on a secret account.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Connor groaned, dragging his hands down his face in frustration, “Do they want to fucking see them too or something?” The other slowly nodded in confirmation, earning another groan from the longer haired boy. “Great, just great,” he muttered, glaring at the shorter boy as he caught him staring, “What?” “I-it's just-you're wearing my shirt,” Evan said, his face turning a deep scarlet colour. The other snorted a bit as he looked back down at the blue flannel that he was wearing, “That I am.” They stared at each other for a bit, the sandy haired boy blushing terribly.

“I needed to not be recognised,” Connor said plainly as Evan hummed in acknowledgment. “O-oh, well, it suits you. Th-the blue really brings out your eyes,” Evan said, picking at the hem of his own shirt. “Oh, uh, thanks, I guess,” the other said with a small chuckle, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The two continued to stare at one another in silence before the taller boy broke it with, “So how are you going to get these fake emails?” “Jared is kind of tech savvy, I-I could ask him for help,” the other said as he squeezed his arm, frowning prominently. “Yeah, we'll get Kleinman’s help, whatever,” Connor said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. Evan gave him a weak grin, going back to fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. “You should stop that,” Connor said as the other looked over at him. “P-pardon?” he asked shakily, grabbing a portion of his shirt and clutching tightly onto it,

The longer haired boy groaned as he slowly pried his clenched fists from his shirt, “I said, you should stop that. It ruins your shirt.” The shorter boy mumbled a quiet apology which resulted in a sigh from the other, “It's fine.”

They fell into a honestly pretty comfortable silence, just exchanging looks with each other. Their shared silence was interrupted by Connor clearing his throat and speaking, “We should do something, like watch a movie.” Evan nodded slowly and smiled weakly, “That sounds fun, what do you want to watch?” The other shrugged and picked at his nail polish, “No idea. Wanna just see what's on Netflix?” The sandy haired boy smiled a bit more, “Yeah, let’s do that.”

After hours of searching, they agreed upon the Little Prince because Connor made a comment about loving the book and Evan thought that the movie looked really cute. Connor had cuddled up to the shorter boy at some point during the movie as his full attention was on the TV. Evan stared at him, blushing terribly as his breath hitched in his throat. He slowly broke out into a small grin, leaning on the other as he turned his attention to the movie.

When the credits began to roll, the longer haired boy stretched back and revelled in the satisfying pop his spine made. Evan looked over at him, staring with worry and bit his lip to keep himself from saying anything embarrassing. Connor snorted as he caught the other staring and smirked at him, “See something you like?” He squeaked a bit as he looked away in embarrassment, blushing even deeper as he mumbled repeatedly and quickly. “It’s okay, I was just teasing you. I don't actually care,” Connor said as his smirk faltered. “R-right, I'm sorry,” the other said quickly, gripping onto his arm and squeezing it tightly.

He sighed as he pulled off Evan’s tight hold on his own arm, “You're fine. Breathe.” With that, he let out a deep breath that he wasn't aware that he was holding. They stared at each other before Evan looked away with a bright scarlet tint to his face and repeatedly mumbled apologies. They continued to stay quiet and they both sat there, just enjoying it.

“So, anything interesting happen at school, now that I don't go there,” Connor asked with a hum. He was fully aware that the other was definitely an observer and some of the people at their school were pretty colourful so he was naturally curious also partly because he was bored. “Actually, yeah, Jared mentioned how that other Connor guy, the one that teachers would mix you up with because both of your last names start with M’s,” he started and the other nodded so he continued, “Well, Jared said that he heard that he finally got with that kid he has been obsessed with.” “Price?” Connor asked, curious for some clarification. “Yeah, apparently it was dramatic or something,” Evan said with a slight chuckle.

“That's nice,” he replied plainly and lied back, staring at the ceiling. The shorter boy slowly joined him, just lying there and staring at the ceiling. Connor glanced over at the other and chuckled softly when he saw him slowly drifting off. He pet his hair a bit as he lulled him to a peaceful sleep. He was definitely exhausted anyway, he's had a long day and he deserved this calm right now. He picked him up the best he could and carried him to his bed, tucking him in. “Sleep well,” he said softly as he left the room, smiling a bit and headed for the kitchen.

CHAPTER 4

The next morning, Connor woke up and was clinging to a body pillow that Evan had in the bed. He mumbled as he slowly got up and went downstairs, greeted by Evan talking with a familiar bespectacled face. “I didn't realise that when you said that you're inviting Kleinman you meant the very next day,” he said plainly as he descended down the stairs, sitting next to the sandy haired boy. “And I didn't realise how true Evan’s story about how he was housing our favourite Hot Topic model was,” the other retorted with a smirk. Connor opened his mouth to say something clever in return but Evan cut them off, “L-let’s just get to those emails!”

So there they were, circled around Evan’s laptop as they brainstormed ideas for what to put in these fake emails. That's when Jared got an idea and quickly wrote it down. Connor looked over it and read it aloud as he did before he reached a line that stuck out to him, “‘But I should tell you that I think of you each night, I rub my nipples and start moaning with delight.’ Do I even want to ask why you put that?” Evan blushed a deep crimson as he pushed Jared away from the laptop, squeaking a bit, “I'll fix it.”

Connor watched as the other two typed away, occasionally chiming in with his own suggestions to add for his fake emails. He eventually just got bored and leaned on Evan, who grew significantly warmer as a result of the sudden contact. “I'm pretty sure these emails make us sound kind of gay,” he commented. “Aren't you?” Jared asked, turning away from the email that he was currently working on. “No, we're not,” Evan said quietly with a weak chuckle. “Okay but you two live together, sleep in the same bed, share clothes, and now Connor here is all cuddled up to you, that's sickeningly domestic,” the bespectacled teen listed off, counting each thing on his fingers. “Shut the fuck up, Kleinman,” the taller boy mumbled, glaring at him. Said boy rolled his eyes as he went back to work, reading some of it aloud to see if there were mistakes that needed corrections.

Connor noticed that Evan was starting to nod off so he stopped Jared and asked if they could finish it tomorrow. The other nodded and commented before he walked out the door with his stuff, “Stay out of trouble you two, also use protection.” He smirked as he winked and left, leaving a flustered and red faced Connor in his wake. He sighed and rolled his eyes as he looked back down at the sandy haired boy passed out on the couch. He picked him up with some difficulty, carrying him up to their shared room.

He got dressed in pyjamas and got in bed next to him, cuddling up to him a bit. He then drifted off slowly into a peaceful sleep, clinging to the shorter boy in his sleep.

The next morning, he woke up after Evan, who was staring at him with a bright crimson face. “Oh, hey,” he mumbled in a barely awake voice while the other continued to stare. “We should probably continue working on those letters today,” he added as he slowly sat up and blinked slowly, smiling a bit at him. “Those can wait a bit longer, I, uhm-I thought we could stay here for a bit, m-maybe,” the sandy haired boy offered, hiding his face. “Oh, yeah, sure, that sounds good. I mean, your bed is pretty comfy so,” the other said as he buried his face into the closest pillow.

They stayed there for a bit longer before Connor rolled out of bed and looked at the time and asked the other, “Do you just want to postpone those letters for tomorrow?” He nodded in response as he got up as well, nervously picking at the edge of his cast. “Want to go on a walk? It’s really nice out for once and staying cooped up inside drives me fucking crazy,” the taller boy offered as he got dressed. “O-oh, yeah, sure, that’d be great,” Evan said with a weak grin, “I just have to get showered and ready and then we can go.” Connor nodded as he went downstairs to wait.

After what felt like hours of waiting, Evan came downstairs, fully dressed and ready to go. The other smiled at him as he held open the door for him and they started to walk towards the closest woods. Evan had them stop by the local florist so he could greet the employee there. Said employee seemed really overwhelmed but was grateful to see the teenager. The two held a seemingly pleasant conversation about Connor assumed to be plants while he eyed the plant they had on display. It seemed to some sort of carnivorous plant but he assumed it hadn’t been fed based on how it was pretty limp. Evan waved to the florist who waved back with a slight smile as the two boys left the shop.

“So what was that all about?” Connor asked as they continued on their original route, humming. “Oh, I used to volunteer there from time to time,” the other explained with a smile, “I still come in to clear my head and say hi to all of the employees.” “That’s nice,” the taller boy said and they arrived at the woods. The two stared at the trees towering before them in what seemed like awe.

“This reminds me of the orchard my family used to go to when I was younger, with all of the trees,” Connor commented fondly, smiling to himself. “We should-we should visit there sometime, I-I’ve never been and it would be a-a really nice trip down memory lane for you,” Evan offered. “Yeah, I would like that,” the longer haired boy said as he stared at the other with a soft smile, just getting lost in the moment.

CHAPTER 5

The two started their walk back to Evan’s house as Connor looked around, taking in the scenery. He stopped and the other stopped, turning around to look at him with concern. “We should get something to eat, I don’t feel like making anything,” he said, watching as Evan went pale and caught his breath in his throat. He chuckled a bit, “I could order for you, it’s fine.” The other released that breath he was holding, giving him an uneasy smile. “Thank you,” the sandy haired boy said quietly, obviously out of breath. “It’s not a big deal,” he shrugged as the boy grinned at him a bit.

They continued their trek as Connor started to zone out, getting lost in the comfortable, fuzzy static of his thoughts. He glanced over as he took note of his companion anxiously picking at his shirt and his cast. He silently took his hand, mainly just to distract him and his hand. He watched as his face went a deep shade of crimson, earning a light chuckle in amusement as well as a pink tint to the taller boy’s own face.

They eventually reached the house and Evan fiddled with his key as he tried to unlock the door with only one hand. Connor took the key from him and unlocked it, opening the door for him. “I could have opened it myself,” he said quietly as he entered the house. “Sure you did,” the taller boy snorted, closing the door behind them.

The two both sat down before Evan scrambled to grab his laptop, chuckling weakly as he brought it back. He handed it to Connor, who pulled up the website of a local pizza place that delivered. They agreed upon a pizza and he ordered it, rubbing the other’s back. The anxious teen grinned weakly at him with a flushed face, chuckling slightly.

That’s when Connor realised it; he was in love with Evan Hansen. He blushed terribly as he gave the other a grin, laughing softly. He covered his face with one hand as he tried to hide his crimson tinted face. The two stared at each other for a little while longer before Evan, stammering and equally red faced, muttered something about needing to work on something and ran off to his room with the laptop.

So there laid Connor, a flustered mess and deeply enamoured by his tree loving friend. He grabbed a pillow from the couch, screaming quietly into it as the heat in his face deepened. He gripped onto his hair, mumbling repeatedly to himself in embarrassment. Slowly, he lowered the pillow and stared at himself in the nearest mirror, hating what he saw very deeply. He threw the pillow a little too hard by mistake and cringed as the mirror fell to the ground, shattering the tainted reflection. He looked over at the cracked glass, picking up one of the nearby shards.

He frowned at the mess he caused and went into the kitchen, coming back with a broom and dustpan. He swept up the shards and bagged them up, tossing them into the garbage along with the broken mirror. He stared at them, clenching at the front of his shirt as a frown pulled yet again at his lips.

He sighed a bit before he went up to Evan’s room before he was stopped by the sound of the doorbell. His first thoughts went to the sandy haired boy upstairs getting startled by the sudden loud noise. He quickly answered the door, paying the delivery boy and taking the pizza. He closed the door and held it close to his chest, taking it up to the room.

“Guess who has food,” he stated plainly as he entered the room, causing Evan to jump slightly. He turned around quickly and smiled at him, “Oh, thank you, Connor, I really-I honestly appreciate it a lot.” “Like I said, it was no big deal,” he chuckled, shrugging a bit as he sat down with the box. He opened it for him and handed him a slice. “Here,” he stated monotonously, staring him in the eye while suppressing any creeping blush. “Th-thank you,” the other said softly as he took it, eating it with a smile.

“God, I love you,” he mumbled unconsciously as he watched the other. “Pardon?” Evan hummed a bit, clearly more at ease. Connor blushed furiously in embarrassment, “I-I said that I love…pizza. Yeah, it’s really delicious.” He chuckled slightly as the other snorted a bit, which Connor felt pierce him straight in his heart. The longer haired boy blushed deeply before he devoured several slices of the pizza to distract himself from his increasingly overwhelming thoughts.

He continued to gouge himself on the pizza before he realised there was only one more slice. “You should have it, I clearly had enough,” he muttered as he pushed the box toward the sandy haired teenager beside him, “Besides, I’m going to go to bed.” “O-oh, all right,” the other said quietly before eating slice, avoiding eye contact and throwing the box away.

Connor took a deep breath as he got changed so he could go to bed, hiding his rose tinted cheeks. Evan also got dressed, crawling into bed with the taller boy. “Goodnight, Connor,” he said with a smile before curling up behind him. He blushed even deeper as he stared into space, becoming a lot more aware of his situation than he usually was. He took into consideration the fact that he got clingy in his sleep and didn’t want to make the other uncomfortable, knowing he wouldn’t say anything about it. He grabbed the body pillow from over Evan, who was snoring softly.