tw: guns, gunshots, implied abuse,  implied starvation, physical fighting, sexual harassment

the trio left the station soon after the police had promised to do everything they could. but they weren't just going to sit around and wait for someone else to do something. especially connor, who was never the type to "wait for it" - that tactic had never gotten him anywhere.

instead, they went back to jared's house and crowded around his laptop.

"i know exactly how to find justin. he was always extremely active on social media, especially the medium that usually only older people use these days," jared remarked, pulling up facebook.

he typed in justin brooks and clicked on the name that had his high school underneath it.

"looks like he lives in.... queens," jared stated.

"back to new york?" connor asked.

"back to new york," zoe agreed.

jared nodded and shut his laptop. "i'm coming with you two. you're going to need me and my tech expertise. not to mention my comic relief is nice to have around, too, considering how serious this adventure is, even though it's literally gayer than me, which means it's gayer than gay."

so zoe and connor got the car ready as jared packed, and then they were off.

***

they arrived at queens the next afternoon. jared had done some sleuthing on the trip over, using his laptop, his hotspot, and some software that connor was pretty sure was illegal. they now had the exact address of justin brooks in their hands.

when they first entered the suburb, connor's anger started bubbling up. he was boiling.

zoe made him pull over the car and she started to drive instead.

"connor, please calm down. we might be dealing with a dangerous criminal. the one thing that we need at this point is calm. evan's not dead," zoe tried to reassure the frustrated boy.

"no, but that guy's about to be," connor growled.

"maybe it's not his fault. he could be part of a bigger picture," jared pointed out.

jared was right, so connor groaned in defeat. he sat back in his seat and changed the song from something just like this to walls could talk. hopefully the music would calm him down.

***

the apartment was small, and looked worse than the trio had imagined it would. they weren't on the nice side of queens.

knock knock knock.

connor banged a little on the door, still attempting to keep his anger at bay. jared seemed a little frightened - whether by connor or the situation, no one could tell. zoe had changed her expression to a very businesslike, closed off, straight face.

"your face is straighter than you are," jared whispered, teasing, to zoe.

"shut it. this is serious," zoe replied, but you could tell she was trying not to laugh.

a boy with jet black hair swept to the side, insanely pale skin that almost hung off his bones, and a cigarette in his left hand opened the door. he blew smoke in their faces before asking "how may i help you?"

"mr. justin brooks?" jared asked.

the boy nodded.

"we're here about evan hansen," zoe stated politely.

the boy raised an eyebrow and drew on his cigarette once more. "haven't heard of him."

connor growled, about to lose it. he pulled out a tiny pistol in his belt, pointing it at justin's head. in the sides of his vision, he saw jared gasp and zoe face palm in disappointment.

justin just raised the other eyebrow in response. "fine. come in," and he stepped back while the trio entered the small, crappy apartment.

***

they sat on a torn apart couch while justin sat across from them in an even worse-looking chair. jared immediately took out his laptop and started typing again.

"truth is, i was just the delivery boy. i was looking for some extra cash, and some man was looking for evan hansen. i knew where he was, so i got him and took him to the man. when the man was done with whatever he wanted from evan, hansen was passed on," justin immediately said. "he was supposed to come back to me within 12 hours, but he never did. i would've just dropped him back on the streets, no problem, no missing person. he'd be too weak, too anxiety ridden, to talk, anyway. so it's not my fault."

connor shifted in his seat and his hands clenched into fists. he was about to reach for the gun again, but zoe placed a hand on his arm for him to calm down.

"where is he now?" zoe asked.

justin smirked. "i can't tell you that, darling," he purred, as he got up and slithered over to zoe. "but aren't you a fine flower. i'm sure the man would love to add you to his collection..." he leaned into zoe's ear. "of course, i'd prep you first," he laughed, tracing a finger down her cheek.

connor snarled and jumped up. he was about to pull out the gun again when zoe jumped up, slapped justin, and drove her knee up into his crotch. justin fell to the ground, groaning.

"i'm GAY, you PERVERT!" she shouted.

"that... can be... changed," justin coughed.

connor yelled and was about to tackle the man on the ground when jared, surprisingly strong, grabbed connor and held him back.

he whispered to connor, "evan's in the apartment. let zoe distract him. follow me."

with those few words, connor stopped trying to fight and left zoe to continue beating up the weak justin.

he followed jared to the bathroom, then watched in curiosity as jared opened a secret door underneath a few cracked floor tiles. "how did you know he was here?"

"i hacked into justin's wifi, then hacked into his email account. at one point, evan wasn't here, but he was returned to justin about three days ago."

the boys stared at the, now open, door. a ladder led into darkness.

jared stepped back, handing connor a flashlight. "after you. he's your soulmate."

connor rolled his eyes at the obviously freaked-out jared, but he didn't hesitate to go first. he stepped onto the first bar of the ladder and started to climb down. jared followed afterward.

inside was a huge room, all dark and musty. there was nothing in it except for another door.

connor ran over and threw it open, preparing himself for nothing.

instead, when he pointed the flashlight around the room, he saw an unconscious boy tied to a bed. he was shirtless, bruised, and scarred. his left arm was still in a blank cast that should have been removed a long time ago. you could see his ribs through his skin and his blond hair was dirty. there were dried tear streaks on his pale face, so pale that you could barely see his freckles.

something in connor broke just as something else in him healed. he turned around to see jared, mouth gaping wide, tears in his eyes.

"go back up, hide in the bathroom, and call 911. now," connor managed to spit out.

jared quickly nodded and made his way back up the ladder, just as connor heard a gunshot and a cry from zoe. jared yelled back, "connor, stay here! i'll get her!"

connor knew that he had to put zoe in jared's hands if he wanted to rescue his soulmate. he ran to evan and searched for a pulse, knowing that it would have to be there. and it was, but it was faint. he untied the boy's wrists and feet, and picked evan up into his arms.

the boy was as light as a feather. way too light. connor sat on the floor next to the bed, cradling evan in his arms. his eyes blurred with tears, and he started to sob. crying with both relief and secondhand pain, he pulled the smaller boy closer to his chest, never wanting to let him go.

and that's where connor and evan stayed. even while connor could hear the sirens and the handcuffs clanking and the ambulances. even when jared brought police and medics down to the secret room. connor was still curled up around the unconscious evan, not letting go, not even responding to any sort of stimuli. it all disappeared.

in connor's mind, it was just him and evan. that's all that mattered to him anymore.

the medics eventually gave up, and just loaded connor, still holding evan, into the back of an ambulance.

and connor fell asleep, his own emotional mess too much for him to bear in the moment.