short and sweet chapter to clear up your questions! longer chapters are coming later i promise (theatre camp is amazing but very time consuming)

also, i have a boyf riends one shot book that i just published! and yes, i am happily taking requests :) it would mean the world to me if you could go check it out!

***

"hello, and welcome to the today show. I'm kathie lee gifford. our first story today is so insane, you might find it hard to believe. definitely something out of a novel. a young couple, soulmates, completely infatuated with each other, were enjoying themselves at the musical of the century when a gunshot went off. what they did next is astounding. here's savannah guthrie."

"thank you, kathie.
eighteen-year-old connor murphy had already looked for his soulmate, evan hansen, all around the country after a chance meeting on the street and then the sudden disappearance of hansen. it took a year, but by using a website, lostsoulmates.com, murphy was able to track down the missing boy who had gone through a nightmare of abuse. hansen was hospitalized for two months, and murphy barely left his side. afterwards, they thought they would live normal, happy lives, but they were wrong. a date gone wrong left both of them badly injured, but widely regarded around the world as heroes.

here, we have evan and connor for an interview to ask them some questions."

***

evan was sitting at the today show set, connor next to him. his arm was wrapped in a cast with connor's name sprawled across it. he was nervous and anxious beyond belief, and the world's colors got slightly brighter with the nerves.

why did i agree to do this why did i do this connor said i didn't have to why do i do this to myself??? the run-on sentence repeated in evan's mind as he waited for savannah guthrie to turn around.

connor noticed the sharpness of the colors and grabbed evan's hand tightly. "you can do this. i'm here if you need me," he whispered, and evan calmed down slightly.

"first of all, i'd like to thank you for joining us today. i know that this must be difficult for you two," savannah addressed with a smile to the boys.

"oh, it's no problem," connor replied, smiling, and evan just nodded along.

"if you could just walk me through the events after the gunshot went off. what were you feeling at first?"

"um, panic," evan exclaimed, his heart racing.

savannah laughed a bit. "that's understandable."

connor smiled and turned on his charm. "honestly, savannah, my first focus was just getting evan and i out safely. we had located the nearest exit and were almost out when evan was suddenly tackled, resulting in his broken arm -"

"which had, um, a-already been broken before, by the way," evan stammered, earning a polite laugh from savannah.

connor squeezed evan's hand in a silent expression of pride, then continued. "so, i pulled the guy off and helped evan up, but i noticed that the guy was holding a gun, and i realized that this was the gunman."

savannah nodded. "and how did you handle that? you must have been frightened - death is staring you in the face."

"at first, sure, but then he mentioned something about evan. his exact words were 'did you seriously think you could truly rescue your little boytoy?' at that point, i was just angry. i ran and tackled him. he started screaming more about evan, and at one point his gun went off - that's why i was in a wheelchair for a while. i ignored the pain, and i eventually grabbed the gun, and i leaned against the wall, holding it up to his face. he started saying things like 'you wouldn't dare', et cetera, but i just kinda glared at him," connor replied.

evan jumped in with his part of the story. "m-meanwhile, i was, um, getting people o-out of the theatre. some people were s-so, so shocked that they w-were almost paralyzed. i remember having to c-carry a little g-girl out with one arm, as my other one b-bled, and then i r-ran back into the theatre."

"i have to say, evan, i don't know how you did that. running back to something that could kill you, and has already injured you," savannah inquired for more.

"the reasons i, um, i ran b-back was b-because i d-didn't know if e-everyone was out, and i k-knew connor was in there. b-but then, i, um, i passed out," evan looked down, then back up again, trying not to think about how he was on national tv.

"that's when the police and the emts arrived. we were taken to the hospital, then in for questioning. it looked suspicious to them that i was holding the gun, but that situation was quickly cleared up. they currently have the gunman in custody," connor nodded, finishing the story.

"how did you react when you found out that the gunman was the same man who had been part of the kidnapping and had sent those threatening texts to you earlier that week?" savannah asked.

"i was, honestly, relieved. all evan and i are doing at this point is praying that this nightmare is over. it's lasted for a year and a half now. we just want to be a normal couple," connor replied, smiling. evan leaned his head on connor's shoulder, resulting in an "awww" from everyone present.

"well, thank you for joining us today, and for being so exceptionally brave. you both are extraordinary young men, and i wish you happiness in the future," savannah ended the interview with a smile. "back to you, kathie."

***

when they had left the studio, zoe was waiting to pick them up.

the two boys climbed into the backseat. connor immediately grasped evan's hand.

"i'm so proud of you, darling! you did so well in there!" connor exclaimed. his voice was filled with pride and a huge smile was plastered onto his face.

evan blushed and smiled back. "y-you were better, though."

it had been around four months since the incident at the theatre, and most of it had been interview after interview. most stories easily die off, but, for some reason, this one had snatched the public's interest. whether that was a good or a bad thing, evan wasn't sure.

now, it was christmas break, and connor had a plan.

"zoe, you know where you're going, right?" connor made sure.

zoe rolled her eyes. "i know what i'm doing. i'm jealous of you two."

"what? w-what's going on?" evan asked, confused.

"you'll see," connor smiled.

zoe pulled up to jfk airport and smiled.

"wait... what?" evan asked.

connor laughed. "we're going home, you weirdo."

"home? but..."

"i got your mom to give me a list of everything you missed about your old hometown. you know... the place you grew up before you were forced to move here?"

evan's mouth dropped. "oh my... oh, my god..."

"and i've got a few surprises in store, as well. but you're going to enjoy the next week. i promise."

evan looked at connor with wide eyes full of happiness. soon, connor was wrapped in a kiss.

evan pulled away first, squealing, "thank you thank you thank you!" and jumping out of the car.

connor laughed. "i better help him with the luggage. thanks for the ride, zo."

zoe smiled at him through the rearview mirror. "no problem, big bro. now get your ass out of the car so i can go spend time with my girlfriend."

connor laughed again and got out of the car. he was faced with the sight of evan glancing hopelessly at the open trunk, then at his casted arm, then up at connor.

"i-i c-can't get the luggage," evan whined with a little pout.

connor felt his heart flutter at the adorable sight, and he laughed in glee while he unloaded the two suitcases. he closed the truck and waved goodbye to zoe, taking evan's hand as they walked into the airport.