Connor sat on his bed, his feet resting on the headboard and his head on a pillow. He was staring outside, watching the clouds daddle along the horizon in a slow crawl. An unopened book lay in his hands, its cover marked with dust and Connor's fingerprints. His mind was as slow as the clouds outside, enveloped in a haze caused by the warm sun filtering through the window. His fingers were limp, his legs sagged, and Connor was just about ready to fall asleep..

Briiiing..! Briiiing..!

Connor jumped, the book jumping off his lap and onto the floor as he scrambled to try to find his phone. Spying it on the bedside table, Connor launched for it, answering the call before they had the chance to hang up.

"Hello?" Connor said, half of the bed and panting slightly for breathe.

"Connor! It's me, Heidi! I almost thought you wouldn't pick up!" Connor recognized that exhausted but bright voice almost immediately, and he groaned mentally. It had been a few days since his run-in with Evan, and he had hoped that would be the end of it. Then again, he'd also given Evan's mother his number, so it was pretty much inevitable that she would call.

"Yeah," he mumbled, picking himself off the floor and placing the book on the bed.

"Well, I won't keep 'ya, but could you come over and-maybe, hang out with Evan?" She seemed apprehensive, as if she worried that he wouldn't accept. And Connor definitely wouldn't accept, but curiosity got the better of him.

"Why?" He could feel his eyes narrowing as he flopped back on the bed, resting his back against the headboard.

"Well, it's just, Connor doesn't have too many friends, and since you two were getting on nicely back there, I was just hoping.." Connor sighed, hearing the desperation in her voice. He never thought he'd be considering this, but here he was considering this.

"Fine, give your address," he mumbled. Heidi rattled it off while Connor was pulling on his socks and shoes, then his favorite black hoodie over his head. He mumbled a 'thanks' to her, ending the call and snatching his keys from his respective hook as he walked out the door.

Connor found himself pulling up to a quaint little house, the grass green and poorly clipped. He got out, closing the door behind him and eyeing the clovers that dotted the verdant rug. He walked up the stone path and stopped at the door, nudging a pot with his foot that held a forest of tulips. After some time to gather up his courage, Connor rang the doorbell that sat on top of the beige wall next to the darker brown door. The door opened to reveal Heidi with Evan right behind her, the former taking her son and swiftly pushing him out the door. It clicked behind him.

The two stared at each other, the only sound the rustling of leaves and the scraping of Evan's shifting feet. Connor looked away, staring down the bright, blinding street which seemed too happy for its own good. Evan shuffled his feet again, and Connor jumped back, startled.

"Hey, can-can we go somewhere? I know a cool place.." Connor narrowed his eyes at Evan's nervous stature, noting the way his voice shook as he spoke. He then dropped the demeanor and shrugged, Evan seemingly taking that as a yes as he spun around and began leading the way along the sidewalk. Connor scrambled after him, the two falling into a comfortable pace down the street.

Soon they were walking along an old wood fence that was blocking the way to what seemed to be an orchid. Connor glanced at the stray plums that littered the ground and even the sidewalk, stepping a bit wider to avoid getting some on his shoes. Suddenly Evan turned, stepping over a post that had been taken off the top of the fence. He started down a trail that led into the orchid, and Connor hopped the fence and quickly scurried after him.

As he caught up with him the trees started to turn into apple trees, the leaves covering the ground becoming a deep brownish-green instead of the red-purple from the plums. Apples now littered the ground, most bright red in color. Evan stopped, and Connor stopped behind him in a small path covered in soft green grass and spotted with apples. The floor was dappled with sunlight, glinting off the apples like glass in a dark alleyway. Connor's feet crunched on dead leaves, and small little critters scuttered around from apple to apple in the selcouth. Evan walked to one of the four trees that bordered the clearing, their branches towering over the two boys and providing a canopy that blocked out most of the sun. Evan reached for an apple on a branch, but he was too short to even graze that fruit with his fingertips.

"Don't strain yourself," he murmured, plucking the apple from the branch and handing it to Evan. Evan grinned, taking a quick bite of the apple before sauntering between the trees. Connor took an apple for himself and followed him, treating himself with the sugary goodness.

"Apples have to be the coolest tree fruit ever! I mean, there's so many apple trees that can grow anywhere, and.." Connor listened to Evan ramble on about trees and the different species of apple, tuning out his words but still somehow listening. Evan seemed to be loosening up, especially to talk without that shaking voice or stutter that he seemed to possess. Connor smiled at that, turning his apple to work on another side. Evan was now talking about how different fungi and how they help trees, and Connor couldn't help but notice how bright and happy his face looked when he was talking about plants. "Hey, Connor." Connor jumped at his name being spoken, and he looked up from his half-eaten apple to see a grinning Evan, who held a piece of paper in his hands. "Here's my email, send me a message if you'd like!"

"Thanks," Connor took the piece of paper and quickly shoved it in his pocket. He took a bite out of apple, watching as Evan took up the pace again with his tree rambling. Connor followed behind, munching on his apple and wondering if it was worth it to email him. His thoughts were broken by ringing, and Connor pulled out his phone to see that Zoe was calling him. Evan's talking dwindled as he answered the call, holding his phone to his ear.

"Come home," was the first thing he heard as he answered. Connor sighed, looking at Evan with a face of longing before saying a reluctant 'fine' and ending the call.

"I have to go," Connor said simply, and Evan nodded, bidding him farewell as he made his way back through the trees. Connor quickly hopped the fence, walking down the street and into his car. He gave a last glance to where Evan was supposed to be, then sighed and started driving back home.

Connor opened the door to his house, hanging his keys on the wall and kicking off his shoes at the door. He stopped when he saw Zoe at the bottom of the stairs, looking at him with her arms crossed.

"Who's the boy you went to see?" She hissed, her eyes narrowed as she watched him push past her towards his room.

"It's none of your business!" He snapped, storming upstairs and into his room. He shut the door, flopping onto his unmade bed and staring out the very same window he was staring at before. The clouds that were once dollying across the sky were now dark gray, rolling across the blue horizon with a promise of rain. The clouds were menacing, plunging the once bright world around them in a duly colored mess. Connor rolled off his bed, grabbing his school laptop off of his measly wooden desk that he'd had all his life. Sitting down properly on his bed, he opened it up, pulling up Hotmail and opening up a new file, beginning to write out an email. He looked out the window again, the dark clouds now taking over the entire sky.

Connor wondered how the clouds know when to rain.

a/n Another chapter and back on track. I'm hoping to set days on which I write, so I hope that I can get this story out in about 12 more weeks. So yay.

Ya'll could comment, I want f e e d b a c k .