I was kind of nervous as I walked to Lui's house, it had been quite a while since I last went to a sleepover, I didn't want to mess this up. Although, I don't see how I can, I've only known them for a day.

When I reached the address Lui had texted me,I walked up the three small concrete steps leading to the porch, feeling excited. The house itself looked a little like a cottage, cozy, but not that small and was painted a warm pale yellow.

I rang the doorbell, deciding knocking might not be the best approach. I heard shuffling coming from inside along with excited voices which I recognized to be Lui and Marcel. Looks like I'm the last one to arrive.

As I waited for the door to open I tugged on the straps of my backpack, a nervous habit of mine. I don't really remember when it started, I just know I've always done it, I always have to play around with something or else I'll go nuts for some reason. It's stupid, I know, but at least it's comforting.

As the door opened I prepared myself for a typical teenage boy experience.

A sleepover.

---------------------------------

Evan woke up with a headache, his room was dark, the sun was obviously not up yet. He slowly sat up, trying to not worsen his headache. Reaching for his phone, he noticed his friends were still asleep as well.

He grabbed his phone and unlocked it, blinking rapidly from the sudden light. Once his eyes had adjusted, he checked the time, it was 3AM.

After trying to go back to sleep for about half an hour, he finally dragged himself out of his bed, grabbing his phone and jacket, seeing as he was still wearing his clothes from the previous day.

He quietly made his way down the stairs, slipping on his shoes before he walked out the door, not even leaving a note for his friends. It's not like they would worry about him anyway, sometimes he just needed space. They understood.

Evan made his way to the small park a few blocks from his house, making his way to the pair of swings. He sat down and looked up, admiring the stars that were already beginning to fade from the sky. Evan often did this, not always during sleepovers, but he just snuck away late at night, or in the early morning hours to think, have some alone time away from his friends.

There was one time when he spent a little too long being 'MIA' that he really worried his friends. He remembered that day, his friends practically sent an entire search party for him, he felt honored. And he wasn't even gone for twenty four hours.

--------

Evan had found himself in the forest near his house, or rather about a mile and a half behind it. He was sat in front of a small lake with a waterfall about ten meters high, a recent discovery of his. Just something he had found after he had a small argument with his mom and needed to cool down.

But today he was there for something different, he was there to be alone for another reason. He felt stressed, and couldn't be bothered to go to school, it felt like a chore. And here, this place was calming.

His phone rang beside him, it was a text message. He considered answering it, but decided against it, he didn't want to disturb the peace.

After what felt like a few minutes, but was actually a few hours, his phone seemed to light up like a Christmas Tree. It rang continuously, messages from his friend seemed to come in by the hundreds.

Tyler- Ev? Where are you?????

Craig-Seriously, we've been looking everywhere!

Brian- This isn't funny, Ev

David- Is something wrong?

Brock- Are you ok? Are you hurt?

Tyler- Ev I swear if you don't reply I am hunting your ass down....

Tyler- Ev, please! Call me or something, anything.

Finally, it seemed that his phone had calmed down, his friends finally stopped. Evan sighed, locking his phone and putting it in his jacket pocket, returning his gaze to the clear turquoise water.

After about forty five minutes, Evan's quiet was ruined when he heard people yelling. At first it was far away, then it seemed to get closer, he could recognize it as his friends calling out to him.

"Evan! Evan where are you?" He could hear the concern in Tyler's voice, in all of their voices. They were really worried about him.

Evan was about to reveal himself when suddenly he felt several bodies crash on top of him, pushing him into the soft grass. "Evan! Oh my god, are you ok?" Tyler asked, removing himself from the small dog pile.

"I'm fine. But you got my jacket dirty." Evan growled, standing up and brushing off his jacket, only to now be the victim of a group hug.

"What happened? Why are you all the way out here?"

Evan shrugged. "Just wanted some time alone, I guess. I don't know......" His response was quiet, and his friends had definitely noticed, but they didn't acknowledge it directly.

"Why don't we go get some food? You look like you're starving." David said, his face wore a lopsided smile. Comforting, but not too much.

Evan gave a half hearted nod and gestured for David to lead the way, which he did. The group of boys ended up at a local pizza place, ordering a few pizzas for themselves as they tried to cheer up Evan, who still looked a little distant.

"You guys are the best friends I could ever ask for." Evan said quietly, pulling his phone out and typing away on it. The guys smiled, because they had accomplished their mission. They had cheered Evan up.

-----------

Once the sun had started to rise, Evan decided it was time to go back home. He pulled himself off of the swing and brushed himself off before walking back in the direction of his house, quickly checking his phone before he caused any worry.

8:15 AM. No messages. They must still be asleep. Evan thought to himself as he stepped onto the sidewalk that was connected with the park, cracks littering the once pristine concrete surface.

Evan entered his house, trying to make the least amount of noise possible in case his friends were still asleep. He made his way up the stairs, taking a right turn at the top to go to his room. He put his hand on the handle of the door, silently turning the handle and slipping inside.

He tugged off his jacket and hung it on his chair once more, carefully stepping around his sleeping friends. Once again neglecting to change, Evan pushed off his shoes and climbed onto his bed, blindly putting his phone on his nightstand.

And as he drifted off to sleep, all his worries about the new kid seemed to fade.