Classes had been in session for about a week now, and Evan was slowly adjusting back into school mode. His shoulders were sore at first from the unfamiliar weight of having a backpack, and his homework routine was still a bit rusty, but he managed.

In fact, today was the day he was going to go to a study session for the first time. Only a few people would be there- including him, Smitty, Scott, and another of their friends who Evan had yet to be introduced to- so Evan figured it wouldn't be too miserable.

Slowly, Evan felt like he was regaining his social skills.

He snapped the hair-tie against his wrist as he ventured across campus to the dorm buildings by the name of 'The Benson Dormitory'. Kind of an odd name, but he noticed that nearly every building on campus had an odd name, so he just went with it. His backpack weighed heavily on his shoulders, but he didn't really notice as he tried to memorize the steps he was taking to get to his destination, trying not to get lost on a campus he didn't know very well. It was nice to have something to keep his mind off of whatever else floated through his head as he walked, music playing through his ear buds though he didn't really pay any mind to what song it was.

Evan continued to snap the hair tie on his wrist until he came across what he had been looking for. The Benson Dormitory.

Scotty had explained to him through a text that the group was going to be at his dorm, and if it turned out that they got too distracted then the next study session would be at the library.

Getting into the dorms was actually much easier than he had thought- turns out the doors are actually open during the day and you only need your ID if you're entering after 9PM, which he was not.

"Room 203....room 203...room 203." Evan softly chanted to himself as he roamed the hallway of the second floor of the building, phone tightly clutched in his hand as he opened up his text conversation with his boyfriend.

Evan
Made it to the dorms, see you in a few hours. Love you

Jonathan
Have fun! Call me if you need anything, okay? Love you

Evan
I will, miss you :(

Jonathan
It's just a few hours, go see your friends

Jonathan
Miss you too :((

"Evan! You're here!" The door swung open as soon as Evan pulled his hand away after softly knocking. Scott's voice startled him, making him jump back as his earbuds fell out. Evan's heart beat sped up just a little. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Come on in."

Walking towards the door, Evan smiled. "It's okay, I just scare really easily. Is your friend here yet?" He asked as he stepped inside, wrapping the cord to his earbuds around three of his fingers. Evan blindly stuffed them into the outside mesh pocket on his bag as he spotted Smitty lounging on the couch. "Hey." He greeted.

"No, he's not here yet-Oh! By the way, he's bringing one of his friends to study with us, too. Hope you don't mind."

Evan slipped his bag off his shoulders and onto the floor while he settled awkwardly on the couch. "Oh, that's fine. The more the merrier, right?" He sunk into the couch with a sigh. Evan's fingers found the hair-tie on his wrist and snapped it a couple of times, taking calming breaths.

Smitty pulled himself off the couch, combing his hair with his fingers as he glanced at Evan. "Want anything to drink? Water, soda, wine, beer, vodka-"

"I said take it." Evan was pressed up against the wall, Tyler firmly placing a hand on one side of his head while the other held a cup of what Evan knew was bad. "It's your drink, Ev, now stop being a bitch and drink it."

All of a sudden, Tyler's free hand had gripped Evan's chin, hard, and pulled his face close to Tyler's. Forcing his mouth open, the taller male pushed the red cup to the younger boy's lips, forcing him to drink it. Once the cup was empty, Tyler let it fall to the floor before pressing Evan against the wall again, thudding against the boy's back while Tyler connected their lips. "Didn't that taste good?" He mumbled against Evan's lips, holding onto the younger's waist, not letting him move away.

"I'm fine." Evan answered, pulling on the elastic and twirling it in his fingers while he kept his eyes closed. He continued his calming breaths for a few minutes until the door bell rang, knocking him out of his trance as his eyes opened and he sat up, tugging on his sleeve to hide the hair tie.

Scott gave Evan a sympathetic look while Smitty rushed to answer the door. "Must be them." Evan looked down at his lap, playing with his fingers. A small part of him wished he had just stayed at home and studied alone. His nails dug into the sides of his fingertips, snaking into his cuticles out of nervousness.

Soon, his arm began to itch and he allowed himself only a second of scratching before he realized what he was doing and snapped his hair tie against his wrist to stop himself from doing that again. Scott watched it for a few seconds before turning to the opening door.

"Yo, what's up guys? Who's ready to study just so we can feel better when we ultimately fail?" Their friend loudly walked into the apartment, not even noticing Evan, who had stood up from the couch and quietly watched the boy walk over to dump his bag onto the small dining table. Finally, he noticed Evan. "Oh, who's this?"

Scott smiled. "That's-"

"Evan?" A familiar voice appeared, causing Evan to turn and be met with someone he hadn't seen in nearly two years.

"Craig?" Being thrown back to high school, the old friends hugged one another in greeting. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Evan spoke into Craig's ear before they pulled away from one another.

His friend nodded. "Yeah, it has. How are you?"

Evan shrugged. "I've been alright-"

"Wait, you two know each other?" The unknown friend- to Evan, at least- appeared to be in disbelief, looking between Evan and Craig rapidly. "How?"

Craig smiled, wrapping an arm around Evan's shoulder. "We went to high school together, but we met in middle school." He explained so that Evan wouldn't have to.

"That's so cool! Evan didn't mention having any friends-" Smitty started before Craig interrupted.

"He didn't? Wow, Ev, I'm kind of hurt." Craig obviously faked it, knowing that Evan has probably had a lot to deal with. "How're you and Jon? Did things work out?" Evan nodded. "I'm glad, he makes you really happy." Craig whispered before pulling Evan in for another hug.

"I-I still don't know who he is." Evan stated once him and Craig stopped hugging, looking over to where Smitty and Scott were stood by the dining table. The boy appeared to still be astounded by Evan and Craig knowing each other, so Scott introduced him.

"Oh, right. Evan, this is John. John, this is Evan."

Evan smiled, not making eye contact. "Nice to meet you." His greeting snapped John out of his trance.

"Pleasure's all mine. Anyway, moving past the formalities, let's get to studying, shall we?"

———

"You never tell me about your cute friends, I'm mad." John crossed his arms over his chest as him and Craig walked back to their own dorm building. "Like, hello? Have you seen Evan? What a catch." He acted like a lovestruck schoolboy as the pair walked.

Meanwhile, Craig just chuckled and shook his head at his friend's foolish behavior. "I haven't spoken to him since graduation, dude. And, besides," Craig paused, "he has a boyfriend."

John groaned. "The cute ones are always taken, it's not fair." He huffed.

"Some friendly advice, though," Craig ignored his friend's pouts, "Either stop your feelings now from growing or prepare to spend the rest of your life hiding them. Because if you're gonna be friends with Evan, you can't have feelings for him." Craig thought back to senior year, specifically towards the end. When everything had gone to shit. "Don't act on them. Ever."

"Why not?"

"Because I know Evan. He's been through a lot, especially these past two years. And I know that if he knows you have feelings for him, he's gonna freak out." Craig took a few steps before pausing and turning to John. "I won't let you hurt him."

"Why would I do that? What is that even supposed to mean?"

"It means don't be like the last one, got it?"