Friends with the Babysitter (a Dear Evan Hansen Fanfic)

Ch 4--Becoming Shark Bait

"Oh, good, you boys know each other?" She asked happily. Maybe they were sort of friends in school and it wouldn't be so weird for them.

    "N-no," Evan whispered. "I know of h-him. W-we've never t-talked before."

    "Oh."

    Evan tried, he really really tried not to have an anxiety attack. He tried to control his breathing, but he was just staring at Connor's face and couldn't look away.

    He could not be friends with Connor Murphy.

    Connor Murphy was kind of evil. Everyone at school knew him as the kid who threw a printer at his second grade teacher. Evan didn't want a printer to be thrown at him! He was terrible at dodge ball, he had no idea how he'd be at dodge printer.

    He was rude to all of his teachers, like his mother said, he did drugs, and he wasn't pleasant to be around.

    Evan was a fool for thinking he could do this. Cynthia was going to see him panic and never allow him to come back.

    "Evan, are you okay?" Zoe looked at him concerned. Cynthia drew her attention away from her son and looked at Evan. He was pale and shaking, and hardly breathing.

    "Evan!" She sat next to him and took his hand. "Hey, honey, it's okay. Please calm down, Evan, you'll be fine." He was still stuck almost as if in a trance and she moved her face in front of his. "Evan..."

    He blinked a few times and took in a deep breath. He closed his eyes and breathed a couple more times. Cynthia put her arms around his shoulders and he allowed her to comfort him. They sat like that for a few minutes until Evan was able to speak again.

    "I-I-I'm s-so sorry!" He choked out.

    "Oh sweetie, please. There's nothing to be sorry about. Is it anxiety?" She asked.

    He nodded.

    "Y-yes. I d-don't deal well w-with surprises, or-or change, really. I knew th-this was a b-bad id-idea. I'm s-sorry for wasting y-your time."

    "What do you mean?"

    "W-well I'm s-sure you're going to f-fire me, since you've s-seen how incapable I am of-"

    "Hey, just because you have anxiety doesn't mean you're incapable of doing things. Sure, it might be difficult, but I think it might be good for you. You'll be able to learn how to deal with uncomfortable situations, because you're probably going to have to deal with it your whole life, right?"

    Evan nodded.

    "If you're still willing to do this, I would love for you to keep the job."

    Evan thought about it. It felt weird having someone who believed in him. Maybe he could do this...

    "O-okay. I-if you're sure."

    Cynthia smiled.

    "You're so brave, Evan." She whispered, then stood up and looked at her children.

    "What are you talking about, mom?" Zoe asked. She looked really confused. Even Connor was looking curiously at the boy currently freaking out on the couch. "What job?"

    "Evan is going to be hanging around here now. I asked him to take a job as a sort of...companion for your brother."

    Both Murphy children looked at her in shock.

    "You hired me a whore?"

    "NO CONNOR! Not that kind of companion!"

    "God, why are you so vulgar?" Zoe complained, scowling at him.

    Evans face had never been redder. Did Connor really think...?

    "I mean companion, like a friend." She recovered from shock. Her voice was a little frazzled, she had not expected that from her son. Although now she knew that he was definitely gay. She'd had her suspicions but this confirmed it. 

    "Oh." Connor peered around her and looked at Evan. He was sitting on the edge of the couch cushion, eyes trained on the floor, trying to make himself look small. Connor could still see him, though, and his flushed face. He tried not to grin. Zoe thought he looked like a hungry shark. She saw him looking at the nervous boy and felt terrible for him. He was going to be eaten alive by her brother.

    "Mom, I don't know about this..."

    "Why, Zoe? I think it's a great idea." Connor announced.

    "You do?" All three of them said, looking at him in unison.

    "Yes. I think it'll be fun." Connor looked at Evan. Evan gulped. That look did not comfort him at all.

    "Well, I'm glad, Connor. Evan, why don't you go home for now, and you can come back tomorrow and we can discuss how it's going to work." She glanced at her son. "We definitely need to set up some ground rules." Connor grinned sheepishly at her, but she wasn't fooled for a second.    

    Evan stood, picking up his bag and started towards the exit. Zoe moved out of his way, still staring at him in shock. She had no idea how he was going to put up with her brother.

    "I uh...I don't...h-how do I g-get out?" Evan couldn't remember how they got to this room. It seemed so far when they were walking earlier.

    "I'll show you." Connor offered before anyone else could say anything.

    "Connor, you be nice to him, or--"

    "Of course, Cynthia." He snapped. She flinched when he used her name. Evan looked at him with wide eyes but moved his gaze to his feet when Connor sent him a glare. "I always am."

    Connor threw his arm around Evan's shoulder and Evan flinched. Connor didn't care or didn't notice and started steering the smaller boy towards the front door.

    They didn't talk the whole time, which made Evan pretty nervous. He hated silence. But every time he thought about speaking, he looked at Connor's face and decided not to. Connor's long brown hair was left down today, and when he moved his head, it kept brushing against Evan's face, tickling him. He didn't say anything about it or dare to move.

    When they got to the front door, Connor let him go. Evan reached for his off brand sneakers and slipped them on.

    "Uhm...b-bye, I guess." Evan said, reaching for the front door.

    Connor just smirked as he nervously backed out. He didn't look at him until the door was almost closed, and when Evan saw him, he froze.

    "Hey, Hansen?" Evan gulped as Connor looked him up and down. "This is going to be fun." Evan let out a little yelp and closed the door. He heard Connor laughing evilly from the other side and wondered, not for the last time, what he had gotten himself into.

***

(Bonus points if anyone can tell me what kind of shoes Evan wears. I totally forget and it's driving me crazy :p )

Also shout out to @PinkFluffyBearzfnf for finding a bunch of musical references in the last chapter :) keep up the searching, I'll throw more in there when I can :D 

~Hamilfan123987